Blue Jays Discussion: Save some runs for the other games, guys. (Jays score team record 28 runs in Friday night drubbing of Red Sox. Yes, that says 28. In one game)

[Bjindaho]

True, he's not the 4th outfielder. He's the 5th outfielder (Biggio has been in the OF only 6 times this season). He has 7 hits in his 21 starts with the team. Think about how bad that is for offensive production. He has started 22% of the team's games.

Edit: Although check this out, the team's record when Zimmer has started: 14-7

Two things:

1) Montoyo was overplaying him. There's no reason for him to have started 12ish games up to May 7th. I'm having trouble finding info on which games he started. He has 13PA this month (including 2 in the Boston game).

2) If we were comfortable having him a pinch run/D option, then we were also comfortable pinch hitting for him on days where he starts.

 

[Eyedea]

2022 Trade Value: #21 to #30

The latest installment of the series features two sets of players with near-identical resumes. It also features two players who are listed consecutively but who might be the most dissimilar good…

blogs.fangraphs.com

27. Alejandro Kirk
21. Bo Bichette

Still no Vladdy or Manoah. Really surprised Moreno hasn't shown up! With his surplus value he should've at least been top 40, let alone an HM. A top 20 candidate though? I'm surprised. ZiPS really likes him going forward, with a 1.5-2.0 fWAR in ~57 games a year through his age 22-24 seasons. Riley Greene, Francisco Alvarez, Oneil Cruz, Corbin Carroll, Eury Perez, Gunnar Henderson, and Jordan Walker have all already been named. Moreno's ZiPS projections outclass them on a per game ratio so I can't see him not being featured unless Clemens just completely forgot about him.

 

[Eyedea]

Two things:

1) Montoyo was overplaying him. There's no reason for him to have started 12ish games up to May 7th. I'm having trouble finding info on which games he started. He has 13PA this month (including 2 in the Boston game).

2) If we were comfortable having him a pinch run/D option, then we were also comfortable pinch hitting for him on days where he starts.

There was a time where Teo was on the DL, Springer was banged up every other game, Tapia was bad, and Gurriel was struggling.

 

[Bjindaho]

There was a time where Teo was on the DL, Springer was banged up every other game, Tapia was bad, and Gurriel was struggling.

And at that time, we were still complaining about usage. Whether it was Biggio available, Katoh available, calling up a 3rd catcher with Jansen out, there were some extremely suspect decisions regarding that spot.

The other problem was resting Springer on days where other guys weren't available (it happened once or twice with Gurriel).

 

[stats1]

Rizzo this morning said he has no plans on diluting value to a trade by adding a bad contract (Corbin).

 

[Bjindaho]

I wonder if a Toronto-NYY trade could work? Gallo is clearly not working for them (and he's expensive), so he is a potential burden on any deadline plans that they have. He hits left and could potentially turn things around in a different environment.

Obviously, I wouldn't offer anything of great value.

 

[stats1]

I wonder if a Toronto-NYY trade could work? Gallo is clearly not working for them (and he's expensive), so he is a potential burden on any deadline plans that they have. He hits left and could potentially turn things around in a different environment.

Obviously, I wouldn't offer anything of great value.

Gallo is a black hole in any line-up

 

[Bjindaho]

Gallo is a black hole in any line-up

You realize that he was a 4.4 fWAR player last year?

 

[Suntouchable13]

I wonder if a Toronto-NYY trade could work? Gallo is clearly not working for them (and he's expensive), so he is a potential burden on any deadline plans that they have. He hits left and could potentially turn things around in a different environment.

Obviously, I wouldn't offer anything of great value.

This post sounds like you’re trying to help them relieve some of that burden, why would we do that? Gallo is no guarantee to succeed

 

[Bjindaho]

This post sounds like you’re trying to help them relieve some of that burden, why would we do that? Gallo is no guarantee to succeed

Because looking at Gallo's batted ball numbers, it appears that he is having the exact problem that Clint Frazier criticized the Yankees hitting coaches over (ie, they are telling him to pull everything thinking that it will create more power and it is actually creating more soft contact).

 

[MAB1]

Rather not free up the Yankees $$ and remove one of their worst hitters from their lineup. Clint Frazier hasn't exactly done great with the Cubs this year after his whole bashing of the NYY hitting coaches.

 

[canucksfan]

I see no need for Gallo on the Jays. Doesn't fit at all.

 

[justashadowof]

The Yankees almost have the luxury of giving Gallo more time to break out. Definitely someone to consider if the Yankees release him.

When is the last time a team won the World Series without at least one (big) lefthanded bat in the starting lineup? The Blue Jays really should find a way to add one.

 

[canucksfan]

Looking at the WC standings, I think the only team the Jays have to worry about is the Mariners and maybe the White Sox. With the injuries the Rays have, I don't think they will make a run for it.

 

[Seath The Scaleless]

You realize that he was a 4.4 fWAR player last year?

And he has been a tire fire this year. K% up, BB% down, SwStr% way up, getting destroyed by Sliders, EV down, defense not as good.....

Hard pass.

 

[Bjindaho]

And he has been a tire fire this year. K% up, BB% down, SwStr% way up, getting destroyed by Sliders, EV down, defense not as good.....

Hard pass.

It was put out a question because while I think he could turn it around, a trade would come with significant risks for both sides.

 

[stats1]

You realize that he was a 4.4 fWAR player last year?

Who’s talking about last year?

Who’s talking about last year? As a Jays fan I’m trying to think why the organization would help out the Yankees taking him off their hands.

 

[Tufted Titmouse]

Just say no to Gallo (and helping the Yanks).

 

[Eyedea]

The Yankees almost have the luxury of giving Gallo more time to break out. Definitely someone to consider if the Yankees release him.

