The Blue Jays will look for a second baseman, relief pitching and rotation help this offseason. They might consider some of the top free agents available.
Guaranteed Contracts
- Jose Bautista, OF: $57MM through 2016
- Ricky Romero, SP: $29.1MM through 2015
- Adam Lind, 1B: 12.3MM through 2014
- Yunel Escobar, SS: $10MM through 2013 (plus two club options)
- Mark Teahen, UT: $5.5MM through 2012
- Rajai Davis, OF: $3.25MM through 2012
- Minor leaguer Adeiny Hechavarria also has a guaranteed contract.
Arbitration Eligible Players (estimated salaries)
- Jesse Carlson, RP: $700K (non-tender candidate)
- Colby Rasmus, OF: $2.8MM
- Brandon Morrow, SP: $4.1MM
- Jesse Litsch, RP: $1.3MM
- Carlos Villanueva, RP: $2MM
- Casey Janssen, RP: $1.5MM
- Dustin McGowan, RP: $700K
Contract Options
- Edwin Encarnacion, DH: $3.5MM club option with a $500K buyout (no Elias ranking)
- Jon Rauch, RP: $3.75MM club option with a $250K buyout (Type B ranking)
Free Agents
- Frank Francisco (Type B RP) Shawn Camp (Type B RP) Jose Molina (Type B C), Kelly Johnson (Type B 2B)
Trying to predict Alex Anthopoulos' next move is plain silly. A year ago this time, there seemed to be zero chance of trading Vernon Wells — and he's now an Angel. Before the 2011 season began, the Blue Jays' chances of acquiring Colby Rasmus seemed slim at best — yet he's Toronto's starting center fielder. There is no guessing what will happen next. A team that makes as many phone calls and weighs as many possibilities as the Blue Jays isn't going to be predictable.
We do know the Blue Jays need pitching and second base help. It's also fair to assume they'll consider a variety of trade possibilities throughout the offseason, given Anthopoulos' track record as a dealmaker.
It's conceivable that the Blue Jays will be tempted by big names this offseason. Elite free agents such as Prince Fielder, Albert Pujols, C.C. Sabathia and C.J. Wilson would make the Blue Jays better, but it doesn't appear that Anthopoulos will offer any six or seven-year deals. Even if the Jays offer mega-contracts, top free agents may hesitate to join a team that hasn't reached the postseason since 1993.
It's no secret Anthopoulos has scouted Yu Darvish. The Blue Jays appear to have some interest in the 25-year-old right-hander and it won't be a surprise if Toronto emerges as a serious bidder. He and Ricky Romero would be terrific at the top of the rotation and signing Darvish wouldn't force the Blue Jays to surrender one of their prized draft picks.
Anthopoulos has acknowledged he'd like to improve the rotation, but he says the Jays won't be in the market for back-of-the-rotation pitchers. The Athletics, Braves and Rays could be willing to trade starting pitching in the right deal this winter, so expect the Blue Jays to keep tabs.
Though Blue Jays fans have long anticipated the arrivals of Fielder and Pujols on the open market, those two probably aren't signing in Toronto and president Paul Beeston knows it. First baseman Adam Lind's breakout 2009 season has become a distant memory after consecutive seasons with OBPs under .300. He has not produced enough, but he did reach the 20-homer plateau again (26) while dealing with back issues. Edwin Encarnacion remains an alternative to Lind at first base. I expect his strong finish will be enough for the Blue Jays to exercise the $3.5MM option they hold for 2012.
The Blue Jays also have an option for Jon Rauch, who missed most of the season's final month and is recovering from a right knee cartilage tear. His basic and peripheral stats dropped off in 2011, so, barring a handshake agreement with Rauch, I expect the Blue Jays to decline their $3.75MM option and let the 33-year-old go without offering arbitration, despite his Type B status.
