Blue Jays Discussion: Spending money on FA's?! Yes you read that correctly (Russell Martin signs $82M/5)

[The Nemesis]

carry on.

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[GalacticaActual]

Jays should get Clayton Kershaw (the guy who won the Psy Young award).

Batista-Lawrie-Encarnacion
Reyes-Isturiz-Valencia
Burley-Cecil-Dickey
Rasmussen-Kershaw-Happ

Francisco-Goins
Dirks-Gose
Pillar-Pompey

Jiminez
Navarro

That's a solid 20-man lineup. I bet you they can make the fourth round of the playoffs if they add Kershaw.

 

[Jaysfanatic*]

Your every day starting C: Dioner Navarro

Your every day starting 1B: Edwin Encarnacion

Your every day starting 2B: Devon Travis

Your every day starting SS: Jose Reyes

Your every day starting 3B: Danny Valencia

Your sometimes starting 3B: Brett Lawrie

Your every day starting LF: Kevin Pillar

Your every day starting CF: Dalton Pompey

Your every day starting RF: Jose Bautista

Your every day starting DH: Maicer Izturis

Your 4th place 2015 Toronto Blue Jays

 

[tp71]

Your every day starting C: Dioner Navarro

Your every day starting 1B: Edwin Encarnacion

Your every day starting 2B: Devon Travis

Your every day starting SS: Jose Reyes

Your every day starting 3B: Danny Valencia

Your sometimes starting 3B: Brett Lawrie

Your every day starting LF: Kevin Pillar

Your every day starting CF: Dalton Pompey

Your every day starting RF: Jose Bautista

Your every day starting DH: Maicer Izturis

Your 4th place 2015 Toronto Blue Jays

Season starts tomorrow right?

 

[Jaysfanatic*]

Season starts tomorrow right?

keep drinking that kool-aid buddy.

 

[Eyedea]

says the guy that is already picturing the raps in the nba finals this season

 

[Jaysfanatic*]

says the guy that is already picturing the raps in the nba finals this season

Looks like jokes is lost on you. Which is weird, because you've been a devout blue jay fan. You should be able to know a joke when you see it. The jays have been one for 21 years now. Makeit22.ca.

Hate that this team has jaded me to a point where I'm frustrated and skeptical of its direction and ownership.

 

[Cor]

AA has made two smart moves this off-season and you are bashing him

 

[voiceofytown]

Dumping Lind and his bad back to save pennies to resign Melk man??? wait a minute that is not happening. This team is cheap and a joke. Last season was the weakest AL East has been in years and they stood pat. 4TH place is coming again!!!

 

[Suntouchable13]

A team like the tigers made it their priority to re-sign Martinez, and they got it done. Jays made it a priority to re-sign Melky, looks they will lose him. One team gets **** done and the other one just makes excuses.

 

[Woodman19]

This is a fantastic deal. Realistically we traded a toolsy player with no bat who plays a position of strength for us for a not so toolsy player with a bat who plays a position where we do not have lots of strength. Detroit obviously really values the defensive value Gose brings to the table and he did have a productive season for how little he played and he could be a 2+ WAR player for Detroit. For us, we acquire a close to major league ready positional prospect in a position we had no immediate help with who is controllable with modest upside.

It is hard to hate a deal like this when you deal from strength, the only thing I caution everyone on is expectations he makes the opening day roster (I doubt he will) and that he will be a star, he likely won’t be that either but he has the potential to be something we have not had for years at 2B. A solid defensively responsible player who will not kill you with his bat.

 

[613Leafer]

It looks like we'll be relying a LOT on our young guys. To be a good team, we pretty much need 3 of Sanchez/Norris/Pompey/Travis to take some big steps forward next season.

Its still early in the offseason, but Id guess at best in free agency we'll at best add a player who's 80% of the player Melky was for us last season. We're not about to fill multiple holes with above average MLBers in free agency.

AAs between a rock and a hard place though. He doesnt have many options aside from hoping for the best from youth. Because his only other two options are to blow up the core or go "all-in" on the core by trading multiple top young pieces to try and address our team needs.

Trading more top young pieces to go "all-in" on a core that has never made the playoffs, couldnt take advantage of the weak AL East last year, etc seems like a terrible idea. And while I personally would be in favour of selling off some core pieces, I dont think AA is there yet as that would require admitting his original aggressive moves to build the team were bad, didnt work out, wasted the prime years of Bautista and others, and wasted multiple young assets just to NOT become a playoff team. GMs tend to stick with their original plan, even if its not a good one and hasnt been working.

 

[jasonleaffan]

Gose traded? Looks like things are happening.

 

[Bjindaho]

This is a fantastic deal. Realistically we traded a toolsy player with no bat who plays a position of strength for us for a not so toolsy player with a bat who plays a position where we do not have lots of strength. Detroit obviously really values the defensive value Gose brings to the table and he did have a productive season for how little he played and he could be a 2+ WAR player for Detroit. For us, we acquire a close to major league ready positional prospect in a position we had no immediate help with who is controllable with modest upside.

