Korean infielder Ha-Seong Kim appears to be one of many possible Blue Jays targets this offseason, and another Jays star might have done a bit of recruiting, as Daniel Kim of South Korea’s KBS reports (Twitter links) that Kim and Toronto ace Hyun Jin Ryu recently had dinner. Ryu didn’t get into details of the meeting but said in an interview with KBS that he would be “happy to play on a same team with Kim.” Kim requested the meeting himself, and while it’s probably safe to assume playing for the Jays came up at some point, it’s only natural that Kim would want to speak with a veteran player who has already made the move from the KBO to the majors.
Asked about the meeting, Jays assistant GM Joe Sheehan declined to discuss specifics but told Sportsnet’s Shi Davidi (Twitter link) that Ryu “being a big player in the KBO’s history is really good.” The Jays are known to be exploring the infield market and Sheehan gave a favorable review of Kim’s KBO track record when asked by Sportsnet’s Ben Nicholson-Smith (Twitter link).
More from north of the border…
- The Jays, Angels, and Yankees all have interest in former Cubs slugger Kyle Schwarber, 670 The Score’s Bruce Levine reports. Schwarber was non-tendered by the Cubs last week following a season that saw him hit only .188/.308/.393 with 11 home runs over 224 PA. Since Schwarber is a defensively-shaky left fielder, he would seem like a curious fit for all three teams, who already have the left field and DH positions accounted for, barring a trade to open up space. Looking at Toronto specifically, there could be room for Schwarber if Vladimir Guerrero Jr. ends up spending more time at third base, though it still seems like something of an imperfect match.
- The Blue Jays also have interest in right-hander Mike Fiers, according to MLB Network’s Jon Morosi (via Twitter). Fiers posted a 4.58 ERA, 2.31 K/BB rate, and 5.64 K/9 over 59 innings with the Athletics last season. The 35-year-old has been a durable back-of-the-rotation type for much of his career, and would perhaps bring more stability (if not necessarily upside) to a Jays rotation mix that has Ryu in front of Robbie Ray, Ross Stripling, Tanner Roark, and a wealth of younger arms headlined by Nate Pearson.
*insert some joke about the Blue Jays being interested in every player under the sun*
By this point, it’s become its own joke.
With Fiers, you can get even more creative and work in both an Astros cheating joke and a Blue Jays free agent connection joke
Yes
Let’s just assume the Jays are going to sign ever available player
No longer news!
Ross Atkins is sitting at the bar when an MLB FA walks in -ANY MLB FA – “Hey, we were just talkin about YOU, saying what a real good addition you be with the Jays!!”
Another day another Blue Jays rumor…..can we all just scream at once!
Is that the Buffalo Blue Jays?
Yank, nope… Buffalo will need the field for themselves
Atkins:
Hey Mark, look, there’s some people wanna play baseball too.
Shapiro:
Pick ’em up!
Cut to Shatkins + this years signings cruising in a van decorated to look like a Blue Jay:
Mock-‘SI’
Ing-‘SI’
Bird-‘SI’
**If the Dumb & Dumber remake is true to form, this scene suggests there will be some Spanish speaking players among the key additions.
Ya, it really has become it’s own joke. It reminds me of the Winter Meetings several years ago where Jon Daniels and the Rangers were connected to every decent FA and every quality player on the trading block. It became such a thing that JD was actually causing gridlock as all the teams were waiting for him to pull the trigger and start the domino effect. He subsequently was cut out of all the three-team trade scenarios by the other teams, and then missed out on all the meaningful free agents. He was the architect of a lot of trades that offseason, but yet wasn’t involved in any of them. Paralysis by analysis. I have a feeling the same is going to happen with the Blue Jays this offseason.
What’s up with the Jays interested in starting pitchers that won’t make their rotation better? Happ and Fiers are solid back of the rotation innings eaters, but that’s it. They weren’t heavily connected to Lance Lynn before the trade, they haven’t been connected very much to other pitchers on the trade market, or the free agent market.
Agreed. The pitching market is lacking the type of pitcher they need, but there’s no need to bring in fifth type starters. I’d rather they just go with Waguespack or Kay or Hatch if it’s between them at league minimum or having to pay Fiers or Happ a few million to get similar results.
While there’s no TOR avaiable, Joe Musgrove would be a perfect fit for them. He has potential to be a solid #2 starter and has averaged 3 fWAR/150 innings since arriving in Pittsburgh. He’s due to make about $3-$4 million in abritration and the Jays have the prospect capital to make a move for him.
You hit upon the most unheralded pitcher out there in Musgrove. He’s better than any of the pitchers signed so far, and comes at half the price. Ya, you gotta come up with 1 or 2 reasonable prospects to get him, but given that he’s controllable for 2 years, it’s worth the prospect capital to invest in him.
I really think he could get back a top 60 prospect, or two top 80-90 prospects. Lynn got back Dunning who not only looked decent in his short time in the majors in 2020, but was a former first round pick and ranked in the top 80-90 in prospect rankings.
I think Musgrove is a great fit for what the Jays need right now and I sure hope that’s one of the things being explored.
