Jays are starting three of their best young Starters.

I've had my Phil of your puns, #2JB. I'm Collins you out this time!

Is Paulino the only guy brought up who hasn't played yet? Besides McGuire.

Great game even if we lose.

Paulino looks very interesting even without the high heat.
That's a  wicked curve.

McGuire does what you want from a backup. Good defense. One guy caught stealing.
Puts the ball in play.

jansen was nice, but i'm not sure there has ever been a prospect whose success would be more enjoyable for me than Rowdy's.

go Rowdy go.

The entire 40 man roster is either on the active roster or on the DL, with the exception of two players: Alford and Pompey.

Alford's absence may be due to a combination of his struggles at Triple-A this year and the Jays not wanting to burn a month of service time when he will probably not get many at-bats. It's still somewhat surprising, given that Smith Jr. and Davis got the call.

I think we all know why Pompey isn't, and won't, be called up.

I thought I read that Alford would be up when ready, implying he was just getting healthy.

Don't know if it was mentioned, but Chief Wahoo was removed from the Cleveland unis just for this series. Going back on when they play in Tampa next.

Nice to see Gibby getting all the kids in. Remember the vitriol when Jeroloman was called up a few years back, only to sit on the bench.

There was a lawsuit against Cleveland the last time they were in town that got thrown at the last moment and decided to avoid all the hooplah.

Interesting that there's some rumours about Donaldson's contract negotiations in the spring.
Why now? Atkins didn't want to talk about it. Neither did Donaldson.

Donaldson said in the spring that they were not in the same ballparks and decided to wait.
That goes against saying no numbers were exchanged.

I could see 3 years, 75M being too short for his liking, but the rate should have been good.
The ballparks, would have been the number of years.

I'm guessing there may have been informal discussions that had differing ballpark numbers, but no formal negotiations with actual numbers being exchanged.

I believe Donaldson's agent. I find it hard to believe that the Jays would have recently offered $75M to an injured, declining player who plays the same position as their top prospect. I'm not even sure they would have guaranteed him $18M with QO.

Frankly, Donaldson and his agent should be VERY GRATEFUL that the Jays traded him and removed any possibility of a QO. He'll be a true free agent and won't cost his next team a high draft pick. I'm sure there is some bitterness on Donaldson's side that a lucrative extension wasn't signed earlier - this season has cost him millons of dollars - although he's made $57M so far in his career, so I don't feel too THAT BAD for him.

Jays would have recently offered $75M

By recently, do you mean this past offseason? Because my assumption is that is when that number would have been spitballed by the Jays.

Statistical fun courtesy of Rowdy Tellez's first 5 PAs with the Blue Jays: his OBP .800, his slugging percentage .800, his IsoP .800 and his BABIP .800.  Don't know if he can keep it up for another 5 PAs, but I'm rooting for him!

I think a lot of this back and forth is the team and agent trying to define the narrative. I am sure the truth is somewhere in the middle.

Whoops.  His slugging percentage is 1.600; his batting average is .800. 

UO's gotta be champing at the bit to give us Tellez's WAR/650. Let me beat him to the punch: it's 39.0.

Chuck, you forgot to compare Tellez's WAR/650 to Mookie Betts' WAR/650.

And in that vein, this past offseason, a number of people here had pushed for signing Eduardo Nunez to fill our utility spot. Instead, the Jays traded for Solarte and the Red Sox signed Nunez.

Solarte Jays 471 PA's, -0.5 WAR
Nunez Red Sox 473 PA's -0.5 WAR

MLBPA on Vlad

http://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/24601004/mlbpa-says-toronto-blue-jays-failure-call-vladimir-guerrero-jr-bad-industry

This will be a story until 3 weeks into the season when Vlad is called up. If the MLBPA has a problem with this, maybe they should have negotiated the CBA differently. Bottom line is the MLBPA does not care about minor leaguers at all, and they just make noise like this when it politically helps them.

I think there are issues with the system, for sure, but the Jays are managing this exactly as they should. I don't know about you, but I'd prefer an extra year of peak Vlad, rather than a couple weeks of meaningless September Vlad.

Vlad Jr. got a large bonus and almost surely will be well paid in the long haul.  It sure would be nice if the MLBPA paid more attention to minor leaguers and even to pre-arbitration players who might never have enough service time to reach arbitration.  Rob Manfred has described minor leaguers as apprentices.  That is one way of looking at them, and if so, unions do have a role to play. 

Completely agreed.

"I don't know about you, but I'd prefer an extra year of peak Vlad, rather than a couple weeks of meaningless September Vlad."

we're just assuming that Vlad is gone as a free agent, then.

