Blue Jays first baseman Justin Smoak and shortstop Freddy Galvis looked like prime trade candidates going into Wednesday’s deadline, but it doesn’t appear either player generated much interest. The markets for Smoak and Galvis were just about nonexistent on deadline day, Scott Mitchell of TSN reports. Both players may have wound up on the move this month had the August waiver deadline stuck around, as Mitchell notes, but that’s no longer a factor.
Smoak was reportedly drawing a fair amount of interest as of Tuesday, when the Indians and Rays were said to be among the teams in on him. But things went unfavorably from there for rebuilding Toronto, which first saw the Indians augment their offense by acquiring outfielders Yasiel Puig and Franmil Reyes late Tuesday. The Rays then added first baseman Jesus Aguilar in a trade with the Brewers early Wednesday. Aguilar’s far cheaper and controllable for longer than Smoak – a pending free agent on an $8MM salary.
There has been speculation about the Blue Jays extending Smoak, which could be more realistic now that they won’t be able to trade the soon-to-be 33-year-old. A Blue Jay since 2015, the switch-hitting Smoak broke out with the club from 2017-18, but his bottom-line production has declined this season. Smoak has slashed .213/.356/.420 (110 wRC+) with 18 home runs in 368 plate appearances.
Smoak’s numbers aren’t going to put him in position to break the bank on his next contract, especially as an aging first baseman, though he has likely deserved better this year. Smoak has drawn almost as many walks (61) as strikeouts (72), while his .219 batting average on balls in play is 48 points below his career mark (.267), and he boasts an excellent .389 expected weighted on-base average. That figure vastly outdoes Smoak’s real wOBA (.343) and ranks among the best in baseball.
Galvis, set to turn 30 in November, joined the Blue Jays on the open market last winter for a guaranteed $5MM. His pact includes a $5.5MM club option for 2020, but the Jays might reject it in favor of a $1MM buyout now that high-end middle infield prospects Bo Bichette and Cavan Biggio have come up to the majors.
With Bichette and Biggio in the mix, Galvis’ time as a regular in Toronto appears to be over. However, to Galvis’ credit, the switch-hitter has continued his impressive run of durability this season and chipped in a career-best .264/.299/.436 line (91 wRC+) with 16 HRs over 435 trips to the plate. That production wasn’t enough to excite a contender, though, and it didn’t help Toronto’s cause that there wasn’t a great deal of demand for middle infielders approaching the deadline.
Not overly shocking there wasn’t much of a market for either. They’re both likely worth more to the development of this team than some low A prospects anyways . They seem like the perfect veterans to keep around to mentor the young core. Professional, team first kind of guys. No more drama on this team.. The future is now.
Amazing perspective. Totally agree. Thumbs up
Might as well have them both next year. Why not those two?
5 OFs and 4 INFs need at bats at DH if Tellez plays 1B. Hernandez, Gurriel, McKinney, Grichuk, Fisher, Drury, Vlad, Biggio, Bichette. Re-sign Galvis, rotate all the guys at DH. Option 2 is carrying three catchers (not recommending) or have Hernandez DH and replace Smoak with Alford. I’d deal Maile in the offseason.
Probably need to cut bait next season on Hernandez, Drury and McKinney, if they can’t find the next level of their games. Smoak and Galvis are quality veteran guys to have on the bench.
You don’t keep a player who’s strictly a 1B on the bench. Smoak starts if he’s back. I would not bring him back. He’s going to be 33 in December and a 3 year deal takes him to 35-36. Next season is the last stand for the players you mentioned. Blue Jays would have money to play with.
Considering how some Jays fans here want a vet, how about re-signing Donaldson to a 2-year plus option? Yes he’s a year older than Smoak. Can play the corners and DH. Can help Vlad at 3B. If we are really serious about a Smoak return how about bringing back a legend instead. Not on-board with it, but in a game of “who you’d rather” I would take JD.
Yeah, I’ve gotta say I’m not really all that surprised that there wasnt much interest in either guy Smoak really seems to be an overrated player if you ask me – I mean I get that he’s had bad luck and what not this season but I just really don’t see how an aging 1B only player who’s hitting .219 is going to help a contender. Galvis on the other hand I thought might interest a team in need of IF depth… as he seems like a solid all around player who can do pretty much anything okay – he’s not really going to excel in any one aspect of the game… but seems to be able to hold his own in just about any situation. Definitely a guy who probably would’ve been moved in a waiver deal in recent years had those still existed this season. I’m sure there’s a contender out there who’s going to suffer an injury or something along the way and going to really wish they could pick him up as a waiver-trade… all-in-all I’m not sure I’m really a fan of the new system… those trades were always suspenseful and fun to watch come together as guys were passed through waivers, etc.
