2023/24 Blue Jays Off Season Thread

[KelVarnsen]

Welp. The 2023 season is over.

John Schneider should be fired into the sun.

Atkins should probably be fired into the sun.

Which players do you bring back?

[dirk diggler]

such a shame to have wasted such good pitching this year, cant count on getting as good of team pitching every year. Changes need to happen.

[Patek23]

Calling it now they fire Schneider and run Mattingly at manager with the same analytics backed scheme from Atkins. At least we should get a new hitting coach though.

[browna]

Originally Posted by KelVarnsen

Welp. The 2023 season is over.

John Schneider should be fired into the sun.

Atkins should probably be fired into the sun.

Which players do you bring back?

Zero complaints about pitching, all season an in the 2 playoff games. Starters to bullpen, they delivered.

Belt is gone. I think he knew this is it and swung for 480ft bombs today.
Schneider may take the fall. Mattingly will then be manager or will be gone if he isn't.

I'd keep Chapman. Awesome start to the season and to be fair the most dangerous hitter this last two games. Sure Bo got a pile of looping singles thanks to contact, but Chapman hit the ball the hardest.

A combined 4 feet on the bases loaded foul today and long 402ft flyball yesterday from being the hero two games in a row. No issues defensivly all season.

Vladdy will be the drama all offseason though. Sounds like he had a rough go with family but seemed distracted all season. HR derby gave him some juice but pretty uneventful for him.

[Patek23]

Yeah as much as Vlad has really regressed I feel you gotta give him another year with a new hitting coach. His value is already low theres no point to sell low. Worst case he plays himself out of getting a big contract but hes still a servicable player.

[bizaro86]

I think replacing Belt at DH is an obvious one.

You can play a defense first plan, even with a pure power hitter at DH.

After that I think it's tough. Maybe you try to upgrade either Varsho or KK for better hitting? The problem is they're "good" at basically every slot, which makes it harder to upgrade.

[cross16]

I put the majority of this on Atkins. I think the design of the team is flawed and his vision of what it takes to win is flawed so he is the only person that needs to go IMO. All the more intriguing is they already have a candidate in James Click on the payroll.

I'd keep Schneider myself. I think the roster construction was the problem, not the manager. I'd also like to see him without Atkins over his head.

Hitting coach has to go. even before this season it was a problem (RISP, poor situational hitting) it was just masked by a lot of power

Chapman gone as he'll be too expensive for what he brings. Plus might be time to see what Orlevis Martinez is.

I'd bring back Kiemaier if the deal was fair. Green and his option means Hicks is gone.

Gonna have to get creative because they need a middle of the order bat. Everyone should be on the table to get that thought, including Vlad, Springer whatever.

[GirlySports]

Can we hire Joey Votto as hitting coach?

[KelVarnsen]

You can’t bring back Schneider. Not after today. First #### up and the team will turn on him. Get someone new.

[bluejays]

I'm at a loss for words on today's loss. Didn't see the second half of the game but seen some of the highlights and it's terrible in a playoff game to not show up offensively. Anyway, I have some very aggressive thoughts.