Three of the Blue Jays' four other Type B free agents have a good chance of obtaining an arbitration offer. There's a case for extending offers to Frank Francisco, Kelly Johnson and Jose Molina. All three could help the Blue Jays in 2012 and none would cost a prohibitive amount on a one-year deal. Shawn Camp, another Type B, gets ground balls and has been durable. While there's no doubt the Jays like the idea of getting a draft pick for Camp, he strikes out less than one batter per two innings and might cost $3MM, which reduces his chances of getting an arbitration offer.
If the Blue Jays offer arbitration to all eligible players except non-tender candidate Jesse Carlson and pick up Encarnacion's option while declining Rauch's, they'll have committed about $52MM to next year's payroll, not including minimum salary players. They've spent at least $70MM every season since 2006 and have publicly hinted at payrolls twice that high, so it's not a stretch to expect the Jays to have $20MM-plus at their disposal this offseason. It's also worth noting that the Blue Jays enjoy a stronger Canadian dollar than in years past.
Anthopoulos said after the season that he expects the Blue Jays to go outside of the organization for bullpen help, either through trades or free agency. This makes sense, though the Jays have some internal options. B.J. Ryan's contract is off the books, but the memory of his contract lives on. I don't expect the Jays to bid aggressively on the top free agent closers, especially those who cost draft picks.
Casey Janssen and Jesse Litsch both excelled out of the bullpen and will be back along with right-hander Carlos Villanueva. Dustin McGowan returned after a three-year absence and should contribute again next year — if healthy. Luis Perez and Brad Mills give the Jays left-handed options, but they're otherwise short on lefties after trading Marc Rzepczynski and will presumably want to add southpaws this offseason.
Second base will be another focal point for the Blue Jays. Kelly Johnson is one of the winter's most appealing free agent second basemen and Anthopoulos expects to discuss a possible deal with the 29-year-old. The free agent market offers few appealing alternatives, so Anthopoulos could turn to the trade market if Johnson declines arbitration and signs elsewhere. Many expect the Blue Jays will make a serious run at John McDonald, the popular defensive specialist Toronto traded to Arizona along with Aaron Hill.
There's also left field, where Travis Snider was the organization's most disappointing position player in 2011 after showing signs of breaking out in 2010. Expect Eric Thames to get a good shot at the starting job after hitting 12 homers and posting a .769 OPS in 2011. Meanwhile, Rajai Davis can be an extra outfielder, so the Blue Jays have sufficient left field depth.
The Jays also have Jose Bautista, arguably the best hitter in the game, so it's no surprise that they ranked fifth in the American League with 743 runs scored last year. They could score even more with a full season from Brett Lawrie, who hit .293/.373/.580 after being called up.
If they add relief pitching and at least one starter this offseason, the Blue Jays will have a more complete team. With the playoffs likely expanding by 2012 or 2013, talented prospects ascending through the system and the possibility of payroll rising, there's hope Toronto can soon contend for a playoff spot in baseball's least forgiving division.
i want to see alex anthopolous negotiate with scott boras and i want to see it right now
Anthopoulos and his regime, though they haven’t said it publicly, have pretty evidently avoided Boras clients. They haven’t drafted any in two years, despite being willing to take many perceived “hard-to-sign” players from other agents, and have only signed one professional Boras player – Corey Patterson, to a minor league contract.
Tyler beede?
Wasn’t a Boras guy.
Yeah, sorry about that. could’ve sword T.O. media was cursing Boras after Aug. 15th
“Jays Sign Fielder for 5/100 , Scott Boras agrees to hire Mark Teahen as Junior Associate”
Here’s why Darvish makes a ton of sense – a significant portion of his cost to the organization can be paid out in 2012, and the Jays are currently looking at a payroll of around 60m. The team can afford the 30-50m posting fee hit this year and then down the road he’ll only be making 10m or so a year, if DiceK’s contract is the template. That fits in very well with the Jays’ organizational plan, better than having to pay a CJ Wilson 18m a year from 2013-2016.
Yeah, I also think Darvish is a key signing for the Jays. In addition to the financial considerations you outlined, he represents a catalyst for providing important change elsewhere in the team.