I guess that's a safe bet. We're a small market team after all.

By recently, do you mean this past offseason?

No, I meant "very recently", like this summer. However, I've re-read the Heyman article and I think I misunderstood the context of "recent" -- he was referring to the off-season and I would agree that a 3/$75 "ballpark discussion" was very conceivable at that time... (but not now).

Not at all. I'm simply referring to asset management. I realize how one could interpret my comment the way you did, but that's not at all what I meant.

What's missing in the Agent/Jays verbal?
1) They both talked about Term - even to each other. That I can remember seeing and hearing.
2) They both talked about Money - also with each other. That I can remember seeing and hearing.
3) The Agent was right. While there was discussion, there was never a formal/written offer exchanged between them.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. was asked at the beginning of his career with the Jays where he wanted to play. He said, "Third Base." Vladimir Guerrero Jr., 6'1" 200, averages 12 errors per year in his career. Josh Donaldson, 6'1" 210, averaged closer to 15 errors per game in his career. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is said to have a better arm. I think it's not about whether or not he can play the position, it's about whether or not he has enough experience (233 games) at the position.

Bit of a typo there..."15 errors per game"

So in 2018 we are measuring defensive ability by errors?

So in 2018 we are measuring defensive ability by errors?

Buck and Pat still do, which alone should be grounds for dismissal.

Vlad signing an extension will be problematic not just because of the Jays, but because The Jays will continue playing on turf for the foreseeable future.

Longoria has been cited by people as an example of a long term extension, but after 10 seasons in the Trop, he's become a shell of his former self at 32.

Yes, Thank You Gerry.

yeah at that point it may be too late, Mike.

and, notably, the angels never played around with Trout's service time. he came up when he earned it.

If the Jays sign Vladdy to a longterm deal, the Jays will still save money because it cost more to buy out FA years.

Buck and Pat still do, which alone should be grounds for dismissal.

So... I'm guessing you won't be lining up early on Sunday for your official "Buck Martinez Get Up Alarm Clock" (only 20,000 available!). Off topic, but this is such a lame promotion. There must have been a better option than this! Unless it's a hint or a retirement gift and he's about to get fired, in which case I'll let it slide.

Why would Vlad's agents want him playing longer than 7 years on the RC turf?

It wouldn't be an issue if he becomes a DH. The TO turf, by the way, is much higher quality than the TB turf.

“After Corey Kluber's Cy Young in 2014, Shapiro and Atkins signed him to an extension for 5 years, with team options for another 2. Cleveland truly is a small market club, and the $ were a little light but Kluber wanted to stay. “

Also, these are the kinds of players who are generally more open to extensions. Kluber was 29 and making 500K a year. He would have been a free agent at 33 or 34 anyhow. He had one breakout year so there was more risk for the team, this is similar to guys like Bautista and Encarnacion. You don’t see young stars signing extensions very often now. Extensions are something that needs to make sense for both parties and are usually a team paying less than market value for some immediate financial gain for the player,

Here is Rizzo after his extension:
"To take a little bit of a discount now, but its security for now [too]," Rizzo said at a news conference for the deal, "and a huge weight off my shoulders, my family's shoulders, my kids' shoulders, my grandkids' shoulders. It's a good feeling.”

Why would Vlad give the Jays a discount? He’s a multimillionaire already. Why would he pass over being a free agent at 27 and maybe getting a 10 year contract for being a free agent at 30? The Jays should try to sign him if it makes sense, but I don’t see it making any sense. It’s not about being a small club. Plenty of players don’t want to sign extensions and want to test free agency. Nationals spend a lot of money. Harper is still testing the waters. Betts hasn’t signed an extension yet and had gone to arbitration with the team two years in a row. Correa and Lindor apparently both declined extensions.

Never read anything implying Vlad wants to be a DH. I have heard he wants to play 3rd base.

And the Rogers turf is better than Tampa's sounds more like something Shatkins would say rather than something his agent would advise him.

Guerrero will be 26 when he becomes a free agent (27 in year 1 of his FA contract). He really has no incentive to sign an extension unless he's scared to bet on himself. Factor in the fact that his father was a millionaire and Vlad himself was signed to a pretty large signing bonus (by today's CBA standards), and I don't think he's hurting for cash.

That is why I really don't care about the optics of keeping him in the minors. That extra year in 2025 is way more important than a few days in September 2018. The Jays need to treat this as if they only have Vlad from May 2019 + six more years. If they sign him to a big extension after that, then great. But every year with him matters.

Yeah I can’t understand why fans would be mad at the FO for delaying Vlad. Disappointed sure, but mad, come on. It’s a no brainer given the rules and hauling him up early would be a pretty bad reflection of their decision making ability.