1. Fire Schneider. Didn't make good decisions, appeared to be frazzled too often. Get rid of him right away.
2. Get rid of the hitting coach. Vlad's support or not, he affected the entire team in their approach.
3. Fire Mattingly as well. What has he done to deserve sticking around, beside his playing days name?
4. Fire Atkins. Shapiro can stay based on his work is the business side of things. Atkins had the misguided route (and sold the fanbase) that getting a subpar bat with upside in Varsho was the way to go, in favour of defense. Varsho came as planned but his offense was terrible. More on that in a bit but the fact that he gave away two upside guys leaving the prospect base bare with no results - firing worthy. He's had his time to make it work and it's done. Before I was on the fence...not anymore.
5. I suppose from a position scarcity standpoint they're forced to go with Chapman. Wasn't happy he disappeared the second half but what choice do we have since you need defence in the infield. So by default if he's not too expensive and not asking for a crazy long term keep him.
6. Varsho. He's attractive because of his defense and loveable quietness, but you just cannot have an outfielder who can't hit. I can't stress that enough. I don't care what stats say, I'd rather have an average defender who can hit then someone who specializes in defence playing a position where most others can hit. He has to be a threat at the plate. My initial thought is to play him in a position where he doesn't need to put up big numbers (Catcher) but that's a bit extreme admittedly.
7. Kiermaier exceeded expectations a bit, but I say let him go because he's the type of guy who will not live up to his next contract (or may experience injuries). So you find a replacement.
8. I'm fine keeping Merrifield/Biggio at 2nd as a combo and see if Cavan is real, but 2nd base generally not much is expected offensively. Happy to see what can come of it
9. Vlad. If he's not upset with the organization, no choice but to keep him around. I have nothing to add but to help him any way possible because the talent is there.
10. Kirk/Jansen. Jansen is injury prone, period. He's never going to be the starter. We just have to come to terms with that. So as a backup, sure. Kirk, I'm willing to roll back but he has to lose weight. I don't know if they have a say in that but he was terrible this year. I don't see how they don't roll this combo back again as they don't have the prospects to upgrade here. A Kirk/Moreno combo would've looked perfect at this point but...Atkins.
11. Pitching - exceeded expectations. They have to probably spend on a 3-4 guy given the Manoah situation. Also a long arm, but nothing too crazy given the success Walker had. I could see a guy like Giolito coming here, but want to see a vet who can calm everyone down. Would love Kershaw but no chance he leaves LA. Joe Kelly's attitude would be good to some degree as well. Lots of comeback pitchers on the market this year.
12. Future signings? I'd try to get Bellinger in CF but doubt he comes here. I don't have any other option but him or Kiermaier. LF maybe Mark Canha? I'm not sure Canha moves the dial but perhaps you dangle Varsho out there again and see if someone believes in him more. Ideally I'd want a star Dominican player to come back to bring back some happiness around Vlad. Off the top of my head I don't know who that would be. Perhaps signing Lourdes as a bench guy would be good.

That's my initial thoughts for this year. Lots to do, little resources to do it. Unfortunately gotta go to papa Rogers and ask for a boatload of money to fix something that shouldn't have to be fixed with money but we have no choice since the prospect base is bare.

[Galakanokis]

We pretty much watched the same Blue Jays game all season long. It was probably the worst post season team to watch in the history of baseball. What a weird season. Of course the left you wanting more.

Pitching was great and should come back in pretty much the same shape. Not sure what Swanson and Hicks' contracts look like but it would be great if they are back.

Fo rthe starting pitching everything hinges on Manoah. My gut says he won't play for the Jays again but maybe that drama is over played but not sure. Even if he doesn't return the Jays are really only looiking for one bottom of the rotation starter and that is easily addressed in my mind.

Offense needs a massive overhaul. CF, 2B, 3B and DH all need to be addressed and possibly LF. You cannot trot out Varsho every game hitting like that. Just not good enough. Plus, you might need insurance for Springer as well. This is a conundrum for sure.

Are Barger, Schneider regulars? Eden? Martinez? Lots of potential there but no sure things.

Get me a power hitting DH!!!! I don't care if they ever see the field.

[bluejays]

Originally Posted by Galakanokis

We pretty much watched the same Blue Jays game all season long. It was probably the worst post season team to watch in the history of baseball. What a weird season. Of course the left you wanting more.

Pitching was great and should come back in pretty much the same shape. Not sure what Swanson and Hicks' contracts look like but it would be great if they are back.

Fo rthe starting pitching everything hinges on Manoah. My gut says he won't play for the Jays again but maybe that drama is over played but not sure. Even if he doesn't return the Jays are really only looiking for one bottom of the rotation starter and that is easily addressed in my mind.

Offense needs a massive overhaul. CF, 2B, 3B and DH all need to be addressed and possibly LF. You cannot trot out Varsho every game hitting like that. Just not good enough. Plus, you might need insurance for Springer as well. This is a conundrum for sure.

Are Barger, Schneider regulars? Eden? Martinez? Lots of potential there but no sure things.

Get me a power hitting DH!!!! I don't care if they ever see the field.

The thing about pitching is you never know what you're getting one season to the next. You at minimum have to get guys who have a small chance of getting injured and cross your fingers. Jays could very easily roll out the same set of pitchers next year and get opposite results. Happy to see them generally do very well. Can't take that away from management. But I do want to see someone reliable who can show command and leadership through extreme confidence and resolute. DH has to be a bomber.

