Bo is hitting .309/.345/.533 since his nadir on May 17th. I look forward to watching his ABs from the other side. It's a shame that Semien is hurt.

It's managerial malpractice to continue to run Vladdy out there every day in the 2 or 3 spot when he's looked like he has for as long as it has been.

If the season ended today, Varsho would probably accept the Jays' qualifying offer. It's hard to imagine teams would be lining up to give him a long-term deal with a high AAV.

Very much a "we've tried nothing and we're all out of ideas" vibe from the team. Yes, Vladdy is terrible and should sit until he figures something out/gets healthy but Pinango, Straw, Lukes is a ghastly OF VS LHP. They have WRC+ vs LHP OF 66, 13, and 15. The complete unwillingness of the front office to address this issue which has been present all year, is dumbfounding.

Addison Barger now has a stress fracture in his back, he is shut down for a couple of weeks.

I wonder if Barger's injury is the bad news the FO needed to commit to trading for a legit bat.

Or the signal to start the selloff? We need more than one big bat to turn this team around, and desperation spending is almost always a bad deal. Who is available, anyway?

Santander sounds to be a month away and before stating he has little to no value consider reviewing the existing #s vs LHP and power in general from this line up.

Definitely available:
Jorge Soler
Jo Adell
Rafael Devers

Probably Available:
Christian Walker
Brandon Lowe

Maybe Available/Harder to Move:
Mike Trout
Fernando Tatis Jr
CJ Abrams

Staying away from a long term extension for Varsho seems an obvious priority for this offseason. His value craters if this is the new baseline for his defense.

What I had hoped, pre-season, was that he'd hit well enough to be worth a qualifying offer and he'd see the value in accepting given the impending lockout. Having him for one more year would have been an ideal alternative to offering4 or so to a CF in his 30's

Now you have to question whether he'll be worth $22ish million.

I’d have no issue if he signed a 2-3 year extension. It’s a contract length that you almost never see UFA’s sign though. Even the third year is likely to be rough and the longer view isn’t kind to his value profile. The other issue is the team really has no OF prospects of note so that will complicate the decision making.

Lukes has a .361 OPS vs lefties this year. Career, .549.
Davis Schneider is down so Keys is up but Keys isn't playing much.
Urias is platooning with Gimenez, but Gimenez doesn't have huge splits.
Pinango has a .481 OPS vs lefties so far.

The main problem is that they won't even pitch hit with Keys.
Not for Springer, Guerrero, Clement or Kirk. Maybe for Urias.
Probably not for Straw who can bunt for setting up the Big Bats at the top.

I think Keys will play. He's been here less than a week...

I have never seen a sadder face in the first inning of a baseball game than Juan Soto's with the ball in his hand while Springer crosses the plate.

Urias and Straw manufactured the winning run.

Also Valenzuela gunned Ewing to end the 6th.
Kirk can't do that.

Yeah I'm really super impressed with Brandon V. His arm and accuracy is insane. Maybe not Rodriguez-Molina-Santiago level but very very VERY fun to watch.

I loved the non-verbal communication between Vladdy and Bo where Vladdy told him to tip his cap and then, Bo with a grin on his face, did do it after Vladdy would not stop making the gesture. When I saw it at first I had no idea what Vladdy was saying -- but Bo didn't miss it. It makes me remember why I love Vladdy even tho at the moment his hitting stinks.

Last night made me miss Bo. Jays were right not to go after him at the price he went for but the funny thing is that Jays could really use Bo (all over infield) but his salary is just insane. Would Bo for Berrios make sense? Mets save $40M for 2 years and Jays improve their team by only spending money. I don't see it happening for a billion reasons but would be funny.

SWR has cleared waivers and been assigned to Buffalo.

I wouldn't take Bo over Gimenez at short. I wouldn't take him over Okamoto at 3B. I'd take him at 2B with Ernie playing a platoon with Gimenez as SS and general Super Utility role.

Jays need to move Springer and Vlad out of the top spots in the line up. Springer last year was batting 5/6 for most of the year until he broke out and I think that helped propel his season forward.

Bo's salary is only insane because it was such a short deal. The report on his Phillies offer was far more reasonable, 28.5MM per, which is basically Okamoto + Ponce/Rogers. It's easy to look at the numbers and say the Jays made the right decision, but I don't accept that Bo would have gotten off to the same start here and I'm still a bit worried that Okamoto is a mistake-fastball hitter that the league will adjust to. His defense has definitely improved from a weak start, though, which is encouraging.