It is hard to hate a deal like this when you deal from strength, the only thing I caution everyone on is expectations he makes the opening day roster (I doubt he will) and that he will be a star, he likely won’t be that either but he has the potential to be something we have not had for years at 2B. A solid defensively responsible player who will not kill you with his bat.

On the flip side, we traded a MLB ready CF for a guy who should still be in the minors but who we will force into our lineup (either by not signing anyone or by signing Sandoval and causing Lawrie to get hurt again) and will have to either have Pillar (who isn't an everyday player) or Pompey (who is also being rushed) play CF every day.

 

[Bjindaho]

AA has made two smart moves this off-season and you are bashing him

We traded Lind for a pitcher who projects as one of the worst pitchers in baseball WE could have acquired. Unless there is a move to flip him, this is another of the Napoli for Francisco style moves.

 

[Woodman19]

On the flip side, we traded a MLB ready CF for a guy who should still be in the minors but who we will force into our lineup (either by not signing anyone or by signing Sandoval and causing Lawrie to get hurt again) and will have to either have Pillar (who isn't an everyday player) or Pompey (who is also being rushed) play CF every day.

an MLB ready player who can't hit is still a player who can't hit.

I love how this now free's up our budget to attack LF, DH and maybe some good pen/starter depth. Maybe Martin now?

 

[Al14]

Gose traded? Looks like things are happening.

Well, at least they got one of the Tiger's top prospects!

Gose failed to pan out with the Jays!

 

[Woodman19]

Its actually very good for both teams. Detroit has enough offense to carry the team and adding a gold glove caliber CF as tremendous value for them. We need a body at 2B that is not Horrendous and Travis looks like he might be solidly average there (which in itself is a huge upgrade)

I do like the fact I have seen some 60 bat grade out there.

 

[ryno23]

Its actually very good for both teams. Detroit has enough offense to carry the team and adding a gold glove caliber CF as tremendous value for them. We need a body at 2B that is not Horrendous and Travis looks like he might be solidly average there (which in itself is a huge upgrade)

I do like the fact I have seen some 60 bat grade out there.

Good trade by the Tigers. Gose while not a great hitter by any means will patrol a spacious CF in Detroit and make a difference on the defensive side of the ball. Offensively he won't be asked to do much with the bat but maybe they finally get through to him to use his speed, bunt more for base hits and slash the ball around the field. The Jays were trying to make him a gap hitter with power which he was not.

He will hit 9th and in that lineup it won't matter they have enough offence to hid him. Toronto didn't have that luxury with the blackhole at 2b as well so 2 bad positions in the lineup.

I will be honest I never heard of the guy they picked up and went to check him out and he seems a so-so prospect who won't change the fortunes of the Jays.

Trade for a sake of trade I guess.

 

[Simcoe23]

On the flip side, we traded a MLB ready CF for a guy who should still be in the minors but who we will force into our lineup (either by not signing anyone or by signing Sandoval and causing Lawrie to get hurt again) and will have to either have Pillar (who isn't an everyday player) or Pompey (who is also being rushed) play CF every day.

This, and to further re: the poster you were responding to who referred to the deal as "dealing from a position of strength"- if you think Gose, Pillar as your only current option in LF/CF as a position of strength, then we don't agree on that. The team basically has 1 major-league ready OF currently (Bautista), and if Gose spent the whole winter learning how to bunt from the left side, he'd be our best option in CF, no offense to Pompey who is a September call up having a ton of expectation unfairly being heaped on him by the day.

 

[SpezDispenser]

Anytime you can trade a guy who had no future with you for a team's top prospect and in baseball America's top 100 prospects is a huge win. The factor that it's been a position of weakness and it's even more of a win.

This kid could never pan out and it's still a solid trade that you make every day of the week IMO.

 

[Swervin81]

Jays should get Clayton Kershaw (the guy who won the Psy Young award).

The "Psy" Young reward?

 

[ryno23]

Anytime you can trade a guy who had no future with you for a team's top prospect and in baseball America's top 100 prospects is a huge win. The factor that it's been a position of weakness and it's even more of a win.

This kid could never pan out and it's still a solid trade that you make every day of the week IMO.

The only reason he the tigers top prospect is that they dealt lots of their prospects away the past season and half. It like the jays trading Stroman, Sanchez, Norris, Pompay and Hoffman and they saying Osuna is our #1 prospect.....sure by default.

So getting this guy from the Tigers for an MLB player who can play at least 1 part of the game doesn't scream playoffs it screams payroll trimming.

 

[Longshot]

Wow. With Rasmus, Melky and Lind gone the only left handed bat of significance on the roster is Reyes.

Obviously the Gose trade is just the start of what is going to happen.

Any chance Travis makes the team as the starter? Or does he need time to develop at Triple A?

I have no problem with them going with a good prospect at second (it would be far better than the cast of re-treads in recent years) provided they go out and get legitimate major leaguers for left/centre/DH.

 

[Longshot]

it screams payroll trimming.

Where are you coming up with that?

As far as I know Gose makes the major league minimum. I don't believe he's eligible for arbitration. At this point he has essentially been replaced in the scheme of things by Pompey, another player making the minimum.

It was a prospect-for-prospect deal and has negligible impact on the budget of the team.