Excellent news. I was afraid the negotiations were dragging on for an extended period. Glad to see common sense finally prevailed

Union executives all voted no - players rep. voted yes - a bad look for the union - owners win again!

I'm pumped about the new season. So many things will be happening in the next few days so it should be exciting.

I would have liked to see a compromise on extra innings by having the runner on second in the 12th or 13th inning if the game goes that long. By that time a good portion of fans in attendance have gone home, probably a lot of the tv audience has tuned out, and teams are just wearing out their bullpens. I guess I'm not a baseball purist, but it seems like a lot of the games are long enough as it is. Just get them over with!

More relieved than anything. Just excited about how crazy the next 2 weeks will be and this Jays team is going to be so much fun.

I'll also say that I think one of the biggest changes needed is to get of the central divisions. Keeping it is like welfare for teams that don't want to spend. Move to 2 divisions in each league and make those teams compete if they want to make the playoffs.

The union executive is listed on their website - Andrew Miller, Max Scherzer, Francisco Lindor, Marcus Semien, Zack Britton, James Paxton, Jason Castro, and Gerrit Cole. Note how many have signed mega deals recently (over $100 million for Scherzer, Lindor, Semien, Cole) so to them the luxury tax is a massive deal as is free agent compensation. Andrew Miller is a current free agent and has made $81 mil in his career, a large part in the last 3 years (30+mil) where he gave the Cardinals negative WAR as a reward. Zack Britton is a reliever with the Yankees who had a perfect season as a reliever for the O's in 2016 (47-0 for saves) then got hurt and lost his closing job - he would be hurt big time by a QO as no one wants to lose a draft pick for a reliever. James Paxton is a guy who refused to sign with the Jays many years ago when drafted and last year made $8.5 mil for 1 game with Seattle. Jason Castro is a backup catcher who is close to $50 mil lifetime and is signed for 2022. I can see why the big 4 were hot and heavy about fighting for free agency, but the others not as much outside of Britton and Paxton (Boras client).

Glevin - or go to 4 team divisions so you can have welfare divisions and killer ones - picture a division of NYY/NYM/Boston/Philly - all able to blow $200+ mil if they want. A welfare division of Cleveland/Pittsburgh/Cincinnati/Milwaukee. Great lakes of Jays/Tigers/Twins/Montreal. Central Cubs/ChiSox/Cards/Royals. SouthEast Miami/Tampa/Washington/Baltimore. SouthCentral Atlanta/Houston/Texas/Charlotte or Nashville (expansion). SouthWest LAD/LAA/SD/Arizona, NorthWest Seattle/SF/Oakland/Colorado. That would be fun. 8 divisions of 4 teams. The other 6 slots are wild cards - have the 2 wests and SC play each other, the rest play each other as East/West leagues. 3 wild cards per league so at least one 2nd place team loses out each year.

That way everyone could have hope, even cheap teams. The SE division would be dominated by Tampa at first, but Washington and Baltimore both have the potential to spend and Miami has shocked before. The Jays would have a big financial advantage but the Tigers have shown they'll spend in the past. Minny has generally been well run. This could be a 4-5 years down the road thing. Portland could get a team then shift Colorado to whatever division you need to. They will always be a floater team due to their location.

Just let the kids play.

Yeah ISLAND BOY I'm also fine with the 2B runner starting in the 11th or 12th. Heck, I was fine with it in the 10th inning (added a lot of tension and drama right away).

I thought they would go with some compromise solution instead of axing it completely.

to [Scherzer, Lindor, Semien, Cole] the luxury tax is a massive deal as is free agent compensation.

No it isn't. Those guys already have their contracts. The massive deal to them is to play the games and receive the paycheques they've already negotiated. They voted against it anyway. I suggest that was not in their best personal interest, and just possibly a matter of principle.

It could be a matter of principle. One's enthusiasm for a strike is generally dictated first and foremost by your ability to financially withstand a strike (that executive is in a different situation than many of its members) and the weather (picket lines in the snow end more strikes than many would care to admit).

How does this affect the 2022 Blue Jays?

First takes:
Expanded playoffs - big positive because of our division. Wish it happened a year earlier.

Universal DH - very small positive. Our pitchers only had 20 PA's last year, but slashed 000/000/000 (the only team to do so).

Rule 5 cancelled - positive, I think. Was guessing we'd lose a player or 2.

Very happy to see baseball starting (almost) on time and for a full 162 games. It was looking like this was going to last a while, but luckily cooler heads prevailed. The free agent and trade frenzy coming up tonight is going to be amazing.

I am surprised and happy the season will be moving on. Is there a "go time" for transactions, or does that start immediately?

Transactions start as soon as the deal is 100% ratified by both sides, most likely by tonight.

The owners are supposed to be at about 6pm to ratify (considered just a formality). Then both sides sign a Memorandum of Understanding, which would officially end the lockout, if my twitter research is correct. Then trades and free agency can happen again.


So it's going to get wild.

As someone who wants the Jays to have a longer period of contention, I think Jose Ramirez and Freddie Freeman while both wonderful talents would cost too much in both prospect capital and budget allotments and shorten the window of contention. I would go a different route:

-Sign Kyle Schwarber and I'd be willing to go 4 years - play LF/1B/DH

- Trade any of Hernandez/Gurriel/Grichuk - hopefully trade Gurriel to Texas for prospects including LH middle infielder Josh Smith whom I think can be a valuable contributor starting later this year.

- Carlos Rodon is too risky health-wise for me - I think the Jays can get more out of Yusei Kikuchi and I'd be willing to go up to 3 years on a reasonable AAV.

-Sign Brad Miller to be a LH multi-position guy

-Start the season with a platoon at 2B & 3B involving LHH Miller & Biggio and RHH Espinal &/or Kevin Smith/Lopez - If it doesn't work well you can address in July

- Won't add any significant BP arm - will wait to see how the pen develops and can add in July.

The fun time starts...who will the Jays sign first? Who will get Freeman, Correa, Bryant, Story, etc.? Will Cleveland trade Ramirez or keep him?

Right now I'm thinking the Jays want to upgrade at (in order) 3B (or 2B)/#5 starter/Bullpen/Outfield - all projection systems are down on Hernandez and Gurriel thus the OF issue. My ideal solutions are to sign free agents who don't have draft picks attached to them so Bryant for 3B, Roden as SP (might be happy with a 1 year deal - limit innings and piggyback Stripling with him), Jansen or Alex Colome or someone else (lots of choices), Seiya Suzuki for RF. That would certainly lock up the team nicely while still having lots of flexibility as needed and zero prospect cost.

I worry more about the left side of the infield than a Left handed bat.. but they might be able to afford both Chapman and Shwarber if they don’t go for Bryant, depending on Chapman trade price. Trade simulator suggests Gurriel and Kirk could get it done which would certainly be affordable….or if A’s don’t want Gurriel I’m fine throwing in Groshans as Chapman would be around for a few years to bridge to Orelvis.

Chapman’s bat had its issues last year but I’d bet on it before Espinal’s, and the defence is terrific which would help the infield.

Been a heavy consumer of other blogs/sites/communities surrounding this team and this beautiful game in my lifetime, but for almost two decades now this has been one to come back to time and again.

Let's play ball

The 2023 schedule will see fewer divisional games and a more balanced schedule. Details are TBA but it's a positive for the Blue Jays who had to face the might of the East for 76 games a season (or 57 games if we exclude the non mighty Orioles.)

That is amazing news Gerry. I like how it is a "more balanced" schedule, rather than completely balaced; I do like more divisional games, just not 17 against each team as it has been for two decades.

It’ll be interesting to see if the universal DH increases the market for guys like Schwarber and Freeman. May be even Kirk.

The more balanced schedule will be the single biggest boost that the Jays can get.

I'm so happy. I was getting gloomier by the day, it surprised me how much I hated hearing about all the not-baseball.

I hope to be around more often this year and see all the folks I uased to hang with many, many years ago

This may be strange from someone who has always been a fan of the Jays, an American league team, but as happy as I am to get baseball back, I'm pretty disappointed to see the National League implement the DH. It's always been a symbol to me of the impulse to make MLB into more of a product and less of a game.

Regarding the more balanced schedule, my guess for the number of games breakdown:

14 games (4 series - 2 home/2 away series) against each of the 4 division rivals = 56 games
6 games (2 series - 1 home/1 away series) against each of the 10 non-division AL teams = 60 games
3 games (1 series) against 14 NL teams (7 home / 7 away series) and 4 games against the 15th NL team (1 two game home series/1 two game away series) = 46 games

BRING ME THE DELICIOUS BODY AND FIRM UNWAVERING COMMITMENT OF ZACK GREINKE. MAKE IT HAPPEN ROSS.

Love, LOVE to hear the schedule is changing next year. 19 games each against division rivals is overkill. That adds up to 76 out of the 162 games against just four teams.

Dunedin is going to be busy now. All the reporters who were giving good updates from the minor league camp will now move over to the major league side....too bad for me.

Also the settlement came just before clubs would have had to sign players to round out their AAA teams. Now the 40 man leftovers can fill those spots.

The first spring training game is scheduled for March 18, just over a week from now. There are 20 days between March 18th and the end of spring training. That means four starts for each starting pitcher. The usual starts would be 2, 3, 4 and 5 innings. That's two innings short of the normal build up.

In previous delayed start seasons teams have been allowed to carry an extra pitcher to cover for the non built up starter. I haven't heard anything about that this year.

Just checked the Jays site and the players photos are back. Woohoo! Looks so much better than with the blank icons.

Spring Schedule...
18 @ Red Sox; 19 vs Rays; 20th vs Phillies; 21 @ O's; 22 @ Rays; 23rd off day; 24th vs Atlanta; 25 @Phillies (SS); 26th vs Yankees (SS); 27th vs O's (SS); 28th vs Phillies. All games at 1 PM except the Yankees at 6 PM. Nothing listed after that until the April 8th home opener vs Texas so I suspect they just put up the games that were scheduled before and are leaving it up to teams to fill in the missing week. Wonder if the Jays will try to set up a game in Montreal again for the 5th or 6th of April? Doubt they can at this point, but it'd be nice.

More news...

• Tim Healey of Newsday reports that the league and union also agreed to a series of games or tours in various destinations outside the United States and Canada. During the next CBA, they’ll stage events in Mexico, Asia, Puerto Rico, London, the Dominican Republic and Paris.
• Manfred stated that reporters would have access to major league clubhouses in 2022
• Owners unanimously voted to ratify the new CBA

So much going on... so happy. Love the more games outside the US/Canada idea - don't want them to go nuts with it but a series a year outside of traditional markets should work well.

