Seath The Scaleless
Paledrake
Didn't really want Rizzo so I'm glad he's staying in New York
Blue Jays Discussion: Off-Season IV: Off-season progression! (Lockout over: Jays acquire Chapman for 4 prospects!)
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Bowden: Takeaways on 8 big post-lockout trades and signings, including the Matt Olson and Chris Bassitt deals
Jim Bowden shares his thoughts (and grades) on the Yankees-Twins trade, the Reds-Mariners deal, the Yusei Kikuchi signing and more.
theathletic.com
Toronto Blue Jays sign LHP Yusei Kikuchi to three-year, $36 million contract
The Blue Jays hit a “grand slam” when they traded for Robbie Ray in 2020 and then re-signed him for the 2021 season. When they acquired Ray, he had great raw stuff but lacked a consistent delivery and release point, and didn’t look like he’d live up to his potential. The Blue Jays helped him figure it out, though, and the results last season were impressive: Ray led the AL in ERA (2.84) and innings pitched (193 1/3), lead the majors in strikeouts (248) and and won a Cy Young Award.
The Blue Jays hope to create similar magic with Kikuchi, though probably not to that extent. However, this time, they want to make sure if they do have success and he becomes a star, he doesn’t walk away in free agency, like Ray did when he signed with Seattle this offseason. So they gave Kikuchi a three-year deal that is front-loaded in year one ($16 million) and then $10 million for each of the next two years. Kikuchi pitched to a 3.48 ERA in his first 16 starts last season and made the All-Star team. If the Blue Jays can maximize his abilities, this could turn out to be one of the best value signings of the offseason.
Da Cool Rula
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Thanks for the detailed post!!!
Why the Blue Jays believe Yusei Kikuchi has a ‘bright future’; GM says search for a position player underway
“We want to make the team better. I think the most obvious way to do that is in our infield and complementing it somehow," Ross Atkins said.
What attracted Kikuchi to the organization, he said, was its competitiveness. What attracted the Blue Jays to Kikuchi, according to general manager Ross Atkins, was his durability and his “elite” pitching weapons, including a cut fastball. And despite his uneven results in 2021, the Blue Jays clearly believe they can get the most out of those pitching weapons again.
“What he’s already done is more than enough in this game and we are exceptionally confident in the athlete that he is,” Atkins said. “With every acquisition, we’re always excited about joining with them and hoping that they realize all their potential and feel that it’s rare for someone of Yusei’s caliber to accomplish so much thus far in his career in Japan and here and feel as though that it’s just getting started … that he has, again, a very bright future.”
Under the covered infield at their spring training complex on Tuesday, the Blue Jays held an introductory news conference for the 30-year-old left-hander a day after they’d made his deal official. However, for Kikuchi, his introduction to his new team was already well underway.
Earlier in the day, he threw his first bullpen session during morning workouts. He was paired with Blue Jays catcher Danny Jansen, while pitching coach Pete Walker kept a watchful eye on his newest starter.
“He had good life on his fastball,” Walker said. “I thought he commanded his breaking ball pretty well and got a chance to get a look at his offspeed pitches, split-finger, so it was good to get a chance to see him throw and get a feel for what he does.”
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Kikuchi said he had a good idea of what went wrong for him last year and spent his offseason trying to work on it. His two main focuses, he said, were making “minor adjustments in my mechanics and also being more aggressive out on the mound.”
Meanwhile, given the team’s interest in him, Walker had spent a while studying Kikuchi’s pitching. During the Blue Jays’ initial conversations Tuesday, Kikuchi said they talked about pitch usage and the catcher setup as ways that could help him improve, but “we haven’t really gotten into deep conversations yet,” Kikuchi said.
Typically, Walker and the coaching staff like to get to know a new pitcher a little bit and learn what he’s done in the past before they suggest any tinkering. Only a day or so into camp, they’re still in the getting-to-know-him phase with Kikuchi, but Walker said the team has some ideas of how it can help him, too.
“He was an All-Star and he was doing some tremendous things and he’s got a tremendous fastball, good split, good breaking ball,” Walker said. “We have some ideas and some rationale behind our thoughts, of course, but right now, we’re going to get him here, get him comfortable, get him throwing, which we usually do, and then maybe add our two cents at some point.”
Any changes that are suggested will need to be implemented in a quicker time frame than normal. Rather than having potentially part of the offseason and six weeks of camp to work with Kikuchi, Walker has about only three weeks until Opening Day. But the Blue Jays pitching coach said any tweaks for Kikuchi will be simple.
“It’s a little shorter time period, but there’s really nothing drastic there,” Walker said. “I don’t think that’ll be an issue at all.”
Le Cobra
Rent A Goalie
phillipmike
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- Oct 27, 2009
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SDig14
Registered User
"It's 2 o clock. Do you know where your free agents are?"
"I told you last night already, NO!"
"I told you last night already, NO!"
If we can get Freeman or Schwarber, I would use our prospect capital on the bullpen before Ramirez. I like our rotation although most of these guys are going to be reliable for 5-6 innings in todays game and our bullpen options like Richards, Mayza, Hatch, Cimber, Merryweather, Garcia types all seem more suitable as 5-7 inning options rather then late game 8th or 9th inning closing options. Ofc we have Romano but if he goes down I'm not confident. Bullpen cost this team the playoffs last year and it still hasn't really been fully adressed but we do have more depth. We need to go make a trade for a Barlow or Clase type. I would love to add at least 2 high ends relievers and a big lefty bat. I'll take one of Freeman or Scwarber and fix the bullpen. For 3B you can use Espinal, Gurriel Jr and Gurrerro at times if necessary and maybe develop Moreno for 3B. We can fill 3B internally.
And now he is reporting that the teams are finalizing a trade
inthe6ix
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weems
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- Jul 3, 2008
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One thing Chapman does is drastically upgrade our defensive ability.
No doubt we can mash and our starting pitching looks to be quite strong but our team defence still needs to show its championship caliber.
No doubt we can mash and our starting pitching looks to be quite strong but our team defence still needs to show its championship caliber.
inthe6ix
Registered User
Curious about the players going the other way.
Apparently Baerga said 2 prospects, and there’s a tweet claiming Kevin Smith is part of the package.
Apparently Baerga said 2 prospects, and there’s a tweet claiming Kevin Smith is part of the package.
LOVE his glove, hopefully his bat recovers, should put up better numbers just hitting in the AL East.
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