Blue Jays Discussion: It's the off-season. Stuff might happen. Or it might not.

[The Nemesis]

Walker I'd like to have back to solidify the rotation next season

Ray and Shoemaker would be good depending on the price given their unreliability (walks and inconsistency for the former, health for the latter) and the potential that they could find some team willing to overpay on potential. Honestly ideally both of them would be nice, but I think at least one would be extremely valuable

Bass I'm ambivalent about

Panik would probably be fine, though you're banking on his return to form from this past season being a new normal rather than a brief surge above his actual baseline from 2018 and 2019.

Villlar and Anderson can f*** right off.

Giles is also a pending FA. He's obviously not pitching next season, but I'd be cool with signing him to a low-cost "prove it" rebound deal and sticking him on the IL all season long to fortify the bullpen in 2022. Give him the security to rehab his injury in a team environment with a club he apparently likes. If he comes back from this in dominating fashion we've got another anchor for the top end of the pen in a year's time. If he can't rebound then you're not really out a whole lot since at this point it's not like he'll be cashing in hard given this bump in the road.

Realistically speaking the rotation pieces for next year are probably:

Locks:
Ryu
Pearson

Competition:
Stripling
Hatch
Kay
Borucki
Thornton (returning from injury)
Zeuch

Dark horses:
Woods Richardson
Manoah


Let's say the team retains Walker and Ray The rotation to start 2021, presuming no other acquisitions could be

Ryu
Walker
Pearson
Ray
Stripling

with a Buffalo rotation of:

Kay
Thornton
Hatch
Zeuch
Borucki

That gives you 5 potentially MLB caliber starts at the big league level, and with Pearson hopefully ascending he could flip-fop with Walker and give you a pretty solid 1 through 5. Then at the AAA level you have 5 arms all capable of MLB innings


EDIT: It took me over an hour to realize that I forgot about Roark. That says it all right there.

 

[phillipmike]

Got to love baseball.

We didn’t want to play Cleveland because of their starters but they gave up 11 runs and 22 in total. They got swept.

Rays were dominant. 2 ERs from their starters and 3 in total.

 

[Cloned]

Got to hate baseball.

We didn’t want to play Cleveland because of their starters but they gave up 11 runs and 22 in total. They got swept.

Rays were dominant. 2 ERs from their starters and 3 in total.

Fixed it for you.

 

[Maplebeasts]

Got to love baseball.

We didn’t want to play Cleveland because of their starters but they gave up 11 runs and 22 in total. They got swept.

Rays were dominant. 2 ERs from their starters and 3 in total.

Go figure. I did not expect Bieber to get lit up in his start like he was but baseball is a crazy and unpredictable game. That was pretty much his only bad game of the season

 

[Anthrax442]

 

[ShaneFalco]

Well that was exciting
Great game by Bo

 

[Gargyn]

Give Bauer a blank check. Re-sign Walker and Ray. Roark can rot.

Bauer
Ryu
Walker
Pearson
Ray

Biggio
Bichette
Gurriel
Hernandez
Guerrero
Tellez
Kirk/Jansen
Grichuk
Whoever plays 3B - Groshans/Martin??

Pen

Hatch
Cole
Merryweather
Romano
Dolis
Yamaguchi
Borucki
Stripling

 

[Anthrax442]

Hopefully these two games will leave bad enough taste in their mouth and they train hard in the offseason.

 

[Suntouchable13]

Hopefully these two games will leave bad enough taste in their mouth and they train hard in the offseason.

Lookin at you, Vladdy. Although, it was said that he did show up in pretty good shape to original ST in Feb.

 

[hoglund]

Lookin at you, Vladdy. Although, it was said that he did show up in pretty good shape to original ST in Feb.

I thought that Vladdy looked much thinner in the last month of the season.

 

[kb]

I thought that Vladdy looked much thinner in the last month of the season.

Yep, he was able to fit into the dugout the last 2 weeks.

 

[phillipmike]

Give Bauer a blank check. Re-sign Walker and Ray. Roark can rot.

Bauer
Ryu
Walker
Pearson
Ray

Biggio
Bichette
Gurriel
Hernandez
Guerrero
Tellez
Kirk/Jansen
Grichuk
Whoever plays 3B - Groshans/Martin??

Pen

Hatch
Cole
Merryweather
Romano
Dolis
Yamaguchi
Borucki
Stripling

I would take this and Shoemaker as a 6th starter and Aaron Sanchez on a minor league deal for the backed of the pen.

For some reason I think Walker will get too much money. More than I would be willing to pay with his injury history. Perhaps the Jays revisit their McGuire-Musgrove trade with the Bucs in the off-season.

Bauer
Ryu
Pearson
Musgrove
Ray
Shoemaker

Even guys like Quintana, Happ, Paxton, or Odorizzi would be solid.

Jays need a 3B. I would prefer to move Bichette to 3B and get a SS like Simmons or Semien. If not then go after a 3B; Dematheiu, Turner and Fletcher in that order.

Getting rid of Roark and/or Grichuk’s contract would be nice too. Getting a real CF would be nice.

 

[ryno23]

reading a few articles that the Giants are looking to move Longoria and are willing to add cash to make it happen. They are in a mini-rebuild and want to get younger. Longoria is not the Longoria of his TB heydays but would be a good veteran to mentor the young kids and getting out of spacious Oracle park to Rogers Centre would help with his overall offensive numbers.

TB is already paying down 2 mill and 5 million in the next 2 years so if the Giants can kick in a few bucks or take Roark back as a salary it might just work. Oh they can have Derek Fisher as a throw in. They are looking for an LH bat for the outfield.

 

[Anthrax442]

Giles ti get Tommy Johns

 

[showtime8]

Got to love baseball.

