Blue Jays president Mark Shapiro has fielded his share of criticism over five years at the helm, but now seems on the precipice of another term. As Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca was among those to report, Shapiro strongly suggested that he’s going to re-up with the Toronto organization.
Shapiro has long spoken of his interest in remaining with the Jays, so there’s no news there. But as Davidi observes, it’s hard to imagine that the veteran executive would’ve casually made these additional comments in the absence of an all-but-imminent new contract:
“The desire to be here long term has been reciprocated by the people I work for. That’s as simple as I can be for you. I’ll be here until I’m not here. Based upon my desire to be here and the reciprocation of that, I would expect that that’s going to continue to happen.”
It’d certainly rate as a major surprise at this point to see Shapiro depart. Just how long and lucrative his new contract will be remains to be seen, but it appears the Blue Jays will entrust him with navigating a tricky economic and competitive situation.
Quite apart from these suggestive comments, Shapiro seemed safe after a successful 2020 showing. Facing increasing pressure from the fanbase, he and GM Ross Atkins delivered a postseason appearance after making a few significant roster moves in the 2019-20 offseason.
After fielding a competitive team that made the playoffs, I would think Shapiro and company deserve a few more years to see their plan come to life. Something like 3-5 years.
He has quite an obvious approach to his job. Take the all-star’s kid. Not only did they have Vlad, Bichette, and Biggio, they also had Roger Clemen’s son Kacy Clemens in their system for a while. Though he was their bust lol.
They had Jeff Conine’s kid, too, before they traded him.
and Grudzielanek’s too
Shapiro is much more important than just drafting.
If I’m not mistaken the current ire players vlad bichette Biggio were all brought in by AA
Yea, you are mistaken. Bo and Cavan were both selected in the 2016 draft, Mark and Co.s first year with the Jays. Great year for Jays draft wise, although the first round selection (21 I believe) Tj Zeuch isnt loooking great, that first round was a fairly weak class anyways. Vlad was an international signing in 2015 I believe so he was an AA addition.
Your right my bad. AA left after the 2015 season when Paul beaston retired
No worries man, go Jays.
They had Dwight Smith Jr. as well
Let’s say, hypothetically, I leave the jays organization
They’ve done a pretty poor job with the pitching staff, we’ll see how some of their pitching prospects develop over the next year or two but it hasn’t been a good start. They’re going to have to spend their way out of it and Ryu is just the beginning.
How can you say they’ve done a poor job and then mention Ryu?
I think he’s referring to drafting and developing their own pitchers
The blue jays are the new padres/mets for the 2020s. I feel sorry for the fans when this happens but this guys just gonna take you to third place and a wild card once a decade.
Go away, Corona. lol
I think the Blue Jays will be fine though, good core, they need to spend on the pitching, but this team will be very easy to build up. As for your examples, the Mets are always the laughing stocks, but the Padres are now in a very good position. Harsh re-build, yes, but in a good position nonetheless.
Oh no, another 5 years of winning nothing. Here this: as said in 2015, this team will win no World Series with Shapiro at the helm. The Blue Jays would have been in 4th place in the ALEast if 2020 was a regular season.
Edward S Rogers, what are you doing?
Sigh.
They were ahead of Boston and Baltimore. Third Place.
Here this: I’m going to pretend I’m Nostradamus and choose the most statistically probable outcome and then pat myself on the back.
Jimmertee 2020
Sigh.
Outside of the impact of Covid, Shapiro has:
– burned down the expensive core from the past regime, and drafted & developed enough young core pieces to build a consistent winning team
– acquired enough local money to totally renovate the spring training facilities which are now above average versus before which was arguably the worst
– increased ownership profitability (albeit thru layoffs and other financial measures)
– built a front office staff being pryed away to better jobs elsewhere (ie: Cherington) which speaks to the quality of Shapiros program
– made the home experience better than previous years. Flight deck and other unique concessions and family oriented giveaways is much better than before.