The comments by the players union simply underscore why Shapiro positioned it the way he did, though I’m sure the extra time to work on defence will be helpful.

"I’m sure the extra time to work on defence will be helpful."

Well, Shapiro has a pretty legitimate argument as to why Vlad isn't up now. Jays have a 40 man crunch, they've called up just about every kid on the 40 man to evaluate as much as possible, while still giving the vets (aka Union members) playing time to try to win ball games (which the Union felt was extremely important a few months back).

That excuse will helpfully give Shapiro extra time to work on defence of the decision to leave Vlad in Buffalo until late April.

He doesn't have to give them a discount to sign with the team when free agency hits.

I'm also not sure it's safe to assume that e has alot of money from his father.

Also, infielders at Rogers Centre play most of their time on the new dirt infield from 2015. So if the tuef is a real problem for Vlad or Tulo then it has to be the moments when they're running between the bases.

Not going to miss Gibby's hit-and-runs when he leaves.

To repeat, WARNING: boring.
Jays have Brandon Drury 3B/LF/2B/RF, Lourdes Gurriel Jr. SS/2B, Troy Tulowitzki SS, Devon Travis 2B, Aledmys Diaz SS/3B and a decision to make on Yangervis Solarte 3B/2B and Richard Urena SS/2B. That's seven Players for just five openings. Adding Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Bo Bichette to the mix now makes it nine Players for the same five openings.

“but i'm not sure there has ever been a prospect whose success would be more enjoyable for me than Rowdy's.”

And he keeps on going. Awesome.

Fans got their money's worth tonight.

Vladdy has 8 sibblings. He's going to be motivated to do better than his dad did.
Vlad made around 30M in 7 years in Montreal and then was signed by a Latino for substantially more.

Jr will be with many of the guys he's played with in the minors for all of his Blue Jays career.
He should be very comfortable in Toronto. It should be a lot of fun to watch.

One of the benefit of not having him here now is that he's not eclipsing all the other guys.
Like Tellez. Most extra bases in his first 3 games since Joe Dimaggio in 36. Amazing.

I think the stat was most doubles by a rookie in any 3 game stretch since DiMaggio.

The Jays and their Fans should be pleased. The Callups are feeling comfortable up here, playing well.

And one of those 3 games was just a pinch hit appearance. Tellez had 6 doubles in his first 8 plate appearances in the big leagues. I would be surprised if that has ever been done before.

Jose Fernandez has pretty good stuff. I can see how he was doing so well in his last 13 games for Buffalo.

Hopefully Tellez is the real deal. I remember the expectations for JPA after his great start..

Tellez certainly looks like the real deal vs RHP's. Oliver Perez gave him a "welcome to the bigs, kid" moment though.

Last year lefties killed him. He's hung in better this season, but all 13 HR's he hit were vs RHP's.

The test for Tellez will be when they start pitching him inside. Most of his doubles have been to left field, he is obviously able to handle pitches away. They will pitch him inside, probably starting today.

Thanks UO for your input.

I disagree that Toronto is a small market team and so does ML baseball because we are not receiving the perks anymore. Probably because Beeston has left.
But never mind that. Could you define "small market teams"? Please don't use TB in your definition.

Tellez has pulled a couple of pitches down and in into the RCF gap.  Up and in is probably where they'll go.  We'll see if he can lay off them. 

Interesting to note that Greg Bird of the Yankees had the same surgery as Tulowitzki for bone spurs but only on one foot not two. He returned in a time frame consistent with what the Jays initially said would be Tulo's time frame for a return...around 6 weeks.

He's hit to a tune of .179 this year and clearly is struggling. Nobody knows for sure if he is playing through a sore/not fully healed heel/foot but I would not be surprised if he's moved, heals over the summer properly and then becomes a good DH type down the road.

There's not a lot of teams ready to gamble on a DH type. Bird was made for Yankees stadium and will probably not benefit from moving to a pitcher friendly park. He never ran  well. He's been worth -1.5 WAR defensively at first over roughly a full season.

Cathal Kelly has a very nice sit down with Gibby.

As I said a few days ago, I think it’s highly likely that the current plan is for Bichette to spend next year in AAA. It lines up better with a more realistic timeframe for real improvement starting in 2021 rather than 2020. But plans change with player performance and team needs. Because the actual future configuration of the infield seems a bit up in the air, it also gives them one more year to figure out if Gurriel and Biggio have a legitimate chance of being starting caliber players and whether they can actually play defence at any position.

