2022 Toronto Blue Jays Off-season Thread

[Jiggy_12]

Bellinger would be a fine signing with huge upside. The problem is the % chance of the upside is quite low.

Low risk provided the contract isn’t insane

[Jiggy_12]

Remember what the Jays did with Edwin and Bautista?

Neither of those guys had even close to the level of production Bellinger has had prior to joining the Jays.

Bellinger is still young and the skill is there, we’ve all seen it

[Sylvanfan]

Even Melky Cabrera was a decent low risk reclaim project after his PED Suspension.

If it's not attached to much term and isn't too expensive it can work. You hope for something between Colby Rasmus and what he used to be.

[puffnstuff]

I did see Bellinger didnt want term past 2023. So absent Nimmo, a 1 yr show me deal where he would be motivated for his next deal isnt a bad thing.

[Inferno]

https://twitter.com/user/status/1594843009274847232

[Roof-Daddy]

Cole is beaning a Jay next year for sure lol

[Inferno]

Now Manoah is trolling all the salty Yankees fans.

https://twitter.com/user/status/1594844474106351616

[bluejays]

Originally Posted by Jiggy_12

Remember what the Jays did with Edwin and Bautista?

Neither of those guys had even close to the level of production Bellinger has had prior to joining the Jays.

Bellinger is still young and the skill is there, we’ve all seen it

Could be the case but where did it go wrong for Bellinger? Edwin and Jose were eager hard workers to see their dreams come true. I'm not necessarily saying Bellinger isn't, but is he the type of guy to put in the work to make it work? Are Jays managers good enough to turn around his hitting? The past two years of Jays hitting tells me their hitting coach should be let go. I'm concerned a young talent like Bellinger has had two bad seasons in a row. How many players truly come back after that long?

[bluejays]

Originally Posted by Inferno

Now Manoah is trolling all the salty Yankees fans.

https://twitter.com/user/status/1594844474106351616

That's the kind of swagger I want to see from a hitter on the team.

[Roof-Daddy]

Originally Posted by bluejays

That's the kind of swagger I want to see from a hitter on the team.

"I like to play in New York, I like to kill the Yankees. I would never sign with the Yankees, not even dead," Guerrero said in Spanish to Dominican media personality El Dotol Nastra.

[Sylvanfan]

Originally Posted by bluejays

The past two years of Jays hitting tells me their hitting coach should be let go.

The Blue Jays were top 5 in all of Baseball in nearly every hitting category last year except for 7th in Home Runs. Previous year same thing except that they lesd the majors in home runs. In both years they lead all of Baseball in OPS+...and you want to fire the hitting coach?

[bluejays]

Originally Posted by Sylvanfan

The Blue Jays were top 5 in all of Baseball in nearly every hitting category last year except for 7th in Home Runs. Previous year same thing except that they lesd the majors in home runs. In both years they lead all of Baseball in OPS+...and you want to fire the hitting coach?

I honestly didn't know the stats, but found the sitautional hitting was atrocious. Many guys left on base, and many guys unwilling to change their approach (always looking for the hero homerun when knocking in the RISP would be more beneficial). If I'm wrong, I'm wrong, but I don't have stats on this, admittedly.

[Sylvanfan]

Each of the last two years the league average for total runners left on base was 1087. In 2021 the Blue Jays left 1056 on base, this past year it was 1111. So for a team that finished 5th and 3rd on OPS the 1056 number was really good and last years is not bad when you consider that the team was 5th and 3rd in On Base Percentage these past two years meaning that they have more guys on base than league average.

For every slap base hit you might see every 15 at bats with a changed approach you miss out on that extra home run every 25 at bats by not changing the approach type of thing. So over 75 at bats no change gets you 8 runs vs the change getting you 7. So I think it's more analytics driving hitters to be consistent in every at bat in approach.

[bluejays]

Originally Posted by Sylvanfan

Each of the last two years the league average for total runners left on base was 1087. In 2021 the Blue Jays left 1056 on base, this past year it was 1111. So for a team that finished 5th and 3rd on OPS the 1056 number was really good and last years is not bad when you consider that the team was 5th and 3rd in On Base Percentage these past two years meaning that they have more guys on base than league average.

For every slap base hit you might see every 15 at bats with a changed approach you miss out on that extra home run every 25 at bats by not changing the approach type of thing. So over 75 at bats no change gets you 8 runs vs the change getting you 7. So I think it's more analytics driving hitters to be consistent in every at bat in approach.

Again, not refuting what you’re saying but the Jays were 25th in runners left in scoring position per game. https://www.teamrankings.com/mlb/sta...ition-per-game. Understanding there doesn’t seem to be a strong correlation between final ranking and the stat, I still think they need to work on that approach more.

[Inferno]

https://twitter.com/user/status/1595029990927912960

[Cowboy89]

Originally Posted by bluejays

Could be the case but where did it go wrong for Bellinger? Edwin and Jose were eager hard workers to see their dreams come true. I'm not necessarily saying Bellinger isn't, but is he the type of guy to put in the work to make it work? Are Jays managers good enough to turn around his hitting? The past two years of Jays hitting tells me their hitting coach should be let go. I'm concerned a young talent like Bellinger has had two bad seasons in a row. How many players truly come back after that long?