Best news outside of the actual agreement is Bernie Sanders saying he's introducing legislation to end MLBs anti-trust exemption. It's a good thing to have out there even if it doesn't directly get results - the owners can have it in mind during the next CBA negotiation and maybe tread a little lighter than the arrogant bad faith negotiating they pulled this time.

Rule 5 cancelled - positive, I think. Was guessing we'd lose a player or 2.

I don't know about 2, but 1 for sure in Samad Taylor. And besides not losing players to the Rule 5, it's beneficial to the Jays that those guys are now more valuable as trade chips as the receiving team can keep them in the minors all year if they want to.

Yeah, I think they had much to lose and nothing to gain in the rule 5. That's big for me.

Regarding the executive vote, I think they just voted in block, maybe to show unity or whatever.
It's a way to deflect blame against any particular player.

From a competitive standpoint, the reduction of games against the Red Sox, Yankees and Rays, replacing them with more games against the Rockies, etc, might be the best news for the Jays. (Of course the Yankees will also get the Rockies)

What do you need to accomplish to win the last playoff spot in the AL? Then who do you play?

Get me a solid Left handed bat and a solid #2 reliever, with a sprinkling of veteran arms. I think we can save the #5 pitcher for the trading deadline. I want to give Pearson the chance to win it.

Playoff format is now a bracket, with the top two division winners in each league getting a long bye (~5 days?). It's a pure bracket and there's no re-seeding. The #1 ranked team plays the winner of the #4 vs. #5 wildcard round (best-of-three). The #2 ranked team plays the winner of the #3 vs. #6 round. So in summary:

#1 = Top-ranked division winner. Long Bye. Plays #4 or #5.
#2 = 2nd-ranked division winner. Long Bye. Plays #3 or #6.
#3 = 3rd ranked division winner. No Bye! Plays #6 in best-of-three.
#4 = Top-ranked non-division winner. No Bye. Plays #5.
#5 = 2nd-ranked non-division winner. No Bye. Plays #4.
#6 = 3rd-ranked non-division winner. No Bye. Plays #3.

In theory, four teams from the division could make the playoffs (e.g. Jays, Sox, Yanks, Rays), and especially so in 2023 with a more distributed schedule (fewer division games, more interleague games).

How do people feel about Carlos Correa as a potential addition this off-season (with Bichette moving to second base)? If the Jays were willing to spend big on Seager, maybe they would be willing to acquire Correa instead. The team does have some potential long-term solutions at third base (Groshans, Orelvis, Smith), so adding an elite shortstop could be preferable to acquiring a third baseman.

Adding Bryant to play third base (and other positions) is another potential option, if Correa is too big of a commitment (or if he's undesirable for other reasons, such as his involvement in the Astros scandal).

I feel like the Jays might go for another big contract but wonder if it might be better to spend that amount on two or three players instead. It's a unique situation where all the teams had a condensed free agent period, then had three months to consider what moves they want to make next. We're just waiting now for the first domino to fall.

It will be interesting to see what the team does with Nate Pearson. To me it would be best if he started in the AAA rotation and learned to harness his pitches. No question he got great stuff but, with injuries, he just hasn't had enough innings pitched to learn how to be a pitcher and not a thrower.

Thanks Cracka. I thought (completely wrong) that 12 teams in the AL made the playoffs. Old age.

I will say it this way. Please tell me if I am wrong and make the corrections.

In 2021: Division winners TB, Houston and CWS. The next 3 teams with the most wins Boston & NYY with 92 each. Toronto with 91 wins.

I too am going to miss the minor league write ups. Any minor league ST games yet?

Bpoz - you got it. 2021 playoffs would have been quite different under the new format. TOR vs. CWS in one round, with the winner facing TB. BOS/NYY in the other round, winner facing HOU. The top-seeded (TB, HOU) would get at least 5-6 days off before starting the playoffs, which is great for starting pitchers, but a long idle period for most other players.

Unvaccinated players will soon be readily identifiable by their inability to cross the border to play games in Toronto.  I don't know if this still includes 2021 Toronto Blue Jay Cy Young Award Winner Robbie Ray (weird to write), but that would be a pretty big help if the Mariners couldn't start him. As of the end of last season, which seems about 100 years ago, vaccination rates were still below 85% for 7 teams, apparently Seattle and Boston among them. If there are still a lot of holdouts - and baseball is filled with entitled young republicans so there probably are - that could be a major advantage, actually.

Wonder how much MLB will fight those regulations. Has it been an issue in the NHL (haven't watched any of that - lost interest when they lost a full season 1/2 to a lockout)? I could see teams with a few guys who are anti-vaxxers fighting hard on that issue trying to force the Jays to play in Buffalo or something for their games. I hope the Jays tell them to pound salt on that.

The NFL had very strict rules for unvaccinated players last season and by December nearly 95% of players were vaccinated. Those that remained unvaxxed were typically veteran players with guaranteed contracts and not fringe players fighting for their roster spot. I expect the same will hold true for MLB, especially in the AL East this season with 9-10 games scheduled for each team in Toronto. The unvaxxed players will likely be high-profile veterans with big guaranteed contracts and big egos to match. And that could things interesting, especially in Boston.

Good news for Jays - unvaxxed players don't get paid if they miss games in Toronto. Can't find anything listing who isn't vaxxed. I did find this article - Chris Sale hadn't by last September, 1B coach Tom Goodwin, Christian Arroyo also.

We were WS champ in 1992 and 93. But the champs from 2000-2021 had what in common?

1) Luck? Cannot plan for that. Atlanta in 2021. Nationals in 2019. Cleveland lost the WS to the Cubs in Extra innings I think. Maybe a bad bounce.

2) An Ace pitcher pitching like an Ace in the playoffs. Verlander in 2017. M Bumgarner more than once. This is my choice for biggest factor. I am hoping the Jays get an Ace. Manoah shows some promise. Big, hopefully durable and slightly mean. Maybe Pearson if/when he is built up.

3) Devastating hitter. Ortiz and Manny. NYY. I cannot recall a great hitter winning the playoffs 2000-2021. R Jackson in the 1990s.

We need to build a team that is playoff successful.

John N did a lot of digging on playoff excellence.

Most vax requirements will be dropped before long. Not likely to be a big deal.

Vlad looks like he's in good shape still, thankfully. Based entirely on an 8 second video of a BP homer of course.

Youneverknow whether a player can keep motivated, bodes well that he doesn't appear to be 'playing into shape'.

Speaking of good shape - if you haven't seen Santiago Espinal lately, you are in for a big surprise. Last year he was listed at 181 lbs. Here's a recent picture of him next to Palacios (198 lbs), with Bo (185 lbs), and some Gurriels (Lourdes = 215 lbs). He looks bigger than everyone -- with absolutely huge legs, like an NFL running back:

https://twitter.com/aalyssacohen/status/1501340462589829130

Uh oh - when I see a guy make significant physical changes after a stretch when PED testing was not happening I worry. Lets hope it is all legit and we don't lose him due to testing. Of course, he also knew going in that 3B was his to win this spring but he needed to show more power so maybe he just worked out a LOT this winter.

I may be the one and only fan in favour of the advertising patches. Owners are going to make money somehow. They can do so by:

a) Charging more for their product.
b) Paying less to the players on their team.
c) Finding alternative sources of revenue that does not impact fans wallets or the quality of the on field product.

I prefer c).

The owners might prefer

d) all of the above

They already had advertising on the uniforms - those big Nike logos - and I already hated them.

But I am just happy to have baseball back.

Jeff Passan:

“Left-handed starter Carlos Rodón and the San Francisco Giants are in agreement on a two-year, $44 million contract that includes an opt-out after the first season, sources familiar with the deal tell ESPN.”

Hefty pricetag if he ends up having significant injury issues. But not a terrible contract for SF overall.

FAs are being signed fast. Exciting.

Exciting... Jays just signed someone...
LH reliever Andrew Vasquez. Not a 'wow' by any stretch, just a depth piece but signed to a ML deal it seems. But in AAA he had 14.7 K/9 over 48 1/3 IP so maybe he is ready for prime time. Guess we'll find out.

• Dodgers making a strong push for Freddie Freeman who is rumored to be making his final choice in the next 24 hours.
• Dodgers also resigned Kershaw for a season at $17 mil
• Trevor Bauer might be facing a suspension still which might explain the Dodgers getting Kershaw signed quickly.
• Cubs signed Andrelton Simmons to a 1 year $4 mil deal - high end defensive SS but hits very poorly (57 OPS+ last year)
• Braves, Rangers, Yankees chasing Matt Olson
• Collin McHugh, a quality reliever, is getting lots of interest right now with Boston hot and heavy after him
• Giants Sign Carlos Rodon to a 2 year $44 mil deal
• 3 teams after Pujols with the Cardinals being one of them
• Martin Perez signed by the Rangers $4 mil for 1 year (LH pitcher - mostly starter but started relieving last year)
• Drew VerHagen signed to a 2 year deal out of Japan by the Cardinals.

Anybody else having issues with Firefox mobile 98? I cannot post on my phone. And seeing as that's 90+% of the time it makes it pretty frustrating to be here.

Last year, Vasquez faced 6 batters, threw 26 curves.

"They already had advertising on the uniforms - those big Nike logos - and I already hated them."

I honestly never noticed them while watching games. Maybe my obliviousness to such things is why I have no problem with them.

Sounds like my experience posting here using mobile app. It's been like this since the beginning. Desktop site posting is simple but mobile is awful.I've tried Apple Blackberry Android, all mobile platforms no good on this site. Still the best site I visit.

Per MLBTR: The Blue Jays are signing left-handed pitcher Yusei Kikuchi, per Jon Heyman of MLB Network. It’s a three-year, $36MM contract.

Beat me to it! I’m happy about this signing. Here are his ZIPS projections for the next three years:

https://blogs.fangraphs.com/lets-sign-some-pitchers/

I wonder where this leaves Pearson. Multi year deals for 4 starters and a youngster fills out the SP’a for a few years. Trade bait? Reliever with swing man capability? I suppose if he produces down the line they could trade one of the others in A year or two.

While you can never have enough pitching, if he turns it around they’ll need to put him somewhere at least next year. Anyway, good to have another solid starting pitcher for this year.

Kikuchi is a good & affordable #5. He probably is guaranteed a rotation spot. Then again maybe not guaranteed.

I’m still hoping the Jays land Suzuki (long shot, I know).

It’s possible that this move is a prelude to Pearson and other players getting traded for an upgrade at 3B or 2B.

Kikuchi's contract is front loaded. $16M this year, then $10M and $10M

I'd count Pearson in the camp of "huge upside." He' somewhere in between McGowan and Kelvin Escobar to me.

