The voting.

Oops, hadn't noticed that my link was buried amidst all of John's.

Harper wins the MVP with 84 RBI. Urias finishes 7th with a 20-3 record. Wouldn't have seen this back in the day.

So 4 guys get mvp votes, 2 get cy young votes, manager oty votes, roty votes, one of the best closers...my first instinct is to wonder where it all went wrong. Then I quickly remembered...those extra inning games and the related bullpen woes, and the whole 'no home games' problem. If the @$$# nationals could win just 1 lousy game that last series. Things don't come together this well too often, with two of the greatest 1 year signings in mlb history the same year. A 99 win pythag record and 4th place just hurts.

Congratulations to Ray and all the other award recipients. I'll settle for just one trophy next November, if it's the right one.

Pyth records are normally depressing for Jay fans I find.
Pyth: Rays: 101, Jays: 99, Bos: 88, NYY: 86, Bal: 54.

Sigh. Just isn't fair is it?

Not a first. For example, 2008 was Pyth 93, real 86, while Rays won the division with 97 wins but Pyth of 92. One went to the WS the other stayed home for another 6 years.

So 4 guys get mvp votes

Did you forget Ray or Teo? :)

I thought it was depressing that the Jays finished with the Cy Young winner and the near unanimous second-place finished in the MVP voting and didn't make the playoffs. Then I realized Philadelphia had the NL MVP and second place Cy Young finisher and didn't make the playoffs.

But the Phillies had no other pitchers get Cy Young votes and only one player get MVP votes (Wheeler). And the Jays had another pitcher finish in the Top 10 in AL Cy Young Voting. And the clear third place finisher in AL MVP voting. And three more players get MVP votes.....

I can't help looking back at this year with a lot of "What If".

You got to think playing at home in the Roger's Center for the full season would have been worth at least a win or two more, but you never know, baseball is a funny game.

The Blue Jays probably should have won more games than they did. On the other hand, they had a rough stretch of injuries (Springer, Kirk, the bullpen) that really hurt them, in the first half of the season especially. There were quite a few "throwaway" games where the bullpen options available to Montoyo in important situations were pretty bad.

Rule 5 deadline day - wonder whom the Jays will add to the 40 man roster - Yankees have to be seething at losing Garrett Whitlock to rival Red Sox last year and are said to be in a tough spot again this year along with the Rays. Of course, with the CBA due to expire on December 01, baseball activity will probably be frozen for the foreseeable future meaning likely no winter meetings.

Assume ST is due to start Feb15 with no CBA agreed upon:

1) Signings still happen I presume. Also for 2022 Berrios got a $5mil bonus. Games or no he gets all of it?

2) If a CBA is agreed upon by Mar 10 then a delayed season occurs I suppose. Rich owners and players will want to get their money.

3) I keep hearing about "extended playoffs" on this site. Does anyone know the details being considered?

I thought it was depressing that the Jays finished with the Cy Young winner and the near unanimous second-place finished in the MVP voting and didn't make the playoffs.

Cast your mind back, back, back to 2003....

Just curious what others think - Tigers cut Niko Goodrum today - switch-hitting utility player with some speed (averaging out at 19 SB per 162 games) and had some success with the bat in the past and a little pop. Worth signing as a bounce-back utility player? Was projected for $2.9M in arbitration - worth $2-3M as a backup? Or is his defense not good enough as a backup, and most of his value was in his bat?

Goodrum has only had 390 PA against LHP so there's a bit of sample size issue there, but 1096 against RHP. So yeah, he needs to give up switch hitting and see how it goes. Right now he's platoon player on the wrong side of the platoon. You should be able to pick these sort of players up pretty cheaply. In any case I don't really think Biggio needs plattooning. Yes, he's better against RHP but he isn't exactly bad against LHP (career OPS740). If you really want a platoon partner for Biggio what do people thing of this Marcus Semien chap? He might be a good fit.

The Twins are designating Willians Astudillo - I remember when he was the short chubby sensation a few years ago before Alejandro Kirk.

wonder whom the Jays will add to the 40 man roster

Hagen Danner, Bowden Francis, Leo Jimenez, Zach Logue. Also Shaun Anderson has been claimed on waivers from San Diego.

Goodrum is interesting as a minimum salary guy, max of $1-2 mil as a backup. I fear a Joe Panic situation where the manager falls in love with the guy and he plays when better players are available. His lifetime dWAR is negative but he also has played everywhere but the mound 10+ times each (outside of DH where he has only been there 8 times). An interesting player but not a priority one. A minor league deal is all I'd offer him with a spring invite.