And yes, moving Vladdy out of his current routine of hitting 2/3 can't hurt. At some point you have to try something, be it leading him off or batting him 4/5 just to mix things up.

Bichette is the answer to all those questions. What's the point being made?

Surprised. The Jays traded for him (for basically nothing) and he hasn't allowed a run.
I guess the demand in relief is for one inning guys who don't walk a ton.

SWR doesn't throw hard and walked more than he struck out with the Blue Jays and this season overall.  That's evidently not a popular profile.  

Personally I would be thrilled if the Jays could land Varsho on a Grisham-esque (3/54 contract), but when a guy has a clear hole in his swing and has lost a step defensively, it's natural to wonder if he's a longer-term CF option.

It all depends how you value a player. If you value dollars for performance then Bo and Varsho are and will be wildly overvalued.

If you value offense then Varsho is not as valuable as Bichette.

If you value defense then Bichette is not as valuable as Varsho.

If you value the player based on how their presence on the squad contributes to Wins then Bo is the better value since it's easier to find defensive CF and this team already skews defense-heavy.

When you factor in the superstar profile and history of Bo I would say it's fairly easy to see that Bo is the better player to Toronto.

I agree absolutely about that.  I think both Bichette and Varsho have been beat up pretty good the last few years, and are dubious long-term investments for any club.  Bill James used to say that the tall wiry guys like Aaron, Williams and Musial age better. Mays aged better than Mantle, and the jury is still out on Betts vs. Trout, despite Trout's many injuries.  

There is absolutely nothing about Bichette that is "superstar".  He was a player who came up very strong when young, and there was a decent chance that he'd end up with a career like Alan Trammell or Cal Ripken Jr.  with some MVP candidate seasons in his prime.  He hasn't been remotely close to that with injuries surely playing a large role.  How important is health?  Very.  You take a player like Miguel Tejada.  If you looked at him and Bichette at age 25, you'd say that Bichette was far and away more likely to have a great career and win an MVP award.  But then Bichette got hurt and Tejada was remarkably durable.  From age 28-32, Tejada was great.  Maybe Bichette will turn it around, but evidently most teams aren't willing to bet on it.  

if it were me I think I'd list SWR as inactive in Buffalo and send him down to the lab for a month or so and see if they could reinvent him, either as a starter or a reliever. 25 is too young to be washed.

Yeah I give you that, Bo's not a superstar but he's a borderline star. I wish this FO would take a note from the Raptors and make a big trade with big salary for an older player that can move the needle on the field while costing the budget and team wallet.

I think Bo will be fine this year and a couple of more (120-something OPS)

The problem with resigning him, apart from defensive position, was always term. If they could have gotten him in the 25-20 range for no more than 4 years they'd have made that deal. But being caught up in the Vlad & Bo mythology, you couldn't really sign Vlad to 14 and Bo to 4 - he just wouldn't have settled for that here.

As I said earlier, that’s the dilemma with Varsho - the Jays have absolutely no OF prospects of note. So a 2-3 contract would be ideal. But you need to be super careful that lack of alternatives don’t drive you to doing something stupid like signing him to a long term deal. He’s the wrong side of thirty, he looks like an “old thirty” already, his arm is a noodle and he’s losing some of his speed. He’s literally a walking red flag on the aging curve (both performance and ability to stay healthy). I think many of those things also apply to the even younger Bo.

The Mets are going to throw Keys nothing but breaking balls until he does something with one.

I don't see Varsho wanting a 2-3 year deal at 30 YO. He'd probably want one last deal of like 5-6 years. I agree, a 2-3 year deal would be great but I think it's likely 5 years or nothing and I'd probably rather take my chanches elsewhere.

Man, Varsho has just looked so suspect in the field this year I wouldn't offer him anything. I'd rather have Lukes-Straw-Barger in the OF next year with Pinango on the bench and Santander DHing than signing Varsho back.

There’s very little chance that Varsho would go for the shorter deal. Tough night at the plate and in the field for Keys. Hopefully Schneider doesn’t jump to a quick negative impression as he has on occasion before.