Adding Darvish to Romero and Morrow means that the Jays only need to get a couple of reliable starters out of the following crop: Alvarez, McGowan, Litsch, Drabek, Cecil and, later down the line, Hutchison, Molina, Wojo, Sanchez, Comer, Norris. In other words, the addition of Darvish would create expendable assets to strengthen the weaker areas of the team via trade.
Hutchison, Molina, Wojo, Sanchez, Comer, Norris? That’s it? 😛
Hutchison, Molina, Wojciechowski, Sanchez, Comer, Norris, Musgrove, Jenkins, Syndergaard, Nicolino, Rollins, Barnes, Nolin, Stilson, etc.
Jays are stacked.
I should have added in an ‘et al’, but you’re right!
The thing is, I can still add an ‘et al’ at the end of my list too, because that really isn’t the end of it. I only listed the popular names that are higher in the organization and have a legitimate case to be made. There’s still incredibly huge upside pitching prospects I didn’t name…
Adonis Cardona (highest paid Venezuelan IFA ever)
Roberto Osuna (threw 95mph at 15 years old; Yankees were favorite to sign him)
Jeremy Gabryszwski (2nd round draft pick)
Anthony DeSclafani (6th round draft pick)
Deck McGuire (Can’t believe I forgot him. Would have been near the top of my list)
Casey Lawrence (Had a decent year, jumped three levels in two seasons)
Joel Carreno (Has shown incredible ability so far in the major leagues. Still a prospect)
All of which are pitchers, I haven’t even begun to name the batsmen yet.
And the list STILL goes on. The Blue Jays started the year in the Top 4 in the major leagues for farm system. This was before they had a Top 2 International Free Agent signing period this year picking up kids like Becerra, Gonzalez, Lugo, Osuna, Cordova and Labour. It was before they also had another Top 5 First Year Player Draft and got guys like Norris, Comer, Dean, Stilson and Smith. It was also before guys like Hutchison, Molina, McGuire, d’Arnaud, Marisnick, Hechavarria, Lawrie and Alvarez took massive strides in their production. We had five of our eight minor league teams make the play-offs (Bluefield, Vancouver, Dunedin, New Hampshire, Lansing), four of those five teams made it to their respective championship series (Bluefield, Vancouver, New Hampshire, Lansing) and two won the championship (Vancouver, New Hampshire). Four of our seven minor league managers were named Manager of the Year in their divisions, a HUGE accomplishment. These managers included Clayton McCullough of the FSL and Sal Fasano of the Eastern League.
Above all of this, a literally countless amount of Jays prospects were named All Stars both in the mid season and post season. Mike McDade of the Eastern League won the Home Run Derby, while Travis d’Arnaud was named MVP. d’Arnaud, Marcus Knecht and Michael Crouse all made the Baseball World Cup while Anthony Gose, Adeiny Hechavarria, Kevin Ahrens, Yan Gomes, Chad Beck, Evan Crawford, Wes Etheridge and Aaron Loup all got sent to the Arizona Fall League.
Justin Nicolino, a young and incredibly talented pitcher in the Jays organization was named the top prospect in the entire Northwest League by Baseball America. Similarly, Brett Lawrie was named the number one prospect in the Pacific Coast League, while Travis d’Arnaud and Anthony Gose were named Number 2 and Number 3 prospects of the Eastern League, behind only Bryce Harper.
Like I said.. the Jays are STACKED.
You forgot Deck McGuire!
Yeah I realized it while I was writing my previous post. When I began typing, I had his name in my mind, by the time I was finished with the list, I forgot haha. Good catch.
Hi guys–
All fans overrate their own team’s prospects. At least half of those guys don’t get to the point of being effective in the majors and it’s not a surprise. This happens to every team.
yep…agreed….that is why you want to be overloaded with them….also believe that was JPs problem…he was counting on all of the key prospects in his funnel making it….in fact…he had to fill out his prospect funnel with other team’s prospects who turned into projects.
Uh.. dude…
Do you realize what the Jays would become if even half of their prospects reached their potential? Or even a third? Or even a damned fifth of their prospects reached their potential?
What if one of these two made it?
Gose / Marisnick
And one of these two made it?
d’Arnaud / Arencibia
And one of these three made it?