The Jays have lots of cheap options for UT backup, starting with Espinal.
I don't think they need another guy like Panik anymore.

4 guys from the minors added -

• RHP Hagen Danner - was a CA/IF before this season, was a 2nd round pick.
• RHP Bowden Francis (part of the Rowdy Tellez trade)
• LHP Zach Logue - former 9th round pick
• INF Leo Jimenez - from Panama and just done his age 20 season, 523 OBP in A/rookie last year.

Also claimed RHP Shaun Anderson off waivers from the Padres.

That 2017 draft produced a few guys, none have done much yet though - Pearson, Adams, Smith, Tice. Their first round pick was Logan Warmoth who was in AAA last year with a 707 OPS while playing all 3 OF positions.

FYI: this puts the Jays 40 man roster at 38. 2 open slots but who for? Ray & Semien would be nice.

For the geezers here - I noticed the Jays are down to 3 guys born in the 80's (Ryu, Stripling, and Springer) vs 2 in the 2000's (Moreno and Jimenez). By next year the 00's could have more than the 80's. Of course, I still miss having guys born in the 60's on the team. Sigh.

I was expected Miguel Hiraldo to get added.
I see Joey Murray and Eric Pardinho as guys who could end up in some other team's pen.
Zach Logue, not so much.
Leo Jimenez was a  low risk. He hasn't played above A+. He walked a lot this year.
I guess Hiraldo's value is mostly offense and he hasn't hit this year.

No idea about Shaun Anderson.

Hiraldo was at A ball and was mediocre. Doubtful team wants to carry a hitter who can't hit all year. Samad Taylor much more likely to be taken if someone thinks he can stick in majors. Pardinho or spraker most likely to be taken I think. Pitchers just much much easier to hide on roster. Anderson has high spin rate fastball and great slider. Bad results though.

I don't expect Valera to be on the 40 roster to start the year.
Chavez Young is a guy who could end up on the 26 roster this year.
He plays CF and hits left.
Also Spraker, has done really well  this year and could be taken.

So, kinda like Thornton?

It will be much harder to hide a pitcher in 2022 with a limit of 13 per team.
Much easier to hide a position player, especially on a bad team.
You still need someone to pitch those innings and having only 12 pitchers will probably not cut it.

I am very relieved that they added H Danner. FB 98/99. Has a breaking ball and is working on a CH. Also can be an emergency catcher.

"Much easier to hide a position player, especially on a bad team."

Exactly the opposite. Most teams have three man benches where everyone plays pretty regularly. Having a guy who can't play will kill you. On the other hand, in a 13-man bullpen you have guys who you can keep low leverage pretty easily.

With the rule 5 one thing to remember is often it is taken advantage of by teams that are out of it (the 1985 Jays being the exception - 2 rule 5's all year, one was a key part of the 1992 WS winner - Manny Lee, that teams SS). The Jays of the early 80's took advantage of it a lot and nearly had a HOF'er in Wade Boggs but Gillick didn't take him one year when he was tempted, then was going to the next but Boston protected him then. Sigh. Still, Willie Upshaw, Kelly Gruber, George Bell, (all 3 were All-Stars and of course Bell was the Jays first MVP) among others is nothing to sneeze at.

The biggest Rule 5'ers are probably Roberto Clemente and Johan Santana, although Josh Hamilton wasn't a bad one either.

That Jose Bautista guy worked out okay (admittedly not for the team that claimed him).

The extra bench guy is someone who was not there this year.
He doesn't even have to get a single AB.  You can use him in blow out or as a pinch runner.
Even a team like the Yankees or the Red Sox could pick a high rated prospect and stash him there.
They even rotated guys like Jonathan Davis on their bench this year.
A guy like that will probably get set back a year but it's a free draft pick.

For pitchers however, even bad teams like the Orioles have to cycle through the pen and bring guys up and down.
If the starter is out of the game after 2 innings and 60 pitches, a 6 man bullpen won't suffice. Some teams might try, but it won't work and the players will be returned unless they can contribute innings.

It doesn't matter if it's high leverage or low leverage. The game won't be over and there won't be anybody standing in the pen.

How many pitchers were picked and hidden this year on a roster with 14, 15 or 16 pitchers?

Let's see.

