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

[CabanaBoy5]

It's not the 30 mil its the lack of any visible avenue to improve. Vlad and Bo should get 3 to 5 blue chip prospects.

- You keep Vlad and BO - we still have the same crappy MLB roster but more expensive and the same crappy prospect pool.

- You trad Vlad & Bo, you now have a significantly improved prospect pool - assuming Atkins is not a complete idiot and he can actually assess talent.

Terrible assumption. Look at where we rank with our prospect pool. He can't assess young talent if his life depended on it.

 

[hockeywiz542]

 

[stats1]

If Atkins allows Vladdy to hit free agency and walk to the Red Sox for nothing it’ll be a very very long time before I spend money on this ball club. It would be a dark day in hell for this organization if this clown doesn’t lock Vladdy up. f*** the value evaluations! Give him the 450 million.

 

[Dough72]

I think people will be disappointed by the return for Vlad. Other GMs will see Atkins coming from a mile. They know he is in a bad situation.

the real return is 12 years to spend money on better bang-for-your-buck. As soon as Guerrero signs his value plummets to nothingness. Like Soto right now is untradeable.

 

[BertCorbeau]

 

[LaP]

the real return is 12 years to spend money on better bang-for-your-buck. As soon as Guerrero signs his value plummets to nothingness. Like Soto right now is untradeable.

Nobody will sign in Toronto with the team that they will be fielding. Going to be a long rebuild imo.

 

[saska sault]

the real return is 12 years to spend money on better bang-for-your-buck. As soon as Guerrero signs his value plummets to nothingness. Like Soto right now is untradeable.

What do I care what Vlad makes? It makes me want to go to the SKYDOME if he's playing? 10 year rebuild? See you then unless I'm in town and get cheap tickets. I'm paying his salary via maybe going to a game or 2 a year vs going to none.

Trade him and if your lucky one prospect becomes half the player he is. He has a potential 10 years before he's off the age his bat declines.

Paying for a Springer @ 25, Bassit @ 20+, etc no one bats any eye.. cost of business of free agency. Home grown superstar, born in Montreal... nah... too expensive. Let's scorch earth.

 

[aingefan]

I'm sure there is more then one team that would love to have him that would bid against each other for him. He'd get a haul regardless were desperate or not to deal him. Letting these two handle dealing him is the bigger problem we need to clear out the front office and let the new person to decide what they would want. Rogers really needs to wake up and can them.

There was a rumor with SEA at the last deadline that started with two of their top 3/4 prospects.
I’m sure plenty of teams would pony up.

 

[shortfuze]

I think people will be disappointed by the return for Vlad. Other GMs will see Atkins coming from a mile. They know he is in a bad situation.

They're not really bidding with Atkins though. They will be bidding against the other GM's.

 

[phillipmike]

This is looking bad….why are Atkins and Shapiro still in control?

MLB Free Agency Blog: Blue Jays, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. reportedly far apart on extension talks | TSN

Keep up with all the latest news and updates from MLB Free Agency.

www.tsn.ca

He wants the 3rd biggest deal in MLB history based on 2 great seasons, 1 good one and 3 mediocre ones? I will pass. Take the best offer you can get.

 

[Roo]

Wow players doing even want to come here now. What a massive change from 10 years ago. Shapiro and Atkins have to go!!! It’s crazy just how much rope they are getting. This team just keeps getting worse. At this point I doubt Vladdy signs with us. I just hope they don’t botch this trade.

 

[cyris]

Nobody will sign in Toronto with the team that they will be fielding. Going to be a long rebuild imo.

Especially if the reports that Rogers has no plans to fire Shapiro even if they miss again are true.
They won’t fire Shapiro, he won’t fire Atkins and we are stuck with the group that put us in this mess and any high picks we get will be wasted by the same guys who haven’t drafted and developed many prospects since they got here.

 

[mikeyz]

I am starting to believe this has merit. I refuse to believe this is exclusively incompetence.

 

[saska sault]

He wants the 3rd biggest deal in MLB history based on 2 great seasons, 1 good one and 3 mediocre ones? I will pass. Take the best offer you can get.

3rd biggest deal now is likely 30th in 5 years. 25 years old, with 2 great seasons, 1 good... hes going to get paid by someone. Especially when its "what have you done lately". Not sure why anyone cares if it's the team you cheer for, you would think fans want their best player to stay.

The contract could be horrendous half way through, I'd be happy they tried.

