Blue Jays Discussion: Ross Atkins named new GM

[Discoverer]

By offering QO - are we guaranteed a 1st round pick, if we are unable to sign?

A compensation pick between the first and second rounds.

 

[Diamond Joe Quimby]

130 games is pretty damn close to a full allotment for a catcher. The most he's caught in a single season over the last six years is 133.

Yep. I like the ability to rest him when I want to\when he needs it rather than because I have to. Just me.

 

[MJ65]

A compensation pick between the first and second rounds.

Make sense - Thanks

 

[Shimso]

There are actually some elements that I really like. I like that it's not just the standard that everyone tends to go with. But... overall? Yikes.

I actually really like the away jerseys, but even as someone who likes having a wide variety to choose from, even I think 8 jerseys x 3 pants x 7 caps is too much. On the plus side, if they make the playoffs and they wear a different combo every time starting with the season opener, they won't have repeated a single combo until their 7th playoff game.

 

[Diamond Joe Quimby]

League minimum is $507,500.

You are correct. My mistake. Will have to update my model.

http://www.spotrac.com/mlb/toronto-blue-jays/payroll/2015/

Model spits out $131.9MM with Dickey.

 

[TootooTrain]

Good winter to target Mark Appel and Kyle Zimmer while their value (hype) is low, and their franchises are focused on contending.

Zimmer simply can't stay healthy. I'd like to take a shot at him, as long as the cost is acceptable. Who knows, maybe they're tired of waiting on him to put together a full season. At very least you're getting a potential set-up man.

 

[hockeywiz542]

 

[Diamond Joe Quimby]

Zimmer simply can't stay healthy. I'd like to take a shot at him, as long as the cost is acceptable. Who knows, maybe they're tired of waiting on him to put together a full season. At very least you're getting a potential set-up man.

Yep. If they missed out on the remaining free agent starters, I'd do Dickey for Zimmer and wouldn't blink. I just don't think their management is that stupid, unfortunately.

 

[Canada4Gold]

Yes, Revere no Saunders. Updated with 800k for Thole. One open RP slot. With Dickey, I have $130.7USDMM.

Also, who do you have as 500k? The pre-arb players (Travis, Stro, Sanchez, Osuna, etc) would be more accurately classed at 350k. No big difference, but just saying.

league minimum is $507.5K

http://www.sportsnet.ca/baseball/mlb/mlb-minimum-salary-rises-beginning-in-2015/

not sure where you got the 350 number from.

 

[Woodman19]

So Bobcat comes out and says that if he is given the choice to hire a President, it would of been Beeston. And there is the reason for his anger of everything.

 

[Diamond Joe Quimby]

league minimum is $507.5K

http://www.sportsnet.ca/baseball/mlb/mlb-minimum-salary-rises-beginning-in-2015/

not sure where you got the 350 number from.

Yep. Corrected above. It was an average number taken from the pre-arbs on the Jays in 2015, not taking into account Major League service time, thus making the number artificially low. $132 USDMM with Dickey ($120 without).

 

[hockeywiz542]

According to Steve Simmons of the Toronto Sun, Ross Atkins may be the Toronto Blue Jays' GM but Mark Shapiro is running the show.

http://www.torontosun.com/2015/12/04/atkins-may-be-jays-gm-but-shapiro-is-running-show

Blue Jays ownership has essentially inherited the Cleveland Indians front office and called them their own. If that’s considered progressive, their definition of progressive is different than mine.

Here’s what remains odd about everything Blue Jays. Shapiro is the club president but, really, he’s the president and the general manager. Atkins is the new GM in title. He seems like a nice enough man, who looks like a young Tim Robbins and appears a little less plastic than Shapiro. He’s easy to talk to, clearly comfortable in his own skin, with a certain warmth about him that makes him seem like the right man to replace Alex Anthopoulos.

He isn’t smarmy and condescending the way Ricciardi was. He isn’t nervous the way Gord Ash seemed at the beginning. He doesn’t seem like the kid in the next office, the way Anthopoulos did upon his introduction six years ago.

Sometimes you can tell in a minute if a general manager, even one without a full portfolio, is up to the job. John Ferguson Jr. needed only one news conference to reveal the job with the Maple Leafs was beyond him. It wasn’t much different with Rob Babcock with the Raptors.

Atkins seemed OK in his own skin, making a good first impression, and even a touch self-deprecating, joking that his phone blew up the other night when it was reported he had the job. He said it was the first time in his life he’s “gotten more than 20 texts.â€

But the new general manager of the Jays will go to Nashville next week for baseball’s winter meetings and he will essentially play second fiddle there to Tony LaCava, Anthopoulos’ right-hand man, who wasn’t chosen as GM. And that by itself is unusual.