Detroit poached Akill Baddoo, an outfielder, from the Twins.
Boston poached Garrett Whitlock, a pitcher who was very, very good from the Yankees. No hiding here.
Colorado poached Jordan Sheffield, a pitcher, from the Dodgers. ERA of 3.38, so no hiding here either.
San Francisco poached Dedniel Nunez, a pitcher, from the Mets. He hasn't been returned because he's been on the 60IL since March.
The Marlins poached Paul Campbell, a pitcher, from the Rays. He hasn't been returned because he's been suspended 80 games for dehydrochlormethyltestosterone. Meh.
The Guardians poached Trevor Stephan, a pitcher, from the Yankees. 43 games, 63 innings, 1 save, 3-1 record. Is that hidden? I don't think so.
The Orioles poached Tyler Wells, a pitcher, from the Twins. Spent some time on the IL, but pitched 57 innings, 4.11 ERA, 2-3 record.

8 guys were returned, mostly pitchers.
Luis Oviedo was drafted by the Mets from the Guardians and traded to the Pirates. Typical Mets front office stuff.
He's one guy who was hidden by the Pirates and only got in 22 games.

The point is that a pitcher drafted in 2021 will have to produce in 2022 or be returned.
Pushing pitchers will results in injuries and moves will have to be made to create space on the roster.

Well there must be something in the scouting reports for Shaun Anderson that belie his stats. His MLB is thoroughly unimpressive and includes a 4.1 BB/99 over 135IP. Here's an old article from fangraphs:

https://blogs.fangraphs.com/sunday-notes-san-franciscos-shaun-anderson-is-an-anomaly-who-attacks/

I would suspect he'll be first on the waiver wire if they need another spot.

Every year, they pick some guys and try to pass them through waivers.

They might still be trying to get "another look" in the pen to replace Thornton who should really be starting in AAA.

https://www.mlb.com/bluejays/roster has Valera as an outfielder.

Our AFL team is playing a 1 game playoffs tonight.

Unvaccinated pro athletes are apparently now inadmissible to Canada.  MLB was at 85% in September, and is probably a few percentage points above that now.  I wonder if any Blue Jays are unvaccinated because that would be a big issue.  It's also relevant for potential acquisitions.

A few rule 5's the Jays kept and what they did for reference as to what to expect from one. A list of most of who the Jays have picked is at MLB.com

• Willie Upshaw: future All-Star, 237/298/304 70 OPS+ in 250 PA in '78 (another terrible team)
• George Bell: future MVP, 233/256/350 over 168 PA, 69 OPS+ on the worst team the Jays ever had (1981, team OPS+ of 74 - Stieb had a winning record somehow, 4.4 WAR which was more than the Cy Young winner got (4.2 for Rollie Fingers) yet didn't get a single Cy vote)
• Jim Acker: 1983, 97 2/3 IP for the first Jays team to contend mid-season, 100 ERA+ over 5 starts and 33 relief games.
• Jim Gott: 1982, 23 starts, 7 relief games on the first Jays team not to finish dead last (tied for last). 102 ERA+ over 136 IP. Later would be a decent closer for Pittsburgh and LAD, was a key piece in the trade to get Gary Lavelle who was a solid LHP in the Jays pen in '85.
• Kelly Gruber: future All-Star, 063/063/250 in 16 PA in 1984 (a good team) I think he was on the injured list most of the season.
• Manuel Lee: 200/238/200 for a 20 OPS+ in 64 PA in 1985 - no he wasn't injured, just left on the bench while Tony Fernandez played every single game and nearly every inning. Everyday SS on the 91 and 92 teams.
• Lou Thornton: 236/267/319 for a 58 OPS+ in 75 PA (like Lee I think he was healthy all year). Less than 20 PA in the rest of his career.
• José Núñez: 90 ERA+ over 97 IP on what should've been the Jays best team ever but instead missed the playoffs due to bizarre choices like having a rule 5 guy get 9 starts (2 were excellent, the rest he didn't get 5 innings done). Just over 100 IP the rest of his career
• Dewayne Wise: Just 24 PA in 2000, -11 OPS+ (ugh). 68 lifetime OPS+ over 1184 PA.
• Corey Thurman: 2002, 68 IP 42 relief, 1 start, 106 ERA+. Not bad, but his 6 BB/9 suggested that wouldn't last. He only had 15 1/3 IP after that in the majors.
• Aquilino Lopez: 2003 73 2/3 IP with a 138 ERA+ (he was 28). Got over 200 IP in the majors in the end, but that year was his highlight - plus 14 saves and just 2 blown.
• Joe Biagini: 2016, 67 2/3 IP 140 ERA+ all in relief. I remember we all felt he was destined to be a solid guy for the Jays, but sadly only an 80 ERA+ after that over 263 IP. Got into a game with the Cubs in 2021 so who knows, maybe he can make a comeback still.
• Elvis Luciano: 2019, at 19 he came up due to a rule loophole. 85 ERA+ over 33 2/3 IP of relief. Now back in AA and not on the 40 man so anyone who wants him can claim him.

