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

[Bjindaho]

Would Springer be our lead off hitter like he was in Houston? Or would we push him down the order abit, maybe 3rd or 4th?

Optimally, he hits 1 or 3 depending on who else we sign

 

[Discoverer]

An optimized lineup would have Springer in the 2 spot since he would easily be the best hitter on the team. (I was going to pre-complain about what Montoyo would likely do here, but outside of the games where he inexplicably had Teoscar and Biggio in the 8-spot and giving Shaw too much rope in the middle of the order, his lineup construction was mostly pretty good, particularly in the second half of the season).

Assuming no other major additions (i.e. Vladdy at 3B, Rowdy at 1B, one of the OF at DH):

Biggio - no-brainer
Springer - no-brainer
Bichette/Teoscar/Gurriel in whatever order
Vlad - he'll be in the 3/4 spot by mid season because he's going to be awesome, but should probably start lower
Rowdy
Grichuk
Jansen

 

[Bjindaho]

An optimized lineup would have Springer in the 2 spot since he would easily be the best hitter on the team. (I was going to pre-complain about what Montoyo would likely do here, but outside of the games where he inexplicably had Teoscar and Biggio in the 8-spot and giving Shaw too much rope in the middle of the order, his lineup construction was mostly pretty good, particularly in the second half of the season).

Assuming no other major additions (i.e. Vladdy at 3B, Rowdy at 1B, one of the OF at DH):

Biggio - no-brainer
Springer - no-brainer
Bichette/Teoscar/Gurriel in whatever order
Vlad - he'll be in the 3/4 spot by mid season because he's going to be awesome, but should probably start lower
Rowdy
Grichuk
Jansen

My bad on Springer

Personally, I would like to see:
Biggio
Springer
Gurriel
Vlad
Teoscar
Bo
Rowdy
Grichuk
Jansen

Of course a second position player acquisition blows this up.

 

[canucksfan]

That lineup could easily be a top-five offence in the league.

 

[BlueForever75]

Something tells me that we are going to end up with Springer. And it wont end there. I would say if Springer comes we will also get Realmuto. That lineup will be top 3 in the AL if not entire MLB.

In turn we will flip Jansen and others in a deal for a quality starter.

That is my prediction.

 

[smitty10]

Something tells me that we are going to end up with Springer. And it wont end there. I would say if Springer comes we will also get Realmuto. That lineup will be top 3 in the AL if not entire MLB.

In turn we will flip Jansen and others in a deal for a quality starter.

That is my prediction.

Love this. If we can add Realmuto, Springer, Snell (Jansen trade) and another reliever or two we'll be an amazing team. If we can manage to get Lindor as well for something based around Teoscar we'd probably be the best team in baseball.

Not sure if the budget is there for all that though.

 

[phillipmike]

Bichette: LeMahieu is 'best hitter' in baseball

“From my understanding, a lot of the free agents feel really strongly about us, too,” Bichette said. “I will say this. I think DJ LeMahieu is the best hitter in baseball and I don’t even really think it’s close from what I’ve seen. He’s probably the No. 1 player I’d want to play with in the league. If that would happen, that would be awesome for us, but either way our team’s pretty good already. I’m confident we’ll compete.”

From the same article:

Boras on the Jays:

Holding his annual “Winter Meetings” availability recently, MLB agent Scott Boras addressed how the Blue Jays have changed in recent years. Once a regular critic of the club’s offseasons, Boras and Toronto seem to have a much stronger relationship now.

Austin Martin, Toronto’s No. 5 overall Draft pick and No. 2 prospect (per MLB Pipeline) is a Boras client, along with Hyun Jin Ryu, who the Blue Jays signed to a four-year, $80 million deal last winter.

“This year, they are able and assertive about what they want to get done,” Boras said. “They really feel this is a now time for them. I said before that they built the lamp and now they’re looking for the right lightbulbs. I think they’re in ready pursuit of a group of players that they think can be additions to the core they’ve built. I think they’re very confident that those additions will lead them to levels that they haven’t been at for some time.”

Jays bring back SS Richard Urena:

Infielder Richard Urena has agreed to a Minor League deal with the Blue Jays that includes an invitation to Spring Training, according to MLB.com’s Jesse Sanchez. The deal has not yet been made official by the club.

 

[Cor]

Do we see Austin Martin playing AA or AAA to start?

 

[Discoverer]

Since joining the Yankees, LeMahieu has a 183 wRC+ at home and 112 on the road.

I like him a lot as a fit for the Jays, but if he's going to get paid like the nearly 150 wRC+ player he's been over the last two years, I think the signing team is going to be extremely disappointed when he ends up being an above average hitter and nothing more.

A ~115 wRC+ from a solid defensive 2B is a great asset to have... as long as he's not being paid to do a lot more than that.

 

[canucksfan]

Since joining the Yankees, LeMahieu has a 183 wRC+ at home and 112 on the road.