Varsho is a tough one. I was 100% for signing him to a 5 year deal before this season (so 4 after this one) but now not so much. His defense is a massive part of his value and that has gone down drastically. From otherworldly, to meh. -2 DRS after the last 3 years being 17-16-10 in CF. That is a yikes drop. At 29 that also is a massive flashing red light. Of course, IMO, the Jays can easily make him a QO and he probably accepts it unless some other club comes in hard and fast before the lockout we all know is coming. A 1 year deal is not a bad thing. Worst case you trade him for next to nothing and eat some of the cash.

Straw will be an interesting decision - he is on a team option for '27 and '28 - $8 and $8.5 mil vs $1.75 mil buyout this winter or $500k next. So really, a $6.75 mil decision this winter (difference between the option and the buyout) and a $8 mil one next winter (if still here). His 74 wRC+ and 1 DRS in the OF suggests he isn't worth holding onto. But as others have said - the internal options are not great. Lukes in CF might be OK, but isn't wow (more like the 2000's CF'ers like Cruz Jr, Stewart, and others who really weren't much defensively).

Tough choices to make come November. Not to mention right now.

there are 16 days until the ASB is over, 12 until it begins. tick-frickin-tock

Put Vlad on the IL, give him 2+weeks to let the back (and the mind) recover and keep him out of a useless ASG appearance.

What exactly are you afraid of losing? Keyes can surely give you a .500 OPS in the meantime.

Regarding the future of CF, I wonder if the Jays and Dodgers have discussed a swap of Nimmala for one of their OF prospects - Josue De Paula, Mike Sirota or Zyhir Hope. The Dodgers could use a reshuffle of their prospect portfolio as they are very OF heavy and the Jays have Jo Jo Parker following Nimmala up the ladder.

The Jays have 3B covered with Okamoto and Barger able to play there while SS is covered by Gimenez and Clement. All are under control (at least) through 2028. Nimmala seems blocked at the positions that would most make use of his fielding and arm and he is probably a mid-2027 call-up.

De Paula, Sirota and Zyhir are all at AA like Nimmala. While De Paula is reportedly one of the most highly regarded players in the minor leagues, many sources bunch Sirota, Zyhir and Nimmala in a similar tier.

Judging only by stats (having not watched any of these guys play) it looks like Zyhir is the most likely to stick at CF but has some notable swing and miss. Sirota has played CF and has a history of raking. De Paula appears to be the crown of the Dodgers system and has the worst fielding scouting grades of the three so probably the focus should be more on Zyhir and Sirota as comparable prospects to Nimmala.

Barger isn't able to play anywhere right now.

Dodgers prospects are always highly rated but most of them have flopped.

They play in the PCL.

Corbin has been moved to the pen.
That's excellent news.
They usually do quite well on bullpen days.

Gausman, Cease, Yeasavage, Bieber and mostly Miles.
That's a pretty good rotation. They should climb in July/August if those guys are pitching.

Prospects are always a gamble. I'd be happy if the Jays were able to crank out batting prospects like the Dodgers have in the recent past - Andy Pages, Michael Busch, Miguel Vargas, Keibert Ruiz, Dalton Rushing as a few examples. There's (obviously) no guarantee that Nimmala will be a hit given his swing-and-miss tendancies up to this season. Just suggesting that both the Dodgers and Jays can diversify their prospect portfolios and possible benefit from echange with each other.

I'm with you June that I wanted Varsho on the 5 year deal (this year + 4) but that after this season so far I don't. I agree that he's still worth a QO because 1 year deals have so little downside and he's still a useful player even if there are concerning turns.

On Straw I think it is a no brainer you keep him for those option prices unless you are (wrongly) going into a rebuild. He's well above average for a 4th/5th OF and his salary is basically nothing. In addition to the buyout, don't forget minimum salary is basically nearly $1M (and may be so next year depending on negotiations) so in addition to the buyout you have the minimum salary as a floor so the marginal cost is really very, very small. Like 0.5 WAR is enough to make the contract "worth it" and I think Straw is very likely worth that. It is a mistake to have plan A be Straw as a starter (even if there is an outside shot he could have a good year and be worth that), but that isn't what he's being paid for and that isn't how they should use him, but they should execute the option. Regardless of what they do with Varsho.

"De Paula, Sirota and Zyhir are all at AA like Nimmala. While De Paula is reportedly one of the most highly regarded players in the minor leagues, many sources bunch Sirota, Zyhir and Nimmala in a similar tier."

Nimmala is generally rated lower than those guys. Quintero probably best fit if the teams wanted to do something 1 for 1. Quintero is also a very good fielding CF so he makes sense anyway.