LaCava has a new contract and a new deal and Shapiro talked glowingly about all his qualities, never really explaining why he chose Atkins over the man already in office. So the new GM, who may not be a real GM by definition, with Shapiro looking over his shoulder, will not be a real GM in Nashville, allowing the man who was passed over as GM to be the lead dog in all negotiations.

That may make sense to a convoluted corporation such as Rogers, but I can’t remember a GM taking over any team, who deferred to the person he beat out for the job the first time he’s on the job.

 

[Canada4Gold]

According to Steve Simmons

that's where I stopped

 

[MJ65]

Yep. Corrected above. It was an average number taken from the pre-arbs on the Jays in 2015, not taking into account Major League service time, thus making the number artificially low. $132 USDMM with Dickey ($120 without).

So not much left, ever after Buehrle's contract and adding of Happ and Chavez, so they need to trade a player or two to acquire a half decent starting pitcher

 

[Muston Atthews]

So Bobcat comes out and says that if he is given the choice to hire a President, it would of been Beeston. And there is the reason for his anger of everything.

He's been going on about it since AA left. McCown was really good buddies with both AA and Beeston and he's upset. He just has a radio show to complain about it.

 

[Muston Atthews]

Tim and Sid insinuating shots were fired at the Blue Jays in the Price press conference as if Price could have came out and said "Yeah, money talks, you know why I'm here."

 

[Bjindaho]

Fair enough on your first point. The trades that AA made indicates that he was clearly looking everywhere for upgrades.
However, I somehow highly doubt that the Jays had no clue what Boston was preparing to offer Price. A lack of action doesn't mean a lack of preparation. Any speculation at this point regarding what the Jays did or didn't do is moot, so I'll stop in creating more drama.

IF the rumours are true that the reason why AA left was because he was chastised for making a WS run, I would agree with you. At this point nobody knows except AA and possibly Shapiro and other members of management why he truly left. If you'd take Shapiro's history against AA, I'm not sure it's that easy of a call. And if that's the case, I'm not sure you can say that LaCava was better suited than Atkins.

Buck and Pat actually mentioned on one of their last broadcasts that Shapiro openly criticized Anthopoulos before he was even on the job.

My issues aren't that LaCava isn't the guy. I'm not a fan of bringing another team's front office in unless it is St. Louis (who've been unreal). We have some obvious holes in what we had, but bringing in Atkins doesn't fill them (cough, the train wreck that is Pete Walker as a pitching coach, cough).

 

[Bjindaho]

that's where I stopped

Steve Phillips said the exact same thing on Sportscentre last night. It isn't speculation.

 

[Muston Atthews]

Buck and Pat actually mentioned on one of their last broadcasts that Shapiro openly criticized Anthopoulos before he was even on the job.

My issues aren't that LaCava isn't the guy. I'm not a fan of bringing another team's front office in unless it is St. Louis (who've been unreal). We have some obvious holes in what we had, but bringing in Atkins doesn't fill them (cough, the train wreck that is Pete Walker as a pitching coach, cough).

Anthopolous and Shapiro both denied those reports. Not to mention I don't recall Buck and Pat mentioning it.

 

[Mitchy]

According to Steve Simmons of the Toronto Sun, Ross Atkins may be the Toronto Blue Jays' GM but Mark Shapiro is running the show.

http://www.torontosun.com/2015/12/04/atkins-may-be-jays-gm-but-shapiro-is-running-show

Hilarious that he actually has the audacity to call someone "swarmy" and "condescending".

Also:

Sometimes you can tell in a minute if a general manager, even one without a full portfolio, is up to the job.

I'm embarrassed to admit I actually wasted my time reading that crap.

 

[Giuseppe Sallo]

LaCava seems like the quiet type. This Ross guy is the total opposite. Haha

 

[Muston Atthews]

Tim and Sid insinuating shots were fired at the Blue Jays in the Price press conference as if Price could have came out and said "Yeah, money talks, you know why I'm here."

Nevermind. David Price decided to say that he didn't win a game for the Blue Jays in the playoffs because he was saving them for the Red Sox

 

[Canada4Gold]

Steve Phillips said the exact same thing on Sportscentre last night. It isn't speculation.

I literally didn't read what it said. If it's not speculation then it's something I've read already, if it is then it's Steve Simmons

 

[mikeyz]

that's where I stopped

What he said.

 

[trellaine201]

Have to agree that Shapiro seems very "plastic" like. Anyways he has an agenda from Rogers. Hope it all works out.