Tantalizing but high maintenance and not to be counted on. You just hope you can get enough out of him while he's in your organization. He will likely figure it all out and put together successful seasons, but when and where is the big question which I think the Jays, rightly, don't want to pencil in as soon. If it happens here next year, great.

Yeah, if the Jays biggest problem is too many good starting pitchers that is a good problem to have. You could always deploy a 6 man rotation of needed, but realistically you expect injuries and ineffectiveness to strike some starter most of the time so even if you had 6 to start you would usually only have five much of the time.

I don't hate this move. Seems like the highest end "innings eater," in baseball, if you ask me. Upside to be a top pitcher, downside is 5th starter innings eater with an ERA North of 5.

Interesting that they didn't go ther trade route as they likely feel the cost was too high in prospect capital which another poster has pointed out, correctly in my humble opinion, that that will shorten the window of contention.

This all sets up a scenario now where Pearson, Groshans or Kirk can be moved for a top infielder with the Jays not needing to give up Martinez or Moreno while still have the SP rotation set. In that respect I like this move because it protects prospects.

Love it. Jays are going all in and Kikuchi gives them another viable starter. More years and money that ideal but when you are going for it, who cares? Overpay a bot
It also frees up a trade of Pearson for an infielder.

The team still needs to sort out its 2B/3B situation, replace Grichuk with a better outfielder (Suzuki?), and add a bullpen arm or two. Adding a capable left-handed bat (if only a part-time player) would also make sense. Schwarber might be a good choice if some other options don’t work out.

I saw this coming a few months ago after the Gausman signing: "My guess is that the Jays would prefer to allocate the $15-20m AAV it would take to sign Jansen to a player like Taylor or Kikuchi" (Dec. 1).

Not what I would have done, but I acknowledge that Pearson only threw 45 innings last year including AAA.
On the plus side, it moves Stripling to the pen and now they seem to have quite a few bullpen arms.
If healthy Phelps should make the team.

It does limit what they can do for the bench.
I hope they don't trade Pearson or any other pitching prospect.

So now the 5 man is set for awhile...
2022: Berrios/Gausman/Manoah/Kikuchi/Ryu
2023: Berrios/Gausman/Manoah/Kikuchi/Ryu
2024: Berrios/Gausman/Manoah/Kikuchi/??
2025: Berrios/Gausman/Manoah/??/??
2026: Berrios/Gausman/Manoah/??/??

The #6/7/8 are obviously Stripling/Pearson/Hatch right now with others coming through. Kids in A ball will probably be in the fight for #5 in 2024.

Clearly this means Pearson is available in trade, and ups the odds of a Cleveland deal for Ramirez significantly.

The pen is...
Romano/Mayza/Garcia/Cimber/Richards/Phelps/Merryweather/Stripling - 8 man limit this year. Phelps is a NRI but a lock if healthy, Merryweather I figure the Jays will keep in the pen if healthy, meaning Pearson is in AAA unless someone goes down.

Fun times. FYI: the deal for Kikuchi is $16 mil this year, $10 mil each of 2023/2024.
Rotation cost: Berrios/Gausman/Manoah/Kikuchi/Ryu = 2022: $11/$21/$0.7/$16/$20 = $68.7; 2023: $16/$21/$0.7/$10/$20 = $67.7; 2024: $18/$24/arb?/$10/unk = $52++; 2025/6: $19/$23/arb/???/??? = $42+++

Pearson threw on Friday. I am not sure what the team looks for. No pain issues I presume.

At some point they will know how all the unknowns are doing. If a pitcher is not doing enough to make the team he can be optioned. Hatch can be optioned. Borucki cannot.

Which pitchers if any get injured in ST. Yates was unable to pitch last year and was paid his $5 mil. Phelps pitched in 11 games and was out by May 5. Got paid.

Some bad decisions. Roark. Some good decisions. Ray by Atkins.

Like the signing. Seemingly decent floor with moderately high ceiling.

I don’t think this makes Pearson any more of a trade candidate. He was not going to be a full time starter this season, and is probably even a long shot to log big innings in 2023 as well. I’m hoping he can do what Kopech did last year, then take on a Stripling type role in 2023. So 80-100 innings this year, 120-130 in 23. He’d be a major asset if he could deliver that.

Kikuchi, like Ryu, was very good in the first half of 2021 (6-3, 3.18 in his first 15 starts) and kind of fell to pieces (1-5, 6.22 in the next 14) in the second half. It's been suggested that the weirdness of 2020 had a strange effect on many pitchers the following year, and that could be one of them - people running out of gas ahead of schedule.

Read on Twitter the idea of the Jays going with a 6 man rotation to start the year until everyone up to 100+ pitches - not a bad idea, but not a big fan of that either. I more like the idea of piggyback situations with Stripling as a backup for, say, Ryu to start and someone else for Kikuchi as both have had issues with wearing down in the past. So Ryu/Stripling and Kikuchi/Pearson would be nice. Leaving everyone else as standard 1 IP relievers for the horses (Berrios/Gausman/Manoah).

Options...
Past experience level for options to be a factor: Gausman, Ryu, Berrios (duh), Garcia, Stripling, Phelps
0 Options: Richards, Borucki, José De León, Biagini,
1 Option: Merryweather (bonus due to injuries), Anderson, Vasquez, Castro, Lawrence
2 Options: Hatch, Kay, Pearson, Thornton, Snead, Saucedo, Beasley, Allgeyer, Mayza, Romano
3 Options: Danner, Luciano, Francis, Logue, Cimber, Manoah, Kikuchi

Now, obviously some guys won't be using their options (Cimber, Romano, Mayza) but the others are noteworthy. The 0 option crew has Richards (no risk), Borucki (on the edge) and 2 NRI's. Merryweather, Castro will both have their options used I suspect this year, Vasquez & Lawrence aren't on the roster.

So things are really getting interesting. Do the Jays have the guts to take a risk and do a big trade for Ramirez? Is Cleveland willing to trade him for a reasonable package? Do the Jays risk $100+ mil on Bryant instead (who could move to LF if needed, backup Vlad too at 1B)? Do the Jays risk $60+ mil on the Japanese RF Suzuki? These are questions that need to be answered in the next week I suspect or will be answered for the Jays (by players signing elsewhere). Do they sign another reliever and make the pen scary deep?

I like the signing. A little risky based on the years, but upside is there to be a lot better than he's shown. Seems like they are signing him based on what they think he can become rather than what he is. Maybe Walker can do something with him. A LH starter who can throw in the mid-90s and has swing and miss stuff is something he has had some success with recently (Ray, Matz).

I don't think this says anything about their intentions with Pearson. He threw 45 innings last year (mostly in relief), 18 in 2020, and less than 2 innings in 2018. He's only had one season of any real significance and that was 101 innings in 2019. With the lack of innings combined with command issues when he did pitch, he's just not a realistic starting option in 2022. Having him and Stripling as the first line of depth starters, rather than depending on them in the top 5, is a better outcome for the team.

Of course the Jays could still trade Pearson, especially if it's for someone like Ramirez, but they needed to acquire another SP anyway.

So far, the Jays have managed to avoid burning a draft pick as a result of their FA signings. We'll see if that holds in the coming days.

I’m kind of “meh” on this signing in the abstract. In its favour is that he’s LH and therefore balances the rotation a bit better and the Jays are short on viable depth starting options. Against this is that he’s been pretty mediocre in the majors to date particularly when you consider how friendly his home park is to LH starters. However, my bigger concern is resource allocation. The lineup is still suffering the imbalance that it had last year. It needs a LHH with a bit of a mix of offensive skills. If there’s still a plan to add that bat then this move is more logical. If the cash went to this signing over that then thumbs down.

I'm all for trading Pearson for a 3B. This signing allows that especially if the team on the other side of the deal is high on Pearson.

I wonder whether the front office consulted Pete Walker about the acquisition. Something along the lines of, "can you help this guy elevate his game?"

I hope they keep Pearson……unless he is one of the sweeteners in a Ramirez trade. Frankly I would rather see a trade of that nature than A long term contract for a Bryant or Freeman as they would limit funds available for Guerrero and Bichette contracts.

This may not be popular but…I would be willing to trade Pearson, Groshans, Kirk and if necessary Gurriel for Ramirez, then sign another fielder, ideally another LH. The team would be a powerhouse and Ramirez would bridge to Martinez. Some SP risk down the road as not much else in the high minors. But for the next two years they would be scary good and still be able to extend their core.

Just 5 guys left who had a QO who rejected it and are unsigned.

Carlos Correa (SS), Trevor Story (SS), Freddie Freeman (1B), Michael Conforto (RF), Nick Castellanos (RF)

I seriously doubt the Jays will sign any of them. Conforto (29) has hit 255/356/468 over the past 3 years, Castellanos (30) 278/329/486 - I have zero interest in the Jays signing either even if there wasn't a draft pick attached. Freeman is reported to be debating between the Dodgers and Atlanta right now. Story and Correa refuse to leave SS and will require very big deals.

I put only Correa as possible due to the Jays showing a willingness to go nuts on a deal - 3 times over 6 WAR in his career including last year, entering his age 27 season so he has 'wow' potential and Bo might move to 2B willingly for him (like he said he'd do for Lindor). His post-season 272/344/505 line is sweet too. I suspect Springer is pushing for him behind the scenes. His market also hasn't grown like he expected so that might make the Jays a more tempting location. It'll be interesting to see. Story also is an excellent SS but never has had a 7 WAR season (Correa twice), entering his age 29 season and has Colorado as a home park being a big negative.

My gut says the Jays don't sign any of the QO guys at this point. None are perfect fits and all are expensive. Bryant is a better fit, Ramirez a perfect fit. Trick is making a deal with Cleveland or convincing Bryant to sign here. I've liked Chapman too but Oakland is reported to be asking for a fortune to get him.

Happy the Jays took my advice, so naturally a big thumbs up on the Kikuchi deal and I predict it will be a steal of a deal. Pearson has only pitched 65 innings in the last 2 years and not very well, so he cannot be expected to give volume innings even if he pitches well. Now to add some LHH balance and move one of the RH outfielders.

A bit of wild speculation - I think that the Jays are unlikely to be on the inside track with Suzuki, but if they still have lots more cash they are willing to spend, why not try? Not sure how comfortable Suzuki would be on a team without any Japanese player. Maybe not an issue, but if I learn we do sign Suzuki, I will wonder if the two are linked…

In any case, the only rumour I hear is about how very busy the Jays are today. I think/hope there’s plenty more to come!

The Mets have acquired Chris Bassitt from the A’s. I’m curious to see what they gave up for him. DeGrom, Scherzer, and Bassitt is a nice front three in the rotation (not without injury risk, though).