Jacob I can see a nice match there with the Dodgers. There aren't a lot of FA options this year but I'd prefer chasing Taylor Ward over Varsho.

Clase up Springer out paternity

I hope Clase is used 99% as a runner only - he isn't that good on defense iirc, and his bat is a noodle in AAA (223/321/359, but 273/340/432 in June which is decent at least).

Jonatan Clase, the forgotten man.

I'm assuming that it's Clase and not someone else like Davis Schneider because Davis isn't eligible to be recalled yet (Pinango was recalled for an injured Jesus Sanchez, presumably a paternity leave doesn't allow the minimum demotion time exception like an IL placement does).

Max Scherzer is heading west with the team but will take a detour to Vancouver to start on Friday.

The Jays have one of the worst hitting regulars in baseball starting at SS, and a 30 year old Clement playing 2B who may or may not still be good by the end of his pre-FA service time. The Dodgers want to move a minor league OF due to a clear surplus. The Jays don't have that in the infield. It's Nimmala in AA and Parker in low-A. That's about it. The surplus might be on the pitching end, and given the volatility of pitching prospects in general, turning one of them into a legit CF option wouldn't be a bad idea.

A less talked about CF in the Dodgers system is Kendall George due to his lack of anything resembling power, but sounds like he can stick at CF, has good plate discipline, contact ability, and elite speed. Not sure if a Chandler Simpson prototype is the sexiest, but should be a lot cheaper to acquire.

As far as Varsho, do not extend. The way 2026 is going, the Jays need to trim the payroll down and start to retool a bit.

What's the cause of the delay?

Canada Day ceremonies

The Jays not being able to start games on time due to ceremonies that could easily be timed better is an annual tradition that will never be broken.

Keys got a fastball.

I like Corbin pitching the 5th and 6th when it's early to pinch hit.

SK in NJ - there are 3 worse hitting SS playing regularly - Ezequiel Tovar, Trea Turner, and Matt McLain. All sub 80 wRC+. Turner the big shocker as he was over 120 each of the last 2 years - the Phillies must be praying he isn't doing an Alomar and collapsing at 33 (Alomar dropped from 150's to sub 100 at 34 and never got back over 100) as he is signed through 2033. For guys qualified for the batting title, Gimenez is 19th worst for wRC+. So yeah, his bat sucks, but there are a fair number of worse guys playing regularly including guys many wanted here - Marcus Semien, and Steven Kwan for example. At 1.5 bWAR he is 76th in the majors out of 154 who qualify for the batting title - top half (barely). Yeah, we'd all like him to be better but he isn't the problem. Clement has seen his defense collapse this year, but his bat come to life (111 wRC+ vs negative DRS at each of SS and 2B).

Right now the Jays also have a half decent prospect at SS in AAA in Josh Kasevich (718 OPS and high end defense from what I've read - does any site have advanced fielding stats for the minors?).

I think this game was done quite well. Just 3 pitchers used - an opener (Fisher), a main long guy (Miles), then a 'we have him, gotta use him' guy in Corbin who ate 5 innings. Love that Miles and Corbin knew the assignment - 1 walk between them over 8 IP.

Hopefully Keys gets to play a few more. No rush George, enjoy the new baby.

Miles got the win.
Corbin got a 5 inning save.

if this keeps on with no major injury, we're going to have to start considering Miles a presumptive member of 2027 rotation

You'd think you can have 1 elite defensive player in your line up in Gimenez. He's a rock star on defense.

So happy they left Corbin in for 5 innings, and didn't trot out Hoffman/Fluharty/Rogers at the first sign of trouble. 9-3 vs 9-0 doesn't matter and helps the bullpen rest.. Of course, we needed a big lead for that to work - way to go Myles (yes, we should pick up his option) for making it an easy decision. If it was only 6-0, I'm sure Hoffman would have been in once Corbin gave up a hit..

Yeah, and openers make sense with our rotation, especially after the string of games where we gave up lots of runs in the 1st inning. All in all a good game, and Miles looked plenty nasty with 99 mph pitches on the edge of the strike zone.

Yeah Miles looked very good but holy smokes McLean was unbelievable.

