The Blue Jays announced that they’ve re-signed right-hander Gavin Floyd to a minor league contract and invited him to Major League Spring Training.
Floyd, 34 later this month, spent the 2016 campaign with the Jays and pitched reasonably well when healthy, logging a 4.06 earned run average with a 30-to-8 K/BB ratio in 31 innings out of the Toronto bullpen. His season, however, came to an end in late June when he hit the disabled list with a shoulder injury that later proved to be a partially torn lat muscle.
Floyd has been plagued by persistent arm issues since undergoing Tommy John surgery in May 2013, twice fracturing the olecranon bone in his elbow in addition to his 2016 shoulder woes, but he’s steadfastly remained committed to getting back on a big league mound. He’s posted a 3.10 ERA in 98 2/3 innings since undergoing Tommy John, so the talent is clearly still there. The question with Floyd is simply one of whether his arm can hold up for the duration of a Major League season, even working in short relief stints. Certainly, it would seem that Toronto president Mark Shapiro and GM Ross Atkins are firm believers in Floyd’s abilities, as they’ve been a part of signing him in each of the past three offseasons (with Cleveland prior to the 2015 season and with the Jays last winter).
Good move !
LOL
That is quite the rave review.
I used to give Floyd rave reviews but he never reached his potent
*potential
Or potent for that matter
Yep, def a good move
I mean, barely any risk in this signing. Cant say I hate it..
Sucks to Jays go back to being a small market team even though they take in large market revenue…. for now.! Peole won’t go or watch if the team sucks.
Every team makes moves like this, irrespective of their market size.
It’s the lack of doing anything that’s going to keep ppl away, this offence is going to be a joke next year. It’s basically JD and Travis, with a ton of strikeouts between.
And a one trick pony in the pen.
I understand it’s frustrating when moves aren’t being made but every team is waiting out the market this offseason. It’s not like the Jays are sitting in the corner twiddling their thumbs while every other team is signing bucket loads of players
It’s frustrating that if we don’t sign Bautista, Colby Rasmus might be the next best option and it’s more frustrating that I think the plan now is to use Upton as a starter
I think the bridge has been burned with Rasmus. Bautista or Moss would be a nice signing to add some power. I’m ok with an Upton/Carrera platoon in left. Hopefully there will be some $$ spent to shore up the bullpen
Oh god – please not Rasmus
Rasmus had 20 defensive runs saved last year, most of it in LF. If the OF market is crashing, his 2.2 WAR for 2016 might be got for cheap in 2017.
Upton and Carrera both struggle vs RHP. Not the best platoon for a contender.
You get this from a minor league signing?
Never have and never will buy a Rogers product.
Amen
I blame Shapiro, Rogers increased payroll to $165M for the year. I think they’ll be upset with going from an attendance of 3.2M back to 1.5M
Even the notoriously frugal Tribe made a splash in FA by signing EE. So the reward for 3.2M fans is going back to trying to being excited we have Steve Pearce and Gavin Floyd, thanks Shapiro.
The Orioles were never rumored this time…..
As for me, I was hoping this was the year he came to Baltimore
You can have him. We`ll throw in Shapiro and Akins to sweeten the deal.
Shapiro and Atkins right now … “oh look a cheap used good product, LETS GET IT!”
You have to know now that Shapiro and Atkins are not investing in players unless they are young and part of a rebuild process. The only other way is if they are signing a veteran cheaply until a young resource is ready from the minors. The end game is to rebuild, not to win. They will put a product on the field that will try to compete that will put fans in the seats but they will not make a move to push over the top. Gurriel Jr is an example of the investments they will make otherwise the priority is rebuilding the farm.
And there’s nothing wrong with that. Our window is likely closed or closing fast, so we can build a farm that has grown greatly since they’ve taken over.
That is why I think they should sign guys like Bautista. Give a chance compete and if your out of it you have a good trade commodity that can fetch a decent prospect for the farm.
No reason they can’t still compete without sacrificing future. No need to go all in on a rebuild. If out of it at June, then dive right on in. For now, they should sign an outfielder that can hit RHP and a reliever that can be counted on vs LH. Maybe another option to setup games if Grilli cheese has gone bad.
If Smoak gets 500AB, he will do well, I won’t stop shouting it. Guy hits RHP and did alright in the 6 week sample with semi-regular at bats. Rest of his Jays career has been glued to the bench. Carrera might still improve against RHP but if he gets 500AB, I’m more worried. Reverse splits so far make him tough to judge. Had some real good stretches when he got ABs too. We know Upton can’t hit RHP though, so another OF would be so nice. Bautista would be good but it seems that Pagan or Saunders would provide better value for the Jays needs. Just my opinion. Laugh now or later.