Jimenez / Perez / Gomes
And one of these two made it?
Hutchison / Molina
And one of McGuire / Drabek?
And one of Syndergaard / Nicolino?
And one of Cardona / Osuna?
And one of Hechavarria / Lugo?
And one of Wojciechowski / Jenkins?
And one of McDade / Cooper?
And one of Knecht / Crouse / Sierra?
And one of Norris / Comer?
And one of Musgrove / Gabby?
What do you think the chances are of even three of the following prospects panning out? Nolin, Barnes, Anderson, Hawkins, Rollins, Smith, Dean, Dickie, Marze, Opitz, Becerra, Gonzalez, Murphy, Estrada, Purdy, Taylor, Baligod, Arce, etc, etc, etc, etc?
Don’t know about you but I think I like the Blue Jays chances. With the ceilings that these players have, of the near 50 minor leaguers I mentioned above, what if even ten of them can reach their full potential?
Now what about on our big league roster? What if one of Snider / Thames
reach full potential? Or McGowan? Cecil? How about one of Perez /
Carreno? Or how about Morrow? Or Loewen? Or Johnson? Or Rasmus?
I’m not overrating single prospects. I’m overrating the fact that we have so ****ing many of them.
would also help fix the bullpen problem internally as you would be able to move Cecil, Litsch to the bullpen full time.
The Rotation would shape up to romero-morrow-darvish-alvarez/drabek-mcgowan(out of options)
Bullpen, Cecil-carreno-beck-janssen-litsch-?-?
BP, Villanueva for sure, maybe another FA pickup.
Spring training will be very interesting. I hope Alvarez picks up where he left off, but we can’t write off somebody like Drabek tapping his potential and coming through strong. Maybe Cecil will even learn the lessons of years past and come blazing into ST after an impressive off-season.
shoot I always forget one, def charlie v..
As for cecil, he cant pitch to righties, even in his “good” year his FIP vs righties was 4.43 in 2011 it was 5.83.. that has loogy written all over it.
with hutch and molina moving up and alvarez establishing himself, I just dont see any point to not trying to get cecil acclimated to the bullpen. Even if he has a ‘good’ year, the depth will push him out…
unless they want him to start so they can maximize his value and move him
Agreed – I don’t see Cecil in the rotation by the end of 2012 but y’know, he has considerable experience compared to the rest of the system and he’ll be given every opportunity to fail before ST is done and dusted. It wouldn’t surprise me to see him make the rotation out of 2012 but put on a very short leash.
The biggest problem I’ve seen with Cecil is that his most rough pitching happens at the start of the game, where he gives up a whole bunch of hits and runs, and by the middle and end of the game, he starts pitching amazing. I’m not so sure if that works in the bullpen, pitching horribly when you first come out, seeing as all you get is an inning or two.
Long Relief: Jesse Litsch
Middle Relief: Carlos Villanueva
Middle Relief: Luis Perez
Middle Relief: Joel Carreno
Set-Up Man: Casey Janssen
Lefty Specialist: –
Closer: –
We have an awesome bullpen with a butt-load of guys that can make spot starts if the rotation goes through anything unfortunate. All we are lacking is a lefty (now that Rzepszynski is gone) and a closer. I wouldn’t mind picking up George Sherrill and Ryan Madson from free agency.
With Rommie Lewis electing free agency and hopefully Wil Ledezma being released, we’re still left with a whole bunch of guys like Beck, Farquhar, Cecil and Carlson that can be used as trade pieces, etc.
I would put Carreno as a setup man or a closer, he’s impressed me heavily so far, and has gotten better each year in the minors, especially in the control department.
I think Frankie will be back and Cecil as the loogy.
yep….I see the same path for Cecil…by the end of next year…he will either be in the bullpen or traded
I never thought of that before, but makes a ton of sense. Payout half of the total contract (the posting fee) in the first year when the payroll is still low and then pay the other half over the years of the contract. It would make perfect sense for what the Jays are trying to do.