– other duties as assigned…lol
Yes he has done all that and like he Cleveland he hasn’t won anything. He is the KING of penny pinching for club ownership that wants its fans to pack the park and win to do just that and never go to another level. Especially in the East. Not enough $$$ to compete with the Sox and Yankees and not smart enough to compete with the Rays. Ohh boy that leaves Baltimore.
Jays just made the postseason homie. Let’s not leave facts out of the discussion.
Not the end goal, but a step in the right direction for sure especially with the future looking bright.
They made the playoffs only because of the expanded format. In the normal format they aren’t getting a wild card, so let’s not leave facts out of the discussion.
True. Under the old format they would have missed the playoffs by 3 games. Oh by the way, the Yankees wouldn’t have made the playoffs either under the old format.
Shield…thats not a fact though. Thats a ‘what if’ lol which is exactly opposite actually
If it was a full season the BlueJays would have made no playoffs. The bullpen was spent and they had one starter. This is a bad team. Period.
As it should be.
He signs Bauer, signs another starter to go with Ryu, Woods, and Pearson and Jays give themselves a pretty good looking rotation.
Go along with the young core and decent pen they have a chance in 2021.
No they don’t have a decent 2021. There are many more holes that just another starter. One is There is a vacuum of elite player leadership in the room. They need at least one superstar veteran position player leader type. Perhaps at 3rd base or CF.
Yeah that lack of a superstar really hurt the Rays this year. Also really helped the Phillies these past couple years.
You don’t need an overpriced guy for veteran leadership.
You need growth from your young core, good production from your rotation, and good production from the pen.
They can find a solid 3B in Tommy La Stella or move Biggio to 3B and sign
Cesar Hernandez or go big and sign LaMahieu to play 2B.
I love your idea of signing LaMahieu. The Jays definitely need to go big.
The Rays won’t be in the world series again for a while. It is their year this year. Over the longterm, teams with the best players, like the Dodgers or the Yankees will win. One cannot suggest the Rays analytics methodology replaces having a team with superstar players. They are getting a few superstar performances out of good players this year. Good on them. But longterm, the way the Rays do it is not a solution to win. Doing it the Rays way is a solution to be competative but not elite year after year.
in the last 32 years the Rays have exactly the same number of World Series titles as the Dodgers , without the revenue and fan base.
Dumb comment.
Dodgers west division titles. 1974 1977 1978 1981 1983 1985 1988 1995 2004 2008 2009 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020
Dodgers NL Pennants: 1974 1977 1978 1981 1988 2017 2018 2020
Dodgers world series titles: 1955 1959 1963 1965 1981 1988
Who the heck is woods?
Simeon maybe?
Ahh, I see. He’s still a Year or two away, shame SWR, Manoah, Kloffenstein didn’t get to further their development this year, was also looking forward to Groshans and Orelvis to move up to AA this year as well. Between those 6 fellas and Austin Martin they should have a really strong wave of talent coming up between 2021-2022.
Over 1500 runs career should get you in the HOF debate. Kenny Lofton has the 4 gold gloves up the middle to go along with it. How is he not in the Hall?
this ^
I’ll attempt to answer seriously, because he has an interesting case that doesn’t immediately jump out to the average fan. The latter part of his career hurts him because he pretty much was a gypsy, going from town to town. Played for 11 teams, and seemingly one or two teams a year the last five or six seasons, suggesting teams either viewed him as fungible, or he wasn’t a pleasant person to keep around. I have no idea if that last part is true, but it struck me as odd how he never quite could stick anywhere post Cleveland. It’s hard to build fan and media support for a candidate moving around that much. Also, his “black ink” and gold gloves go back to the beginning of his career in Cleveland, so it’s the media and fans in Cleveland who will have to make the case for his induction. He played during an offensive-driven period, and a power game, so his contributions don’t pop even with a career .370+ OBP. His 107 OPS+ says he was only seven percent above league-average offense. That’s good, but it doesn’t scream HOFer. His real contributions have to include his speed and defense, and few players are elected on defense. Some, but it’s not an easy path. His strongest supporters come from the sabermetric community. His 70+ career WAR is in HOF territory, but others will argue WAR is a compiling stat, and it basically awards you points simply by standing out in CF and not sucking defensively.