[KelVarnsen]

I said it during the Joey Bats ceremony. The 2015 team was a lot of fun. They had a swagger.

The 2023 Jays weren’t. And didn’t.

[Underdog]

My personal hope would be to get rid of Schneider and replace him with a more veteran Manager but I don't see any changes happening to the Management this Offseason. I think Guillermo Martinez takes the fall for the Offensive struggles and gets fired.

Ryu and Hicks are gone as Free Agents. Other than that everyone of any consequence will be returning and the pitching staff should be a strength once again. If Manoah returns at just a fraction of his old All-Star self, this staff could be elite. Otherwise they can get by on the cheap with a 5th starter. Oh BTW, Mitch White was excellent down the stretch in Buffalo and should compete for a spot next season.

Chapman is gone as a Free Agent. I doubt the Jays have any appetite to retain him, for his price. I think one of the young kids gets a shot at 3B. Merrifield is gone as a Free Agent, Schneider will be his replacement. KK is gone, already said he wants to play on grass next season. I think Varsho should slide over to CF full-time to allow the Jays to pursue a big hitting left handed OF. Belt will probably retire and I think the Jays go with another internal replacement in Horowitz.

So really the only big change and FA or trade target could be in LF.

[Cali Panthers Fan]

Find a manager that builds a team identity and has players playing towards a particular strategy based on the roster strengths. This team didn't utilize speed or small ball nearly enough all year. If you're not hitting bombs, you better figure out other ways to generate offense. The coaching staff had zero fresh ideas all year. All of them should go based on that alone. Except Pete Walker. He's the best.

[Parallex]

I'd like to drop the "pitching and defense" boner they developed this past year and go back to bashing. If we're gonna have the same result then I want a team that's more fun.

[bluejays]

Originally Posted by Cali Panthers Fan

Find a manager that builds a team identity and has players playing towards a particular strategy based on the roster strengths. This team didn't utilize speed or small ball nearly enough all year. If you're not hitting bombs, you better figure out other ways to generate offense. The coaching staff had zero fresh ideas all year. All of them should go based on that alone. Except Pete Walker. He's the best.

The thing is they had the roster to run a bit, or mimic running to keep the pitchers on their toes. It is such an under rated and under utilized skill across MLB. Seeing AA and the Braves utilize it is nice. When they're not hitting or running it really pisses the fans off because they're just doing nothing but hoping for the best. They have to work and think about things actively instead of passive bums. So aggravated having to witness this nonsense all season.

[KootenayFlamesFan]

- Pitching was great all season. Bring back everyone that you can.
- Fire the hitting coach
- Listen to offers on Vladdy but only sell if it makes sense. A new hitting coach might do wonders, so don't trade him just for the sake of trading him.
- Upgrade the bats in a big way. You simply cannot have Belt at 2 and Biggio at 5 in the playoffs, that's embarrassing.
- Love Chapman's defense in a big way but he had one hot month at the plate and that's it. Do not sign him to a silly deal, move along if he's asking for the moon.
- Fire Schneider tomorrow. You cannot have a starter throwing possibly as well as he has all season and yank him in a do or die game in the 4th inning, it's asinine. You either have no clue what you're doing or you're taking orders from someone else. Either way, see ya later, good riddance.

[Cali Panthers Fan]

The lack of feel for starting pitchers has been Schneider's achilles heel all season. It was especially pronounced in this series. Pulling your starter after 3 innings when he hasn't given up a run? WTF???

That doesn't make sense even in bizarro baseball world.

[KootenayFlamesFan]

Originally Posted by Cali Panthers Fan

The lack of feel for starting pitchers has been Schneider's achilles heel all season. It was especially pronounced in this series. Pulling your starter after 3 innings when he hasn't given up a run? WTF???

That doesn't make sense even in bizarro baseball world.

That's my complaint. If he doesn't know how to manage a team or manage a game, why is he the manager? Watching his post game presser makes me even more ticked off. Even he admitted Berrios pitched as well as he had all year.

Glad Merrifield spoke up and said it was dumb.