Lol batting average
Never seen anyone driven home from 2B with a walk
Walks don’t move runners from first to third
BA is an underrated stat in this age of analytics
I won’t say it’s a terrible stat, but BA doesn’t tell you anything by itself. Literally nothing. Even high BA guys can be terrible at hitting with RISP.
Check smoaks wrc+
Hank Murphy speaks the truth. A walk puts the force on. The force play is a pitcher’s best friend. They’ll walk you to make that happen.
Well at least you’re an equal opportunity troll…
Sorry. Don’t understand what you mean.
He’s a gold glove ss
Galvis’ pop and amazing defense at both 2nd and SS would make him an excellent bench piece for a contender. I don’t get the lack of interest.
Back to Philly next year. Their bench is rotten.
Hopefully they can work out an extension with Smoak.
Why?
Veteran presence, great defender, middle of the order bat, and Tellez is not and probably never will be ready for everyday AB’s
He’s not that good…why clog up a roster spot?
I’m not a big Tellez believer, and he’s the only real option to take over first from Smoakie. And I wouldn’t say he’s not that good. In 2017 and 18 he was one of the AL’s best first basemen. Even this year he’s undoubtably been struggling but has still been better than league average. I’d be willing to bet at least a bit of his struggles have been related to his injuries anyways.
Not sold on Tellez either JD. Jays do need to find out in 2020. By then they will also find out how much Vlad will improve at 3B. He is the viable 1B option 2021 and beyond. The DH spot will allow everyone to make a case for themselves. Can McKinney take a step forward? Teoscar? Fisher? They all get at bats and then re-assess things after the 2020 season. That is why I’d rather see Smoak move on.
They have lots of options at 1B, convert one of the many OF they have. I’ve seen Moneyball…apparently it’s not that hard!
112 wrc+ and a great guy around the clubhouse and the city of Toronto. Deserves Grichuk money on 3 years…
Wut? lol 3/52 mil? Good lord.
Smoak might take his chances and go to a contender the same with Galvis
Doubt contenders would want them. If anything, I think they will struggle to find a major league deal
That’s not true. They might not have contenders lining up for them but they won’t be in any danger of settling for non-majors deals. Galvis has never had trouble before and he’s having his best offensive season on top of what he provides on D. Smoak Type players are definitely devalued nowadays but even then, there are at least 10 teams where he’d be an upgrade at first.
I would say the same, but then looking at what happened last year with certain players like jose iglesias… I dont know. I just think they will struggle to find a deal
True. I’d be surprised if they did but that is a good point.
Yet the imbeciles in the Tiger front office did sign Jordy Mercer. Adeiny Hecchavaria and Jose Iglesias just hit the market when there were too many light hitting SS available.
Smoak is efficient at the plate and in the field. For a team that’s spent their money elsewhere to contend he could be the type of signing to do his job and not need the hype. In both leagues…
I’d rather see Tellez at 1B rest of the season.
Why would the BJ’s hang on to Galvis and Smoak? Not enough return?
They GAVE AWAY Sanchez and got very little in return for Stroman.
I thought Gord Ash was a bad GM, then JPR came along
AA was a small improvement on JPR but RA is easily the worst GM this team has ever had.
I miss Pat Gillick
Definitely not enough of an offer for Smoak. Hes very underrated.
No one needs a shortstop so Galvis is out.
If Sanchez stayed he’d be an overpaid middle reliever for the Jays next year and would yield even less in a deadline deal 12 months from now. Blame Boras for pushing this kid to keep starting to boost his arb negotiation.
Biagini was bought for 100k in the rule draft. The prospect Stevenson is 4 years away if ever.
Now…Fisher…a guy that could get full playing time as opposed to none that has not succeeded as a bench guy. Seems like a good bet he will do better in Toronto who will give him the enough ABs to hopefully figure it out. Better chance to produce and progress that way than being stuck in Houston. Jays fans hate the trade. I love it. They couldnt get Frazier from the Yanks for the same offer…both are comparable outfielders. I like the gamble. Take a bunch of small nothing and turn it into, at worst, a big nothing. Or, a piece of a package to get something bigger down the road.
14 for 42. Is that what Atkins said exactly??? Something like it…depth and control.