It wouldn’t surprise me at all if he gets elected one day by one of the ERA Committees, but he’s going to need the Cleveland market, the saber community, and a friend on the inside making his case, as LaRussa did for Baines. Lofton has a stronger case than Baines!
Perhaps Kenny Lofton’s problem is he was always the next Rickey Henderson. And it didn’t turn out to be a favorable comparison in the end. Very good player, but ultimately not up to lofty expectations.
My worthless opinion would vote Lofton!
3.2% with 18 votes didn’t get him a 2nd year on the ballot.
Future veterans committee debate?
63rd all time runs scored surprised me.
Ahead of him and not in the HOF:
Bonds, Rose, Arod, Pujols, Damon, Palmeiro, Sheffield, Beltran, Manny, and three players from 1890s.
15th all time in steals!
And 21st in caught stealing.
68th in SB%, near 80% success rate.
Ahead of him in steals and not in the HOF:
Coleman, Wilson, Campaneris, and two players from 1890s.
Hall of Fame has a need for speed!
Many of the above names are not in the HOF for pretty clear reasons.
Damon (1.9% of the vote), Coleman (0.6% of the vote), Wilson (2% of the vote), Campaneris (3.1% of the vote) are strong comparisons based on offensive production.
Defensively there are 38 outfielders with 4 or more gold gloves. He’s tied for 30th there.
11 of these OF are in the HOF, 7 have yet to appear on the ballot.
22 played CF when they won their gold gloves.
15 of them won more than 4, so he is tied for 16th among CF.
Only 3 of these CF are in the HOF (Mays, Griffey, Puckett).
Three more will be eligible for voting soon (Adam Jones, Hunter, Victorino).
Andruw Jones made the 5% cut and has climbed to 19.4% in his 3rd year.
Other CF with 4 or more GG that did get a vote, but didn’t maintain the 5% threshold or ran out of years:
Flood (up to 15.1%), Cedeno (0.5%), Grissom (0.7%), Finley (0.7%), Edmonds (2.5%, Blair (1.9%), Stanley (0.5%), Lynn (5.5%), BWilliams (9.6%).
Lofton’s future competition would still be pretty tough.
Andruw Jones if he doesn’t keep gaining steam.
Bernie Williams.
Jim Edmonds.
Curt Flood.
Fred Lynn.
Bert Campaneris.
Torii Hunter and Shane Victorino could be in this near 5% range as well?
That’s not even mentioning power hitters or pitchers.
Not exactly sure how the veteran committee vote and nominating works but I’ll save that thought for another day.
He didn’t impress me very much in the Moneyball movie; he had Peter Brand approve all the moves he made.
Again, the criteria for judging how a guy like Shapiro has to be funneled through economic realities. He’s done OK; the Jays are on the cusp of becoming a good team.
But quite frankly, it’s taken them long enough. Large revenue teams (especially reversely integrated teams like the Jays, where they profit from most of their revenue) don’t get any kudoos for 5-year plans. Anything less than being consistently competitive is just gauging the fan base.
Sign JT, Bauer and Springer; VOILA!, instant AL East favorites. Actually, the Yankees can do this easily also, as can the Red Sox. Baltimore can do it on a smaller scale. The Rays? They need to find more Randy Arozorena.-s..
Shapiro and Atkins have done nothing for the Jays except spend money on veteran players who were done. They also took good players like Galvis, Pillar and even Stroman and dealt them away getting little in return.
The kids out there that are the future of the team all were part of AA’s time with the club and worked their way up thru the pipeline.
This past two seasons Atkins and Shapiro have become more active and it coincides with their contracts coming up for renewal.
Shapiro and Atkins did nothing to develop Cleveland and it was until they were long gone that Cleveland began reaching the top.