The 2019 Season is the last season for Russell Martin and Kendrys Morales. I suspect this is also when the Jays buy out Troy Tulowitzki. That Offseason is the major decision point on/for a lot of Jays - re-sign, extend, trade or just play out the last year.

Gibby's teams had a reputation for very poor records in one run games. ??Magpie?? wrote a lengthy post on this subject.

No team Gibby managed for a full season had a worse winning percentage than the current squad. The current squad is 20-12 in one run games.

Maybe someone smarter than me can confirm this on BbRef, but as per ESPN

"Toronto won for the first time in franchise history when striking out at least 20 times."

I’m not generally a huge fan of Gibbons but I actually think he’s had a good year this year (not because of that record). And to be fair, although I thought he had a poor year last year, I thought that he was given a team that wasn’t that well suited to his managerial talents.

Good article by Kelly.

Like many, I was aghast when Gibbons was rehired but grew to respect his abilities. He’s not a great tactician or innovator but he’s a good people manager which helps a lot when a team has a whole country begging for results.

Time for a change but I wish him well.

he was plenty innovative.

whether it was batting sluggers in the leadoff spot, bringing his ace starter out of the pen behind an "opener" in a must win playoff game, playing the likes of Donaldson and Martin at SS, mixing and matching his bullpen aggressively, doing a clever fastball/breakingball platoon with cola and smoak, shifting as aggressively as anyone, and abandoning the outdated bunting game completely.

Grichuk makes up for his shoddy D

I don't understand the rush to dump John Gibbons. He's been the Manager in a very important time for the Blue Jays. 2013-2018 is a very significant time for Toronto. What might have been becomes what an amazing thing becomes what happens next, where do they Jays go from here.


Back-to-back A.L.C.S. appearances are part of his legacy. The story and performances of Stroman Sanchez, Tepera, Smoak, Martin, Tulowitzki, Morales, Travis, Pillar and more are parts of his Legacy and beyond. Grichuk, Hernandez, Maile, Diaz and more became better than expected as part of his legacy. Borucki, Reid-Foley, Pannone, Jansen, McKinney and more got their careers started under his Legacy. It's not what he didn't do that's important, it's what he did that is the most important of all.

Number 9, number 9, number 9.

Or perhaps number 247. Khris Davis ended the 2015, 2016 and 2017 seasons with a .247 batting average. Entering today's game, he was batting .247. Surely it's some sort of encoded message from our alien overlords.

We now return to our previously scheduled program, the John Gibbons eulogy.

What does a bad idea look like? Giving Jamie Garcia another start after the season he's had. Not sure if he was meant to be a starter or an opener, but he got just one out for the Cubs today, leading them to remind themselves "oh yeah, that Jamie Garcia".

Is Justin Shafer a juvenile delinquent in the offseason

that's an impressive shot by Rowdy.

true power.

Rowdy may cause some to rethink moving Vlad to 1st base anytime soon.

Rowdy is providing us with an uplifting story but I might consider trading him after season while he looks good to acquire some pitching. I am far from convinced he will be able to hit lefties and if not, I would rather have the pitching than a platoon 1b or DH.

Some roster players and prospects that are position players will almost certainly be traded for pitching in the off seasom. All that said, great to see what Rowdy is doing now.

I am far from convinced he will be able to hit lefties and if not, I would rather have the pitching than a platoon 1b or DH.

So if he can't hit lefties, what kind of return will he bring? Or are you saying other teams with real scouts don't agree with your concerns he can't hit lefties?

Not sure if [Garcia] was meant to be a starter or an opener

Cubs needed an extra starter for the double-header, it was probably "here's the baseball, let's see how it goes."

Angel Hernandez rides again.

Isn't now the time to give Rowdy Tellez every chance to see what he can do? After all, he's only 23 and he's had so much personal stuff happening. He's returning to the form that got him to AAA and got him called up. Premature judgement on his abilities right now seems very extreme.

Could Buck please change his "get up ball, get out of here!" home run call? Does every single bomb need his verbal assistance to leave the park? I don't think so.

I find it funny when Buck says that on a ball that is 10 feet short of the fence or that is going into the 2nd deck or higher.  He sounds like my mother used to at Jay games when she'd get super excited about a lazy fly ball to the outfield thinking it might go out.

Hitting lefties or not should not be a concern. It's lot like he would force the team to carry and extra 1baseman.
He's looked OK defensively so far.

Nobody trades a good pitcher for a firstbaseman, unless the guy picks up MVP votes first.
Especially now that those guys are dirt cheap in free agency.
It will be interesting to see how much Smoak will make in a year.

Garcia has been good in the pen. But to pick him up for free and to give him a start?
That's a terrible idea. We're in September. Give the doubleheader game to the pen.

