Blue Jays Discussion: 2024-25 Off-season: The free agent watch begins (and sometimes old baseball radio broadcasts)

[Bjindaho]

Dislike Shatkins but this is somewhat skewed given they were taking on a shambolic corpse of a roster that was barren and didn't start to show promise until 2019.

Really all you need to shit on them is their last 2 seasons.

They took over in 2016 with a playoff roster and Vlad already signed (and didn't change the scouting staff the first year which got them Bo).

 

[MK78]

Really all you need to shit on them is their last 2 seasons.

The last two were the most egregious, with this stupid shift to "run prevention", getting over the hill 36 & 39 year old players to hit behind Vladdy. They ditched a reliable run producer and home run hitter in Teoscar, as well as a pretty decent run producer home run hitter in Gurriel, not to mention a great catching prospect. With Danny Jansen gone, we're left with Kirk and a bunch of nobody's.

IMO the only praise this front office deserves for is the starting pitching in the past 5 years.

 

[saska sault]

Smart teams bet on their homegrown talents young and sign them long term. KC has the best player in the game signed for 10 more years(probably 13 more with the team options) at a 26.25 AAV for his 24-33 age years...and that's for a SS not 1B.

Atlanta did a pretty good job too...

 

[trellaine201]

Sounds like the sides are way far apart. Better trade him ASAP

 

[Gustave]

would you have been happier if they signed VG to a ridiculous contract that he wouldnt live up to? which will probably be the case. i understand why people are upset with management but they have to draw the line on numbers at some point.

From my POV; if that’s the case, they probably had an idea that the numbers wouldn’t be worked out last year or even the prior year.

That’s the problem, they managed to tank his trade value all the while not getting him under contract anyway. Worst of the possible options. That’s on them, they are Shatkins after all.

 

[phillipmike]

Dislike Shatkins but this is somewhat skewed given they were taking on a shambolic corpse of a roster that was barren and didn't start to show promise until 2019.

Really all you need to shit on them is their last 2 seasons.

Not to mention this tweet conveniently left out 2016 where they won 89 games, made the playoffs and won 2 playoff rounds.

Include 2016, it’s 683-673 regular season record.

If you want to exclude 2016 because it isn’t “their team”, the tweet should exclude 2017 to 2019. From 2020 to now, is their team; 378-330.

 

[Bjindaho]

Major re-signings in the org since 2016:

Berrios
Happ
Estrada
Smoak

That's it...that's the list

Before that, the major re-signings were Bautista (2011), Rios (2008) and Wells (2006).

EE got less than 10M per year on his.

Putting this another way, the biggest deals in franchise history are Springer (6,150), Berrios (7,131), Wells (7,126), Gausman (5,110), then Santander.

 

[Kurtz]

They won't trade Vlad before the season - they've already commited to go for it with their top-5 payroll. Maybe if we're out of it by the deadline. If anything, they'll sell off what's left of the farm to get another big bat we're missing.

Also I don't think this necessarily means Vlad is gone - if Alonso couldn't get 200mil on the market I don't know if Vlad can get 500m he wants.

But I am once again asking our ownership group why they can't simply fire Shatkins and poach all of Tampa's guys. Would probably cost them less dollars than Myles Straw and can you imagine what Tampa's management could do with a top-5 payroll?

 

[Cloned]

They won't trade Vlad before the season - they've already commited to go for it with their top-5 payroll. Maybe if we're out of it by the deadline. If anything, they'll sell off what's left of the farm to get another big bat we're missing.

Also I don't think this necessarily means Vlad is gone - if Alonso couldn't get 200mil on the market I don't know if Vlad can get 500m he wants.

But I am once again asking our ownership group why they can't simply fire Shatkins and poach all of Tampa's guys. Would probably cost them less dollars than Myles Straw and can you imagine what Tampa's management could do with a top-5 payroll?

It’s actually amazing that they couldn’t get a deal done with Vladdy, even if the motivation would have been pure self preservation.

Without Vladdy you don’t have a team and you don’t have a job.

The graph of Shatkins supporters over time looks like one side of the Grand Canyon right now.

 

[phillipmike]

O

They won't trade Vlad before the season - they've already commited to go for it with their top-5 payroll. Maybe if we're out of it by the deadline. If anything, they'll sell off what's left of the farm to get another big bat we're missing.