Jays owner (Rogers and Bell) gave the Presidents job to Shapiro and AA knew it was time to move on. And after a year with the Dodgers he has gone to Atlanta and built winning team there. John Gibbons was good players manager but he too saw the direction Shapiro and Atkins were taking the team and he bowed out. Charlie Montoya looks like a decent manager but until he builds some credibility as major league manager, he will let Shapiro and Atkins push him in the direction they want.
These two should be shown the door and two people brought in with winning skills.
Galvis was. 1 year filler. Pillar was a good defender. Couldn’t hit. Stroman was on his way out anyway. Probably because of his attitude.
I agree that Galvis and Stroman and even Pillar were never going to take the Jays to the promised land and I agree Stroman has a poor attitude, But these were starting player and Jays got basically nothing in return. At least nothing we’ve seen as of yet.
By the time Pillar was traded, he had practically negative value: the Giants non-tendered him because he wasn’t worth his next arbitration raise. What sort of prospect do you expect for someone who gets paid more than he’s worth? You can’t reasonably evaluate the trade value of a player without considering salary.
Well he didn’t last long on the open market, Boston scooped him up extremely fast and he played great defensively for them. Pillar never was known for his bat. All I’m saying is Shapiro and Atkins spent extensive period of time signing players that were totally done that no other club would even look at and then winding up releasing them (referring to the pitchers they signed and released after only a few games.
Do I think Pillar was worth 2 or 3 top line prospects no but we to date got virtually nothing for him. Stroman wasn’t dealt because of poor on-field performance he was dealt because he shot his mouth off in spring training about the direction the team was headed in, something he hasn’t learned to curb todate he wants to be Yankee is upset Jays dealt him to the Mets and is now campaigning for the Yankees to sign him for 2021.
Galvis is good SS, not great hitter but his real value was mentor to the rookies on the team.
I recognize that players like Pillar, Galvis, Stroman were never going to be with the team makes it to the top, but you can’t get rid of all your veteran presences in one fell swoop. which is what they have done.
Go and look at the Stroman trade again. They got a top 100 prospect and a guy who could be a starter. How is that nothing to you?
Simeon woods Richardson is a very good prospect but a long way from the major leagues. Anthony Kay is a #4 in the rotation IF he improves. Otherwise he is a one inning reliever. Considering there were other teams like Minn that Atkins did’t call back it wasn’t the greatest trade. The Jays could have gotten more.
I think Atkins traded Stroman to the Mets without speaking to other teams was Atkins slapping Stroman down for his comments about the direction management was heading during the 2019 spring training.
Everyone knew Stroman would be traded he was coming to the end of his arbitration period, they also knew that he really wanted to go to the Yankees. So send him to the Mets (so near and yet so far). Since he has been gone he has berated former team mates and as late as last week Stroman is saying why the Yankees should sign him.
As for Kay, I was watching game the W/S game last night and they are going on and on about Kershaw lasting just over 5 innings. I’m 71 and I remember if you were starter you were expected to go 7 and 8 innings as the norm. Pitchers like Ryan, Seaver, Clement’s Kofax were there to pitch 9 innings, and they seemed to be stronger not breaking down as much.
If your suggesting that Anthony Kay is a starter. He never pitched in the Majors prior to being traded to the Jay, and with the Jays he pitched in 13 games a total of 20 innings. And he may well work himself in to starter role but that has to wait until he gets a full season in.
As for Richardson he’s 98th on the MLB prospect list but he’s 20 and has not pitched above A, and lost all of the 2020 season, so he is a long long way away.
My comment about getting nothing in return was more about Freddy Galvis claimed off waivers, and Kevin Pillar (Jays got 3 player for Pillar none of them lasted the year of the deal.
I cant believe you wrote that many wrong things in one post.
Its pretty easy to say I said so many wrong things. I do admit I was wrong in saying Bell was a part owner, I remember when Rogers was buying the Jays they were talking joint ownership but that appears to not have happpened.
Beyond that what did I say that was wrong. You said I made so many wrong things. What other then the Bell ownership did I get wrong..
Jays are property of rogers only kelticknotz
I apologize for saying Bell was an owner. I remember when Rogers became owners it was to have been shared owner but it apparently didn;t happen.