The Mets deal for Bassitt is interesting from a Jays angle as it is a strong indicator the A's are tearing down. The 2 they got are J.T. Ginn - A+ ball starter, could be ready next year quite easily and Adam Oller who reached AAA last year. Both could reach quickly but weren't top 5 in the Mets prospects lists from what I can tell (Ginn was #7 via BA in 2021). Neither made the top 100 lists.

Bassitt is on his final year before free agency (age 33) but has never had 160 innings in a single season (157 last year). An excellent pitcher, but not a #1/2 guy until he shows he can give you 6+ consistently (10 times under 6 IP last year). Wonder what the price on Chapman is?

One nice thing about the Gausman and Kikuchi contracts: no opt-out clauses.

Weird - on Twitter Biggio is trending - seems there is a strong rumor he is being made part of a big trade, and the Jays will sign Villar to be a backup infielder. Could the Ramirez trade actually happen? If it does I think playoff tickets will need to be made. Btw, I don't see Biggio as the key part, just an important part of a deal for Ramirez or Chapman - either would require some ML player to fill the hole in that teams lineup this year, but not too good a player or the deal wouldn't make an iota of sense.

Villar signed. I hope this is just a prelude to something bigger…

Nope sorry. Just an offer. Still..

Would be surprised to see Biggio traded, he's the Jays only LH bat and you'd be trading him at pretty low value. Villar would be fine as a stop-gap at 3B until one of the young guys is ready. Not overwhelming but Jays don't need overwhelming now. He was atrocious with the Jays but he's a decent player. Still think a trade for Ramirez just makes so much sense now if Guardians will accept a Kirk, Pearson, and Groshans base of a package.

Biggio has breakout potential, he has been shifted 80% of the time, it will be interesting to see the results once that’s not an option.

I like Biggio's chances of bouncing back offensively, but I'm skeptical of him being the "super utility" player some seem to envision - he hasn't looked good defensively anywhere but second.  Maybe his back injury justifies another attempt at third, but I think I'd rather see Espinal there, if they aren't bringing in Bryant/Ramirez/etc.

Biggio looks like a nice hitting, decent-fielding second baseman. I think you've got to either embrace that, or move on.

With Semien gone, I would would fully embrace Biggio as your second baseman.

I like the fit with Ramirez at 3B, however any package starts with Moreno and Pearson in my opinion.

If Biggio is traded then we are weakened at 2b IMO. If we get someone expensive back like Ramirez than the farm and payroll are hurt.

As moves are made we are seeing the long and short term philosophy of Shapiro/Atkins. The farm was hurt by trading for Berrios but he is young. A lot of long term payroll is committed to Springer, Berrios and Gausman. Highish payroll is only safe if the team wins, which brings in high revenue. If the team loses then Montoyo, Shapiro and Atkins could lose their jobs.

All teams have 4 playoff spots available to win. Their division and 3 WCs. Enough games have to be won to capitalize on the available revenue. IMO Jays fans will be satisfied with a lot less winning than NYY and Boston. Jays ownership is very unwilling to go past the luxury threshold IMO. I think at their highest payroll they were still maybe 15% below the threshold. For 2018 (73 wins) and 2019 (67 wins) payroll was high. However ownership basically knew that Shapiro was not responsible for this. Now Shapiro is responsible for all the good and bad that is coming IMO.

I would not trade more than 2 top 100 prospects for Ramirez. That means only 2 of Kirk, Pearson or Groshans would go out for him, if it was my decision.

Martinez, Moreno and Groshans I wouldn't trade, there's way to much upside with those 3. Groshans has been a huge disappointment so far and he's still playing at an advanced level for his age and a top 100 prospect. I still see future all star potential with him.

We're finally at a point where management could sign a LH bat and 3B and keep all their prospects to have "waves of incoming players" as they promised years ago.

I am very intrigued by Trevor Story, even though he doesn't bat LH and he is a product of Coors field. I love the base stealing and hit tool.

I remember Villar from 2020. Strong offense but weak defense. He got a lot of ABs with the Mets last year. 454ABs. He will be 31 in May so I expect him to try for a full time role for 2022. So a weak team will sign him. Pittsburg, Baltimore or Minnesota and maybe TB as a DH. I doubt Oakland brings him in.

Oakland is shedding payroll. Last year 8th place, 86 wins so pretty good. We will see if they trade Manaea, Chapman and Olson. Those 3 + Bassitt could make for a fast rebuild, except they are FAs soon and of course would fix payroll.

I think Kirk and Groshans could get you Chapman after a down year, but not an elite hitter like Ramirez.

So yeah we kind of have to be the team that gets chapman.

Do we care that Chapman struck out in a third of his PA during 2020-21? Seems like he might not be such a good hitter anymore (or it could be injury-related and he’ll be better in 2022). If the team is going to ship out a big package of prospects, I would prefer that it be for Ramirez.

Are they trading ramirez?

I think people are rating the return for Jose Ramirez too high, same with Chapman.

Nolan Arenado was traded a year ago for LHP Austin Gomber, INF Mateo Gil, INF Elehuris Montero, RHP Tony Locey, and RHP Jake Sommers. He had an opt out which made it the equivalent of 1 year left on his contract. Here's the other important part, The Rockies also sent $51 million along with Arenado to offset the contract, so without that huge amount of money the return would have been even less.

Francisco Lindor was traded about the same time for INF Andrés Giménez, INF Amed Rosario, RHP Josh Wolf, OF Isaiah Greene. Also included in that trade was Carlos Carrasco.

Now people are throwing the idea of trading Groshans, Kirk and Pearson as a starting point or possibly including Moreno as the centre piece. If the Cardinals and Mets were able to get those star players without trading 3 or more high high upside players in AA or higher, why would the Jays pay more?

The Jays overpaid for Berrios because there was a lot of competition and they didn't have many other options. This scenario is different. Is Ramirez really that much better than Kris Bryant because he bats left as well? Is he important enough to trade away our 3 or more of our best prospects? Not for me.

I would try to get Chapman and think he could be had for high upside lower ranked prospects centred around one legit prospect in the upper minors like Pearson or Groshans. The A's just traded Bassitt with 1 year of control left for a solid SP prospect plus a decent one.

Can anyone explain the Reds side of the trade of Sonny Gray???

Ramirez has a super team-friendly contract and is a better player than Arenado. Not really comparable.

“ Since the start of 2016, only three players have accumulated more than 30 WAR: Mike Trout, Mookie Betts and Ramírez. ”

And a team friendly contract. He’ll cost a fortune. If you believe the trade simulator, the package I mentioned above including Gurriel wouldn’t be enough.

Also, especially with the 12-team playoffs, the Guardians may want to take their chances at making the postseason this year. Or at least seeing how the first half of the season goes. Ramirez probably isn’t getting moved until at least the summer trade deadline.

Chapman would be a good addition if the A’s are having trouble getting a good offer and the Jays can acquire him for a lesser package (say, Groshans and a couple of top-20 prospects).

Atkins and Shapiro said after the season that they wanted to add some left-handed bats to the lineup. After signing starting pitching and bullpen arms, it's the only thing they have left to do.

LH hitter can mean a wide variety of things. Corey Seager is a LH bat. So is Schwarber. So is JBJ. Very different quality players, though.

https://www.baseballtradevalues.com/trades/trade-36119/

https://www.baseballtradevalues.com/trades/trade-40839/

The Lindor and Arenado trades were almost equal in value. If you use the same simulator for Ramirez trades you can see why he has such high value. It will cost a lot of aquire an elite talent on a great contract.

Were you using values before their down seasons?

Ramirez's team friendly contract doesn't help the Jays if they trade a bunch of cheap guys to get him.
If they wait until the deadline to offload Ramirez, they might go all prospects.

Mets are spending like there is no CBT.
Yankees have signed Tim Locastro. Maybe that's it for Gardner.

Jays have signed Tyler Heineman to a minor league contract.

Question. What happened to Jeff McNeil last season, and would he be worth taking a chance on? He’s still young and has been a good hitter in the majors, apart from last season. He hits left and can play second base and third base.

I think Jeff O’Neil would be good buy low option at 3B. I think even a deal centred around Danny Jansen for O’Neil and a couple of live arms like Ziegler and Diaz would work for me. I think O’Neil is another hitter who will benefit from loosing the shift. We could ride Kirk/McGuire until Moreno is ready.

Regarding any trade rumors out there about the Jays acquiring Ramirez or Chapman, I remember AA cautioning us "If you hear the rumor then most likely it will not happen". IMO we are being played by the media!!

Further proof is that the Gausman and Kikuchi signings were barley mentioned in the media.

Yankees apparently have traded for Donaldson and Kiner Falefa.Stopgap SS and power upgrade at Ss.Twins get Sanchez and Urshela. Could come oit ahead , but will make Yankeea tougher this year.
Will be curious to see how it finalizes.Apparently try my phone is back?

bpoz - excellent point. The talk of the Jays having a bigger budget and stuff got me dreaming again. But the bigger might have just been an extra $20 mil for this year or something. Ignoring 2020 Villar has been a decent player and actually might not be a bad idea. WAR the past few years 2021-2020-... - 1.7, 0, 4.7, 2.9, 0.2, 3.2 - you get the idea. He can be a 2-4 WAR guy if healthy and playing. But he also can slump to replacement level (or below as he did here). He can cover 3B/SS/2B - just like Espinal but a lot more speed (232-66 SB-CS lifetime) and switch hits. I could easily see him mixing and matching with Escobar and Biggio between 2B/3B then if any of the 3 slump that one gets taken out of the 3 man 2 position thing.

Chapman and Ramirez both look like very good fits - strong defensive 3B who play everyday and have had 7 WAR seasons. Generally I feel if you are going for an upgrade, go all the way or just hold off until you can do it cheaply. For no cost beyond cash Kris Bryant is the ideal choice (even if he hits right) as outside of 2020 he has had a 120+ OPS+ every single year, he has played 3B/LF/CF/RF/1B and even SS in the past 2 years which fits very nicely with the Jays way. Villar is the cheap option (under $10 mil) that the Jays could cut if needed mid-season. Lots of options, but what will the Jays do? Espinal, if he really upped his strength in the offseason could become a solid option at 3B too.

Good trade by the Yankees, in my opinion.

Cashman strikes yet again.

As for the Donaldson news, I just shrug. Glad he's not coming here. Much as I loved the playoff Jays of several years ago, I'm not a fan of the egos and chip-on-the-shoulders of the Donaldson-Bautista-Stromans. I'll take the character, team-oriented - and skilled - guys on this roster.

In other news, I see Danny Jansen just got married. Officiating the wedding was Rowdy Tellez. Check Hazel Mae's twitter feed for some pics.