Because of interest and opportunity cost, $30 million today is worth considerably more than $30 miillion in 2016. I’m not saying they won’t sign Darvish, just that the posting fee being paid this year is not a positive.
Yeah…but the posting fee also doesn’t count toward total payroll and can be something Rogers can just pay from the massive profits it would receive by signing an Asian phenom. I’m sure the organization/Rogers will make up the posting fee just from added attendance, merchandise, and media ratings in the first year alone.
Why can’t Rogers just put the $30 mil this year into a bank account and pay Darvish $10 mil each for the next three seasons? What’s the difference? Year to year payroll is just a number. It is the final figure being paid out that the owners really care about.
Why can’t Rogers just put the $30 mil this year into a bank account and pay Darvish $10 mil each for the next three seasons? What’s the difference? Year to year payroll is just a number. It is the final figure being paid out that the owners really care about.
It’s a positive because paying off the posting fee over the life of the contract is not an option, so your remarks about the value of a dollar today compared to tomorrow are irrelevant. Whatever team signs Darvish is going to have to pay that posting fee upfront, and the Jays’ current financial situation means they can afford the 40m expense on him in 2012 knowing it sets them up well down the road having to pay Darvish only 10-12m a year.
As for opportunity cost, well, there is none. The Jays don’t have holes outside of the rotation that can be filled with that money. If Rogers doesn’t spend it on a Darvish posting fee that money will just stay in their coffers, it won’t be used to improve the team in other areas. Having to pay the posting fee in 2012 won’t take away from anything else AA wants to do to round out the roster, like picking up a DH or rounding out the bullpen.
Truth, but you forgot to dispel the myth that increased merchandise sales go direct into Rogers pocket. Merchandise sales are distributed evenly amongst MLB teams.
It’s a positive because paying off the posting fee over the life of the contract is not an option, so your remarks about the value of a dollar today compared to tomorrow are irrelevant. Whatever team signs Darvish is going to have to pay that posting fee upfront, and the Jays’ current financial situation means they can afford the 40m expense on him in 2012 knowing it sets them up well down the road having to pay Darvish only 10-12m a year.
As for opportunity cost, well, there is none. The Jays don’t have holes outside of the rotation that can be filled with that money. If Rogers doesn’t spend it on a Darvish posting fee that money will just stay in their coffers, it won’t be used to improve the team in other areas. Having to pay the posting fee in 2012 won’t take away from anything else AA wants to do to round out the roster, like picking up a DH or rounding out the bullpen.
yep….I was thinking the same thing….especially if the posting fee comes out of 2011 budget which has plenty of space. After the posting fee, any contract that is similar to DiceKs fits nicely into AA’s “value structure”. He seems to go for $2 mil to $3 mil per WAR when making a budget.
I think everyone is underestimating how much Darvish is going to cost. I see a $50M posting fee as a minimum plus whatever deal they sign him for. Given those dollars you’re into $15M+ per season territory. It might actually be more cost effective to sign a free agent SP instead, providing that you can convince one to come to T.O.
I disagree….Dice-K’s contract was only for around 10 mil a season I believe. Even with inflation and the fact that Darvish projects to be better….I’d say 12 million a year for 6 years could get the job done.
Considering C.J. Wilson will probably be the most affordable pitcher on par with Darvish…I’d rather go with Darvish since Wilson is looking for 18-20 million per year.
I think toronto will sign prince!
I don’t see how the Blue Jays can really lose on the Rasmus trade unless Stewart emerges as the next Cy Young. They gave up a whole lot of crap that they weren’t going to keep anyways. The only notable player that I might have kept if we did it over again was probably Frasor, but I think most people knew that he wasn’t coming back once he hit free agency this offseason. If John Jay didn’t step up to the plate the way he did, the Cards opinion on the trade would have been different. Regardless of any of that, like it has been said before, AA makes this trade every day of the week, twice on Sunday. You get a chance to give up a bunch of old relievers that weren’t really producing in the first place for a potentially elite center field prospect, you do that whenever you can.
Pretty sure that Zep was the biggest loss in that trade.