Mike Gibbons is an old style manager. He's a laid back guy. His strong point is bullpen management.
He doesn't have a track record with a team full of call ups. He lets the vets lead the team.

New York and Boston have hired young managers. EVen Baltimore is probably going to replace Showalter.
Gibbons is not Mike Scioscia. It's just the time to do it.

"Garcia has been good in the pen. But to pick him up for free and to give him a start?
That's a terrible idea. We're in September. Give the doubleheader game to the pen."

scottt, this makes no sense.

When you give a game to the pen, one of the pen guys still has to start the game. Axford, Santos and Clippard for us this year. Maddon used Garcia. Don't think Maddon was expecting Garcia to go 8 innings, since he hasn't gone even 2 innings since late July. Garcia was the first bullpen guy in a bullpen game today.

Tellez hit a pretty good 2-strike curveball from a lefty into left field for a single in last night's game.

I am starting to get somewhat surprised that Danny Jansen has a fairly modest exit velocity, given his 0.203 ISO% in AAA and 50 raw power.

Garcia should be used as a LOOGY.
Does it make sense to start a bullpen game with a LOOGY?
I have a lot of respect and admiration for Maddon, but he must not have watched the Blue Jays game this year.

[Maddon] must not have watched the Blue Jays game this year.

Well, he is in the other league. Probably takes up most of his attention.

We definitely have a roster crunch. This is due to this FO's strategy of accumulating depth that is ML ready or close.

They were very successful in getting depth pieces like A Diaz, R Grichuk and Y Solarte.

Grichuk was the prize. We gave good value for him. S Piscotty also traded. Did Oakland give up anything good. I don't see any of St Louis ML OFs being much superior to either.

I am on board for trading multiple players for 1 pitcher. So in a 3 for 1 I would accept a P Murphy or Y Diaz (prospects). 3 off the 40 man and 1 on. How many of D Barnes, Biagini and Mayza for 1 of P Murphy/Y Diaz. That would be 3 off the 40 man. If we receive a Z Logue or Max Castillo we get a AA/A SP that does not have to be added to the 40 man.


I never understood the rules of how we kept C Rowley after last year. Apparently he is ours without having to pass waivers or DFA.

Any takes on Tellez and Why ?;
The personal story aside - what has changed physically in swing / approach - is it sustainable as Jansen's vision correction ?
The early prolonged hot prospect trajectory ... goes south for 2.5 year dormancy in power and contact both. and then reawakens in minors this year and then now hits hard everything - fastballs and curveballs alike - at majors for moment;
Don't see situation often. Could go in multiple directions, no?

Oh my. Tabby and Buck going on and on about how well the Jays’ infield has played this year (based upon error totals). Which included what might be one of my favourite unintended back handed compliments in some time- “Rivera deserves full credit for the infield defence this year”. Ouch

Had to miss a few innings. Why did Teoscar replace Grichuk?

Bucky just explained the collision, concussion protocol, facial injury.

Tellez was trying to hit the ball the other way too much in 2017 which hurt his game power. In 2018 he has found a better balance and has matured mentally due to very unfortunate circumstances. Rowdy always had 60 raw power and a low strikeout rate.

Rafael - it wasn't 2.5yrs dormancy for Tellez. only 1 and a bit.

hypo -


"He's a pretty boy, man. You don't want to hurt that face." Gibbons on Randal Grichuk.

My wife very much agrees with Gibby.

Yangervis Solarte was activated from the D.L. He should get playing time soon. As he's one of too many infielders, he needs to be evaluated as to future plans. Does he stay with the Team? Will he be traded? Or become a Free Agent when the Jays decline his option for 2019?

True, Tellez did only struggle for a year and a bit.. I didn't think worth checking as I can't believe it was only last season spring training the high expectations for Tellez - and imminent replacement of Smoak.

Rowdy Tellez can really hit. How well does he defend, better than Smoak? How well he hits and how fast he adjusts his hitting as Pitchers adjust will determine how fast he comes up. Is he the Jays' Starting 1B in 2019 or do the Jays pick up Justin Smoak's option? Does he come up mid season when Smoak is traded? Is he the Jays' Starting 1B in 2020, or does he share 1B and D.H. with Smoak going forward?

I don't think it is necessary to evaluate Solarte any further. I highly doubt that he will be a Jay in 2019. He is lazy and a poor defender. They will try to include him in a deal and if no takers, I expect him to be non-tendered.

i hope not, but i wouldn't be shocked at all to see them pick up solarte's option, given that he still projects as a league average hitter with defensive versatility. selling low on any asset is not their style.