I had no real desire to see Atkins trade for Donaldson. I just think that it’s a good move for New York (Sanchez and Urshela in exchange for IKF and JD and Rortvedt).

This is an interesting trade for the Yankees - one they wouldn't have remotely considered a year ago.

Gio Urshela: the guy the Jays dumped who became a star in NY - 133/137 OPS+ in 2019/2020. He dropped to a 96 last year while flip flopping between SS and 3B. Not a free agent until after 2023.

Gary Sanchez: a catcher who had a lifetime OPS+ of 121 before 2020, but just 90 in 2020/2021. A free agent after this year.

To the Yankees...
Donaldson: since leaving Toronto has had WAR's of 4.6, 0.7, and 3.1 in 2019/20/21. Entering his age 36 season I'd be surprised if he gets over 3 WAR again. Owed $43.5 over the next 2 years, then an $8 mil buyout or $16 mil to play in 2024 - buyout could increase by up to $4 mil if he does well in award voting. I was thinking he'd be a good plan D for the Jays (after the big 2 trade potentials and Bryant) but the more I look the more I see a guy who really is unlikely to be a good contributor in 2022 and beyond.

Isiah Kiner-Falefa: A defense first SS/3B who can catch if needed. Nice. But that 81 OPS+ lifetime is scary low (over 1523 PA). Free Agent after 2023.

Ben Rortvedt: a young catcher, just 24 this year. Highest OPS in the minors was a 750 last year, but just a 41 OPS+ in limited playing time for the Twins last year. Strong on defense.

This pushes the Yankees over the $230 mark for the luxury tax, but not up to the $250 tier two mark (less than $10 mil of space to spare). This makes it less likely they will chase Freeman and others, still possible depending on how much tax/penalties they are willing to deal with. They are a long way from the big penalty of having draft picks moved back 10 slots (need to be $40 mil over for that, or at $270+).

Depending how it affects the Yankees choices this could be bad or good for them in the end. Sanchez and Urshela could easily make it look really bad right away if they get back to their 2019 form, or if they stay at their 2021 levels it looks better for the Yankees. Donaldson getting hurt again or having a normal decline phase at age 36 could make it look really bad quickly, but if he finds the fountain of youth in NY then not so much. IKF will help their defense in a way they haven't seen since pre-Jeter while giving them a big hole in the lineup. Rovtvedt looks like a likely backup catcher to me who will be forced into a full time role unless the Yankees have another trick up their sleeve. Their other catcher right now is Kyle Higashioka (defense first, lifetime 65 OPS+ entering age 32 season so unlikely to be more than he already has shown). A pitching/defense Yankee team - that'll be different.

The biggest thing is the Yankees are now probably out of the Correa/Story free agency battle. Suddenly the idea of the Jays getting one of them and shifting Bo isn't as insane as it seemed a day ago. Still very, very unlikely but as dance partners vanish the Jays might get a Semien situation again. Wouldn't that be sweet?

That's a strange trade. Yankee fans really don't like it.

The Yankees were never interested in Correa or Story.
They want to let their prospects rise and spend elsewhere.

The Yankees pitchers are happy.
The rest of the clubhouse might be another story.
Donaldson speaks his mind and called out Cole last year about the "sticky stuff".
They are better defensively, but the offense will rely on guys who get hurt a lot.

Short training camp/condensed schedule could make things interesting.

1B LeMahieu
RF Judge
DH Stanton
3B Donaldson
LF Gallo
2B Torres
CF Hicks ?
SS Kiner-Falefa
C Rortvedt

Bench: Higashioka, Voit, Peraza, Locastro

Now the Twins.
Both Urshela and Sanchez are coming off down years.
Sanchez is a terrible catcher and they have a rotation of Sonny Gray, Dundy, Ober, Ryan and Dobnak.

I don't think Cleveland will trade Ramirez after that.

No doubt Cashman also wanted to end the Sanchez catching experiment in New York (which almost cost the team a postseason spot last year).

It looks like Minnesota was even more desperate to offload Donaldson.
Maybe they go after Story.

The Yankees trading for a glove first SS instead of signing a prime Correa doesn’t seem like the Yankees of years ago.

Yankees aren’t done yet. They are trying hard to get Matt Olson but OAK is demanding Volpe in the deal. They are also still in the mix for Freddie Freeman. I hope someone else gets both because if Cashman gets Volpe for a package of Peraza, Gil and Schmidt I’ll just roll my eyes.

That NYY line up, if healthy, is as good as ours.

NYY are going to spend their way to success. Big offense.

Will they have enough pitching? A healthy Cole and Severino would help. Cole no sticky stuff. Severino is probably on an innings limit due to only 18IP in the last 3 years.

NYY will be very busy at the trade deadline IMO.

I guess trade is OK for Yankees but seems pretty unambitious. Maybe Donaldson has one more elite year in him but he's 36 and complete collapse seems as likely as that. (Most likely IMO is one more year as poor defensive 3Bman and then move to DH with plenty of injuries mixed in). His contract is definitely a massive negative (how much would he get as a free agent? 2/$20?) Yankees are definitely a better team but at a huge cost and only slightly better. Also, Cole and Donaldson on same team is going to be...fun? No idea what the Twins are doing either.

That takes them off the market for Correa who I now hope the Jays are on now as more teams bow out.

I hope the Twins use the money the saved on Donaldson to sign Story... Yankee fans would lose their minds.

I don't agree there. The Yankees don't usually trade their top prospects.
They've been doing this for a long time now.
They went from Didi to Torres.
Even when they acquired A-Rod, it wasn't to put him at shortstop.

Who's the last good Yankees prospect who was traded and became a star somewhere else?

This is just a one year placeholder move, at best.

What is not clear is if they will upgrade their catcher.
They have no up and coming catching prospect.
They can't be happy with the current pair.

We'll see, but they need to keep some flexibility with Donaldson not being a guy who can be relied on at 3B.
He DHed quite a bit last year.

If they upgrade at first, that pushes either Torres or LeMahieu to the bench, assuming they trade Voit.
They have more glaring holes.

Interesting tweet from Ken Rosenthal, if we needed any further indication that a Ramirez trade is unlikely:

“Guardians a team to watch. Deep farm system (No. 8 in @keithlaw’s rankings), as well as some financial flexibility. Exploring high-end and mid-level bats (OF, 1B) as well as bullpen help, with preference for multi-year control. Among teams in mix for Athletics 1B Matt Olson.”

Interestingly, one of their weakest spot last year was Rosario in LF.
Funny how that turned out.

They just signed Luke Maile as backup catcher for 900K.
They could just sit tight and see what's left for cheap once the dust settle.
It looks like the plan right now it lots of platoons.

I don't forsee the Jays trading for Ramirez.
Mostly because the actual value of Nate Pearson is less then what most Jays fans think it is imo.
NP is all hype, his results have been meh in the mid/high minors, and he has no clue where his pitches are going.

Cleveland really has no reason to trade Ramirez. Their payroll is already nothing with him on the roster, and they are in a perpetually bad division with an extra Wild Card spot now up for grabs. Seeing how the first half goes and trading him at the deadline if they are out of it is what I'd expect them to do unless they want to intentionally tank.

I like the idea of going after Correa. The teams realistically in on him seem to be dwindling. I would think he goes back to Houston now, but maybe the Jays can swoop in. I believe he was looking for more than Lindor got before the off-season began, but I don't think there's any chance he gets that now. It depends on where exactly his price has fallen, in both years and dollars, to determine whether it makes sense for the Jays. If he's still looking for a 10 year deal, then that's too much. If he's open to a shorter deal with a higher AAV, then that's where the Jays can flex some muscle.

In 2 years, Orelvis Martinez could be a very good third baseman but both Gurriel and Hernandez are set to depart at that time. So Ramirez is not a long term fix.

Cleveland has lots of good infield prospects and better outfield prospects than the Jays have.
Moreno could be very attractive to them, but I'd keep 6 years of Moreno over 2 years of Ramirez.
Other than that, Cleveland would certainly want pitching which the Jays will also need long term.

I hope the Jays dont empty their farm system for Ramirez.

Assuming they dont, how about a minor? league signing of Matt Duffy?

He signed minor league contracts the last two seasons. Last year he played for the Cubs and had a 1.7 WAR in 95 games. He hit .287/.357/.381. He is a right handed hitter and can play all IF positions but plays mostly 3B.

Played for TB and SF so likely has good habits. He put up 3.9 and 2.9 WAR seasons. I dont know about his defense, but does not have high errors.

Not a ton of power and does not check off the LHH box but otherwise would be a good stopgap until Espinal/ Moreno/ Groshans/ Smith emerge.

Is the Yankees new SS much better than Espinal?

"Is the Yankees new SS much better than Espinal?"

Yes. Zips as IKF as an almost 3 WAR SS. They have Espinal as less than a 1 WAR 3Bman.

I'm really pretty happy with the team as is. Now that they have Kikuchi I think the team looks pretty much all wrapped up in bow. It's not that I am not open to a Ramirez trade or Freeman getting signed or a decent left-handed bat that could take Grichuk out of the lineup, but for me the extra pitcher was the key and now that we have him I am ready for the Blue Jays 95 win season to begin. I don't think having Espinal and Grichuk on the lineup is going to sink this team. I can wait for the trade deadline or midseason to re-assess what's most needed at that point.

To be honest, I think with that starting 5 (and bullpen) the Jays are sitting really pretty. The optimist in me, thinks all 5 have Cy Young capability. Ryu, is getting a bit old and Manoah is too young to say that, but the other 3 definitely do. If Pete can get Kikuchi straightened out, he might be the best out of the 5. After watching him in Seattle for 3 years, he can be very frustrating. He looks like Cy Young one start then looks like a pitching tee then next start.

Given that, having these 5 for the full year, and the expanded playoffs is going to be good news for the Jays.

I sure hope the Jays don't go after any of the big ones left in free agency. We have some big contracts coming and I would hate to see a Correa signing mean we lose one of our own. If we can get a Marte or Rameriz, that would be great, without cleaning out the farm system. I would rather see a trade deadline acquisition, assuming Biggio and Espinal need to be replaced, which I am not 100% sure of.

The Yankees had to dump Sanchez and get some better defense up the middle. The Twins wanted to get rid of Donaldson's 50 million (and the medical staff needed to keep him on the field). I think removing Sanchez makes the Yanks a better team, but in the end this trade is ... meh...

"Yes. Zips as IKF as an almost 3 WAR SS. They have Espinal as less than a 1 WAR 3Bman."

Steamer has them at 1.8, 1.7 with IKF getting more at bats.

2 more years of control of Ryu, Grichuk, Hernandez and Gurriel. Just 1 year of Stripling. So we will need replacements.