In my mind, Jays traded 2 supplemental draft picks; 2 ok pitching prospects; and some money (let’s call it $10 mil) for Colby Rasmus. Using a 1st round draft pick and patience (wait a few years) is about the only other way AA can get a “Colby Rasmus” like player.
Did Prince Fielder ever grow up in Toronto? He was born in 1984 and Cecil was a Jay from 85 through 88…come on hometown discount from when you were too young to have any real memories, Prince!
if the Braves don’t go in the absolute tank we’re not even talking about this at all.
But they did. And we are.
great article, I just have one disagreement with your opinion..
I really don’t see how Thames played his way in to a starting job in 2012.. He was a big bag of ‘meh’ offensively and even worse defensively..
Did he have a better year then Snider? you betcha.. but Snider is still younger, offers more defensively and has the higher upside offensively.
I think LF will be a dogfight next year, but we’ve seen what Thames can do. Hopefully its time to (finally) see what Snider can do.
He wasnt that good defensively but if you look at his 12 homeruns and the fact 41 of his 95 hits were of the XB variety. He also handles lefties with good power to Left centre. It was his first taste of Major league time. I like his swing a lot better than Travis Sniders ever evolving swing that changes from month to month it seems. I know they both strike out a lot but Thames just seems more hitterish to me.
Thames posted a .769 OPS with a .313 OBP.. batting mostly second.
hes also 2 years older than snider and his all out hustle gets him no where defensively because off the bat hes a deer in headlights..
As it stands moving forward Thames has 4th OF written all over him.. Where as Snider is either going to end up a AAAA player or a star.. better to find out now. you will always know roughly what you get get out of thames
Thames hit second, but where this season got him, is trade bait. He put up pretty solid power numbers, and he is someone that could entice a team in a trade.
I’d have a bet on Thames being traded this off-season. His stock is pretty good at the moment, whereas Loewen is untested, Davis merely brings back a like-for-like, and there’s no way AA will deal Snider with his value where it is right now.
agreed.. I still think AA will avoid FA and go the trade route.
You can package Thames, a young arm and one of our young catchers for a pretty decent starter in my opinion
I dunno man….I partially agree with you. But then again…Thames did swing a pretty good bat in his first go at the Majors. And his defense did improve once he was getting regular playing time.
I think we have also seen pretty much what Snider can do as well. Did he show signs of being a great hitter for 2 week spurts in 2010….sure. But we also watched as he keeps swinging at curve balls in the dirt…especially from lefties.
Both hitters tend to strike out much more than they walk….but Snider’s numbers in the Majors are actually worse in those departments. Snider struck out more than once a game while Thames was less than once a game this past season.
As for the age argument…they are only 1.5 years apart really….so only a slight advantage to Snider.
The biggest concern from Snider in my mind was his complete lack of power this past year. Even if his average was down…I would expect him to square one up once in awhile. But instead…he only hit 3 hrs at the Majors…and only a few more in the Minors (very concerning if you ask me…especially in Vegas) and none of those HRs were even close to some of the bombs he was dropping just a year ago. I remember him hitting upper deck shots in Yankee stadium just last year before his injury (I think he hit 2 bombs in 1 game against the Yanks….he may have actually done that twice if I remember correctly).
Personally I still think he should have a lot of potential given his age…but I’m wondering if he would be better off a trade piece at this point than to wait. What if he doesn’t snap out of it by next year??? He loses all trade value and may actually become a non-tender candidate. Unfortunately for the Jays is Snider could figure things out around his age 26/27 season…but at that point he’ll probably be playing for a different organization unless he finds himself this next season. His time with the Jays is definitely growing shorter in my mind and his value is going to drop a ton next year if he doesn’t turn it around.
His wrist was bothering him all year, and he was shut down towards the end of the year.
Snider’s problem is he doesn’t get set quick enough and he’s late on fast balls, pitcher see this and then throw junk knowing he is going to have to start his swing sooner.
That can be fixed.
I agree he hurt his wrist and that definitely caused some issues right when he seemed he was finding his swing in 2010. And I also agree he needs to start his swing earlier as he is late on fastballs and out in front of curveballs. Definitely rushing his mechanics at the plate.