They might be the best team in the league at using an opener to win games... 8-2 on the season, with 8 "opener wins" in a row dating back to May 16th (Fisher 5, Fluharty 2, Macko 1). In these 8 games, the openers have gone 10 IP, 0 ER, 5 H, 6 BB, 13 K vs. the top of other teams' lineups. Such a stark contrast to the 1st innings we saw recently on the homestand, before the sad Mets came to town.

Nice catch, Cracka. Remember people despising the use of openers. Haven't heard a complaint in ages, people have finally seemed it accept it.

Jays have been better than most teams using openers because most teams use openers for bullpen games and Jays mostly use openers for Spencer Miles games and he's been fantastic.

Talking Jay Harry's EV's in the minor league thread. Spotted a couple of MLB things while researching..

Remember Samad Taylor? We may see him next week. He's up to 90 PA's with the Padres. 140 wRC+, 0.8 WAR. Also the holder of a dubious mark. 382 MLB'ers have 90+ PA's. His 99.6 mph is the one and only Max EV under 100.

Samad doesn't have the lowest average EV though. That would be Tyler Heineman's 81.8.

Plausible Best Lineup, using....


This Year's Stats Only

1. RF Lukes 183pa, .348obp, 117wrc+, 3.6war650
2. 3B Okamoto 344pa, .323obp, 119wrc+, 3.8war650
3. SS Clement 335pa, .322obp, 111wrc+, 2.3war650
4. CF Varsho 275pa, .327obp, 108wrc+, 3.3war650
5. C Valenzuela 172pa, .327obp, 110wrc+, 6.1war650
6. LF Sanchez 234pa, .316obp, 107wrc+, 0.3war650
7. 1B Guerrero 348pa, .348obp, 96wrc+, 1.3war650
8. DH Springer 279pa, .308obp, 93wrc+, 0.0war650
9. SS Gimenez 289pa, .282obp, 81wrc+, 3.4war650

B. UT Pinango 151pa, .311obp, 105wrc+, 0.4war650
B. OF Straw 152pa, .300obp, 82wrc+, 1.3war650
B. IF Schneider 118pa, .282obp, 67wrc+, -2.2war650
B. C Alejandro 73pa, .274obp, 69wrc+, 1.8war650

X. UT Jimenez 35pa, .343obp, 82wrc+, -1.9war650
X. OF Barger 28pa, .214obp, 0wrc+, 0.0war650
X. IF Urias 18pa, .500obp, 226wrc+, 14.4war650
X. C ---

X. UT Keys 12pa, .167obp, 52wrc+, -5.4war650
X. UT Sosa 117pa, .207obp, 30wrc+, -4.4war650
X. UT McAdoo 25pa, .160obp, 13wrc+, -5.2war650




Past 1 Calendar Year Stats

1. DH Springer 559pa, .375obp, 150wrc+, 4.5war650
2. 1B Guerrero 665a, .361obp, 116wrc+, 2.5war650
3. CF Varsho 446pa, .321obp, 118wrc+, 4.4war650
4. 3B Okamoto 344pa, .323obp, 119wrc+, 3.8war650
5. RF Lukes 443pa, .320obp, 109wrc+, 3.1war650
6. C Alejandro 304pa, .319obp, 99wrc+, 4.7war650
7. LF Sanchez 483pa, .304obp, 98wrc+, 0.7war650
8. 2B Clement 630pa, .302obp, 97wrc+, 2.4war650
9. SS Gimenez 432pa, .284obp, 80wrc+, 2.9war650

B. UT Pinango 151pa, .311obp, 105wrc+, 0.4war650
B. OF Straw 291pa, .317obp, 96wrc+, 3.4war650
B. IF Schneider 281pa, .325obp, 107wrc+, 1.9war650
B. C Valenzuela 172pa, .327obp, 110wrc+, 6.4war650

X. UT Sosa 411pa, .268obp, 84wrc+, 0.3war650
X. OF Barger 308pa, .283obp, 90wrc+, 1.9war650
X. IF Urias 95pa, .337obp, 89wrc+, 1.4war650
X. C MacIver 59pa, .220obp, 21wrc+, -3.3war650

X. UT Jimenez 35pa, .343obp, 82wrc+, -1.9war650
X. UT Keys 12pa, .167obp, 52wrc+, -5.4war650
X. UT Santander 12pa, .250obp, 17wrc+, -5.4war650
X. UT McAdoo 25pa, .169obp, 13wrc+, -5.2war650