I like him a lot as a fit for the Jays, but if he's going to get paid like the nearly 150 wRC+ player he's been over the last two years, I think the signing team is going to be extremely disappointed when he ends up being an above average hitter and nothing more.

A ~115 wRC+ from a solid defensive 2B is a great asset to have... as long as he's not being paid to do a lot more than that.

Plus a four or five year deal could be bad especially towards the end of the contract.

 

[canucksfan]

Do we see Austin Martin playing AA or AAA to start?

My guess is AA. They are usually really hesitant for promotions.

 

[Discoverer]

Do we see Austin Martin playing AA or AAA to start?

The lack of a minor league season means it's pretty much impossible to predict where guys will play next year. I think these decisions are going to be fascinating.

I would guess Martin and Groshans both start in AA, but I honestly have no clue what to expect.

 

[BlueForever75]

Love this. If we can add Realmuto, Springer, Snell (Jansen trade) and another reliever or two we'll be an amazing team. If we can manage to get Lindor as well for something based around Teoscar we'd probably be the best team in baseball.

Not sure if the budget is there for all that though.

I think that if we get Realmuto and Springer it will take us out of the Lindor trade this season. We will look into signing him next off season when he and Story will be available.

Although I would love to add Snell, I believe that he would not be traded inter division. The ask for one would be huge, and the Rays dont want any part having to deal with him 2-3 times a year and possibly playoffs. But I wouldnt be against it if we didnt sell the farm for him.

A trade for someone like Carrasco (Cleveland), Musgrove (Pirates), Sonny Gray (Reds) or Darvish (Cubs) might be options.

 

[phillipmike]

 

[smitty10]

Blue Jays must be pushing hard for him. Maybe this is the first sneak peak of him in his new colours!

 

[Emerica]

He has posted a lot about the Blue Jays tbh. This tweet below, now this video. If you look on his twitter feed and his youtube channel, its not like he makes these posts about every team. Why would he single out the Blue Jays out of all the potential suitors?

Probably looking too much into it but it feels like he's trying to get the pulse of the fanbase. Interesting tho

 

[canucksfan]

He might just be trolling the fanbase.

 

[phillipmike]

Blue Jays must be pushing hard for him. Maybe this is the first sneak peak of him in his new colours!

Ive been told this is the first time he has worn the hat of a team that is interested in him.

If you are Bauer, the Jays are the perfect fit for you. Young team with little commitments. They can sign you and still add top players year after year. Their window is wide open with a team that needs pitchers. You can be seen as the ace on a WS team which would be huge for his brand. If Bauer gets hurt or flames out, they Jays have money and elite prospects coming - the team can carry him a la Zito. Plus you know this front office, and you know they have the history of developing pitching so reinforcements are coming. Top 5 offense with Bauer likely means the best top 3 rotation in the AL in Bauer, Ryu and Pearson as it stands imo.

Its a win-win for him. Jays are the perfect fit for him short term and long term.

Its just depends if the FO wants him and wants to spend the money.

 

[hockeywiz542]

 

[Canada4Gold]

I still can't not think of drones when I think of Trevor Bauer

 

[GreytWun]

That finger was leaking like a faucet.

 

[Bjindaho]

Too bad Sportsnet couldn't be bothered to actually validate the tax implications.

If the player lives in the US and only comes to Canada to play, he might not be subject to our tax system at all.

 

[Bjindaho]

I would honestly be okay with any term Bauer would want, whether it be 1 year or 2+

 

[phillipmike]

Each team's best all-time Draft pick

Blue Jays: Roy Halladay, RHP (1st round, No. 17 overall, 1995)
Selected by Toronto out of the Colorado prep ranks, Halladay earned eight All-Star nods, tossed a pair of perfect games and won the Cy Young in both leagues during his 16-year career, capturing the prestigious award with Toronto (2003) and Philadelphia (2010). The right-hander was posthumously inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2019.

 

[Man Bear Pig]

Ive been told this is the first time he has worn the hat of a team that is interested in him.

If you are Bauer, the Jays are the perfect fit for you. Young team with little commitments. They can sign you and still add top players year after year. Their window is wide open with a team that needs pitchers. You can be seen as the ace on a WS team which would be huge for his brand. If Bauer gets hurt or flames out, they Jays have money and elite prospects coming - the team can carry him a la Zito. Plus you know this front office, and you know they have the history of developing pitching so reinforcements are coming. Top 5 offense with Bauer likely means the best top 3 rotation in the league in Bauer, Ryu and Pearson as it stands imo.

Its a win-win for him. Jays are the perfect fit for him short term and long term.

Its just depends if the FO wants him and wants to spend the money.

It would be pretty dumb to not spend the money on Bauer given he's a guy who looks for 1 year deals. If we walked away this off-season with Bauer and Paxton on one year contracts and didnt do much else, I'd be happy. That would be one of the best rotations in baseball.