The offense is possibly set if some or all of Groshans, Moreno, Martinez and Kirk graduate and are good. But none play the outfield.

There are a lot of players on the 40 man roster that need to prove something this year. Borucki, Castro, Hatch, Kay, Merryweather, Pearson, Saucedo, Snead and Thornton. They are on the 40 man roster to produce rather than protect from rule 5 like Danner. Similar for the IF are Biggio and Espinal solidifying their spots as regulars/semi regulars. O Lopez and K Smith may get a chance because it is a long season. Palacios in the OF is a similar story about getting a chance because it is a long season and stuff happens.

We had young player successes last year Manoah (big surprise), Romano's success was hoped for, Mayza bounced back. Espinal was also quite decent considering his ML experience so far is as a part time player.

I'm pretty sure there's a left bat coming in at some point even if it's just Villar.
News is that Villar has turned down 6.5M + bonus from Atkins.

IKF has a better DRS and Espinal has a better UZR/150. That’s the deviation in their different projections, for all intensive purposes I think they are very similar. Stats cast outs above average put Espinal as a much better fielder.

Tatis to miss 3 months with fractured wrist.

Matt Olson was just traded to the Braves, so Freeman is going somewhere else.

That's a tough blow for SD

Good to think ahead with who is leaving...

Free agents after...
2022: Stripling - that's it.
2023: Ryu, Grichuk, Hernandez, Gurriel, Cimber, Garcia has an option
2024: Kikuchi, Garcia (if option exercised), Jansen, Richards, Borucki
2025: Vlad, Biggio, Mayza, Bo, Romano, potentially Thornton & McGuire.

Obviously 2025 is the nuclear year. Next winter minimal risk, 2023 sees 3 of our 4 OF's hit free agency at the same time (yikes) along with our 2020 ace and a solid reliever in Cimber. No question the Jays right now are planning out how to deal with that OF situation. Ryu will hurt if he goes but not too much as he also is a bit of high maintenance (personal catcher in Jansen, falls apart late in the season so far so endurance a big issue). 2024 won't be too big a deal I suspect, then we hit the yikes year (Bo/Vlad).

Return for Olsen is Pache, Langeliers, Cusick, and more so As got a good package back but it's still embarrassing watch a team try so hard to not spend money. A's need a new owner.

Swashbuckling Anthopoulos, back at it.

Chapman is definitely getting dealt. The question is when: now, at the trade deadline, or next winter.

What the heck are intensive purposes?

For all intents and purposes, I think "intensive purposes" means "for all intents and purposes."

Good quality package. Chapman and Manaea to go next I suppose. Should be a fast rebuild.

Oakland had a pretty good record last year and they have good fans but they seem to be forced to be cheap. Cleveland is similar. Keep Ramirez because they can afford him and fight for a playoff spot and get revenue. Only CWS is good in the NL West IMO. Detroit thinks they can contend but need to prove it. KC's rebuild needs 1 or 2 more years.

Not that the Braves are spending a ton here.

It’s fair value for both sides, but I don’t love the prospects the athletics received. Christian Pache’s value has tanked when it showed he can’t really hit at the upper levels and his defence wasn’t generational talent level. If I was a Braves fan though I would be upset we moved on from Freeman.

Looking at the Jay's FA schedule there may be a rebuild for 2026 if we cannot extend Vlad and Bo.. We would need those waves of prospects. Also we can think about trading Gausman, Berrios and Springer for a faster rebuild. We may get extra draft picks if we keep them. But they have to qualify for that.

What ever happens I am going to enjoy this window!!

Pipeline had Pache as Atlanta's #1 prospect, Langeliers #2, Cusick #6 and Estes #14.
That sure looks like an AA trade.

The Olsen trade is very balanced according to Baseball Trade Values. Suggesting that site might be reasonable for a Chapman trade. So what would that take? Kirk & Pearson is a tiny overpay (by about 1 point), but Gurriel and Smith might get it done if the A's are desperate (off by 5 points). Heck, the system suggests Jansen on his own might do the job now.

I really hope this doesn’t mean Freeman is going to sign with the Yankees. He would be an insane upgrade for them

Oakland had a pretty good record last year and they have good fans

What use are "good fans" if they don't buy tickets? Almost every year the A's are near the bottom in attendance.

Four years is a long time.
The QO goes away if there is an International draft.

That huge deal for Tatis is looking bad now since he can't seem to stay healthy.

On the Tatis news...

@JesseRogersESPN
Probably not a great thing, when Fernando Tatis was asked when his motorcycle accident happened, he responded, ‘which one.’

"Anthony DiComo @AnthonyDiComo · 3h
Pete Alonso says he got in a "brutal" car accident yesterday. His car flipped over three times. He says he feels fortunate to be alive.

He is well now and will be back to the field tomorrow."

Time for some car/motorcycle remedial driving lessons?

"IKF has a better DRS and Espinal has a better UZR/150. That’s the deviation in their different projections, for all intensive purposes I think they are very similar. Stats cast outs above average put Espinal as a much better fielder."

IKF is a SS so you're comparing numbers against someone down the defensive spectrum. Apples and oranges.

The Braves fans might be upset that the club moved on from Freeman for sentimental reasons but I think Olson is an upgrade on Freeman (albeit probably only marginally). I actually like this deal for the A's even with there being a big question about Pache's ability to hit.

Carlos Baerga says Freeman to Toronto.

https://twitter.com/baseball_domain/status/1503468217079017472

Espinal has a better UZR/150 than IKF at SS and 3B, pretty apples to apples there. Baseball trade values have them both listed at 8,5M surplus value, they are very close players. From a hitting perspective even their carrier BB%, K% and ISO% are nearly identical.

Carlos Baerga says Freeman to Toronto.

Hmmmm ... I could be really good with this!

Does this mean Guerrero to third? I kind of hope so.

It would be a similar scenario to when the Tigers signed Prince Fielder and pushed Miguel Cabrera back across the diamond.

Oakland attendance...
Over 30k per game: 4 times in history - 1989-1992
25-29k per game: 7 times - 1988, 1993, 2001-2005
20-24k per game: 12 times - 1981, 1987, 1994, 2006-2008, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2019
10-19k: 34 times (23 in Oakland)
under 10k: 64 times (7 in Oakland plus 2020) Oakland years are 2021 with the rest between 1969 and 1979

For comparison Montreal...
Over 30k per game: never
25-29k per game: 5 times (1979-1983)
20-24k per game: 5 times (1987, 1989, 1992-1994)
10-19k: 22 times (last was 2003)
under 10k: 4 times (1976, 1999, 2001, 2004) - worst was 2001 7,935

Tampa only cracked 30k once (1998 their first year), never over 24k per game since. Under 10k last year. Just shy of 15k in 2019.
Miami cracked 30k twice (1993, 1994), 25k two more times (2012, 1997), under 24k every other season, under 8k last year, but in 2018/19 they were barely over 10k (10,014 and 10,016).

No question in my mind that Oakland, Miami, and Tampa Bay should all move soon. The fans just don't come out to their games, even when winning. Oakland used to in the 90's and even the early 00's, but now they barely show.

For comparison, the Jays over 50k once (1993), 40k 6 times (1989-1994, 2016), 30k 11 times, 20's 19 times, 10's 7 times (1978-1982, 2010, 2021). The only time lower than 10k was 2020 (0). Last year was next worst thanks to the 3 stadium mess (10,074). I fully expect this year to be over 30k per game unless COVID restrictions come into play again. Something I cannot say for Miami, Tampa, or Oakland even if their team went 162-0. 7 times those teams went over 30k per game combined. The Jays had 40k+ 7 times.

Espinal has played 21 games at SS in his afreer. He just isn't the player IKF is. Both are good defenders and poor offensive players but IKF better at both. Plenty of teams would start IKF at SS including the Yankees. Can't imagine a contender starting Espinal anywhere.

With what the reds are doing, why not just go get Votto for nothing? His contract is 3/$70 or so which isn't great for Reds but Jays can take it. Makes more sense than Freeman for six years or something.

"It would be a similar scenario to when the Tigers signed Prince Fielder and pushed Miguel Cabrera back across the diamond."

Except that Detroit always had an expensive fulltime DH too.

Another rumor online is the Yankees have a deal set to announce with Freeman so right now everything is with a big grain of salt until announced.

That said, 6 years for Freeman sounds risky to me given his age and limited defense (1B/DH). Still, for 2022/2023 he'd be a big plus. Freeman listed as a 4.0 fWAR guy by ZiPS for 2022 which is the lowest of any projection system used by FanGraphs. 3.4 in 2023, 2.8 in 2024. = 10.2 over 3 years roughly worth $90-100 million. After that I'd be surprised if he produced at a 2 WAR per year level - so a 6 year deal would have the tail worth 6 WAR or roughly $54-60 mil. Net value of $144-$160 mil. Now, if Vlad can move to 3B and play acceptable defense (below average but not nightmare) we'd be looking at his value going up from the current 2022-2024 of 5.7-6.2-6.2 = 18.1 fWAR.

It would be a scary lineup for anyone facing the Jays. The DH would be a rotation of Vlad, Freeman, Springer, Bo to give each a day off and get Escobar in for defense (Vlad or Freeman off, CF would be backed up by Grichuk like in 2021). But right now the Yankees and Dodgers are both making big pushes for Freeman, and even the Rays appear in the mix (hard to imagine).

Couple of sources saying the Jays are being aggressive on Freeman. It's kinda crazy that they would pursue him, but I still hope it happens. It would be a huge splash and make the Jays a really excellent team over the next two or three years.

Apparently Alonso's truck was hit by a driver blowing through a red light. Driving lesson: truck good, motorcycle not so much.

A tip of the cap to the Braves - Even with extra revenue from winning the WS, the Braves resisted the temptation to give an aging team icon the 5-7 year contract he wanted and actually upgraded the position with Matt Olson whom I expect to outperform Freeman going forward - Braves fans may be upset but Olson should satiate them this year and they will be really happy in a few years when Freeman's salary is an anchor on another team - Also a smart trade by AA, Langeliers is probably the guy the Braves will miss in coming years, Pache's bat has declined and the Braves have quality young pitching.

Nice trade by Seattle, getting Jesse Winker for essentially taking on Eugenio Suarez salary - if they can resuscitate Suarez's bat then it will be a slam dunk - another team that will be in playoff contention.

It looks like FF to Toronto has some serious legs, very similar to how George Springer’s signing was revealed.

Perhaps Vladdy has requested to play 3B.

Maybe 25% chance he lands in TO?

Even if they don’t land him, sounds like there is serious coin in the hamper for another bat or late inning reliever. Plus some tradable assets. Good time to be a fan.