 

[cyris]

3rd biggest deal now is likely 30th in 5 years. 25 years old, with 2 great seasons, 1 good... hes going to get paid by someone. Especially when its "what have you done lately". Not sure why anyone cares if it's the team you cheer for, you would think fans want their best player to stay.

The contract could be horrendous half way through, I'd be happy they tried.

Yep big contracts raise the costs for all players.
With Soto and Shohei getting 700M the last 2 years it’s going the bring up the asks for all FAs now

 

[Dr.Funk]

 

[saska sault]

Yep big contracts raise the costs for all players.
With Soto and Shohei getting 700M the last 2 years it’s going the bring up the asks for all FAs now

You have guys who have never pitched in the league getting 300, pitchers approaching 30 and their decline getting 200+ and term... I dont get the fear of a 25 year old 1st base with fielding limitations. I have been a critic of him in a form every year but between option A - Extension, big money, long term potential downside/long term potential elite bat and option B - prospects, money for someone else

Option A. They havent spent money or havent spent it wisely on unknowns as it is.

 

[hockeywiz542]

 

[Anthrax442]

If Atkins allows Vladdy to hit free agency and walk to the Red Sox for nothing it’ll be a very very long time before I spend money on this ball club. It would be a dark day in hell for this organization if this clown doesn’t lock Vladdy up. f*** the value evaluations! Give him the 450 million.

Agreed. Takes talent to fudge up so badly.

 

[dredeye]

I don’t know what people are expecting this offseason. If the Jays end up with something like Santander, Quintana, Gimenez García, and Sandlin, that’s still a solid haul. Sure, I'd love to see them land Burnes, Soto, or Sasaki, but those guys were never realistically in play.

Santander is the big free agent I wanted the least, Quintana is a back end starter which is depth, Giminez is a nice piece but a defense first player is literally the last thing we needed Garcia blew out his arm in Seattle so fingers crossed he's even decent. This off season is a bust and we don't even have half the pieces you mentioned.

I agree they completely botched the Vlad situation. I also want Atkins gone but not because he signs a 5th starter or potentially Santander. The reality is the off-season is going to script. None of the top players were coming here and we were always going to be players in the second-tier market.

The best players aren't coming here because after this season they'd be about all that's left. Without Bo and Vlad locked up there is zero incentive for anyone to want to come here. The front office has obliterated this team and we are about to be real bad for a very long time. About all we can hope for is Vald and Bo have great years and we trade them both for huge hauls at the deadline. That's our best case scenario right now.

 

[dredeye]

Especially if the reports that Rogers has no plans to fire Shapiro even if they miss again are true.
They won’t fire Shapiro, he won’t fire Atkins and we are stuck with the group that put us in this mess and any high picks we get will be wasted by the same guys who haven’t drafted and developed many prospects since they got here.

If there are no consequences after another awful season and losing your two marquee players they'll lose half of the fanbase overnight. Yea it's fun to go to a game but the reno's will be done and it's not fun paying to watch your team lose constantly.

 

[Suntouchable13]

They were landing Ryu, Springer, Gausman in separate off seasons generating excitement. Spending money. What happened tot his front office since then? Just 2 brutal off seasons. Although, this one is not over yet.

 

[Hellcat]

Terrible assumption. Look at where we rank with our prospect pool. He can't assess young talent if his life depended on it.

He did OK the first 4-ish years, for some reason, recently, he's been a complete shitshow of a manager.

 

[29Potvin]

If Atkins allows Vladdy to hit free agency and walk to the Red Sox for nothing it’ll be a very very long time before I spend money on this ball club. It would be a dark day in hell for this organization if this clown doesn’t lock Vladdy up. f*** the value evaluations! Give him the 450 million.

Vladdy's team is being smart by leaking he wants to play for the Sox. Division rival that fans will burn the Rogers Centre down if he leaves for.
Also Vlad and Soto are good friends and im sure he has all the info on what was offered.
Vlad should of been priority #1 the last 2 offseasons instead of chasing unicorns.
Sign Vlad, Bergman,Santander and Carlos Estevez. Trade Bo and Bassitt and hope you can land a pen arm or two in those deals.
But without Vlad why would anyone sign here?

 

[Hellcat]

I am starting to believe this has merit. I refuse to believe this is exclusively incompetence.

I'm startign to think its not the City that UFA's are rejecting but the culture that Atkins has built. He's an arrogant SB that talks down to everyone he meets. He's always the smartest guy in the room, in his opinion.