We didn’t want to play Cleveland because of their starters but they gave up 11 runs and 22 in total. They got swept.

Rays were dominant. 2 ERs from their starters and 3 in total.

There's a reason why they finished 1st in the AL and a reason why their teams are consistently good. Pitching is the key to their success.

I hope the Jays focus on turning some of the position players into some controllable arms.

 

[Anthrax442]

reading a few articles that the Giants are looking to move Longoria and are willing to add cash to make it happen. They are in a mini-rebuild and want to get younger. Longoria is not the Longoria of his TB heydays but would be a good veteran to mentor the young kids and getting out of spacious Oracle park to Rogers Centre would help with his overall offensive numbers.

TB is already paying down 2 mill and 5 million in the next 2 years so if the Giants can kick in a few bucks or take Roark back as a salary it might just work. Oh they can have Derek Fisher as a throw in. They are looking for an LH bat for the outfield.

I rather they start trading for players that can actually help us

 

[Talks to Goalposts]

You have to like how many questions about the young players got answered positively over the course of the season.

Outfield: Lordes and Teoscar built on 2nd half breakouts from last season, look like viable cheap bat first corner outfielders.

Fisher hit well and defended terribly in a small sample.

Infield: Bo showed the same kind of hitting he had in his rookie year, Biggio showed even better than his strong rookie season. Two corner stone defensive positions get covered with strong hitters with decent fielding.

Tellez made big strides, looks like he can stick around as a major leaguer in a bat first position when he was trending towards AAAA quality. Espinal might be a good cheap utility man.

Vlad was good for his age, bad for his expectations, still has his incredible raw talent but needs to fix the holes in his game.

Catcher: Kirk was Kirk, Jansen had a rough time with BABIP luck but pulled out to a decent offensive year at the end.

McGuire severely disappointed and will have to fight for a backup job next year, even if a lefty catcher with good defense is intriguing.


Pitching:

The guys that were going to start in the minor leagues this year did terrific as relievers as a group. Borucki, Hatch, and Merryweather were solid reliable bullpen arms all year. SRF, Zeuch, Murphy showed well in limited roles. Kay was inconsistent. Waguspack looks like a long reliever at least. And Romano looks like he has closer potential. From these guys you can build your depth starters and a strong group of relievers, particularly if you add some top arms to be in front of them.

Pearson struggled with injuries, but in his return we saw what made him one of the best pitching prospects in the game, wouldn't surprise if he throws like a #3 next year, maybe even a #2.

The foundations of the rebuild look like they're there. They have a horde of cheap players to provide good value. Now they just need to open the vault to add the final pieces to put them over the top. A year ago we were far less certain this young group could deliver or if they'd end up being AAAA or bench guys. Now it looks like they have players for the bulk of the roster positions already.

 

[Eyedea]

reading a few articles that the Giants are looking to move Longoria and are willing to add cash to make it happen. They are in a mini-rebuild and want to get younger. Longoria is not the Longoria of his TB heydays but would be a good veteran to mentor the young kids and getting out of spacious Oracle park to Rogers Centre would help with his overall offensive numbers.

TB is already paying down 2 mill and 5 million in the next 2 years so if the Giants can kick in a few bucks or take Roark back as a salary it might just work. Oh they can have Derek Fisher as a throw in. They are looking for an LH bat for the outfield.

Kinda funny you brought him up because he had a solid xStats year but his face stats suggest another decline in offensive production for him. Oracle Park also wasn't the reason for that as he actually fared much better at home than on the road this year. Defense was also exceptional this season. I'd probably only put Arenado and Machado ahead of him.

 

[Tony Romo]

Could it be possible the jays take a book out of the braves books and see if they can get Vladdy/Biggio/Bo on longterm contracts from now?

 

[Anthrax442]

We need a serious upgrade on Grichuk.

 

[ryno23]

Kinda funny you brought him up because he had a solid xStats year but his face stats suggest another decline in offensive production for him. Oracle Park also wasn't the reason for that as he actually fared much better at home than on the road this year. Defense was also exceptional this season. I'd probably only put Arenado and Machado ahead of him.

If the Giants are willing to eat some money why not. Good D and I still think can hit and be a productive hitter. For him hitting in Toronto, Boston and Baltimore is better than hitting in pitchers parks in the NL West minus Coors. Dodger Stadium, Chase Field, Petco

 

[Eyedea]

Could it be possible the jays take a book out of the braves books and see if they can get Vladdy/Biggio/Bo on longterm contracts from now?

Would be interesting with Vladdy since he's with Magnus Sport. They secured a 6/50 + 2 club options deal for Luis Robert before he played a game in the majors. I noticed Teoscar and Orelvis Martinez are with Rafa Nieves too and he just opened up his new firm earlier this year after leaving Wasserman. Teoscar just had a breakout season, about to enter arbitration, could be something there for both sides.

 

[SDig14]

We need a serious upgrade on Grichuk.

He was pretty good this year though.

I'd personally keep the OF the same and try to just find a better 4th OF and better 3B option for like 2 years until Martin/Groshans is ready.

Let Biggio stay at 2B and find a 3B option better than Shaw.

But focus most of the $$$ on starting pitching.

 

[Amadeus]

He was pretty good this year though.

I'd personally keep the OF the same and try to just find a better 4th OF and better 3B option for like 2 years until Martin/Groshans is ready.

Let Biggio stay at 2B and find a 3B option better than Shaw.

But focus most of the $$$ on starting pitching.

Keep him only to play the Orioles.

 

[landy92mack29]

We need a serious upgrade on Grichuk.

We actually don't though. Only fielding position that they need to address is 3B, rest are set.