But I’m still concerned about the lack of power this year. Seems he should have hit at least 10 hrs…and even the ones he did hit were closer to fence scrapers than the ones he hit last year.
a wrist injury will do that to you
Was his wrist hurting him this year?? And I don’t mean at the end of the season. Because he looked awful for pretty much the entire season. I know wrist injuries can linger for more than one year….so I will give him the benefit of the doubt. I would hate to see the Jays get rid of Thames only to see Snider turn into a bust though.
a wrist injury will do that to you
I agree he hurt his wrist and that definitely caused some issues right when he seemed he was finding his swing in 2010. And I also agree he needs to start his swing earlier as he is late on fastballs and out in front of curveballs. Definitely rushing his mechanics at the plate.
But I’m still concerned about the lack of power this year. Seems he should have hit at least 10 hrs…and even the ones he did hit were closer to fence scrapers than the ones he hit last year.
I see your point about Snider’s potential vs Thames’ potential…but…I have some concern about Sndier’s injuries…two seasons 09 & 10 with back problems and two seasons with wrist tendinitis 10 & 11. I can’t help but wonder if this is a result of overdoing it with weight training.
I see your point about Snider’s potential vs Thames’ potential…but…I have some concern about Sndier’s injuries…two seasons 09 & 10 with back problems and two seasons with wrist tendinitis 10 & 11. I can’t help but wonder if this is a result of overdoing it with weight training.
I think we have also seen pretty much what Snider can do as well. Did he show signs of being a great hitter for 2 week spurts in 2010….sure. But we also watched as he keeps swinging at curve balls in the dirt…especially from lefties.
Snider hasn’t gotten 600 AB’s in a season yet.
true…but i certainly wouldn’t have wanted to see 600 ABs this season with the lack of production he was putting up.
I know he put up some okay rbi numbers…but those are skewed in my opinion as he had a couple of huge games where he drove in 12 runs when he was recalled. Other than that…his production was not so great.
I would like to see how a healthy Snider could do over the course of a season…I just hope that we don’t get rid of Thames who hit 28 hrs in AA last year and hit 12 hrs in half a season this year….with a huge slump mind you when he was competing with Snider there in late July/August before Snider was sent down again. What if we give Snider the playing time and he still doesn’t perform. I would like to hope that that is not likely…but you never know.
neither has thames
I think we have also seen pretty much what Snider can do as well. Did he show signs of being a great hitter for 2 week spurts in 2010….sure. But we also watched as he keeps swinging at curve balls in the dirt…especially from lefties.
Snider hasn’t gotten 600 AB’s in a season yet.
Worth noting Snider in 2010 was just as good, if not better than Thames. He is still younger, better defensively. I still believe in his potential but man, can the team just give him a proper chance?
This was supposed to be the year where they played Snider everyday and less than a month into the season, he gets sent down. Yeah, he was struggling but you know what, they have to let him sink or swim. Now going into next year, Snider is a bigger question mark going into next season than he was this season which is crazy.
Team’s handling of Snider was my biggest disappointment of the season.
i agree with your points, except that “we’ve seen what thames can do”.
we cant automatically assume that what thames did this year in slightly under 400AB’s is his career potential, while at the same time tossing snider’s mlb results aside because we think he can do better. you are right that thames’ year was pretty meh, but in the context of a rookie season thats actually pretty successful.
thames was decent enough at taking walks in the minors, so there’s at least an ok chance that he can improve there. i’m more pessimistic on his defence, but hopefully they can at least cut down the really dumb mistakes he’s made out there. dont forget that snider was also pretty bad defensively when he was first called up (granted he was younger).
i agree its going to be a dogfight in LF, and thats the way it should be. i dont think you can play favorites in this case
Very good points!
Another possible 7 picks in next years draft, AA loves draft picks.