I would only give Shapiro a 1yr contract & see what happens after this season, That way both Atkins & Shapiro contracts end at the same time, if the Jays progress then give them a 2 or 3 yr contract. They have made a few good moves & some poor moves, Grichuk & Roarks contracts are terrible, Yamaguchi, Font, Andeson, Fisher, Villar, Vogelbach,Shaw, Good moves were Dollis, Panik, Kirk, we didn’t get any offence from our 3 catchers until they brought Kirk up & then Jansen started to hit.
They went out on a limb & said they were going to sign a top line player, They need to made decisions at CF, 3B & SS
Time to cut bait right now on Shapiro.
What always scares me about big name signing is the question will he win you games. I look at Baustista he came to the Jay from the Pirates where he was a back up right fielder. He comes to the Jays gets to play everyday and becomes a premier hitter and a pretty good right fielder. Same with Encarcion (played a terrible 3rd base, couldn’t make the big throw and at the beginning was a little lazy not running out hits trotting to 1st which got him sent down to wake him up) They moved him to 1st where is pretty good and the regular batting he too becomes a top hitter.
I’m not opposed to top line signing the question again is where, who and is it worth the money and length of deal
Budget for the Blue Jays has yet to be determined. That does not bode well for the Blue Jays if Rogers knows they took a hit in 2020. This offseason could potentially allow teams to wait things out in free agency while this pandemic continues. Jays need a SP and a bat. Patience might be their best game plan in the coming weeks and months.
Don’t agree on the patience thing. The Jays definitely need starting pitching. They have lots of good young arms but none has stepped up as a starter yet. I would say 2 starters gotta come from somewhere. They also need a real CFer and a real 3B.
Biggio could swing to 3B if the Jays are serious about Lemahieu. I’d strongly consider JBJ as long as a RH stick replaces him with a lefty on the mound. JBJ showed he can handle RHP in 2020, albeit a short stretch. It gives the Jays a year or so before Martin is ready. Get what you can for Grichuk in a trade.
Bauer and Paxton. Paxton on an incentive-laden contract. Bauer for massive dollars. Still doesn’t feel like enough but it’s definitely the right direction.
Don’t let stingy Rogers fool you, Toronto has plenty of money to spend. Personally, I like high AAV 1-year make good deals for a few reasons, they can be flipped at the deadline, they don’t hamstring your organization and sometimes they can even be issued qualifying offers. These deals have been paying dividends for AA and the Braves and it’s time for Toronto to throw a little money around on 1 year deals. The problem is location, especially during covid, guys don’t know if they’ll be living in Toronto or Buffalo. Last year, I wanted Toronto to do this with Gregorious and Treinen, both would’ve helped big time in 2020. This year I would take a big risk on Kluber as well as bringing back Robbie Ray, and try to sign Marcus Semien if he will take something around 1 year 15-20 million(as long as he doesn’t get a qualifying offer). If any of them bounced back for a big year then you could issue a q.o or flip at the deadline.
I wouldn’t spend big on DJ, he will cost a draft pick too. I think he’s just on one of those “Daniel Murphy” hot streaks with lots of lineup protection in New York, I don’t see him maintaining this level of offensive production.
DJ has been very fortunate with his playing environments so far in his career, but this hot streak is around 5 years now, when will the wheels fall off? They seem pretty sturdy.
Guy has excellent at bats and approach. Don’t see him falling off. Don’t see the Yanks lowballing him. Don’t see him considering play elsewhere. That short porch.
Post above this one, good stuff. Hopeful some of these players have that mutual interest of playing for the Jays.
Check out DJ’s numbers again, he only actually had 1 year in Colorado (2017) as an above league average hitter. He has been a much better hitter his 2 years in New York, which 1 was just 60 games (obviously). I’m not saying he will become a .200 hitter next year, but if he departs New York I don’t think his OPS. will be over .800. So I’ll stick to my original statement, but we will just have to watch and see what happens. And I said a “Daniel Murphy hot streak” his lasted 2 years in Washington, now that ain’t no regular hot streak hahah. But he eventually fell back down to earth.
