2022 Toronto Blue Jays Off-season Thread

[Roof-Daddy]

It doesn't need to be "monumental" improvement though.

The guy had a 106 wRC+ last season while providing gold glove level defense. Shift banning might be enough for him to get ~115 wRC+, which would be fantastic.

His 4.6 fWAR was more than Teo and Gurriel provided combined last season.

And he's in his prime and under control for 4 more years.

And he can catch in an emergency.

And we still have both Kirk and Jansen.

As a Jays fan I'm pretty thrilled. Sucks to lose Moreno, but you have to give to get.

[Galakanokis]

Cultural shift for sure. One of, if not both of Gurriel and Hernandez had to go for this team to take the next step. I think the return on both is quite good. Maybe a tad too much in the Varsho acquisition but not by a large margin. Varsho being able to catch lets you get Kirk into the DH spot more as well which I think was pretty key.

It's a solid lineup with flexibility. I am ok with it and do not feel it is significantly worse offensively than last year with a big bump defensively.

[Kasi]

https://twitter.com/james_in_to/stat...08407518707712

Arizona is very much a pitchers park. Between the dome and Yankee stadium and the parks out here he could have similar power numbers to what Simien had here.

[flames_fan_down_under]

Originally Posted by Roof-Daddy

It doesn't need to be "monumental" improvement though.

The guy had a 106 wRC+ last season while providing gold glove level defense. Shift banning might be enough for him to get ~115 wRC+, which would be fantastic.

His 4.6 fWAR was more than Teo and Gurriel provided combined last season.

And he's in his prime and under control for 4 more years.

And he can catch in an emergency.

And we still have both Kirk and Jansen.

As a Jays fan I'm pretty thrilled. Sucks to lose Moreno, but you have to give to get.

100%

Years of control, prime age, elite defense. Gabe Moreno's value will likely never be higher, and there is a suspicious lack of power with Moreno, which is being nit picky but it is true.

Sucks to see Gurriel Jr go as I loved his personality.

Agree with those mentioning a significant culture shift.

[Karl]

Originally Posted by flames_fan_down_under

100%

Years of control, prime age, elite defense. Gabe Moreno's value will likely never be higher, and there is a suspicious lack of power with Moreno, which is being nit picky but it is true.

Sucks to see Gurriel Jr go as I loved his personality.

Agree with those mentioning a significant culture shift.

Great hitter too.

[flames_fan_down_under]

Absolutely. Edit: I would say he actually skews more good than great at hitting. But that's again being nit picky.

Being elite defensively is a good thing. Houston, Dodgers and Yankees all excelled at run prevention.

[GirlySports]

so we're going to see serious Vladdy now? no one around to yuck it up anymore

[Roof-Daddy]

Originally Posted by GirlySports

so we're going to see serious Vladdy now? no one around to yuck it up anymore

Springer yuks it up with the best of them, but he also bears down and makes plays when it matters and has championship pedigree.

[flames_fan_down_under]

Originally Posted by GirlySports

so we're going to see serious Vladdy now? no one around to yuck it up anymore

I don't really think it's in Vlady's nature to be super serious all the time. But I do think he will likely be saying a lot less pre-season in terms of headline material, ie. the infamous "last year was the trailer...now you guys going to see the movie". I expect a bit more of a subdued pre-season Vlad.

[Blaster86]

Varsho got eaten alive by the shift. That is now illegal.

[TKB]

Not a huge fan of having a lineup made up of low average hitters, no matter how much power they have.

[Jiri Hrdina]

The more I read about this deal the more I like it
You can agree with their plan to not but Shakins had some clear things they wanted to do this season
- bring more balance to the lineup including in consideration of the shift ban
- upgrade the outfield defence
- change the culture of the team that seemed too loose
- address the rotation
Lots of check marks there.
Also you have to factor in that Varsho is under team control for many years.

[Cowboy89]

Originally Posted by Jiggy_12

It’s not the Jays fault you guys haven’t heard of Varsho, nor does that make this a bad trade.

A good portion of the Blue Jays fan base are just Blue Jays fans and not really baseball fans. Because of this I find this fan base gets way too high on their own players and is far too ignorant of what happens in other games once the Jays game is over.

[KelVarnsen]

It’s also a reflection of what teams gets TV time. The Diamondbacks get very little, so it’s hard to know what players they have.

[KootenayFlamesFan]

Varsho is doing a media call right now.

https://twitter.com/user/status/1606725220844425217

[Enoch Root]

I had to chuckle at all the people saying they have never heard of Varsho - of course not! Who has watched even a single Diamondbacks game in the last 3 years?

I think it's a great trade. Yes, Moreno is a big price, but I think they got a very good, and very important player in his prime for it. And I won't miss Gurriel that much - love the guy, but he's streaky offensively, and a bit of a gong show defensively.

They have:

• improved the rotation
• improved their outfield defense
• acquired some left handed bats and left handed power
• added a lot of speed
• added a lot of base stealing potential
• changed (improved?) the culture
• and in the face of the shift-elimination, they have prepared themselves well for the changes

now go get one more fireballer for the bullpen

IMO, even though the offense may not be as strong, I think this team is way more balanced than last year's team - they will be able to win far more types of games.

Also, a good season from Vladdy can make up for any reduction they might see from the offense. This is a better team.

[Enoch Root]

Springer - Kiermaier - Varsho

might be the best outfield in baseball - certainly one of the fastest. And reducing the wear on Springer's body has value too.

And remember, the elimination of the shift isn't just an infield thing, part of the benefit of the shift was the support for the outfield, whether it was the 2B playing halfway into the field, or the times they went with 4 fielders. No shift means the value of outfield defense has been re-established.

[Inferno]

Originally Posted by Enoch Root

I had to chuckle at all the people saying they have never heard of Varsho - of course not! Who has watched even a single Diamondbacks game in the last 3 years?

With social media and sports highlights you don't necessarily have to watch games to know players though.

There's alot of teams whose games I don't watch but still have heard of certain players even if they aren't stars.

[jayswin]

Originally Posted by Cowboy89

A good portion of the Blue Jays fan base are just Blue Jays fans and not really baseball fans. Because of this I find this fan base gets way too high on their own players and is far too ignorant of what happens in other games once the Jays game is over.

As I get older I'm even becoming this way with the NHL. I used to have a really good understanding of each team when I was in my 20's and then obviously a full understanding of the Flames.

Now we play out east or even a lot of teams in the West and the announcer talks about some early 20's budding star that's played three excellent seasons that's got him in line for a $7milAAV contract coming up and it's literally the first I've heard of him.

[GirlySports]

If you guys gamble or play DFS, you know exactly who Varsho is. Use him as catcher everyday@