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Sportsnet's Shi Davidi says the Toronto Blue Jays have offered arbitration to four of the five players eligible to receive it.

Blue Jays arbitration-eligibles Kelly Johnson, Frank Francisco, Jon Rauch, Jose Molina and Shawn Camp are joined by a curious mascot.



By offering arbitration to Johnson, Francisco, Rauch and Molina - the Jays stand to receive up to eight picks in the first two rounds of the 2012 amateur draft if all four players leave the nest.  The Associated Press lists other notable players who are being offered a roast beef sandwich.

Other headlines...
  • Jays catcher J.P. Arencibia tries his hand at hockey.
  • Chris Creamer of Sportslogos.net says the Jays new look is continuing to generate rave reviews.
  • The Boston Red Sox do not understand that no means no when it comes to Jays skipper John Farrell.
  • Lefty Bruce Chen, who was with the Blue Jays in 2003 but never pitched for them, has signed a two-year deal to remain in Kansas City.
  • Outfielder Grady Sizemore has re-upped with Cleveland on a one-year contract.
  • ESPN's Jim Caple has a feature on late Mariners outfielder Greg Halman.
  • Kanye West was reportedly wearing a Jays cap at the end of his concert with Jay-Z at the Air Canada Centre Wednesday night.
  • Ballpark Digest looks at Ottawa's chances of getting affiliated ball in 2013.
Finally, a Happy Thanksgiving to our neighbours south of the border.  I'd be especially thankful if my Detroit Lions can pull off an upset and beat the Green Bay Packers this afternoon!  :D
Jays Offer Dinner For 4 At Arby's! | 22 comments | Create New Account
The following comments are owned by whomever posted them. This site is not responsible for what they say.
92-93 - Thursday, November 24 2011 @ 09:52 AM EST (#247243) #
The word last night (@DavidWaldstein) was that AA asked for Buchholz as compensation for Farrell. Might as well aim high.

Mike Green - Thursday, November 24 2011 @ 09:55 AM EST (#247244) #
As expected, Roy Oswalt was not offered arbitration.  He is definitely on the list of interesting starting pitchers. 
John Northey - Thursday, November 24 2011 @ 10:01 AM EST (#247245) #
Heh. If Boston really, really wants Farrell then I'd take Buchholz in exchange :) I'd consider Jacoby Ellsbury, Adrian Gonzalez, Kevin Youkilis, and Jon Lester as well.

I bet that call was quite funny to hear what the Sox said in response. Probably nothing repeatable on a family web site.
mathesond - Thursday, November 24 2011 @ 10:37 AM EST (#247247) #
I'm sure the Sox are willing to flip whatever Theo comp they get from the Cubs for Farrell. But unless Shaughnessy gets his wish, it won't be Matt Garza
ayjackson - Thursday, November 24 2011 @ 10:50 AM EST (#247249) #
Bucholz for Farrell would be a fantastic first move for the post-Theo era.  It would really draw the line.
ayjackson - Thursday, November 24 2011 @ 10:52 AM EST (#247250) #
I don't think I want Rauch or Camp on next year's staff, but would prefer Camp in a mop-up role.  Not sure why they'd offer the higher paid player arb.  Maybe Camp said he'd accept arb.
Mike Green - Thursday, November 24 2011 @ 11:43 AM EST (#247252) #
Um, I don't know how to say this nicely, but if the ballplayers were out-of-uniform with those faces, you'd swear that it was for a line-up of another kind. 
greenfrog - Thursday, November 24 2011 @ 02:47 PM EST (#247255) #
What is the deadline for the Arby's bunch to decide re: their arbitration offers?
sam - Thursday, November 24 2011 @ 02:51 PM EST (#247256) #
December 7, 2011 I believe. Winter Meetings Dec. 5-8, 2011.
James W - Thursday, November 24 2011 @ 03:31 PM EST (#247257) #
No, it's November 30.
JB21 - Thursday, November 24 2011 @ 06:04 PM EST (#247258) #
Evidence that the new CBA isn't as great for the Red Sox as people think. The draft picks that they got back for their FA's that have departed have made quite an impact on their major league team.

http://www.weei.com/sports/boston/baseball/red-sox/alex-speier/2011/11/24/value-letting-them-walk-how-red-sox-have-done-
JB21 - Thursday, November 24 2011 @ 06:07 PM EST (#247259) #
Also, I thought that this already happened but when I saw we offered Jose arbitration I had wondered if it had fallen through.

Molina will obtain us a draft pick next year.

http://www.cbc.ca/sports/baseball/mlb/story/2011/11/24/sp-mlb-molina-rays-freeagent.html
melondough - Thursday, November 24 2011 @ 06:19 PM EST (#247260) #

I have already read http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2011/11/modified-procedure-for-type-a-free-agents.html but still have questions regarding the Modified Type A free agents.  Can someone please confirm if the following is correct? 

1) If a team signs Kelly Johnson then the Jays will get a 1st round pick in the slot 1 spot BEFORE the signing team + a supplementary pick

2) If a team with one of the first 10 picks signs Johnson then the Jays will get a pick slotted in the 2nd round instead (as opposed to one of the worst 15 teams being "protected" as it was in prior drafts)?

3) Would the Jays best case scenario be the Oakland A's signing Johnson because they finished with the 11th worst record?  Would this give the Jays the 11th pick overall?

