Blue Jays reporter Alex Anthopoulos spoke with reporters today; here's the latest. All links go to the Twitter accounts of Shi Davidi and Gregor Chisholm.
- Anthopoulos says any employee interviewing for another job isn't part of current planning, implying that Tony LaCava is out of the loop as he interviews for the Orioles' GM gig.
- While the Blue Jays have the flexibility to acquire a designated hitter, Anthopoulos says it's "very low on our priority list." My David Ortiz prediction isn't looking so hot; make your pick in our new free agent prediction contest.
- Anthopoulos expects most of Edwin Encarnacion's at-bats to come at DH, though Encarnacion is playing left field in winter ball and in spring to add flexibility. The Blue Jays exercised their $3.5MM club option on Encarnacion yesterday.
- The Jays have not closed the door on re-signing reliever Jon Rauch after declining his $3.75MM club option yesterday.
AA: The reporter and the GM. Geesh, the guy can do it all.
I wonder if he ever interviews himself?
I knew AA would be too rational re: Ortiz. Dammit. Where’s Reagins when you need him?
“My David Ortiz prediction isn’t looking so hot; make your pick in our new free agent prediction contest.”
That’s because your David Ortiz prediction was nuts. I imagine Toronto’s about the least likely spot I could envision him ending up considering the draft pick cost. Serious question here, are you expecting the Sox to not offer Ortiz arbitration?
honestly can’t see him not accepting arbitration. He will be a red sock next year.
Unless a team like seattle does something stupid
I don’t see Seattle going for him. Honestly, the most likely target from my view would be Baltimore and that’s a big stretch.
I’m fine with him accepting anyway. Yeah, he’ll be overpaid, but at least we won’t be stuck with him forever.
Doesn’t Baltimore have vladdy still?
Vlad was only on a 1 year deal and I dont see him coming back unless its more of a bench role.
Ortiz is the 6th highest ranked free agent available meaning he would be awarded a handsome raise if it made to the the arbitrator. The Red Sox will not be offering him arbitration just like they didnt offer Varitek arbitration last year
how is this crazy concept so popular. boston would love to have ortiz on a one-year deal
they are worried about his decline long-term – not in 2012 – and would gladly overpay for a year to limit that risk. the only way he isn’t offered arbitration is if he agrees to a deal before then
Who knows, who cares? If the Orioles are incompetent enough to sign Ortiz with or without Vlad, they’re incompetent enough to put Vlad in the outfield. It really depends on who their new GM ends up being.
You mean, aside from every National League team, right?
National what?
no “homie” reunion for ortiz and bautista?
If Boston offers arbitration to Ortiz, AA won’t pursue him. If not, maybe AA will have a talk with him. What AA says isn’t that they won’t pursue a DH, he just said that there’s other spots that need to be filed first ( top of rotation arm + ‘pen ). Then, if he’s able to clear those areas and if Ortiz is still available, AA will seriously look at him since he picked the cheap E5 option, making him a valuable guy on the market. I’d rather have a Ortiz for 2 years than E5. Plus, I think we can get something “good” in return of Encarnacion on the trade market.
I guess you noticed there’s a lot of if’s in my comment. It says it all about the probability of this happening.
The Jays probably cannot get something good for EE unless one of three things happens:
1) He has a 1st half that resembles his last half and then gets moved at the deadline
2) AA uses his jedi mind tricks
3) *insert Reagins joke*
Little known fact, getting Reagins installed as GM of the Orioles is step six of AA’s cunning plan to destroy the rest of the AL East.
I don’t know…looks like the O’s are doing a good enough job themselves (LaCava)
Jay trade for Votto. Lind & E5 L/R platoon at DH. No Ortiz needed.
hmmm…AA’s insight on how Jays restrict employees interviewing with other teams from participating from current planning suggests Farrell wasn’t interviewing with Boston because Farrell did iterate his present focus was on current planning for Blue Jays.
Huh?
don’t worry Eric…we understand that post had too many words for you to comprehend…do you need me to provide you with 3 to 5 word sentences?
Had AA not picked up E5’s option (it was a stretch thinking he wasn’t) I would’ve seen the Red Sox jumping all over him. Play 3B/DH giving Youk and Gonzo some games at DH to alleviate playing in field 160 games a year. E5 as a flyball/pull hitter would have been a great fit. I’d even trade for him now but it ain’t happening
I don’t see E5 with the Jays in April. He is now a trading chip that can be included in AA’s desire to acquire a front-end starter and 2nd baseman. He is also signed for 2012 at 3.75M, which is payroll friendly to every team in the majors. He is a huge risk however, since in 2010, he had four great weekends, amounting to 20 home runs, the rest of the year he was invisible. In 2011, he was invisible the first 3 months and then hit in the second half. In 2012, will he pick up where he left off or go invisible again for the year? At 3M, he is worth the risk to some team, even as a bench player.