I heard it was his shoulder is not strong enough following the many separations in the 2020 playoffs as per his own agent Alan Boras. Sounds more like a injured player needing to sort out if his injury is essentially career-ending or if he can get back to form physically. Plan A needs to be all in on Nimmo.

[zukes]

Originally Posted by bluejays

I honestly didn't know the stats, but found the sitautional hitting was atrocious. Many guys left on base, and many guys unwilling to change their approach (always looking for the hero homerun when knocking in the RISP would be more beneficial). If I'm wrong, I'm wrong, but I don't have stats on this, admittedly.

What so many missed during the year last year is that ALL offense was down. It was WAY down in April and May, especially power. It made every team look worse when you watched. I was the same, I was shocked midway through the season that I saw the Jays at or near the top of the league in so many offensive categories. It all had to do with the ball.

Now that the ball is deadened, they are banning the shift. The power output will stay suppressed, but watch batting averages rise, left handed hitters especially (hence the Blue Jays interest in Bellinger). The league is trying to go to a more 1980's style game it seems. Teams started to run more and now with more hits, I'm guessing that will continue as well. The bases being slightly larger will also increase stolen base success percentage.

[flames_fan_down_under]

Originally Posted by bluejays

Again, not refuting what you’re saying but the Jays were 25th in runners left in scoring position per game. https://www.teamrankings.com/mlb/sta...ition-per-game. Understanding there doesn’t seem to be a strong correlation between final ranking and the stat, I still think they need to work on that approach more.

That's an interesting list.

To leave a lot of runners in scoring position means that you are actually getting a lot of runners in scoring position, ie. you are actually hitting the ball a lot. A team that doesn't leave a lot of runners in scoring position can either be really really good at situational hitting or just not good at even getting runners in scoring position, especially if that number is represented as an average of total runners left in scoring position. For instance it's no coincidence that the "best" teams according to that list, Oakland, Cincinnati, Detroit and Pittsburgh are also four of the 5 worst hitting teams in the majors in team OPS. In fact those teams rank at or near the bottom in every significant hitting stat. At the bottom of the list are the Jays and Dodgers, two of the best hitting teams in the majors.

However I won't refute the fact that the Jays, well Vladdy especially, grounded into a TON of double plays, and this likely had something to do with them being at the bottom of the list as well. The Nationals were first in the majors in GIDP, Jays 3rd,, and Red Sox 5th. Those teams were rated as leaving lots of runners in scoring position according to that chart. Though not all GIDP would mean a runner was in scoring position, there definitely would be situations where that was true.

Where the Jays did struggle though is with a runner on 3rd. They were tied for 2nd last in the majors in OPS with a runner on 3rd. That is likely also a contributing factor to their position on that chart.

[bluejays]

Originally Posted by flames_fan_down_under

That's an interesting list.

To leave a lot of runners in scoring position means that you are actually getting a lot of runners in scoring position, ie. you are actually hitting the ball a lot. A team that doesn't leave a lot of runners in scoring position can either be really really good at situational hitting or just not good at even getting runners in scoring position, especially if that number is represented as an average of total runners left in scoring position. For instance it's no coincidence that the "best" teams according to that list, Oakland, Cincinnati, Detroit and Pittsburgh are also four of the 5 worst hitting teams in the majors in team OPS. In fact those teams rank at or near the bottom in every significant hitting stat. At the bottom of the list are the Jays and Dodgers, two of the best hitting teams in the majors.

However I won't refute the fact that the Jays, well Vladdy especially, grounded into a TON of double plays, and this likely had something to do with them being at the bottom of the list as well. The Nationals were first in the majors in GIDP, Jays 3rd,, and Red Sox 5th. Those teams were rated as leaving lots of runners in scoring position according to that chart. Though not all GIDP would mean a runner was in scoring position, there definitely would be situations where that was true.

Where the Jays did struggle though is with a runner on 3rd. They were tied for 2nd last in the majors in OPS with a runner on 3rd. That is likely also a contributing factor to their position on that chart.

For sure. Maybe firing their hitting coach was a wrong thing to say on my part but those runners have to cash in somehow. I really hope they can keep pitchers on their toes by running more this year. Though I still think more can be done by small ball at times I’m going for the single or double instead of the hr. KC years back did a masterful job of it as does Tampa.

[Cheese]

The latest on the Rogers Centre renovations



While the front office tinkers with a talented roster ready to take the next step, there’s a full-blown rebuild happening at Rogers Centre.

The Blue Jays announced Tuesday that their $300 million renovation is through its first major stage, with demolition completed last week. Now, the crews are beginning to build the new infrastructure, which will make up a noticeable portion of the two-year project that will continue at Rogers Centre through next offseason.

This stage of the renovation focused mainly on the 500 Level and the outfield. All 500 Level seats have been torn up -- nearly 17,000 of them -- and will be replaced prior to next season, with information coming soon on what the club plans to do with the old seats. There’s also been significant work done to the outfield, which will take on a new look in 2023.