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Blue Jays Notes: Ryu, Roark, Gibson, Gausman

By Mark Polishuk | December 10, 2019 at 1:09am CDT

Free agent left-hander Hyun-Jin Ryu “is emerging as one of the Blue Jays’ prime targets” in the team’s wide-ranging search for pitching, Sportsnet.ca’s Shi Davidi writes.  With other major pitchers like Stephen Strasburg and Zack Wheeler already off the board, however, the Jays will face a lot of competition to land Ryu, particularly from teams that come up short on signing Gerrit Cole or Madison Bumgarner.  Should the Dodgers fail to sign Cole, Davidi notes, Los Angeles would seem like a prime candidate to pursue re-signing a known quantity in Ryu — indeed, we’ve already heard reports that the Dodgers have Ryu in their sights.

“Right now, the Blue Jays seem determined to not block themselves out of a possible run at Ryu by doing something else,” Davidi writes in a separate piece.  Aside from the acquisition of Chase Anderson from the Brewers, however, the Jays haven’t done much to upgrade a rotation that was the team’s chief offseason priority.  It could be that the Jays’ deliberate methods of pursuing and evaluating every possible arm on the market are leaving them behind other teams who make a more direct push for a specific pitcher at the top of their list.  In the view of one agent, talks with the Blue Jays “are 90 per cent due diligence that doesn’t go anywhere.”

To this end, Davidi wonders if the Jays are really willing to spend “outside their comfort zone” to sign Ryu if he is their top choice, since if not, missing out on Ryu could also in Toronto missing out on several other pitchers who could sign elsewhere in the interim.  For instance, Davidi notes that “one path the Blue Jays are particularly keen on” would see Ryu and Tanner Roark both sign with the Jays, after the Dodgers leave the Ryu sweepstakes due to a Cole signing.  If this is the case, I’d argue there’s no reason the Jays couldn’t go out of their way to sign Roark now, as he wouldn’t require nearly the price tag of the top pitchers on the free agent market.  (MLBTR projected Roark for a two-year, $18MM deal, and in fact predicted he’d end up signing with the Jays.)  Toronto is nowhere near any kind of payroll crunch, given the team’s lack of financial commitments both in 2020 and in future seasons.

That said, the Blue Jays have done more than just talk, as the club made multiple contract offers to Kyle Gibson, as manager Charlie Montoyo told MLB.com’s Keegan Matheson and other reporters.  The right-hander ended up going to the Rangers on a three-year, $28MM deal.  “You hate to lose guys like Gibson.  I was there when we made the offers and they were pretty good offers, just somebody else made a better offer,” Montoyo said.

Kevin Gausman is another free agent hurler who doesn’t appear to be coming to Toronto.  Davidi reports that the Jays had interest in the recently non-tendered righty, but Gausman is likely going to sign elsewhere this week.

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Notes Toronto Blue Jays Hyun-Jin Ryu Kevin Gausman Kyle Gibson Tanner Roark

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28 Comments

  1. JohhnyBets67

    6 years ago

    Kevin Gausman said no thank you to Canada.

    Reply
  2. Mario93

    6 years ago

    Just sign Tanner Roark, work out a deal with Shoemaker. And call it an off-season as far as the starting rotation is concerned. From this front office group, we can’t be asking for more than that. Shoemaker, Roark, and Chase Anderson. And let the young kids battle out the final two rotation spots. That’s a realistic scenario.. because as much false promises as Atkins has made, only a fool at this point would think our Jays will actually sign Ryu. Not happening. Not with Atkins at the helm.

    Reply
    • Samuel

      6 years ago

      Roark is very probably hoping the Nationals bring him back as a #5 starter. He’s not signing with a rebuilding team destined for 4th place, in hopes that if he pitches well they’ll trade him to a contender at the deadline. Rather, he’ll try to get on the contender now.

      Reply
    • coldbeer

      6 years ago

      Friendly reminder that the Jays, like every other team in MLB, cannot simply decide which free agent they want to sign. See, there’s this thing about being a free agent that does this crazy thing called giving the player the decision where to sign.

      I’d question sending Ross Atkins into any kind of sales meeting, he seems more like an auditor, but sounds like with Montoyo and probably Lacava at least the Jays are sending a solid contingent of high level guys to pitch free agents.

      Reply
  3. Rich Hill’s Elbow

    6 years ago

    Why are they going after Ryu? Shouldn’t the Jays be going after younger pitchers like Teheran, Wacha, and Walker??

    Reply
    • rct

      6 years ago

      Teheran and Wacha are demonstrably worse and Wacha has just as much of an injury history as Ryu.

      Walker is both demonstrably worse and has an even worse injury history than Ryu. He’s pitched 14 innings the last two seasons (compared to Ryu’s 260).

      You can maybe make a case for Teheran, but his peripherals are not good. But suggesting Wacha or Walker over Ryu is quite odd.

      Reply
      • Rich Hill’s Elbow

        6 years ago

        To think of the Jays as contenders is quite odd.

        It’s of my understanding that signing a pitcher of Ryu’s caliber should only be considered when it’s clear that Vlad Jr. and the rest of the core has demonstrated that their window of opportunity is wide open.

        2
        Reply
        • coldbeer

          6 years ago

          This

          Reply
    • coldbeer

      6 years ago

      No

      Reply
    • giom78

      6 years ago

      i agree sign Teheran and wacha and walker for around 21mil (around 7 mil each) and hope one pans out compared to maybe 20 mil per season for ryu

      Reply
  4. atbothends

    6 years ago

    Where have you been, Shelly? The Toronto Blue Jays? Do you want to see the memos? They’re nuts. When I was with Webb, they used to call in every week. Do you see how they are playing? How could you delude yourself? They’re insane, Shelly. They just like talking to salesmen.