That would put Toronto as a favourite out of 4 teams, but no, it seems like more than 50% if I had to quantify it.

Gurriel Jr has added a “silence” emoji to Carlos Baerga’s post and Vladdy has “liked” it.

Right now for Freeman I'd put it as #1: Dodgers (he lives near there now), #2: Yankees (ugh); #3 Jays; #4 Rays (his wife is from the area it seems). I suspect he'd demand the most from the Yankees, kind of surprised he didn't sign with the Dodgers yet given he lives near there - seems ideal next to staying in Atlanta. The Rays are a weird wild card in the mix - if that happens I'd suspect partially would be due to the league trying to make the players happy about agreeing to the new deal and to help kill the lawsuit against teams for pocketing the revenue sharing cash (could see the other owners getting on Tampa to go out and sign someone so they don't look as cheap as they are).

Jays making a “big push” for Schwarber, per MLBTR. So probably out on Freeman…?

According to MLBTradeRumors, the Jays are making a strong push for Kyle Schwarber (another of my suggestions), probably an indication that Freeman is going elsewhere and I'd be happy with this outcome.

The only free agent that makes sense is Schwarber.

But, the jays figure they have a small window while getting Vlady and Bo cheap. Maybe they are loading up while they can.

FF right after Vlady would be incredible.

I would line happy with a Kyle Schwarber signing.

“ it’s possible that they will attempt to sign both Schwarber and Freeman, according to Shi Davidi.”

Can always dream I guess

I’m not high on Schwarber. He hit like Babe Ruth for a month but that’s not at all sustainable. Career year with .253 average. The body type and injuries scare me.

Freddie Freeman is exactly the type of player I would knock doors down for. Leader, amazing bat and left handed. Good fielder and body type to age well. Should see production go up in a better line up and with the shift being eliminated or cut back.

Seager and or Freeman would be the best non pitching upgrades available to this team imho. Not just out of the free agents but out of all MLB players. Maybe Yellich tops the list but he’s also injury prone and of course Soto is a pipe dream.

Schwarber is interesting - no QO, he actually hit slighly better with Boston after the injury than before it. I wouldn't expect a 140+ OPS+ going forward, but a 120+ is certainly likely I'd think. LF/1B who can catch if needed (has done so 26 times in the majors, but not since 2019 (1 inning that year) but I see that as an emergency thing (ie: both catchers are out of the game and you need someone to go back there).

Not as 'wow' as Freeman but certainly fills a need (LH power) and covers LF in case the Jays do a deal involving Gurriel to improve at 3B or 2B.

Ok so here is the latest update:

Freddie Freeman is down to Toronto and Los Angeles. Decision soon.

Source; bloggers live streaming twitter feeds on YouTube via my TV app.

Update: these bloggers have found a feed from Chelsea Freeman’s social that shows she is in Dodger stadium right now. Looks like Dodgers.

Update: she is not in Dodger stadium, it’s a re-posted photo from Game 5 of the NLCS.

Fun times - getting January and February transactions in a 2-3 week period basically. Jays rumored in on Freeman and Schwarber - both LH power bats. Seiya Suzuki thought to be down to 6 or 7 teams, Reds and A's in full dump mode it seems making Chapman and Votto on the 'might be available' list (Votto I love but at over $50 mil for 2 years (age 38/39) seems nuts to me). But he could be a backup to Freeman & Schwarber if he is willing to move (a very big if). So A) Freeman, B) Schwarber, C) any power bat they can find. Could C be trying to get Correa or Story and move Bo to 2B? Hmmm...

Sure beats the early 00's/ mid-late 90's when it was always 'how many prospects can we get for player xyz' it seemed.

Schwarber can DH and play some LF. Gurriel can play 1B when Guerrero is DHing.
You can rest him when a lefty start and have him pinch hit. Career OBP .343. I can live with that.

Votto has no intention to leave Cincy

Vladdy Jr’s Instagram account lists his position at 3B. Someone posted that yesterday it said 1B (not sure if that’s accurate, and if so, what it means).

Joey Votto partakes in Toronto comedy classes online, don't pretend like he won't go to Toronto when 1) his team is dumping salary and 2) Toronto is a contender.

Not everyone values a winner over continuity. Votto has given every indication that he's never leaving Cincinnati

Cincy has little continuity, it’s a fire sale. If Votto still maintains a social life in Toronto then wouldn’t moving here be consistent?

Votto is 38 and still due 50M.
It's hard to see a scenario in which he leaves the Reds.
Maybe at the deadline next year?

$26 million a year is in line with his performance. He had a great year last year. Have you seen his comments on the direction of Cincy? He talks about wanting to win and create new moments.

BOS is in the Freddie Freeman sweepstakes now. Tons of money off the books next year but they would need to go over the tax on year 1.

I think I would prefer Votto and a bullpen arm from Cincy as a salary dump vs Freeman or Schwarber since it leaves the $$$ open for Vlad and or Bo to resign.

I prefer Votto and a bullpen arm too. Then sign Schwarber.

I didn't know Freeman was dual citizen. I wonder if he is motivated to come back to his parents country. He did play for Canada in the WBC.

What the hell, bring Freeman and Votto here! Get Toro while you are at it.

I'm hoping for Freeman. Top of the lineup could be Springer, Bichette, Freeman, Guerrero and Hernandez -- as good or better than WAMCO. As Shi Davidi said on Tim and Friends last night," If you can get a great player, you'll find a place for him to play."

On another note, I was really surprised Brad Hand got a 6 million dollar contract from the Phillies. I looked up his career stats and he hasn't had a bad career, just really crapped the bed when he was with the Jays last year.

Freeman’s mom passed away when he was 10. Maybe he wants to come to Canada for her. I remember Arash Madani did a short commentary during in game broadcast when the Braves were playing Toronto and said that joining Canada in the WBC was a tribute to his mom.

Also…maybe he doesn’t want to be part of WWIII.

With all these deep-pocketed bidders, Freeman is going to sign a substantial contract. Maybe 6/$150m (just a guess). Maybe more than that.

I don't love Freeman as a fit because he ties up 1B where Vlad already is and don't really want to move Vlad back to 3B for more than a year or 2 but if the Jays want to splash the money, who cares? Sign everyone.

The Jays' DH spot is wide open. If Vladdy is okay with not playing 1B everyday, Freeman is a no-brainer fit for this team. Guerrero can play 3B when Springer needs a blow and they want to keep his bat in the lineup.

I don't like relegating Vlad to DH this early in his career (neither would he, most likely), and I don't think Freeman signs somewhere to DH, so Vlad would have to move back to 3B in that scenario. He's gotten himself into good shape so maybe he can be average to below average there for a few years rather than awful, but it's a big risk to take in a season when the team intends to seriously contend.

I think the team overall is probably better off signing Schwarber and trading for Chapman (assuming Ramirez is out of the question), which would improve the team defensively at 3B and give them a lefty power bat at DH/LF.

We are in an interesting situation. A few days ago there was talk that Freeman was about to sign but then days passed. I suspect he keeps getting more teams kicking the tires, and now that Atlanta is out (which should've been the high bidder) he is actually getting more aggressive bids as people now think they can get him. Thus now Boston is in it as well as the Yankees and Dodgers (generally seen as the big 3 for spending), plus the Jays (able to spend), plus the Rays (???). All we need is the Orioles to jump in and the whole AL East will be chasing him down. Depending how insane the bids get we might not want to win this one - if the deal gets to 6 or even 7 years at $30+ a year I'd walk. If he goes elsewhere I hope it gets that nuts as that could easily be a rock contract (IE: one that screws up budgets for a long time for someone).

Schwaber (geez is it hard to remember how to spell that - it just looks wrong) is an interesting alternative - unlikely to produce close to Freeman, but lands under 'good enough' for a tiny fraction of the cost/commitment. I brought Votto into it as he has been in the playoffs only 4 times in his 15 year likely HOF career - never past the first round, total of 11 games and didn't hit well overall (244/319/244). Very safe to say he would be desperate to get there by now, for at least one more kick at the title. Reds right now are projected to hit tons of HR but have a terrible pitching staff. Even with expanded playoffs I don't like their odds.

Votto is a patient hitter which would be very nice with this lineup. However he would be a DH most of the time I suspect. Still, with just a 2-3 year deal to work with his contract would come off the books at the perfect time, just as Vlad & Bo become very expensive. I see him as doing a Paul Molitor - a future HOFer who wants that ring after years of being the good soldier for his team and being rewarded with little (Molitor made it twice to the playoffs with the Twins, age 24/25) the year he joined the Jays was right after the Brewers came in 2nd but were cheap at the deadline and added nothing, not even risking paying David Cone for a month. Molly left and the Brewers lost over 90 the next year while Molitor got a ring as WS MVP. Votto could do the same. Jays in 1993 had a young star 1B in John Olerud (and hotshot prospect coming up in Delgado but he was still a catcher then) but that didn't stop them from getting a top DH.

" probably better off signing Schwarber and trading for Chapman "

My preference as well as I worry about the Freeman effect on Vlad.... return to 3B could distract his hitting and would rather be locking him and Bichette to LT contracts than a 32 year old. Not that I'd be disappointed in Freeman. Votto instead of Schwarber is fine as well.

With all the teams in play for both of them we could end up with neither. So I'm sure the team has multiple other options they are thinking about. Interesting times.

Agree, John, Votto could just be the ticket. Power, patience and left handed hitting, with the right length of contract. The Reds seem keen to cut spending, so we could be just the trade partner they want. Joey would have to leave Cinci, but it would mean coming home.

Because I am greedy, I also noticed, in the same article where Votto complained about the Reds’ salary dumping, that their ROY second baseman, India, was also sounding unhappy. So I propose a deal in which we pursue both of them and in return, we offer to take Votto without needing cash back, plus Biggio, plus just enough 2nd-tier prospects to give the Reds cover with their fans. We still wouldn’t have fixed 3B, but all the rest of the infield would be first rate and I would be happy with Espinal while waiting for any of Groshans / Martinez / Smith to step in.

I would not want to stop there, having seen the value of LHH or Switch-hitting batters. I saw recently that the Pirates were receiving expressions of interest on Bryan Reynolds. Wouldn’t he be perfect (albeit really expensive)? He could play a more dependable CF than GS, GS moves to right and the increasingly costly Teo moves to Pittsburgh. Why on earth would Pittsburgh do that (or for what price)?

I would be willing to offer Teo and, say, any 4 of Pearson, Groshans, Kirk, Hogland and Hiraldo, as a package. A chance for them to renew themselves for a generation. (My only prospect keepers would be Moreno and Martinez). Am I kidding myself? We do know the management there, so something might be done…

Ah, spring is in the air!