Ortiz isn’t going anywhere A, and Colon is not going to get a contract offer from the Red Sox B. It goes beyond what they think Colon would do on the field. The distraction of the whole ‘shot’ thing and how MLB has Still turned it’s head the other way is beyond me. If it were Roids or HGH (which it pretty much is!!) they’d flip their lid. Just because he hadn’t yet paid for the surgery doesn’t excuse looking the other way. As a die hard Sox fan, if they sign Colon I’d be pissed.
Encarnacion= Breakout player of the year
I’ve said that 2 years in a row. lol
why dont we make a deal for matt garza if the cubs decide to rebuild
Toronto: matt garza
Cubs : deck mcguire , adam loewen and travis snider
yep….I think there is a good chance AA targets Matt Garza…especially given Garza has one year left on his contract and ranks as Type A
not even that, garza loves pitching in rogers center.
I think that deal is a little bit lopsided the jays way though.. really the cubs are just getting a mid rotation starter a prospect with huge question marks and a bench player.
Last year maybe, but they have this new GM, and that ish probably wont fly.
agreed something more than snider and mcguire would be needed maybe something like a marcus kneght
what value would the reds see win Lind or E5, they are both defensively limited in the AL, it becomes even worse in the NL.
Didnt the Reds already get rid of E5 once? why would they want him back?
For the Jays to even consider trading for Votto, you lose Escobar, Romero, and Alvarez which creates three more holes to fill, because Lind and E5 wouldn’t be in the trade. The Reds have Alonzo and a DH isn’t used in the NL. The Jays lose their shortstop and ace. Cincy wouldn’t give him away. lol. They would want pieces in return that help them right away, not four years from now.
I know you didnt but if they are just going to be a bench/role player, why do you feel so strongly that Lind or EE would have to be included?
yep…looks that way to me as well…however….a lot of the media were “insinuating” Farrell might be interviewing with Boston
Hah…you are most rude…Let’s see if the moderator removes your comment.
Because the Jays’ biggest off-season worry is blocking the Red Sox from interviewing Farrell, knowing how well of a rapport they both have with each other. Think about in the real life, a worker wants to work for another company. You block them from being interviewed. Do you really think they will give you (the employer) the same effort if they knew they could have gone somewhere they would have rather been? That’s what’s sad, is when instead of worrying about your own team (because until they have Manager WAR, they can easily replace Farrell if he wanted to jump to the Sox) you make a Press release basically saying “No Red Sox, you may not interview Farrell”.
I’m not trying to go all Roman on you. I just dont think that a role player would be a major concern for the Reds as they try to bleed every bit of value for Votto. The focus would be on major league pitching and the wealth of prospects in the Jays system. I would think that the Reds could attempt to get E5 like bench production cheeper in the free agency. In MVP blockbuster deals have been made in the past I just cant think of any “throw in” players that have been included.
Why would the mod do that? My response wasn’t any more rude than yours to me. It’s just funny that you think a line with 40 words can be considered a “sentence.” LOL. “You are most rude.” LOOL. What did you time-travel from Elizabethan times?
lol lol lol
a starting shortstop who’s a pretty good fielder and is a good bat, signed to a cheap extension…posted a 4.3 WAR lastyear in 130 games
a solid #2 pitcher, also signed to a nice team friendly deal, who looks to be getting better with age
and a potential #1/2 pitcher who has already showed his ability to pitch well without having a 3rd pitch
are you nuts? The reds wouldn’t get that much value from ANY team for 2 years of Votto.
Why do you feel that Votto, in his expensive years, is worth more than Adrian Gonzalez, Mark Teixera, Roy Halladay ?
The hole idea of trading votto is based on the fact that Alonso is major league ready..
will he be better than votto? heck no
but he’ll be an decent replacement, while the return for votto will improve other holes thus making them a much better team overall.
Clearly he needs to switch to decaf. If a trade were to happen, it would be pretty much all prospects going to the Reds, which makes it unlikely to happen.
Romero is not a number 2 pitcher, he had a 2.93 ERA (better than CC Sabatia, whose also a lefty pitching in the AL East) in just his third season, he is without a doubt a number 1 pitcher, ace material in the future.
I could see it happening mid year… IF and its a big IF
– Gose continues on his upward progression
-Rasmus comes back himself
-Snider re- establishes himself
-D’arnaud continues on his upward progression
-Hechavarria’s last few weeks in AAA are deemed to be not a fluke..
If those things happen, you have an expendable CF in Gose or Rasmus, expendable catcher in JP Arencibia, and expendable SS in Hech. . . Those are 3 nice pieces up the middle, that will surely attract the reds, since they would all be mlb ready.
but like i said, thats a huge IF and would be at the deadline or next offseason.