I can’t wait to see Carrera and Smoak get 500 ABs. With Smokie swinging that many times they can save money on AC at the RC
LOL
They’re not exactly putting a competitive team on the field. If they want to rebuild that’s fine, I just think it should be a full effort, not this in between we’re seeing. Trade the Donaldsons and Tulos, what’s the point in keeping them for a sub 500 season
Not a bad move. From what I remember he was surprisingly solid until the wheels fell off just before he got shelved for the year. If he can stay out of the trainers room he should help… But this is kind of a lunch bag let-down after a month of complete silence from the team
Only Jays reliever that was getting out lefties in the first half. But running out of lives, not banking on anything this year!
I was hoping we would sign him, good move. They better start moving thier ass and sign Bautista
Not sure there’s any rush, he doesn’t seem to be in huge demand
I guess the Jays can start planning the World Series parade now.
If I have a top 20 pick, no way would I sign him…..looks like he’s not getting 150 million
Update, Floyd just went on the DL, hurt his arm signing the contract.
sheeeeesh
Lol
Haha…True Story
His arm will fall off in July, (again). It must suck to be a Jay`s fan.
I’m okay with Atkins and Shapiro rebuilding as long as they commit to it. Donaldson and Tulo have to be on the block, you can’t out build other teams by having a sub 500 record. They need to follow what the ATL Braves just did.
I’m all for rebuilding, I saw it being a very strong possibility 2 years ago when AA started going all in.
However, Tulo and Martin are almost immovable due to their contracts. Tulo received a full no trade clause when he came to Toronto and he is owed $78 million over the next 4 years(includes the $4 million buyout of his 2021 option). His bat hasn’t been classic Tulo since coming to TO and though his D remains strong, he’s incredibly injury prone and who knows how long he has until he’s a liability at SS. Martin on the other hand is immovable because of the $60 million he’s owed for the next 3 years. And though he’s been great for the Jays staff, his framing and defensive ability have nosedived. Unless the Jays are eating a significant portion of their salaries for the next 3 plus years, they’re getting nothing of significant value for either one.
The core is in place. A rebuild would be crazy. Especially considering these albatross contracts. Make playoffs 2 of next 3 without spending too much or trading away any young assets seems to be doable. Then the next batch is ready and the current young arms are trade chips to keep the cycle going.
Having nearly $100 mill tied up in the top 5 players isn’t making life easy for Shatkins. Hands were pretty tied unless they’re willing to take a huge hit to cut ties with any of these players. Tulo and Martin still have great value and considering the return they would get, they are pretty locked in. C/SS with star potential are not common around the league. Trade away Donaldson or a pitching asset is counterproductive. See what they can do with the current core seems to be the best bet.
Gotta try to figure out a way to win with cheap filler, cave in and spend, or speed up the rebuild despite Tulo/Martin being pretty untradeable. Giving the cheap filler six weeks isn’t a terrible idea. Faceplant out of the gate turns into a rebuild, and a strong start means filling the pieces mid-summer will be easier. The core is playoff caliber, room to add at trade deadline. No need for panic rebuild.
Miss playoffs this year, and they can replace Liriano/Estrada with rookies to save $20mill, and probably trade Donaldson to get some prospects and save another $20mill. Run a $90mill payroll for 2018 and $70mill by 2019, ready to pay up or trade off Sanchez/Stroman/Osuna/Travis by then. Almost no risk in adding $20mill now on 1year deals to try to keep the window open one more year. Make playoffs again and they can try to milk one more year. The flexibility on the way is going to be fun.
Donaldson and the young pitching are the keys to excelerating the rebuild. As much as I love Sanchez he probably won’t be around when we’re back to competing. Trade them all
Less of a product means lower prices? Yeah, right. Tired of paying $14 for a beer to watch a mediocre product which we did from ’95 until 2014.
I have to agree with some of the posters here. If the Jays are to rebuild, do it for real. What is kind of sad is I don’t think our window was necessarily closing. I thought that with a revamp bullpen, the Jays could contend again this year. I guess that, as an exec, the fun part is to build a team your own way.
The offseason is still not over though, but it seems like we (the fans) are again on board for the same limbo as the previous 20 years : not good enough, not bad enough.
I fractured the olecranon process in my elbow while pitching. It happens because the ligament (which is attached the olecranon) is too strong/tight – something has to give.
If Floyd has fractured his olecranon twice and had Tommy John once, it is fair to say that this guy’s elbow is wrecked and he cannot be relied upon for anything.
Vegas has innings over/under at 9…gonna be close!
I think talk of small market vs large market is becoming a moot point. Spenders win sometimes. Most times they don’t. That’s not to say I’m not happy. But not with Shapiro. Unhappy with AA. The marlins/mets trade is what left us in this position.