Also I don't think this necessarily means Vlad is gone - if Alonso couldn't get 200mil on the market I don't know if Vlad can get 500m he wants.

But I am once again asking our ownership group why they can't simply fire Shatkins and poach all of Tampa's guys. Would probably cost them less dollars than Myles Straw and can you imagine what Tampa's management could do with a top-5 payroll?

This is what i want to see or even the Dodgers. However, for every Friedman, there is a Zaidi and Bloom.

That said, 10 years is too long with this management group. They should be gone. Hopefully they make huge strides in the playoffs or with their prospects, if not this should be their last year, hopefully.

 

[trellaine201]

I will say it again. I am very surprised Rogers kept Shapiro and Atkins after last year. Shocking really.

 

[MK78]

I will say it again. I am very surprised Rogers kept Shapiro and Atkins after last year. Shocking really.

Yup, it was a disaster and they just let them continue. With this level of payroll its truly amazing how badly they screwed up.

 

[hockeywiz542]

 

[Stephen]

Feels like they need to fire Shapiro and Atkins and reset the front office. Potentially re-engage Vlad if they want to keep him, or rebuild. They need to instill some credibility into this front office. Theres just such a strong sense of Mickey Mouse franchise, they’re willing to throw phantom dollars around at free agents who won’t even give them the time of day. But they don’t seem to be able to lock up real players who are already here. Dysfunctional.

 

[HairyKneel]

Fire the both of them today. They f***ed this up six ways to Sunday with all their dithering around since October. Ideally they would have greased them along with Schneider at seasons end last year. Then gotten a new management team to get some fresh eyes on this. At this point you could hire folks out of the concessions or souvenir sales and they could do better than these clowns.

Get off your wallet Rogers. Cheap pricks.

 

[Bjindaho]

Neither Shapiro nor Atkins should be allowed to come north with the team.

 

[SpezDispenser]

f***ing insane.

 

[shortfuze]

The last two were the most egregious, with this stupid shift to "run prevention", getting over the hill 36 & 39 year old players to hit behind Vladdy. They ditched a reliable run producer and home run hitter in Teoscar, as well as a pretty decent run producer home run hitter in Gurriel, not to mention a great catching prospect. With Danny Jansen gone, we're left with Kirk and a bunch of nobody's.

IMO the only praise this front office deserves for is the starting pitching in the past 5 years.

how about getting a gold glove centre fielder for that decent run producer and prospect?

 

[trellaine201]

Barker mentions Vlady wants in the neighborhood of 12 years x $45M

 

[phillipmike]

Barker mentions Vlady wants in the neighborhood of 12 years x $45M

$540M, that is absolutely nuts.

 

[Bjindaho]

Barker mentions Vlady wants in the neighborhood of 12 years x $45M

Barker has no idea what he is talking about.

That being said, if Toronto insists on doing deferrals, then that is what it will take.

 

[trellaine201]

$540M, that is absolutely nuts.

So maybe Jays offered 12 x $40M?

 

[leafsfan2point0]

There really are people who will defend bad management teams right to the bitter end, aren't there?

This front office has delivered nothing. Not a single PLAYOFF win. In their entire tenure.. and you're gonna go with "Vladdy wanted too much and they were right to get to this point knowing they were never going to pay him what he wanted" as your management/franchise defense card?

They've botched pretty much everything since they got control and this is just the latest, high profile botching from a group that has no success to even pin it on. Even Marc Bergevin won playoff series.

Shatkins have been so bad that suggesting they may be undercover spies for Cleveland isn’t even out of the realm of possibility.

Can’t wait till they’re finally fired here. It’s been painful watching this disaster.

 

[saska sault]

Fire the both of them today. They f***ed this up six ways to Sunday with all their dithering around since October. Ideally they would have greased them along with Schneider at seasons end last year. Then gotten a new management team to get some fresh eyes on this. At this point you could hire folks out of the concessions or souvenir sales and they could do better than these clowns.

Get off your wallet Rogers. Cheap pricks.

To quote your avatar

"If the rule you followed brought you to this, of what use was the rule"

It feels like with Vlad, Bo, Atkins, Shapiro all expiring at seasons end it's time...

 

[trellaine201]

What does the free agent class look like next year?