4) Anyone know what would happen if a team like Oakland signs Johnson and another Modified "A" like Madson or Heath Bell?  Would the Jays get pick 11 and Phillies or Padres get pick 12 (or visa versa) or would one of those two teams have their compensation pick dropped to the 2nd round?  Would they still use Elias to rank which player is ranked higher in such a case?

So many questions with all of these changes - thanks!

TamRa - Thursday, November 24 2011 @ 06:20 PM EST (#247261) #
This is what I was saying and was disputed:

A question from the MLBTR chat and the reply-

Comment From Troy
There is conflicting out there about the Modified Type "A's". If the Blue Jays offer KJ arb and he declines do the Jays get a 1st round pick, no matter who signs him, or are the top 10 protected and the jays get a 2nd round pick?

2:37
This applies to KJ, straight from the MLBPA:

A Club that signs one of the following six Type A Players shall not forfeit a regular Draft choice to the Player’s former Club. If the Player’s former Club offers the player arbitration, and the Player declines the offer, the former Club shall receive: (a) a draft choice in the same round and immediately prior to the draft choice that the signing Club otherwise would have forfeited, and (b) a compensation round selection.

NOTHING in that about "except the top 10 (or 15) picks.

TamRa - Thursday, November 24 2011 @ 06:28 PM EST (#247263) #
OOOOOORRR....

The phrase "otherwise would have forfeited" means that since the Twins, for instance, would not otherwise have forfeited their first round pick then that's not the pick to which they refer.

you have to hire a lawyer to parse this crap out.
melondough - Thursday, November 24 2011 @ 06:31 PM EST (#247264) #

Thanks Tamra.

The top 10 must be protected or the Jays could easily call Houston and ask them to sign Johnson and then take 2 or 3 very overpriced players off their hands.  Houston only loses one spot in the draft (from spot 1 to spot 2) and gets rid of a couple very over priced players (like a Vernon Wells or Juan Rivera equivalent - as a hypothetical).  Yeah slightly colusive IF it can be proven.

Top 10 must be protected.  Can anyone confirm this?  Also still no mention what happens if the same team signs two modified type A players.

TamRa - Thursday, November 24 2011 @ 06:34 PM EST (#247265) #
melondough, a couple of things:

1. I get the impression that this year it's still the top 15, not the top 10, who are protected (that's next year)

2. If you sign two ranked free agents, the picks are still handled according to their rankings this year I think.

Say, for instance, the Nationals (#16) sign both Johnson and Madson.

If the clause that I noted in my previous post - " a draft choice in the same round and immediately prior to the draft choice that the signing Club otherwise would have forfeited" - SEEMS to imply that the Phillies would get #16 (and Washington 16a) and the Jays would get the 2nd round pick (whatever that turns out to be...let's say #80) and the Nats 80a

greenfrog - Thursday, November 24 2011 @ 06:48 PM EST (#247266) #
This was covered somewhat in the other thread, but the more I think about it, the more the "dinner for four at Arby's" makes sense. With the new draft constraints, having extra early-round picks could be a significant advantage.

Basically, the Jays can use their large number of selections (ideally, they will have 16 picks in the first ten rounds) to draft the best, most talented, highest-upside players possible - players like Beede, Norris, Dean, Stilson, et al. With the new draft cap rules, AA will have a powerful negotiating advantage. He can plan on signing around 8-12 of those players (obviously, aiming for those players he likes best) - this would constitute a successful draft.

The 16 draftees, seeing that the Jays will be able to afford only some of them, will have a strong incentive to cut a deal quickly (assuming that they receive a reasonable offer), knowing that if they wait too long, they could be left out in the cold or end up with inferior offers.

To some extent, these negotiating strategies existed under the previous rules, but this type of game theory would seem to be even more applicable with the new constraints.
JB21 - Friday, November 25 2011 @ 09:02 AM EST (#247268) #

I'm assuming that we still receive compensation picks for unsigned 1st and 2nd round picks in the new CBA as well?

Flex - Friday, November 25 2011 @ 01:37 PM EST (#247271) #
Thanks TamRa, that's the phrasing I was looking for in the other thread.
Richard S.S. - Friday, November 25 2011 @ 07:36 PM EST (#247281) #

1. I get the impression that this year it's still the top 15, not the top 10, who are protected (that's next year)

No, IMO the 15 protected disappear with this year's CBA.  The new CBA, which they're effectively using right now, only allows 10 protected picks (unless I read the one from MLB wrong,  too much "Lawyer-speak").  They've made clear what carries over and what doesn't and a draft signing cap is what's next year.  As for 2. I don't know well enough to comment.

melondough - Sunday, November 27 2011 @ 04:15 PM EST (#247332) #
Tamra I think the answer to num 2 is that it goes in reverse order based on the team that loses the player. So if the jays lose Johnson to Oakland (one can only hope for pick 11) but Oakland also signs Heath bell then sd gets pick 11 because they finished lower in the standings. I get the impression that this is how it works for the unew type A's and not based on the individual players ranking against one another. That said I could be wrong. After all I am not a lawyer.
Jays Offer Dinner For 4 At Arby's! | 22 comments | Create New Account
The following comments are owned by whomever posted them. This site is not responsible for what they say.