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

[Suntouchable13]

Shows you how Soto is just a mercenary who would leave the Yankees for the Mets just for more money. There is no loyalty whatsoever, just whoever pays him the most. Even leaving a great player like Judge.

 

[Nineteen67]

Trade Vladdy
Trade Bo

Acquire amazing young bunch of kids and start over

This franchise is a joke

They need new management first.

Shows you how Soto is just a mercenary who would leave the Yankees for the Mets just for more money. There is no loyalty whatsoever, just whoever pays him the most. Even leaving a great player like Judge.

That’s precisely what he said he was doing.

 

[TheBeastCoast]

Shows you how Soto is just a mercenary who would leave the Yankees for the Mets just for more money. There is no loyalty whatsoever, just whoever pays him the most. Even leaving a great player like Judge.

I think he was pretty honest all along that his loyalty is bought.

 

[Discoverer]

Shows you how Soto is just a mercenary who would leave the Yankees for the Mets just for more money. There is no loyalty whatsoever, just whoever pays him the most. Even leaving a great player like Judge.

Soto doesn't owe the Yankees shit. It wasn't even his choice to go there in the first place.

 

[landy92mack29]

Time to check out the White Sox and see if they'd move Luis Robert. Garrett Crochet would also be really nice but cost a lot

 

[Woodman19]

I don't really want any part of Santander, if he's not mashing like 35+ HR he doesn't provide much value. Certainly not for what he's gonna cost.

 

[GoonieFace]

Time to check out the White Sox and see if they'd move Luis Robert. Garrett Crochet would also be really nice but cost a lot

I would much rather go this route than overpay a full time DH in Santander

 

[Evilhomer]

Shows you how Soto is just a mercenary who would leave the Yankees for the Mets just for more money. There is no loyalty whatsoever, just whoever pays him the most. Even leaving a great player like Judge.

He was pretty up front about it.

 

[shortfuze]

Whos ready to overpay some injury prone old players out of desperation!

Do you really just bitch and whine all day cause some other people haven't done what you want them to do?

 

[Discoverer]

I don't really want any part of Santander, if he's not mashing like 35+ HR he doesn't provide much value. Certainly not for what he's gonna cost.

He's basically a carbon copy of Teoscar in terms of offensive profile (way fewer strikeouts and way worse results on contact, but in terms of overall offensive impact). Santander is likely to get more money/years because he's two years younger, but they're basically the same right now.

I would be happy with either, and I think there's a ton of value in a pure masher hitting behind a guy like Vlad who's on base ALL the time.

 

[Woodman19]

Do you really just bitch and whine all day cause some other people haven't done what you want them to do?

I have been one of the more optimistic Jays fans the last 20 years (just ask anyone on here lol). However I think our window with this core is closed with the farm strength and contract status of our players being what it is. We are simply about to double down on it because our front office is on the hot seat and it's going to prolong the suffering after the fact because Atkins and Shapiro are trying to not get fired.

Also, what did they not do that I wanted? I have been saying for days we aren't getting Soto and are just being used for leverage.

 

[Ale Brew]

I’m not sure I get the Santander is no good without hitting 35 HR’s angle.

A) He DOES hit 35 HR’s, actually hit 44 last year and that’s the appeal

B) He’s 2 years younger than Teo and at least as strong an OFer. Everyone loves Teo, but he was an adventure in the OF

C) He’s a switch hitter who has serious power from both sides of the plate and could help balance the lineup

Is he a franchise saver? No. Should the FO be prioritizing re-signing Vlad? Yes.

That said, I don’t think Santander is as risky a signing as he’s being made out to be. And who doesn’t want to see more big swings this season?

 

[Discoverer]

I’m not sure I get the Santander is no good without hitting 35 HR’s angle.

A) He DOES hit 35 HR’s, actually hit 44 last year and that’s the appeal

B) He’s 2 years younger than Teo and at least as strong an OFer. Everyone loves Teo, but he was an adventure in the OF

C) He’s a switch hitter who has serious power from both sides of the plate and could help balance the lineup

Is he a franchise saver? No. Should the FO be prioritizing re-signing Vlad? Yes.

That said, I don’t think Santander is as risky a signing as he’s being made out to be. And who doesn’t want to see more big swings this season?

The biggest thing they've been missing the last two years is some pop around Vlad. I don't see how anyone could look at a guy like Santander/Teo and say "Meh, all he does is hit HR".

 

[Woodman19]

The biggest thing they've been missing the last two years is some pop around Vlad. I don't see how anyone could look at a guy like Santander/Teo and say "Meh, all he does is hit HR".

The issue I think is that we don't have a problem with adding "only" power. We just don't want to pay superstar $ for support player performance.

 

[Dr.Funk]

 

[GoonieFace]

The biggest thing they've been missing the last two years is some pop around Vlad. I don't see how anyone could look at a guy like Santander/Teo and say "Meh, all he does is hit HR".

