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

[Dr.Funk]

Jays take Bastardo from Boston in the rule 5 draft

 

[habamillions]

which Sox?

Red. Only took 1 top prospect and a couple meh prospects. If that was the jays im sure martinez,tiedemann and nimmela would be gone

 

[aingefan]

Crochet to the Bosox and Fried to the Yanks makes a Burnes add neutral with the competition.

 

[tmlfan98]

Jays take Bastardo from Boston in the rule 5 draft

Seems like he might be a 60 day IL stash for a good chunk of 2025.

 

[Canada4Gold]

Bastardo had tommy john last year so he might be a down the road kind of option where they need to keep him for a while in 2026 because they didn't get enough roster time this year

Angel Bastardo, RHP, Red Sox: A 6-foot-1 right-hander who is still just 22 years old, Bastardo spent the year with Double-A Portland, though he made just 10 starts before needing Tommy John surgery. It’s not unheard of for a team to take a guy rehabbing from elbow surgery and then wait a year before seeing if he can stick, with the chance of Bastardo’s fastball (which he runs up to 96 mph), a changeup that misses a lot of bats and a slider, coming all the way back once healthy.

Jays didn't lose anyone on the MLB phase

 

[Seath The Scaleless]

Red. Only took 1 top prospect and a couple meh prospects. If that was the jays im sure martinez,tiedemann and nimmela would be gone

Montgomery is the wildcard. He has a ton of upside if he limits the swing and miss in his game. But he's years away

 

[Vector]

Fangraphs loves this trade from a Jays perspective.

I came here to post this. Ben Clemens is very positive on the trade for the Blue Jays.

If I were the Jays, I’d make this trade every time. This year is make or break for them, a last chance to make the Big League Sons generation pay off before one or both of them depart in free agency. They need wins this year, and Giménez is a better bet to provide them than anyone they traded. He’s also a great fallback option if Bichette leaves town; he’d look right at home playing shortstop. Heck, the best defensive alignment for the team, if it didn’t mess with clubhouse chemistry or what not, would already have Giménez at short, with Bichette sliding to third or (more likely in my eyes) second.

Put another way, the Blue Jays’ biggest issue on the offensive side of the ball in recent years has been coming up with reliable everyday players. They’ve been in a perpetual scramble to find infield depth since Marcus Semien left for Texas. The constant shuffle and churn has, at times, held back an otherwise potent lineup. Even when Guerrero turned the clock back to 2021 this year, there just wasn’t enough support around him. I’m not saying Toronto can rest on its laurels, but this is one great leap in the right direction, and it’s a great leap that fits snugly into its team-building philosophy.

For Cleveland, I like this trade less. It feels to me like a decision made on a spreadsheet: Giménez was making enough money that the Guardians opted to trade him as soon as they were offered some minimum perceived value of prospects in return. That prospect value wasn’t even particularly high: two 40 FVs, a 35+ FV, and a fifth starter/long reliever type. My favorite part of this return is that none of the prospects are Rule 5 eligible until 2026, but that’s damning with faint praise. I get that these guys fit their system, but how many times can you trade a quarter for five nickels before getting annoyed by how difficult it is to manage all the change you’re carrying around?

 

[Canada4Gold]

Garrett Spain taken in the minor league phase.

Jays took Richard Gallardo, Jacob Wetzel from the Cubs

 

[tmlfan98]

 

[Suntouchable13]

Garrett Spain taken in the minor league phase.

Jays took Richard Gallardo from the Cubs

Damn it! I was hoping Garrett Spain would be our version of Ty France.

 

[tmlfan98]

 

[Canada4Gold]

Wetzel's year last year in A looks somewhat interesting for a milb rule 5 guy. H'es been terrible otherwise and is 24 but had decent numbers and walked a ton. You never know. No risk in the minor league phase

 

[tmlms13]

which Sox?

The fact that the wood "good" was beside the word "sox" should give away which one it was.

Associating anything CWS related with good is a give away that it's not them

 

[MK78]

97mph fastball is an "upside" these days? what young player doesnt throw at least this fast nowadays?

 

[Discoverer]

97mph fastball is an "upside" these days? what young player doesnt throw at least this fast nowadays?

Lots. But that's also 97 mph as a starter. Move him to shorter stints out of the pen and he's probably around 99-100.