There are more than enough infielders to cover and then some. They can't keep them all. Solarte seems most likely to go imo unless someone like Diaz, a much better player, is involved in some kind of package for a pitcher. Even then Drury can do what Solarte does better and is even more versatile. When Drury was acquired, I thought and still think that spelled the end for Solarte. And Martin is likely also here as infield back up.

I think the only way they pick up Solarte's option is if they have a trade partner, even giving him away for a total non-prospect, like we gave the Braves in the Grilli trade. This will save the team $750 K.

This Team is too good to be bad. Depending on future results Jays will draft in the 9-11 range. Of course with results like these, they could finish higher.

They seem to be looking 10-12 along with Mets and Twins. Remember that Braves have #9 as a result of AA not signing 8th overall pick last draft.

Sickels thoughts on Tellez

https://www.minorleagueball.com/2018/9/7/17831900/thoughts-on-toronto-blue-jays-prospect-rowdy-tellez

Everything I've seen has made me really, really want to see Tellez succeed and do it here.  He'll be fun to cheer on for at least the next 6 years, probably 7 as I expect him to spend a lot of time in AAA in 2019 unless Smoak or Morales can be traded this winter.

I’m with you hypobole. What exactly does Solarte do for this team next year? He actually might have value as the 25th man on a contending team as he can be a useful PH, part time DH and emergency infielder. The 2019
Jays aren’t that team. Rogers should just pocket the cash and avoid picking up the option.

Solarte would have been picked up if he was still a league average hitter and Drury wasn’t around, but he’s been awful this year after the hot start and Drury is five years younger and cheaper than him. It doesn’t make sense to pick up Solarte’s option, especially if payroll is going down. I think he is gone after the season.

Yah, Solarte's probably gone. OBP under .300, poor fielder, lots of cheaper options. I don't think Drury's going to hit much, but he could be a placeholder until the longer term guys like Vladdy, Bichette, Gurriel (if he's not shifted to the OF) and Biggio (if he's not shifted to the OF) are ready.

Rosenthal on the Donaldson mess.  Readiness, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder (and in the case of the Red Sox and Yankees, how much luxury tax may have to be paid in the event of a claim affects the eyes and clouds the vision!)

If you're clearing out Smoak & Morales doesn't Pillar go too?

I agree that opening up DH for Hernandez is looking like a smart idea. He has a 110 wRC+ at age 25, and is in the top % of the league in barrel%, exit velocity, and hard hit%. The power potential looks real. It is the plate discipline that might hold him back, but his bat should be above average overall and less defensive pressure might help him mentally.

I believe Sale is on a 40-50 pitch limit for tomorrow too.

The Cleveland Indians will have 4 starters with 200 plus K's - Wow!! - I still remember J.P. Ricciardi turning down the July 2009 offer for Halladay that included Carlos Carrasco because he wanted Drabek (& Dom Brown also).

And the Indians did not draft any of those 4 pitchers

Mike, I’d like to see that lineup next year (to start). An emphasis on OF defence will be important and would be a welcome change of pace.

I’m not sure the Jays can afford to move on from Pillar right now. They appear to have given up on Pompey. If Alford has gone off the rails then I don’t think the next Jays CF is even in the system right now.

They will probably be the poorest team in the post-season by a fair margin

I would think their fans would be quite appalled by how little effort their management has made to improve the team in the latter half of the season. Their outfield -- save for the sometimes health Brantley -- is just dreadful. And the right side of their infield ain't no great shakes either.

Well, they did trade for Donaldson :)

I have a soft spot for Pompey since he was drafted and I think he was mishandled in 2015 - I would trade Pillar and put Pompey in center with Alford starting in AAA - unfortunately it's not going to happen with the team giving every indication of moving on from Pompey - I think they will regret that decision (at least I hope).

I have a soft spot for Pompey too.  He hasn't played center-field much in a long time and isn't with the club in September- it isn't happening here. 

Given the encouraging year the farm system has had with many players taking a step forward needing Rule v protection, I was surprised that the Jays acquired so many prospects that also require rule V protection - I hope the team moves aggressively (as the Yankees have done the last 2 years) to ameliorate the situation.

How was Pompey mishandled in 2015? The Jays were a playoff team. Pompey was awful with the club so they couldn't afford to carry him on the roster. They instead played Pillar and Saunders who were much better players. He went back to AAA and was pretty good and was called up late in the year and used as a punch runner where he had value. What should the Jays have done? Played Pompey over better players just to try to get him going in a pennant race? In the end, you have to perform and Pompey never really has. I don't think there's a single player with a bigger gap between perception and reality on the Jays than Pompey. People seem very focused in what he did in 2014 but we have four years since then which are all more relavent. Zips has him at a 75 WRC+ which I think is pretty accurate and nowhere not a major leaguer.