I hear great things about Freeman in the locker room.

Last years, the Jays drove me nuts because on paper they should have had more wins. I have chalked it up to maturity. I think the Jays could use a leader to get them to the next level, imo.

That being said, it might not be Freeman's locker room to own. And it could cause a riff. I have heard in the past that Donaldson and Freeman did not get along.

I think the Mariners nailed it in the trade for Cinncinati. At first, I didn't like, because I thought the Mariners were going to be major players this offseason. Now that I think about it, they have to overspend to get players to play in Seattle. Like the Jays, they have too many outfielders now. If Seattle can get a couple bullpen arms, they are going to be very good.

This hotstove year is so much fun!

Freeman odds (speculative): 35% LAD, 20% TOR, 20% NYY, 15% BOS, 10% TB

"Schwaber (geez is it hard to remember how to spell that - it just looks wrong)"

Indeed. Especially when you omit the first 'r' :)

I wonder if signing Freeman is an admission by the Jays that they don't think they'll be able to sign Vlad long-term. Fitness Vlad looks like he could handle third for a couple years, and then perhaps he moves on before the Jays run into a 1b/DH logjam.

I think it’s an acknowledgment that the team’s prime window of contention is the next three or four years. Signing Freeman would increase the team’s chances of winning a championship over that stretch.

Atlanta signed Olson to an 8/$168m extension.

Winning a championship would maximize revenue but LAD won in 2020 only. They had the talent and best record in the NL but often did not even make it to the WS. So I think getting into the playoffs or at least being in the playoff race is most important for higher revenues.

I cannot see the same 6 teams always being in the AL playoffs. The Jays may not be in the playoffs every year. Same for every other AL team.

LAD, NYY and St Louis seem to get in every year.

Don't think it has anything to do with not signing Vlad.

This jays team needs at least one more big bat. Freeman, even at his age, is the biggest and most consistent bat available, with beautiful underlying numbers that suggest that he should continue to be good for a while yet.

AA demonstrating again that you don't have to give out huge contracts to build championship teams.

Lylmcr.I really think it's important thatvtje Jay's had a completely different experience re home stadiums from most teams.
I don't think maturity changes what must have been a difficult situation for all the players.Could a vet have helped? Maybe. But there's that really obvious thing that most teams didn't have to deal with that could reasonably have cost a couple of wins.

My guess is that Vladdy wants to play third not first. He was a trooper about it, at least publicly, but I bet he felt it was a demotion and felt some shame about it. Moving back to third I expect is a goal of his. I think the Freeman acquisition, if it happens, helps facilitate Vladdy's move back to third. As such Freeman represents a kind of reaching out to Vladdy. That's my read anyway. No evidence to post -- only conjecture.

Starting with the Bautista contract, AA has proven to be one of the best contract negotiator in baseball. Olson's deal is going to make for an interesting comparison when Freddie Freeman who is 41/2 years older signs.

"AA demonstrating again that you don't have to give out huge contracts to build championship teams."

Let's see if they win a championship with Olson instead of Freddie Freeman.

Must be nice to become GM of a team after your predecessor stockpiled the farm for you and a new stadium was built to open up some purse strings.

AA is a good manager, no doubt, but he's had a lot of luck too. Doesn't hold a candle to Friedman or Bloom or Shapiro IMO.

Bpoz - it does seem LAD/NYY/StL are there every year...

• NYY: Missed in 2016, 2013-2014, 2008,1982-1993. Yeah, they are there nearly every year. FYI: Cashman became GM on 2/3/1998. Lots of shuffling before that. Bob Watson was there but resigned, before him Gene Michael (dumped after 1995). Last title in 2009, but 4 in 5 years from 1996-2000.
• LAD: last missed in 2010-2012, 2007, 2005, 1997-2003, 1989-1994. Just 1 title since Hershiser had that crazy inning streak in '88.
• StL: Missed in 2016-2018, 2010, 2008, 2007, 2003, 1997-1999, 1988-1995. Just 3 titles in my lifetime (since divisional play began) - 1982, 2006, 2011.

No question the Wild Card era helped all 3 teams keep playoff streaks alive as all had slumps before it. Knowing there was that extra slot gave teams a big incentive to keep their clubs strong year-in, year-out. Of note: the Red Sox since 2010 have been in the playoffs 5 times, but missed 7 times, so there often, but not like the big 3. But just getting there doesn't guarantee titles it seems.

That Olson extension is odd - $21 mil per year for 8 years with a team option for a 9th year at $20 mil. Wow. That really isn't much relatively speaking. I expect Freeman to get about the same for 6 years. Sure works out nicely for AA though as he now has 1B locked up for a loooong time. Age 28-36 potentially from Olsen (Freeman entering his age 32 season). Mix with Acuna Jr signed for the next 5-7 years (team options the last 2) and boy are they set financially as a club if those 2 produce as expected.

"Must be nice to become GM of a team after your predecessor stockpiled the farm for you"

I don't know. Atlanta lost a lot of prospect talent as a result of its (pre-Anthopoulos) illegal activities in the IFA market. From a November 2017 mlb.com article:

"After spending the past two months investigating infractions committed by the Braves in the international market and in relation to the domestic Draft, Major League Baseball announced its finding and the resulting sanctions late Tuesday afternoon.

"The Braves' penalties include the forfeiture of 13 international prospects, strict restrictions on the international market over the next three years and the loss of their third-round pick for the 2018 Draft."

"I don't know. Atlanta lost a lot of prospect talent as a result of its (pre-Anthopoulos) illegal activities in the IFA market. From a November 2017 mlb.com article:"

They lost a bunch of prospects non of whom panned out but lost some picks and IFA money for a few years. That definitely hurt but AA did inherit the best farm system in baseball which is still the core of the team. Freeman, Albies, Swanson, Riley, Acuna, Pache, Fried, Soroka, Anderson, and more were all on team when AA took over. In fact, Fangraphs had Braves with #4, #11, #35, #41, #54, # 62, #70, #93, and last cut hitter (let's say #101) prospects. That's NINE top-100 prospects! I can't find a single ranking that did not have the Braves with the #1 system in baseball.

""Must be nice to become GM of a team after your predecessor stockpiled the farm for you"

Shapiro must thank AA for vladdy every single day

Whatever became of Roberto Osuna? When even the Testosterone driven Houston Astros are not giving him another chance, that's saying something. I wonder if he is pitching in the Mexican league.

Osuna did indeed pitch in Mexico this year and was the closer on a championship team that went to the Caribbean World Series last month. He was hitting triple digits on the gun, seemingly fully recovered from his elbow injuries for which he opted to rest and not repair with a Tommy John surgery.

He's not in an MLB camp now, but will likely draw some interest once the season starts, in spite of his injury risk and personal history. Not with the Jays though - I think there's 0% chance of that.

My personal opinion is that AA gets an easy pass as some god like GM when he is merely a good-very good GM like 15 others in the league.

He’s the worst when it comes to PR, he’s a bold face liar, always talking about how money was available and there were no limits and then signing nobody of substance until being put on notice he and his boss were leaving. He’s a shrewd business minded GM.

What happened yesterday reminded me of his regular press hits when in Toronto. He basically stared crying and saying he couldn’t go into details of why he made the trade for Olson, presumably because he is sad he is not resigning Freeman. He’s emotionally hurt. Then next day he signs Olson to a contract and it’s leaked he never shared info with FF camp that the trade was coming.

Just to say, I’m not suggesting anyone here gives AA an easy pass, just in general.

I don't feel I'm in any position to make assessments about AA's character. I do think he's had a remarkable amount of success in the majors as a young executive with Toronto, LA, and Atlanta. He was doing things as a GM in Toronto that no one else was doing at the time (using creative approaches to pile up extra draft picks and restock the Jays farm system). He made a lot of moves beyond inheriting a good farm system that turned Atlanta into a WS winner, all with an annual payroll that was below average in the NL.

It still surprises me that a lot of people can't accept these two things:

AA did a very good job with the Jays. His time in Toronto showed him to be an excellent GM.

Shapiro + Atkins have done a very good job with the Jays.

We are lucky that these are both in fact true.

Regarding AA.

Since Ash the Jays have been cheap. They had a $70ish mil budget and stuck to it. It started with InterBrew.

The Jays payroll was low and they were competing with NYY and Boston. 2 big spenders. Only TB was able to compete with Boston/NYY. Keep Longoria because he signed a team friendly contract. Trade D Price because he became expensive. We kept V Wells and Halladay. TB would not have done that.

AA made mistakes. Major mistakes due to his youth IMO. Then he learned. Working with LAD he learned about big market and big spending. AA did get Rogers to open the purse strings. The purse strings are open today because of the great profits that AA started in 2015.

I thank AA for 2015. In a way AA is responsible for 2019. Tulo and Martin got paid not to play here. Morales too but that is Shapiro's man.

And the biggest thank you for Vlad.

AA did well with the Atlanta team that he inherited. Winning a WS is luck. Making the playoffs each year generates revenue that lets you keep your job.

Both windows of competing are open for Atlanta and Toronto basically at the same time. Atlanta started 3-4 years earlier than Toronto and have 1 WS to date.

Very interesting news just came out - the Yankees have to be vaccinated to play at home and Judge is strongly rumored to be one of those not vaccinated. If you miss games due to your vaccination status you lose not just pay but service time for those games. So he could lose out on free agency if he refuses the shot all year due to missing games in Toronto (9 games) and NY (81 + 2 vs Mets = 83 more) = 92 games missed potentially. He only has 51 spare days over 5 years, I think it is something like 10 more to lose a full year service time so 61 roughly which is far less than he could potentially lose. Massive incentive to get the shot I'd say.

So it isn't just Toronto. As of now, unvaccinated players can't play in either of the New York stadiums.

It is hard to believe there are professional that selfish and stupid... oh, wait. No it isn't.

It's only the unvaccinated Yankees and Mets that can't play in NY; unvaccinated players on the visiting team have no issue. Hygiene theatre, like keeping the US/Canada border closed despite the virus running rampant on both sides the entire time.

I don't want to devolve into a non-baseball thread but calling it 'hygiene theatre' is nonsense.

But now that Ontario is rashly lifting restrictions, I imagine this restriction will go away as well.

Good for baseball. Bad for everything else.

Breaking with my 2 year boycott of baseball twenty-three months early to post that restrictions which would help immunocompromised people see baseball games in person and safely would be a most welcome thing from my perspective.  And no, not hygiene theater.  And also, the Chapman trade was, as Jonny said in the other thread, terrific.  And I think the world of Santiago Espinal.  It wouldn't shock me if if he ends up as a super-sub, and among other things, backs up Springer in centerfield.