 

[Avilaj07]

Might as well go all in since it looks like it's going to be Vladdy and Bo last year. Trade Bassitt and Springer, use prospects if you have to. That is roughly 45 million aav between the of them.

Sign Burnes
Sign Bregman
Sign Santander

 

[Ale Brew]

Just watched a Hazel interview with John Schneider (just posted). He certainly makes it sound like they still want to add a big “thumper” to bat behind Vlad and mentioned adding to pitching, both starting and relief as well.

Hopefully this means BNS and Dividi are misinformed on the available budget remaining.


Also, Ruben Amaro just proposed a Jays Cubs trade for Bellinger. Pretty gross. He had Clement, Nimala, and Bloss going to the Cubs for Bellinger. No wonder this guy failed as a GM, that deal is awful for the Jays.

Lots. But that's also 97 mph as a starter. Move him to shorter stints out of the pen and he's probably around 99-100.

And he’s apparently got a swing and miss change up, which I imagine makes the fastball tougher to hit.

 

[hockeywiz542]

 

[landy92mack29]

okay now go get Robert and sign Burnes....extending Vlad+Bo would be nice also but I'll keep it somewhat realistic lol

 

[hockeywiz542]

Scott Boras Discusses Blue Jays' Pitch For Juan Soto

SPORTSNET

December 11, 2024

Sports agent Scott Boras joins Sportsnet’s Hazel Mae and Shi Davidi to discuss how MLB teams evaluate players, the process of targeting generational talent, the Toronto Blue Jays' approach to free agents, and more.

 

[GoonieFace]

Just watched a Hazel interview with John Schneider (just posted). He certainly makes it sound like they still want to add a big “thumper” to bat behind Vlad and mentioned adding to pitching, both starting and relief as well.

Hopefully this means BNS and Dividi are misinformed on the available budget remaining.


Also, Ruben Amaro just proposed a Jays Cubs trade for Bellinger. Pretty gross. He had Clement, Nimala, and Bloss going to the Cubs for Bellinger. No wonder this guy failed as a GM, that deal is awful for the Jays.


And he’s apparently got a swing and miss change up, which I imagine makes the fastball tougher to hit.

Davidi was on Fan 590 the other morning and had no clue what the front office plan was. So it seems they are playing things tight to the chest.

It’s pretty obvious they can’t be done, it wouldn’t make any sense, but than again, it’s Atkins

 

[Eyedea]

Just watched a Hazel interview with John Schneider (just posted). He certainly makes it sound like they still want to add a big “thumper” to bat behind Vlad and mentioned adding to pitching, both starting and relief as well.

Hopefully this means BNS and Dividi are misinformed on the available budget remaining.


Also, Ruben Amaro just proposed a Jays Cubs trade for Bellinger. Pretty gross. He had Clement, Nimala, and Bloss going to the Cubs for Bellinger. No wonder this guy failed as a GM, that deal is awful for the Jays.


And he’s apparently got a swing and miss change up, which I imagine makes the fastball tougher to hit.

I did think Arenado + Helsley was an option. Now not so much but would plug two more holes for (I’m assuming) an unsubstantial cost.

 

[Larcos_Unal]

He is a heavy hitter, which is what you want in the cleanup spot

Rotund and well rounded hitter

 

[Ale Brew]

I did think Arenado + Helsley was an option. Now not so much but would plug two more holes for (I’m assuming) an unsubstantial cost.

I wouldn’t trust Arenado as the big bat addition at this point in his career, nor would I want to pay out the remaining 3 years of his contract. If he bounces back, great, but if this is the start of his decline it could get ugly.

Helsley would make our bullpen a lefty away from looking pretty damn good though. I’m

 

[Discoverer]

I wouldn’t trust Arenado as the big bat addition at this point in his career, nor would I want to pay out the remaining 3 years of his contract. If he bounces back, great, but if this is the start of his decline it could get ugly.

Helsley would make our bullpen a lefty away from looking pretty damn good though. I’m

Yeah, it's back-to-back years now as a roughly league average hitter for Arenado (106 wRC+ in 2023, 102 in 2024). It's not just one down season and, at 34, he's not particularly likely to turn that trend around.

Even if they were willing to take Springer and give Helsley away, I don't think it makes much sense for the Jays.