Kind of fun going through that list. Lots of others who were returned as you'll see if you look at the link. Often these guys got you dreaming of them being something great (Nunez I was certain would develop for example) while others did do something great (Bell, Upshaw, Gott, Gruber, Lee - note how none since then were more than 1 year wonders).

I remember the club playing silly games with Dewayne Wise to keep him off the active roster. He was “injured’ for a large part of the time.

Someone — alas I forget who — delightfully described Corey Thurman’s change-up as “Parachuting”. It was a great change-up indeed, but you always felt that he was playing with fire when he pitched. You can’t throw the change-up every time. I remember him being very deliberate when pitching and sweating profusely (him not me).

Mesa leading 4-0.

The AFL championship is live at MLB.com. Top of the 4th as I type this - Jays prospects on Mesa (batting #5 Gabriel Moreno, C, #6 Spencer Horwitz, 1B are the Jays content). Love that everyone is wearing their ML team's uniforms.

Moreno is catching a perfect game through five innings (seven strikeouts).

Going to the bottom of the 8th still a no-no, but a batter did reach (I missed it so not sure how, but not a hit or error).

Dang, first an error that was briefly called a hit, then a real hit. Sigh.

Spraker pitching the 9th.

4 seam Fb 93/94mph
cutter 91mph & 88mph cutter.

3 up 3 down.

Jays closer on the mound to finish it, as the Mesa team wins the title with Jays prospects at 1B/CA/closer to finish it.

Graham Spraker RHP: 1 IP, 1 K. No complaints as he gets to be on the mound to finish it. Named reliever of the year going 11 1/3 IP 3 Saves, 4 H 2 BB 17 SO and 0 R. Sadly not added to the 40 man so likely to be taken. Here is the write up on MLB about him.
A 31st-round pick out of Quincy University in 2017, Spraker made his second visit to the AFL (his first was in 2019) really count, logging 11 1/3 shutout relief innings. He allowed just four hits (.111 BAA) and two walks while striking out 17 and recording three saves. Spraker used a fastball that sits in the low 90s and touches 95 mph with solid spin rates to go along with a strong cutter to get outs. He was not added to the Blue Jays’ 40-man roster, so he’s eligible for teams in the Rule 5 Draft next month.

Gabriel Moreno C: 0-3 with a walk, a K, and a run scored. Caught a beauty of a game. Just 1 hit allowed, 1 walk, 1 reached on error. Good sign. Hit 329/410/494 in the AFL and is on the 40 man roster.

Spencer Horwitz 1B: 1-4, 2 RBI's, 1 BB 2 K's, got 4 games in AA, but most of the year was in A+ with a solid 294/400/482 line overall. Hit 375/459/484 in AFL - not required to be on the 40 man yet.

I figure Spraker opened a lot of eyes with his performance down there and the Jays might slip him onto the 40 man as he might be a useful 13th man bouncing between AAA and the majors in 2022. Yeah, yesterday was the deadline but it is a flexible one.

I figure Spraker opened a lot of eyes with his performance down there and the Jays might slip him onto the 40 man as he might be a useful 13th man bouncing between AAA and the majors in 2022.

Graham Spraker had a very good season as a minor league…reliever. These don’t usually turn into major league pieces you couldn’t otherwise pick up at the local waiver-wire Walmart. But I think you have touched on the reason he’s less likely to be picked. If he’s useful to the Jays as a 13th man on the taxi squad, why would another team not view him the same way? If you pick someone via Rule 5 you can’t send them down.

Jay's don't usually protect relievers, here's the one they did
Hagen Danner in Fall Instructional League
from Baseball Prospectus
"FB touching 100, showing a hard 90-92 slider that was getting empty swings."

https://stoeten.substack.com/p/the-jays-add-four-to-their-40-man

Interesting link. Thanks, Mendocino.

Good to see the Jays grabbing a guy that Walker might work his magic on. Not gonna win them all but worth a shot

https://jaysfromthecouch.com/2021/11/21/have-blue-jays-found-another-diamond-in-the-rough/

More awards... The All-MLB team.
First Team: Vlad (1B), Semien (2B), Ray (SP - there are 5 on the team).
Second Team: Hernandez (RF)