    Reply
  5. Jeff Zanghi

    6 years ago

    I think Ryu could be the “steal” of the off-season for whoever signs him. I know he’s not actually going to be cheap enough to really be a “steal” but I think he’s got the potential to out-pitch even Cole and Strasburg next season and will come at a fraction of their cost — so by those standards I think he could be a great pick-up for a contender (probably not TOR – unless they are serious about adding multiple pieces and their young core in the lineup takes a significant step forward — which is totally possible –and on top of that they have a few really solid pen arms too — so they could be closer to contending than people realize.

    Reply
    • SuperSinker

      6 years ago

      Come on. Ryu doesn’t have the stuff, track record, or quantity of innings as those two. They aren’t even in the same area code

      2
      Reply
      • rct

        6 years ago

        The only thing Ryu doesn’t have is the quantity of innings (ie, he has the stuff and track record). When healthy, he’s pitched just as well as both of them the past two seasons. It’s just that he’s missed huge chunks of time.

        Ryu 2018 – 3.00 FIP, 198 ERA+, 1.008 WHIP
        Ryu 2019 – 3.10 FIP, 179 ERA+, 1.007 WHIP

        Any deal with him would be a gamble on his health, not his ability.

        2
        Reply
        • Mario93

          6 years ago

          At what price would the Jays be getting him? And like you said, that health, is certainly a question mark. I don’t think the Jays should sign him, considering he’ll be paid north of 15 million per season. I’d go as high as 16, that’s it. On a two year deal, with a 3rd year option. But Ryu will sign a nicer deal than I’m suspecting. Don’t think it’d be wise for the Jays to sign him. Walker or Wacha seem like much cheaper guys, with nice upside to both. Even a Keuchel who for whatever reason, may truly be the “steal” of this off-season. Productive pitcher, who may not get the type of money Ryu may end up getting. Time will tell, we’ll see.

          Reply
        • LH

          6 years ago

          If you’re going with his stats over the last two years, why not mention the ERA? It’s been outstanding. FIP is ok, and I definitely think over the course of a full season it’s a fairly accurate measure of how well a pitcher is managing the three true outcomes, but its tough to justify looking at FIP alone if he has outperformed his FIP by nearly an entire run over a two year stretch.

          Reply
        • VegasSDfan

          6 years ago

          Ryu will be North of 20 million, I would place him 20-25, 3 year opt out, 5 year contract.

          Reply
  6. ChangedName

    6 years ago

    That agent’s quote sums up the the current Jays perfectly. They’re not going to do anything of significance in terms of adding to the roster, just a lot of talk.

    Another year where they pay more to someone who isn’t on the roster than they do to anyone on it.

    Reply
    • coldbeer

      6 years ago

      And why the hell should they overpay for a pitcher now? Explain to us all where the urgency is coming from. They are not ready to compete this year or next unfortunately so pretending that a legit arm worth even 3 or 4 war makes a difference is silly. 70 wins or 75 wins is still a lost year.

      Reply
  7. coldbeer

    6 years ago

    I’m not here to dump on the Jays front office…

    …but imagine sending ROSS ATKINS into any sales pitch. Now that you’re visualizing this idea I’ll ask this: how fast does he get thrown out?

    But when they send Montoyo and likely Lacava with him it makes me feel a little better.

    Reply
  8. George

    6 years ago

    I think they are a year away from spending big time on free agents, and the players/agents know it too. They need to give the arms they do have some innings to develop and the only way to do that is to let them pitch in the bigs. They have to see what Pearson, Borucki, Kay, and so on can do, and I think their home grown arms will be better than last year.
    Once they get to a competitive stage, the hired guns will come knocking on the door because they can smell a winner.
    In the meantime, they need a good lefty in the pen and a set up man, possibly a closer if they trade Giles. The pen lost their share of games last year too, and fixing that is a lot cheaper than free agent starters that won’t help them in 2 years.

    Reply
  9. its_happening

    6 years ago

    A two-year deal with a team option won’t kill the Jays with Ryu. Aside from durability he’s easily the 3rd best SP behind Cole and Strasburg in this year’s crop of free agents.

    Is this a sake of showing the fanbase they signed a pitcher to big money or is the end game to win here? Messaging is confusing. Then again, the Happ deal in 2015-16 wasn’t welcomed with much fanfare and the signing worked out. Although Atkins wasn’t GM at that point, so credit to LaCava.

    The OF situation is more of a concern. Jays can find pitchers off the scraps to fill spots. Since they’ve shown how easily they can obtain OFs it makes me wonder why they didn’t deal Alford at the 2016 deadline for a better return than Melvin Upton.

    Reply
    • firegibby

      6 years ago

      He’s getting more than 2 years

      Reply
      • its_happening

        6 years ago

        I’m sure he is, Gibby. All the more reason the Jays can take a pass on Ryu. Unless the plan is Ryu, Paxton next year, Pearson up sometime in 2020 and roll Thornton/Borucki/Kay/someone else. In 6 months we might find out position players need to move elsewhere and the team has to address more areas of need. Plus Giles is a free agent after 2020, and I’d be dealing him yesterday.

        Reply
  10. creacher

    6 years ago

    “are 90 per cent due diligence that doesn’t go anywhere.” Sounds like Rogers internet service here ahahahahah, typical

    Reply
  11. The Natural

    6 years ago

    Texas Rangers have a built in advantage against most teams with no state income tax…..could mean 3-5% more take home pay for the player. Gotta love conservative states who don’t tax the snot out of everyone.

    Reply
  12. VegasSDfan

    6 years ago

    Nevada is a liberal state, with no income tax. Gotta love affordable liberal states with no state income tax

    1
    Reply
    • its_happening

      6 years ago

      Like New York, Connecticut, California and Massachusettes.

      1
      Reply

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