Good call.
The OPS+ really stands out.
Plus I was underselling the length of Daniel Murphy’s hot streak.
I also now wonder if ‘oWar’ doesn’t factor in park adjustments.
Simply looking at oWar seems more like an above average hitter for his final Colorado years.
The position adjustment vs the park adjustment.
I think if he signed to play 2B in a neutral park he would pull off an above average season. 3B or 1B makes for less value. The flexibility is nice.
2019 away splits were over .800 OPS.
In Toronto/Buffalo or Baltimore he’d likely adapt fine.
Back to Colorado?
Houston, Minnesota, Philadelphia would be good bets too.
A weaker lineup or more of a pitcher’s park would likely hurt him but he could find a few openings that wouldn’t hurt his stats too much.
Just not seeing the Yankees letting him go. The fit is pretty perfect.
“Don’t let stingy Rogers fool you.”
When have they been 1st in payroll?
Why are the Jays still sorting out next year’s payroll budget?
Your ideas fall in-line with Rogers being stingy (as do mine). You want deep pockets? Sign Bauer, sign Springer, trade for Arenado.
Don’t let Rogers fool you; they will not go deep in the pockets. We have entered decade #3 for proof.
Unfortunately the Rogers board is run by the accountant types and the financials detail that low player salaries contribute to a higher Rogers bottom line.
DJ is an elite hitter and would look great in a Jays uniform. Unfortunately I don’t see Shapiro outbidding very one for him like he did for Ryu.
I think I’m being realist but admit there is certainly some cynic and delusion mixed in… but don’t you think there has to be a large portion of players that wouldn’t choose to play for Toronto, even for a larger contract?
Pretty sure Lemahieu already said he wants to resign with the Yankees. He’ll see a lot of bids.
When previous Jays teams led the league in payroll and won Championships, they were landing players at the end of their careers as the big signings.
Most players don’t really let us know what they really think, but David Wells was not one of those guys. Trade back to the Blue Jays was worst day of his career apparently. In his book he commented about how much he hated crossing the border when the team would travel and that he would never sign back with them. Something like that.
Many wouldn’t think like that, they’d be more concerned with signing somewhere with low taxes instead.
Either way…
There were concerns about Ryu’s durability and whether he’d follow up his previous results at the time of signing, otherwise the Jays may have come up empty handed again!
What am I even getting at for what this means this time around?
Target the best of the second tier while other teams are fighting over the top tier again.
It’s rare that a top target will choose Toronto.
We don’t want AJ & BJ again.
If nobody is traded out, the offense is pretty full.
Someone that could flex in at 2b/3b/ss would be the main hole to fill. Kolten Wong stands out to me so far. Brad Miller, Andrelton Simmons, Asdrubal Cabrera, Tommy Lastella, Jonathan Schoop as well.
Lot of reasons that Travis Shaw should be nudged out.
1B/DH/LF/CF/RF- Rowdy, Vlad, Lourdes, Grichuk, Teoscar.
Would like to see Brantley but someone needs to move to fit him I think.
Not ready to be a platoon guy yet.
Reddick or Bradley Jr would be great 4th OF options.
Why not Jonathan Davis though?
Wait til midseason to beef up wherever the holes may end up would be my feelings there.
Realmuto or McCann would be nice adds. Gotta move a catcher if they add one I think. ChiSox adding Grandal was a surprise last year, didn’t seem to hurt them.
Bigger focus on pitching.
Ryu, Roark, Yamaguchi, Stripling, Dolis, Cole, Borucki, Romano, Hatch, Pearson, Merryweather, Zeuch could use about 5 more arms to eat a large portion of the innings.
Shoemaker, Ray, Walker all would be worth a look again to me.
Bauer thinks Jays fans still hate him.
I could learn to cheer for Paxton again if the Jays took the shot.
Hamels, Wood, Hill, Richards, Kluber, Minor, Treinen, Soria, Rosenthal, McGee are some other arms that stand out at first glance.
Trade a bat or two that had a strong showing for more pitching depth would be my personal preference.