When is the last time a team won the World Series without at least one (big) lefthanded bat in the starting lineup? The Blue Jays really should find a way to add one.

2018 Red Sox? I wouldn't classify their lefties (Benintendi, JBJr, Holt) as "big" bats as they're rather similar offensively to Biggio and Tapia. Same goes for the 2017 Astros where Marwin Gonzalez (switch hitter), Reddick, and McCann were all trash in the postseason.

 

[Eyedea]

And at that time, we were still complaining about usage. Whether it was Biggio available, Katoh available, calling up a 3rd catcher with Jansen out, there were some extremely suspect decisions regarding that spot.

The other problem was resting Springer on days where other guys weren't available (it happened once or twice with Gurriel).

It's called pedigree. At the time Biggio was on COVID-IL and after that was optioned to AAA. Katoh, Capra, and whoever else did not offer the same potential that Zimmer did (league average bat against righties in 2021, above average defensively in CF). There wasn't a better opportunity than then to see what they had with him and he didn't seize the opportunity.

 

[Discoverer]

There was a time where Teo was on the DL, Springer was banged up every other game, Tapia was bad, and Gurriel was struggling.

Yep. The Jays have played 70 games since Teoscar came off the DL... Zimmer has started 10 of them (2 of which were part of a double-header).

It was a lot more frustrating when Tapia was playing like garbage too, but there's plenty of value in having a late-game defensive replacement and pinch runner, especially when the playoffs come around. Remember Terrance Gore?

 

[justashadowof]

2018 Red Sox? I wouldn't classify their lefties (Benintendi, JBJr, Holt) as "big" bats as they're rather similar offensively to Biggio and Tapia. Same goes for the 2017 Astros where Marwin Gonzalez (switch hitter), Reddick, and McCann were all trash in the postseason.

You're focusing too much on "big" which I put in brackets for a reason. Boston had 5-6 left handed bats to start against right handed pitching. What a bad counter example. The "big" comes into play where there's only one or two lefthanded bats.

Houston faced a ton of lefthanded starting pitching in that post season. Of course their modest lefthanded hitting didn't produce as well. It got them there and would have had the potential to have an effect against different rotations with more righthanded starters.

Next question: when is the last WS champion that didn't have at least one lefthanded starter? I'm going to say the 2015 KC Royals who didn't really use its lone lefty starter as a starter in the post season. I believe this is once in a decade.

Conclusion: This team needs some tweaking. And they've got the assets in the farm system to do it in my opinion.

 

[TheBeastCoast]

You're focusing too much on "big" which I put in brackets for a reason. Boston had 5-6 left handed bats to start against right handed pitching. What a bad counter example. The "big" comes into play where there's only one or two lefthanded bats.

Houston faced a ton of lefthanded starting pitching in that post season. Of course their modest lefthanded hitting didn't produce as well. It got them there and would have had the potential to have an effect against different rotations with more righthanded starters.

Next question: when is the last WS champion that didn't have at least one lefthanded starter? I'm going to say the 2015 KC Royals who didn't really use its lone lefty starter as a starter in the post season. I believe this is once in a decade.

Conclusion: This team needs some tweaking. And they've got the assets in the farm system to do it in my opinion.

Our right handed hitters crush right handed pitching. Would it be nice to pick up a impact bat from the left side? Sure. Am I worried about Vlad because he is a right hand hitter and we will see lots of righties in the playoffs? Not particularly.

 

[MAB1]

The Yankees almost have the luxury of giving Gallo more time to break out. Definitely someone to consider if the Yankees release him.

When is the last time a team won the World Series without at least one (big) lefthanded bat in the starting lineup? The Blue Jays really should find a way to add one.

The 2011 St. Louis Cardinals closest thing to a lefty power bat was switch-hitting Lance Berkman. Pujols, Molina, Holliday, Freese, etc were all righties. The 2006 Cardinals was even more dramatic as they didn't have Berkman, their best left-handed hitter was Jim Edmonds who was barely producing at starter level at that point.

The logic behind having a left-handed power bat in a traditional sense is so they can crush right-handed pitching, the Jays lineup already does that even while being full of righties.

 

[Eyedea]

You're focusing too much on "big" which I put in brackets for a reason. Boston had 5-6 left handed bats to start against right handed pitching. What a bad counter example. The "big" comes into play where there's only one or two lefthanded bats.

Houston faced a ton of lefthanded starting pitching in that post season. Of course their modest lefthanded hitting didn't produce as well. It got them there and would have had the potential to have an effect against different rotations with more righthanded starters.

Next question: when is the last WS champion that didn't have at least one lefthanded starter? I'm going to say the 2015 KC Royals who didn't really use its lone lefty starter as a starter in the post season. I believe this is once in a decade.

Conclusion: This team needs some tweaking. And they've got the assets in the farm system to do it in my opinion.

And the Jays have the best OPS against RHP, 3rd in wRC+ marginally behind the Dodgers and Yanks. I think you're focusing too much on "handedness" when they've been suboptimal against left handed pitching. Kirk, Springer, Bichette, and Gurriel all well below their career marks against lefties.

Not sure how your next question relates. Teams more often than not utilize a lefty in their starting rotation, so your argument is to add more left handed hitters? I'm team Soto but I don't really care about how other teams built their rosters. I just want to add one of the best hitters in the league.

Edit: okay this was in reference to having Gausman/Manoah/Stripling/Berrios. Despite Ryu going down and Kikuchi being ineffective, the Jays have been relatively average to above average against lefty hitting. Gausman might as well be a lefty since his change up is his best pitch and he has reverse splits over his career. Stripling's of the same mould, though Manoah has been markedly less effective against lefties to date. I like Quintana as a buy but I'm not completely against Castillo or Lopez either since they have the pitch (change up) to get lefties out.