I would be ok with this provided Vladdy gets an extension, which I can’t see him doing at this point. He can cash in huge if he has a similar year to last, this is a crappy spot to be in

 

[tmlfan98]

 

[Woodman19]

 

[hockeywiz542]

 

[Woodman19]

Nobody has cornered the long term deals for SP over 30 like we have

 

[hockeywiz542]

Olney on Soto's record-breaking deal with Mets, how close the Jays' offer was and more - TSN.ca

ESPN MLB Insider Buster Olney joins us to chat about Juan Soto's record-breaking deal with the New York Mets, how far away were the Blue Jays with their offer, what is next for the Blue Jays, how the Shohei Ohtani deal is viewed a year later and more.

Olney: Toronto Blue Jays need to make Vladimir Guerrero Jr. the priority after missing on Soto | TSN.ca

After missing on Ohtani and Soto in consecutive off-seasons, the Blue Jays must once again regroup. However, Olney says the Jays’ top priority should not be signing free agents, but working out a contract with homegrown superstar Vladimir Guerrero Jr., who is set to hit free agency following the 2025 season, at all costs.

“From the Jays' perspective, you've got to call Vladimir Guerrero Jr. ASAP and make the deal that you need to make,” said Olney. “They were clearly trying to make Ohtani the face of their franchise and it didn't work. They clearly were trying to make Soto the face of their franchise and it didn't work."

“They've got Guerrero Jr., a player who they value. From what I've heard, he's looking for a significant deal. When you think about the position aspect of this and what first basemen are being paid, it's been a decade since a first baseman got $200 million dollars. Because of how this has all played out, if you're Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and you're thinking about $300 million plus? You're feeling better about that request today after seeing what Soto got. And the Blue Jays at some point have to pay somebody. They already have Vladdy there. They have to figure out what that blank-cheque number is and get it done. That's the priority.”

Guerrero, 25, is coming off one of the best seasons of his career in 2024, where he hit .323 with 30 home runs, 103 RBI, and a .940 OPS while being named an All-Star for the fourth-straight season. He finished sixth in MVP voting and won the Silver Slugger award for the second time in his career.

Outside of the organization, Olney says three free agents have been connected to the Blue Jays all winter, including a former fan favourite in outfielder Teoscar Hernandez.

“The three names are Anthony Santander, Hernandez, and Alex Bregman. In the end, they've got competition for all those guys. The Yankees are going after one or two of those guys. The Boston Red Sox are going after one or two of those guys. I don't know who they pivot to, but the bottom line is, you're going to look at the lineup and go 'Oh' when you see it, because they didn't get Juan Soto.

 

[Discoverer]

Nobody has cornered the long term deals for SP over 30 like we have

You consider 3 years a long term deal?

 

[hockeywiz542]

MLB Draft Lottery for 2025: Odds, order, how to watch, more - MLB.com

December 2nd, 2024

It’s become a highly anticipated mainstay of the offseason: the MLB Draft Lottery.

This is the third year that a lottery during the Winter Meetings has been used to determine the top of the Draft order, with this year’s drawing taking place in Dallas on Tuesday, Dec. 10 at 5:30 p.m. ET. It will be broadcast live on MLB Network and streamed on MLB.com.

All non-playoff teams are entered into a lottery for the top six picks. This year, 16 of those 18 teams are eligible for the lottery. Here they are, listed in order of the odds of them getting the No. 1 pick, with their 2024 winning percentage in parentheses.

22.45 percent -- Rockies (.377)

22.45 -- Marlins (.383)

17.96 -- Angels (.389)

10.20 -- Nationals (.438)

7.48 -- Blue Jays (.457)

5.31 -- Pirates (.469)

3.67 -- Reds (.475)

2.45 -- Rangers (.481)

1.90 -- Giants (.494)

1.50 -- Rays (.494)

1.22 -- Red Sox (.500)

1.09 -- Twins (.506)

0.82 -- Cardinals (.512)

0.68 -- Cubs (.512)

0.53 -- Mariners (.525)

0.27 -- D-backs (.549)

0.0 -- White Sox (.253 – ineligible for lottery pick)

0.0 -- A’s (.426 – ineligible for lottery pick)

As a team that received a lottery pick in the 2024 Draft and is a “payor club” -- a team that gives rather than receives revenue sharing dollars -- the White Sox are not eligible for this year’s lottery. The A’s are a “payee club,” but landed lottery picks in 2023 and '24, and payees cannot receive a lottery pick three years in a row. They can pick no earlier than 10th and 11th in the 2025 Draft as a result.

Last year, the Cleveland Guardians won the lottery despite having just 2.0 percent odds of doing so and selected Travis Bazzana out of Oregon State. In the first lottery, the Pirates were tied for having the highest odds of landing the top pick (16.5 percent) and that turned into Paul Skenes.

 

[TheTotalPackage]

Man...the more I think about it, the more worried I am in that the Jays will have extreme difficulty at this point re-signing Vladdy. I sure as heck hope I am proven wrong...

But, how does Vladdy not lick his chops now knowing he is less than a year away from having this time of courtship, especially after seeing what his good buddy just signed for. Either the Jays break the bank now for him at all costs so they don't risk losing him, and/or he is dead-set committed to being a Jay (which at this point I am unsure he is and would be), then we may just see our superstar and franchise player bolt for another team this time next year.

 

[hockeywiz542]