The Jays are going to have to get a little creative to target a new person to man CF.

Oakland currently has Ramon Laureano having a huge breakout year, and they have Dustin Fowler as a top prospect. With Kris Davis a free agent in 2020 I wonder if the Jays could trade Teoscar + Pompey for Fowler. The O's really value flyball, grip it and rip it players and Hernandez could spend a year in left with Pinder going back to second once Lowrie becomes a free agent at the end of the year.

I supported Pompey starting 2015 in AAA not with the big league club.

2019 Age Groupings

Prime Age

CF Davis 27
RF Grichuk 27
LF Pompey 26
3B Drury 26
SS Diaz 28
2B Travis 28
1B Teoscar 26
C Maile 28
DH Smith 26


Young Prime

CF Alford 24
RF McKinney 24
LF
3B Gurriel 25
SS Urena 23
2B Biggio 24
1B Tellez 24
C McGuire 24
DH Jansen 24


Old for their levels semi-prospects

CF Wall 23
RF Palacios 23
LF Lundqvist 23
3B Espinal 24
SS Warmoth 23
2B Lopes 25
1B Spanberger 23
C Adams 23
DH Ramirez 24


Prospects

CF Young 21
RF Lopez 20
LF Contreras 20
3B Groshans 19
SS Smith 22
2B Bichette 21
1B Guerrero 20
C Moreno 19
DH Kirk 20

UT Conine 21
OF Taylor 20
IF Hiraldo 18
C Danner 20

Weird, Aledmys has reverse platoon splits each of the 3 years he's played.

wRC+
vs LHP 94, 61, 87
vs RHP 148, 82, 102

Mike - imo Conine is lucky to make that list at all, to be honest. he'd be the first one I cut from that prospect roster. i put him on the bench for a reason.

Making premature decisions on Prospects is becoming more common on this site. What happened to "small sample size", is it being forgotten or just being ignored.

I agree Richard.

Anyways, Diaz has so far in his career . . ..  That's my theory anyways. 
Aaah, say it isn't so, Mike.  "Anyways" is a word to be avoided; (and certainly leave off the "s").

Thanks for the player list UO. I thought it would be fun to put together a roster for 2021. Half the players could arrive in early/mid 2020.


My infield :- K Smith, Bichette, Vlad.

Catcher, 1B and DH. Jansen, Biggio, Tellez and T Hernandez.


Outfield :- Grichuk.

Other Outfielders if ready :- C Young, J Palacios. For CF.


Spare parts:- S Taylor, Gurriel?, R McGuire? and Alford because he can't fall right off the map. Jonathan Davis as a 4th OF.


Maybe B Mc Kinney is on the team or traded.

High School Draftees that sign with the Team have a major and huge personal change happening to their life. How fast they move depends on how well they adjust. The very best move fast, but even that is not always a success. IFAs sign younger and still have a major and huge personal change happening to their life. How fast they move depends on how well they adjust. The very best move fast, but even that is not always a success.

College/University Draftees that sign with the Team have already had and adjusted to a major and huge personal change happening in their life. Now they face another major and personal change in their life. How fast they move depends on how well they adjust. The very best move fast, but even that is not always a success.

Sometimes just making it to the majors is all a Player needs. Not everyone adapts well nor succeeds immediately. After the equivalent of two full seasons in total, you should know what you have.

Sounds like Donaldson didn't want to be rehabbing in August and was afraid to re-injured himself before free agency. Maybe he was gambling that re-injuring himself in September would be worse than not playing and then claiming to be healthy during the winter.

Boston and NYY are not happy about the trade.
That makes the trade better in my book.
They both could have blocked it by putting a claim but were afraid of losing money.
In fact, they are not harmed by Cleveland gambling on a player that has health issues.
They are afraid that he's actually going to be healthy, which is why this is coming up now, not 10 days ago.
Boston's rotation is loaded with lefties and NYY has some key lefties as well.

Merriam-Webster on anyways, with quotes from Mark Twain and Rudyard Kipling.  In their view, my usage was informal but not wrong.  And I aint foolin'!

Agreed, And anyways, why does all language need to be formal?

Oh, criminy! The capital A. So busted!

"Anyways" is a word to be avoided

Dewey, are you saying there aren't any ways to use anyways?