Fangraphs Combined Depth Charts Projections

1. DH Springer 262pa, .333obp, 112wrc+, 2.0war650
2. RF Lukes 191pa, .337obp, 108wrc+, 2.7war650
3. 1B Guerrero 318pa, .374obp, 136wrc+, 3.9war650
4. 3B Okamoto 288pa, .323obp, 113wrc+, 3.4war650
5. LF Sanchez 165pa, .315obp, 106wrc+, 2.0war650
6. C Alejandro 184pa, .342obp, 111wrc+, 6.0war650
7. CF Varsho 269pa, .300obp, 102wrc+, 2.9war650
8. 2B Clement 282pa, .312obp, 100wrc+, 2.8war650
9. SS Gimenez 272pa, .306obp, 91wrc+, 3.1war650

B. UT Barger 126pa, .313obp, 105wrc+, 2.1war650
B. OF Straw 65pa, .298obp, 75wrc+, 1.0war650
B. IF Urias 45pa, .327obp, 101wrc+, 2.9war650
B. C Valenzuela 129pa, .287obp, 79wrc+, 2.0war650

X. UT Keys 68pa, .295obp, 84wrc+, 0.0war650
X. OF Pinango 75pa, .298obp, 86wrc+, 0.0war650
X. IF Schneider 39pa, .327obp, 102wrc+, 1.7war650
X. C MacIver 3pa, .285obp, 75wrc+, 0.0war650

X. UT Santander 19pa, 308obp, 103wrc+, 0.0war650
X. OF Schreck 3pa, .319obp, 91wrc+, 0.0war650
X. IF Sosa 68pa, .276obp, 83wrc+, 0.0war650
X. IF McAdoo 10pa, .287obp, 82wrc+, 0.0war650
X. OF Clase 6pa, .287obp, 75wrc+, 0.0war650

Those combined depth charts look realistic to me rest of way. Highlights the need for another legit bat.

listened to the pod With Josh Donaldson where he was talking about wanting to stay and, if I understood correctly, he was talking about Ross only wanted to give him a three year contract but it wasn't clear if he was talking about before the 2018 season or before the trade (he was under contract through the end of 2018) but he talked about Ross mentioning their projections and so forth and that he (Josh) wanted to stay but didn't think he'd be done in three years...

But as it turned out - Donaldson was an above average hitter, one the Jays really needed, for three more years. The projections were right. If the Jays had given him five years they would have been on the hook for two pretty bad years.

Notwithstanding he turned out to have an injury plagued lost season in 2018, that was already on the books. In 2020 he only played in 28 games due to injuries but it's not the same as playing but playing poorly.

It's too bad for both of them that he didn't want a three-year deal.

A part of that is the agent.

The biggest regret for me is Encarnation. He took less to play elsewhere.
Obviously, he still wanted to be here since he's so often in Toronto.
We got Pearson out of the deal, but that didn't amount to much in the end.

listened to the pod With Josh Donaldson where he was talking about wanting to stay

I recently had that clip from Donaldson/Madani/Russell Martin's pod come up too on my YT algorithm

Some tidbits that I believe I recall from the segment

• Donaldson implied that the FO forced players to come up north for the old Winterfest against their wishes
• The clip about his contract extension negotiations was in the context & comparison to Bo coming to town with the Mets & very little interest last year from either side in coming to a deal
• Donaldson makes very little mention of his own agent in his anecdote. He makes it sound as though all early negotiations were between Atkins & himself informally. He talks about being invited out to play golf with Ross specifically.
• Josh claims he told the FO his intention to "remain a Blue Jay for life". But he also mentions he expected a "fair deal".
• Donaldson claims that Atkins told him after the 3 yr suggestion & invitation to come see their internal projections about his future performance, that Rogers ownership was completely indifferent to whether he was retained or not.
• The initial feelers & souring seemed to occur in the 2017 offseason before 2018 ST. Donaldson suggests there were no extension talks between him & the FO whatsoever during the 2018 season.
• Donaldson claims that he personally became offended by something from one of his personal meetings with Atkins (the 3 year offer, ownership's indifference, the invitation to come see their internal valuation analytics, etc) during the 2017 offseason. He told Atkins he had no interest to come in & see their numbers. It may be apocryphal, but he seemed to always talk about Atkins & himself talking directly without his agent as intermediary.

A podcast of a GM talking about how things happened would be a lot more interesting. The star players are the divas. Soto ended up with the Mets because they threw a luxury box in which Judge doesn't have.