Blue Jays Discussion: Off-Season Pt III | Winter meetings are over. Still waiting for stuff to happen

[kb]

Live look at Atkins outside of Rogers Centre right now

Hahahahaha!

 

[TheMadHatTrick]

Live look at Atkins outside of Rogers Centre right now

Not quite what I meant when I said Atkins needed more testosterone in his negotiating ability but I'll take it.

Check out the soup strainer btw. Looking rugged. lol

 

[The Nemesis]

Report: Cleveland's MLB team will drop 'Indians' from its name

Cleveland is planning on ditching the "Indians" name in an announcement that could come as soon as this week as the latest sports organization deciding to do away with nicknames based around controversial native american imagery. There's no word yet on what the timeline is for the name change and what potential replacements might be. This comes a year after they retired the Chief Wahoo logo from their caps and all other team livery and less than a year after perhaps the only other major North American sports franchise to get more scorn than them for their choice of nickname, the club now known as the Washington Football Team, did away with their name ahead of the current NFL season.

I post this news myself so that I can also put in a friendly reminder that while this is valid MLB news, it will not be permitted to turn into a discussion/argument on the nature of racism, the appropriateness/inappropriateness of this or any other sports nickname, or any sort of referendum on political correctness or the like. As is the norm for HF, political discussion is against the site rules and that includes social topics that are inexorably linked to politically charged issues in a way that doesn't directly intersect with relevant sport-based discussion (ie using the name change news to complain about other socio-politicla issues or to lament "PC culture" or "snowflakes" or the like.)

The tl;dr version is that if you make a post on this topic after this one and it ends up vanishing after the fact then you probably violated the above and are best served by moving on.

I thank everyone for their understanding and compliance on this matter.

 

[Discoverer]

It should have happened a long time ago, but at least it's happening.

Cleveland Spiders!

 

[Bjindaho]

It was only a matter of time before they got sued ala Redskins.

 

[Anthrax442]

Cleveland Cheapo-s

 

[Leafin]

Got a score update that we’re in the Sugano sweepstakes. Top pitcher award in Japan 2/3 years with this past season being runner up. Sign me up on that one as well.

really hoping that Ryu was the first of many big fish we lure from that side of the world. And yes I know he played for the dodgers for a while.

 

[Bjindaho]

The NY Post's Joel Sherman postulates that the Mets might ignore the big fish and sign nearly all of the 2nd tier to upgrade.

 

[FifthLine]

Got a score update that we’re in the Sugano sweepstakes. Top pitcher award in Japan 2/3 years with this past season being runner up. Sign me up on that one as well.

really hoping that Ryu was the first of many big fish we lure from that side of the world. And yes I know he played for the dodgers for a while.

Im not big on Sugano tbh. On the wrong side of 30. But even in terms of performance, he gives up to many hits for my liking, and doesn't strike out enough guys in a non mlb league.

 

[phillipmike]

 

[Discoverer]

Playing in Fenway, Renfroe could hit 40 HR with a sub-100 wRC+.

 

[Hoverhand]

The NY Post's Joel Sherman postulates that the Mets might ignore the big fish and sign nearly all of the 2nd tier to upgrade.

This smells fishy to me. All offseason we've been hearing about how Steve Cohen wants to throw money around, how Buster Olney is betting his family cottage on Springer to the Mets, and how Sandy Alderson wants Bauer but Cohen wants Springer.

I think that the Mets want to force Springer/Bauer's hand into hurrying up and deciding. Seems way more likely than signing Odorizzi and JBJ then calling it a day.

 

[canucksfan]

Interesting read about the development complex in Dunedin.

At Blue Jays' development complex, prospects are making up for a lost 2020

 

[dredeye]

This smells fishy to me. All offseason we've been hearing about how Steve Cohen wants to throw money around, how Buster Olney is betting his family cottage on Springer to the Mets, and how Sandy Alderson wants Bauer but Cohen wants Springer.

I think that the Mets want to force Springer/Bauer's hand into hurrying up and deciding. Seems way more likely than signing Odorizzi and JBJ then calling it a day.

2nd tier guys are still going to be expensive. McCann instead of realmutto still cost them 10 per. Doing that around the diamond to fill in for now. It will make a stronger team. 2nd tier pitching this year could still be strong value.

 

[TheMadHatTrick]

Free Agent Notes: Sugano, Teheran, Semien

The Blue Jays and Rangers are among the teams interested in Tomoyuki Sugano, reports Jeff Passan of ESPN. They join the previously-reported Padres and Red Sox as known suitors for the 31-year-old. Sugano has spent the past eight seasons with the Yomiuri Giants of Nippon Professional Baseball, where he’s generally been brilliant. He sports a career ERA of 2.32 at Japan’s highest level. Sugano was excellent as ever in 2020, tossing 137.1 innings of 1.97 ball, backed up by a strong combination of 8.6 K/9 against 1.6 BB/9.

Top Japanese Pitcher Sugano Could Be MLB Free Agent

At age 32, he's probably looking a 3 year deal @ $7-$8M per season. 3/$25M could be a smart deal for some team.

I'm a bit gun-shy after the Yamaguchi signing, but think Sugano could be a low risk, high-reward signing like Ha-Seong Kim, in that his baseline skillset and tool suggest he's at least a #4 starter (utility man for Kim), so if you end up paying him 7-8M a season and he becomes a #2/3 you got a real steal.

While I'm not as sanguine as the scouts who think he could be a #2 (cause I don't see the depth of repetoire), he does have a high spin fastball and slider and a deceptive delivery that could play up with good coaching, and possibly make him a solid #3 for half the price it would cost to get an Odorizzi type.

 

[Jozay]

 

[Jozay]

Cleveland Cheapo-s

Im assuming they finally made the change because they needed the money. COVID probably accelerated the process.

Still, it was long overdue.

 

[TheMadHatTrick]

That's a brutally bad name unless it's just temporary.

 

[Leafin]

Terrible name

 

[Da Cool Rula]

This smells fishy to me. All offseason we've been hearing about how Steve Cohen wants to throw money around, how Buster Olney is betting his family cottage on Springer to the Mets, and how Sandy Alderson wants Bauer but Cohen wants Springer.

I think that the Mets want to force Springer/Bauer's hand into hurrying up and deciding. Seems way more likely than signing Odorizzi and JBJ then calling it a day.

Maybe just maybe the Blue Jays are offering these guys more, leaving them to wait it out.

 

[Man Bear Pig]

Just call them the Cleveland Human Beings.

 

[dredeye]

I heard when they announced it that they likely won’t do the true name change this year and go with a generic one like the Cleveland baseball club until the 2022 season when the new name comes out. Not sure how you finally make this decision and still be unprepared but I think whatever they go by this year is likely temporary

 

[Canada4Gold]

I heard when they announced it that they likely won’t do the true name change this year and go with a generic one like the Cleveland baseball club until the 2022 season when the new name comes out. Not sure how you finally make this decision and still be unprepared but I think whatever they go by this year is likely temporary

Didn't they say they were going to keep the Indians name until they determine the replacement. I swear I saw that somewhere on twitter today, but no idea who from.

 

[Dr.Funk]

 

[AllDay28]

My fav is how awkward social media has made everyone. Up in arms over a sports name like they haven’t changed before

Wonder if people lost their minds when the Toronto Arenas changed their name .. to the St.Pats ... to the Maple Leafs