I don't understand the gripe from other teams about the Donaldson trade. Any team (NYY, Boston, Houston) could have put in a claim for him or offered more than Merryweather rather easily. Those teams didn't want to take the financial risk or give up a prospect for an injured player, despite the Jays having absolutely not leverage at all. Cleveland obviously felt fine with Donaldson's medicals to make the deal, so that option was available to the other teams as well.

Cleveland is by far the worst playoff team in the AL, and got a huge wild card in Donaldson who (if healthy) could impact a short series, so that's probably the main issue the other teams have.

Red Sox and Yankees do more whining than the rest of MLB in total. They both feel entitled and cry any time that entitlement seems threatened.

Oh, boy. It’s tough having a target on your back.

1.) I didn’t say “Anyways” was “wrong”, Mike. I just said it was a word that is best avoided. I hear it often, in very colloquial speech -- sloppy, careless, ‘whatever’ sort of speech. A filler word. But your posts are usually so crisp and clean that I was taken aback to find “anyways” flopped into one of your sentences. It’s almost as bad as once, long ago, when I tripped over something in a post of Magpie’s. You guys have reputations to uphold. ... I know, it’s a heavy burden -- one of the costs of eminence.
2.) And Mr. Carrot [who’s never forgiven me for an earlier call-out], no one said that all language had to be formal. No one. And I almost never comment on capital A’s and such. Typography and spelling are not at all the same things as usage. You’re being childish.

3.) Hypobole, sure there are lots of ways to use “anyways”, in certain contexts. I’m not surprised Merriam’s cites Twain (one of my all-time favourites): he uses vernacular speech very frequently, and usually very well indeed. You'll notice in the article Mike cited that the examples are pretty much of a kind. [Incidentally, that article seems to protest way too much -- which may suggest he/she feels a bit uncertain of the position that's being advanced.]    (Personally, I’m not a fan of Merriam-Webster. FWIW.)

Dewey, my "any ways to use anyways" comment was merely an (obviously failed) attempt at humour.

Michael Fullmer is having a down year in Detroit and might be a buy low candidate. If the Jays were able to package some of their young depth into a trade, it would give them a guy with three years of control.

Fulmer's ERA has gone from 3.23 to 4.37 to 4.96, his WHIP from 1.12 to 1.15 to 1.30, his hits/9 from 7.7 to 8.2 to 8.6. Is it a down year or the continuation of a trend? The contra argument would say his FIP was pretty consistent in his 1st 2 years. Could be worth a shot depending on what the Tigers want for him. I saw an article saying they want a top-level hitting prospect for him, so they'd probably want Bo Bichette. He's arb eligible in 2019 and under control through 2022.

Rebuilding teams don't usually sell low, unless they have to.
The price would still be high.

my "any ways to use anyways" comment was merely an (obviously failed) attempt at humour.

I chuckled.

never forgiven me
Actually Dewey I enjoy your posts and occasional sparring. I only sometimes think that you take your own ideas about language and thoughts about others a bit too seriously. This occasionally motivates me to comment.

I'm pretty sure Dewey does it for the humour.

I only speak 1 language. I appreciate an suggestions for improvement.

Yeah, I chuckled, too. Anybody with the monicker of “Hypobole” enjoys messing around with words.  So I wasn’t surprised; but I had other fish to fry just then. 

I’m pretty conflicted about these language interjections of mine.  I know they irritate the hell out of a few of you; but I hope they’re enjoyed by a few as well.  I do post on baseball from time to time -- in earlier days, quite often; but my baseball neurons got set way back in the late 1940’s  and early 50’s.  Old-timey baseball.  Way older than Buck & Tabby!  And I ‘m not much interested in conjectures about the future, and ‘prospects’.  So . . .  And yesterday was an off-day for the Jays.

I think some of you may mis-read me.  I don’t take myself all that seriously, except when somebody gets up my nostrils about something (like Doug Ford).   As I’ve said many times before, I don’t write with a censoriously prescriptive intent.  I just enjoy good writing, and I’m trying to encourage and foster it.

Anyways.

I hope you continue irregardless of the criticism, dewey.

I see what you're doing there, ugly.  You are an evil, evil man.

And now I'm chuckling.

I appreciate someone who appreciates good grammar. Few people do. It kind of irritates me when I hear all the misuse of English that is prevalent now, but I realize it's just the way things are, and I seldom comment when I hear things like "revert back" unless I'm with like minded people. In the big picture, it's meaningless.

uglyone - Tuesday, September 11 2018 @ 11:32 AM EDT (#365542) #
I hope you continue irregardless of the criticism, dewey.
Dewey - Tuesday, September 11 2018 @ 11:44 AM EDT (#365543) #
I see what you're doing there, ugly. You are an evil, evil man.

Brilliant, golf clap.