Teoscar, Gurriel, Kirk are all pretty high value right now. Grichuk value may never be higher. Any would be sad losses for me, but we learned to get over losing McGriff right?
^ that’s a lot of typing
Filthy, love the thoughts. Good work.
Here are some of my thoughts. Jays definitely need a star or two more in the room. At least some veteran presence.
Players that need to be gone: Shaw, Yamaguchi, Andersen, Fisher, Stripling, Roark, Espinal, Grichuk, Ray, Shoemaker
CF: Davis can field but he is a poor bat unless he increases contact.
CF: Pillar back? JBJ at the right price. George Springer
3B: Biggio [they have no one else] or DJ Lamahieu
2B: Bichette [it will keep him healthier and not put pressure on his average skills]
Infield backup: Adeiny Hechavarria
1B Tellez/Vlad Jr
DH: Hernandez/Kirk/Tellez
Catcher: Jansen/Kirk
LF: Gurriel Jr
RF: Markakis
4th Outfielder: Davis/Hernandez
Starting Pit: Ryu. Pearson, Hatch, Borucki, Tanaka, Taijuan W, Jake Odorizzi? Marcus Stroman? Brad Keller? Jake Arrieta?
Closer: Romano/Hand,
Filthy – American players may choose stateside but the Latin players are fair game. Same with Paxton, who was considered one of the best arms on the market before his injuries.
92jays, ran out of pages in my diary, sorry! hahah
jimmer,
Veteran presence for sure. Even on the fringe if needed. Panik actually worked out, something like that at the very least.
Anderson gone.
One down.
Espinal was not overmatched at the plate or in the field. Seemed to improve with additional reps. Has options.
Can be a Johnny Mac, maybe even Wil Flores or dreaming big, an Omar Vizquel type.
Just my feeling, he seems to be a natural ballplayer.
Even without adding, Fisher should be nudged out.
I think Fisher can be a good DH somewhere if he gets reps, but there’s no room or patience left for him with the Jays.
Big need for innings that Stripling and Roark could fill. Maybe even Yamaguchi.
Shoemaker and Ray as well if they chose to return.
Can’t cut ties with arms when you don’t have better options lined up. Rather see Waguespack and ReidFoley than Stripling and Roark? Coin flip maybe. But I pick the more veteran options personally.
I’d at least give Yamaguchi spring or until a 3-4 new arms have committed.
Grichuk was good in 2020. Excellent relative to what most expected. If he can be traded, sure. Skeptical that he’d have value at the rate the Jays decided to pay him.
Davis may never get regular at bats, but he seems to improve as he seems to get more comfortable. Would like to see him given a chance, but the outfield is pretty crowded. Pillar or JBJ could be sweet but will they be much better than JD? Shocked if Springer considered Toronto.
Hech would be a very sweet fit. Could keep Espinal down another year for seasoning.
Hoping to see a big trade to fill 3B and SP/RP.
Markakis wouldn’t be too bad of a fit. I’d prefer Reddick, very slick in the field and younger.
Lot of pitching options on the market and untested in the system. Very exciting to wonder and can’t really complain about any of the suggestions there. Shocked if Stroman considered returning beyond saying it to drive up interest.
And I don’t think Hand will be worth what he will get paid? Excellent in SD, great in CLE, but started to lose handle on the closer’s job by the end.
Guests,
Good call.
I mainly think that it would only be a slight factor when there are multiple teams bidding. The top 25 or so free agents essentially.
Paxton famously didn’t sign with the Jays previously, but if they have faith in his health reports, then he seems like a great target. Amount of years is likely the biggest factor for where he chooses.
Ozuna, Gregorius, Colome, Tanaka, Quintana, Simmons, Cruz, Paxton fit the non-American category looking at MLB.com early top 25 free agent list.
Happy with any of these. May not have room for Ozuna or Cruz but if those guys would play for the Jays, then room could be made.
Some of the American players would be persuaded with an extra year on a deal as well. The Jays should really be able to compete to sign anybody they wish.