Alonso’s played 70 games over 2 seasons for the reds to date, he’s also turning 25 next year. so while I do agree with you, I think the reds have already eased him in to things.
I thought of that too, but AA said in a press conference that if he does add a starter its going to be a top of the rotation starter. He sees no value in adding a 4/5 because he feels he can have prospects perform to a similar level..
You have Morrow-Romero- Alvarez as your top 3..
then you have, Mcgowan, Cecil, Drabek, Carreno, Hutchinson, Molina, Litsch as possible 4/5 starters
Unless AA gambles, which he has also done, see: Wallace for Gose.
If the Jays traded for Votto, I imagine it would probably be a three way trade. Jays flip prospects to team A, team A sends pieces to the Reds, Reds send Votto to the Jays.
I would love it, but I’m not holding my breath. One, the Reds say they’re not shopping Votta, and two I think the Jays are going to try to turn their prospects into a front line starting pitcher, not a bat.
yes I’ve definitely discounted willis/volquez as top of the rotation types.. in my mind they would have to be equal to or greater than romero, and I dont think either are moving forward..
I think Yu is still very much on the radar of the jays, and it would be a perfect fit.. I know he said he doesn’t like 100 MM + commitments, but more than half will be a posting fee. He saved a TON of money by unloading wells, so I do believe its there if he wants it..
As for Snider, as of right now his value is pretty low, teams would be looking at him as a reclamation project of a former top prospect, you won’t get much out of him.. I believe that he can still be an elite mlb player, but I think he needs to be given the confidence of the club in the form of extended playing time, so we can see what he can do.. luckily he is still young, but the clock is definitely ticking.
I may be in the minority, but I’d much rather the Jays trade for Matt Latos than Votto.
I feel the same.. you’d be able to send younger less mlb ready prospects for latos and he would really look good in our rotation.
I would think a Marisnick, Jimenez, Hutchinson, Thames, Carreno package would be more than enough to land Latos.
Why would SD trade a 23 yr old SP whose locked in til 2016?
what’s the offer for Latos?
Really??? Don’t you think you crossed the line with your “Elizabethan times” remark?
The dude is hyped because he won an MVP and put up OPS+ of 156, 171, 156 corresponding to WARs of 4.0, 5.9, and then 6.5
deck mcguire isnt projected to be an ace but still a very good #3 pitcher what other pitcher would you put in to make the trade
Snider sucks! Look at him, struggling at age 23!
because right now they aren’t a very good team and turning latos in to 2 or 3 top prospects and a few more fillers would really improve their team moving forward.
It’s been rumored a few times that the Padres are guaging interest in him to get a huge return.
You’re kidding, right?
about which part?? lol
wrist = fixed
power= back
thames =bench
while i agree that matt garza isnt the best player on the market we would have to come up with a much better package to get an ace starting pitcher and give up top prospects
profit.
F. Rex is being sarcastic homeboy
lol
I dunno. the part about the padres trading latos, I guess.
weren’t they admittedly exploring the idea of trading him this year?? If not then I’m mistaken for sure.
I mean stranger things have happened, Justin Upton was on the trading block last offseason.. Any player is available given the right package.
Who knows, maybe he’s being sarcastic as well.
That’s a highly optimistic outlook.. I like Ricky believe me, but last year he was pretty lucky, his FIP was actually higher than it was the year before, however experienced some pretty good luck this year. (.242 BABIP/ 79% LOB)
ERA isn’t the only number to look at, of course he can improve but thats moot given that I was responding to a guy who talked about trading him now.
But out of the teams who made the playoffs this year, he wouldn’t be any ones opening day starter.. (Price, Sabathia, Carpenter, Wilson, Halladay, Grienke, Kennedy, Verlander)
It would be a pretty steep price, but I’d start with Arencibia and Nestor Molina–obviously a couple more blue-chip prospects need to be added.
I’m not sure that is enough, but the Jays would have to jump all over that deal if it happens. There are definitely some good players in there, but no real top 25 blue-chip prospect.
I agree with you. My point was only that the hype surrounding Votto is located on some solid ground.
(and pretty much everyone is going to pale in comparison to JB’s last two seasons)
Marisnick and Jimenez and Hutch are top prospects on A LOT of teams..
Jays should be penalized by paying more just because their farm system is complete boss.
and the cards said they were not interested in moving rasmus. things change. those words are how you kill rumours. that is all.
however a play for votto would cost at least a drabek cecil thames and prob a bit more…. to which i saty DO IT! esp after we get darvish
Why is it unlikely to happen at Rogers Centre?
Romero’s as good as Kennedy. Wilson too.
What the h are you talking about? Since when did Farrell want to be interviewed by the Red Sox?