Nobody cares about depth or control over players who can’t play. Congrats. You have bought in to the bag of crap Rogers and company are selling.
I know Giants got Dubon and Gennett, but i’m honestly surprised they didn’t try to get Galvis with a buzzer beater. Depth has been an issue for them this year. Maybe Freidman really is sold on Solano
You know this single trade deadline really hurts small market teams
A small market club contending could have made a play for Smoak or a higher priced first baseman and would only be saddled with the salary for 1 month and get an extra push for the playoffs
Heck even the yanks maybe could have made an August push for a Smoak or an Abreu with voit being out for 6 weeks
Oh well.. rob Manfred continues to destroy the game we all love
Voit is out. Cashman wasn’t going to overpay for Smoak regardless of 1 or 2 deadlines. And…Smoak would have been claimed anyways to block the yanks so your theory is bust pal
Your basing that off the first season to only have 1 trade deadline. Lets wait a couple of seasons so teams can adjust to the new timeline for trades before assuming having only 1 trade deadline is a mistake. And its not so much having 1 or 2 trade deadlines, the issue was that there were too many teams still with a shot at making the playoffs in the NL meaning there weren’t as many sellers. Teams were putting a high price on their starters/bullpen arms since they still think they have a chance. Even the Giants, who many thought would be sellers, sold from a position of strength without significantly hurting their team and chances to win a wild card spot.
Speaking as a non-analytics guy…
How does Smoak not get moved over Aguilar??? He beats his wrc+ by 30 points and uzr150 by 3.
Maybe the Jays front office, who are getting crushed right now, made the right move not to sell this guy low.
I’d expect a higher aav, 2 year extension soon…a leader for the young core. Let’s go with 2 more years, $24 total with incentives and a nice $10 club option with $1 buyout.
The time to sell was over a year ago on Smoak. Extending him takes more at bats from the young players. Hard pass.
A cheap extension might make sense…. but not $12m annually. Maybe 2/$12m or something like that…. but honestly I think Smoak will find another team willing to give him more regular at bats.
Jays will want to get a long look at Tellez and giving them each half the playing time isn’t great for either of them. If Tellez doesn’t show well 1b is the easiest position to fill with free agents.
Aguilar is controllable beyond this year. If he can turn his bat around he’s a nice longer term piece.
salary and years of control. aguilar has close to 5 full years of team control left, smoak has less than three months. teams also like to cry poor, so they probably didnt want to pick up the tab on his remaining salary, as little as it may be
The Blue Jays need to find out if Tellez is their 1B of the future. They also need to make the DH position an open position to rotate Vlad, Bichette, Biggio, Teoscar, Grichuk etc. Get them more at bats and give them a rest once a week. That means Justin Smoak needs to go. An extension would be another dumb decision by the front office. Nothing against Smoak. This would not be a fit at this present time.
Galvis is a different story. Urena is showing he is not up for the utility role. His numbers in Buffalo reflect that. For Jays fans clamoring for Sogard to return next year they may as well re-sign Galvis. He would be a better fit and better defensively than Sogard. Jays have enough players to move around the field like Biggio and Drury.
People repeatedly forget that positions like 1b and DH are typically covered by contending teams. The only need for one would be either as an injury replacement or as an upgrade. But with Smoakie’s numbers this year, he is not an upgrade. As for Galvis, if you go around to each of the 7 AL contenders and the potentially 9 NL contenders, all 16 teams are fairly set at SS and 2b. In other words, the chances of either of these guys getting trades were very slim leading up to the deadline.
Good point. Given the logjam slated for next year the Jays could use an open DH spot. Jays fans have gone silent over Alford too, who should be given a chance to make the team next year. With the abundance of OFs he may wind up on the outs. A move will likely happen in the offseason involving an OF. Gurriel, Fisher and Grichuk are probably safe.
if there was still an august trading period, they would have definitely been moved in august. teams need defensive specialists late in the season, and a team needing a late push could definitely use a hitter like smoak at minimal acquisition costs.
Yep. It’s a shame August trades are no more. And there doesn’t even seem to be a good rationale as for why.
Agreed Walls.
royals may have uncertainty at 1st until nick pratto is ready….When is Justin smoak a free agent?
In a few months.
surpised no one wanted Galvis. you’d have to figure someone would want that defense and solid hitting on the bench.
For those of you scoring at home, Devon Travis, Justin Smoak, Dalton Pompey and Ryan Tepera are the only four players still with the Blue Jays who were on the 2016 ALCS roster.