Though I don’t see Molina and Rauch declining arbitration.
molina won’t, rauch will
I’d reverse that prediction.
i doubt molina declines arb, he likes it here and gets a good chance to play
And Rauch isnt getting crap (well, he may get ‘crap’) on the free agent market. Not with arguably the best closer market ever, with guys like Madson, Bell, Valverde, K-Rod and Cordero hitting the market. You even have guys like Francisco to a lesser extent, that are hitting free agency.
a team doesn’t give up a pick to sign him, he’ll sign someone where as a 6th or 7th inning guy
Rauch is a question mark, depends on if they had a deal that he’s decline arb. For Molina, I think he’ll chase a 2 year deal this close to the end of his career. Having had such a good year he’ll be looking to convert it into years on his contract and the Jays won’t compete in those terms.
agreed.
rauch almost has to take arbitration seeing how poorly he did all season
Not that I disagree Carlson will be non-tendered, but they strangely kept him on the roster through part of 2010 and 2011 when he really didn’t deserve it, so there’s likely some goodwill there. I expect he’ll return on a minor league deal.
He was on the 60-day DL all season, which allows them to add someone else to the 40-man roster.
He was on the 60-day DL all season, which allows them to add someone else to the 40-man roster.
Agree about Thames. he’s pretty much a WYSIWYG player. Average arm, average speed, average power, below ave to average glove. Showed some pop from the 2 spot but look who batted behind him all year. He could be the ML ready part of a deal with prospects to bring in pitching.
I see the OF as Snider, Rasmus, Bautista with Davis as your 4th. Remember how effective he is as a PR coming in late in a close game too. Loewen is a nice feel good story but he’s not going to stick around, and he’s out of options, so say good day and good luck to Adam.
Its too bad Thames can’t play second—that would solve a lot of problems, and still give Snider the playing time he needs
Go Jays Go
Thames will be a big trade chip
I believe that AA chose to leave Thames up in the show while sending Snider back down because Thames was hitting dingers and thus raising his trade value. Thames, 24 year old with a .769 OPS is pretty intriguing for a potential trade suitor… but i do believe the Jays eggs are in the Snider basket. Sniders OPS 2008 (.803) 2009 (.748) 2010 (.767) – if they trade Snider this year it would be selling low – whereas Thames would be in a Sell High situation.
Snider is the type of player AA would be calling about if Snider was on another team. A top prospect struggling during his 0 to 3 year range. That being said, next year will be a moment of truth for him. In my opinion, he gets viewed as a “project” in place of a prospect if Jays have to use his final optional assignment year.
Snider is the type of player AA would be calling about if Snider was on another team. A top prospect struggling during his 0 to 3 year range. That being said, next year will be a moment of truth for him. In my opinion, he gets viewed as a “project” in place of a prospect if Jays have to use his final optional assignment year.
what about michael cuddyer at second base opposed to kelly johnson
Lind, Escobar, Drabek and 1-2 of the Double A pitching prospects for Votto. Or add in D’Arnaud to above package for Votto plus a decent Reds prospect or two. With Escobar gone, bring up Hecchavaria and live with his hitting .200.
fail
Can i take this moment to say, Jose Batista’s contract, AWESOME! That’s why i love AA, every negative nancy said it was a terrible deal but lord and behold, he turns something that looks bad into the greatest idea ever. I mean seriously, the BEST hitter in baseball (for the last two years) to 10 million a year! Enjoy the the 30 million who ever gets Pujols
He will never make it to the Hall of Fame!!!! Dream on….. could not carry A’s gym bag!!!
Some random predictions for the off-season:
– The Jays remain too far away from contending to go into FA with Y Darvish. Currently top of list to drive the price higher for the Yanks.
– 1st – I’m half expecting trading Lind, the value is in his contract, with Cooper taking over.
– CF – I hope that whatever was not right with Rasmus corrects and they can get some value for him. His time is ticking with Gose close.
– Bullpen – Let’s see what the rookies can do, Jimmy Key style growing up through the bullpen – let the cream rise to the top.
The 1B the Jays should be targeting is…..JOEY VOTTO! Nuff said
I’ve heard rumors of prado and jurrens coming to the jays for SS hechavarria in our system, a starter like maybe cecil and a power outfielder like snider