It’s interesting that the Jays are interested in Happ and Musgrove, when in 2012, the Jays acquired JA Happ from the Astros for a package of secondary pitching prospects, including, you guessed it, Joe Musgrove.
Musgrove was drafted by the Jays.
It was reported last year, they were asking for Alejandro Kirk and they Jays turned it down
I feel as though they’re doing their due diligence on these bottom of the rotation type pitchers in case for some miracle Roark is off the roster and need a liable innings eater. Otherwise they need a top arm to match with Ryu.
Local media has suggested they are keying in on position players in free agency and then looking at trade market for pitching. Seems most of the rumors are around who is sniffing around each free agent, but not a lot regarding teams asking about trades.
I hope that’s the case. The only appealing arm in my opinion on the free agent market is Walker. Bauer is going to be overpaid and is extremely risky with his inconsistency, and almost every other top arm has troubling injury problems. They have the system to deal from if it’s for a controllable piece.
I agree. I don’t really see a pitcher in free agency I would want to sign. The trade market has decent options and the Jays can afford it with what they have in the system.
Sonny Gray, Blake Snell, Carlos Carrasco and maybe even Zack Wheeler… If they have the financial flexibility and the prospect capital, even an “AL East premium” overpay for Snell should be considered. JA Happ, Garrett Richards, and some of the other back of the rotation names being mentioned do not improve this club. The competitive window with the young core is open, so why eat pablum when you can eat meat? As things stand now, the Jays are one Ryu injury away from another 4th place finish behind the Red Sox.
For a team that supposedly has so much talent already on the major league level and a stacked minors, why would they be looking at free agents at key positions, and then using their current talent as trade bait for pitching? Makes very little sense…..between the Jays and Padres, each and every free agent, or player available via trade seems to be the next story according to MLB Trade Rumors!
Ya, why did the Yankees signs Cole when they won the division the year before? It makes no sense…
It’s about planning for the many inevitable injuries. Happ and Fiers are better than throwing some waiver pickup or a prospect who isn’t ready into the rotation in May. Obviously I’d rather have somebody better though.
They’ll talk about actual upgrades but then sign Glen Sparkman and Trevor Williams…
In truth the rumor Jays interested in Dave Steib or Devon White???
Asking for a friend
They already have Devon White. He’s a coach in AAA.
The Jays need to resign either Matt Shoemaker or Taijuan Walker and then target an ace starter like Trevor Bauer over a George Springer or a DJ LeMahieu.
No details on what they ate? Wtf.
Why on Earth are the Angels in on Schwarber? They have absolutely no room at LF or DH. Pitching, Angels, pitching…
Maybe Maddon is looking for a lead off man.
Not sold on Walsh splits, adell looked overmatched in first big league appearance.
Maddon connection perhaps. Walsh can also play some OF, maybe Shwarb can play a little 1b?
Maybe Pujols is finally ready to put us all out of our misery
Hope he puts you outta your misery.
Yes they do. They could use the depth. Upton is not certain to stay healthy. They lost Goodwin and LaStella, and Walsh needs to prove his short 2020 season wasn’t just a hot streak. And Schwarber will likely be just a cheap 1 year deal.
If it takes a veteran welcoming South Korean player to make Kim feel welcome, then the Ranger BETTER resign Choo ASAP. Not only would it give us a better chance to sign Kim, but I’d also love to see Choo get sent off in-front of fans.
If the Yankees are interested, he must be able to pitch, right?
No.
He can’t.
It’s the Yankees. He’s a defensively challenged sub .200 hitting strike out machine, that’ll rip 30+ jacks.
One can never have enough of those kind of players, man.
The yankees should line up all their players on the foul lines and wait for someone to hit the ball, then sprint onto the field to get it. Twelve on each foul line but only 8 can run on the field at a time. Actually, that sounds like fun, why not have all the teams do that. But the base runners have to run backwards.
I’ll never know why I wasn’t put in charge of rules.
I’m good with it.
As long as we add the requirement of doing cartwheels around the bases on home runs.
Dang, I forgot about home runs. That’s why I’m not in charge.
Dont forget Ducky, he posts those stats and “can” play catcher.
Coming up tomorrow, Blue Jays have their eye on Annibal Sanchez.
On Thursday, Jays are in-talks with Alex Wood for 1-year, $8-mil and one dollar.
Friday the Jays will be actively seeking Ian Kennedy.
If Fiers and Ray are the type of arms they are seeking, just hand the ball to Kay and Thornton and Roark and let’s get this 4th place finish over with.
I don’t know what the attraction to Schwarber is. Is he any better than Vogelbach? I mean they are basically the same player. I know he’s a righty but I would prefer Adam Duvall, he at least isn’t a liability in the field.
I know Toronto being interested in every free agent is a meme by now, but they really should be trying to sign a bunch of the top guys.
Even in a pandemic, a market like Toronto having a $70 million payroll is kind of sad, they could double that payroll and it still wouldn’t be outlandish.
The current $70 million payroll compares with $132 million at the end of the 2020 season… since then Giles, Anderson, Villar, Shoemaker, Shaw, Walker, Drury, Panik, Cole and Pannone have left. Tulo’s retained amount falls from $14 to $4 million, Grichuk’s AAV falls from $13 to $10.3 million and Ray signed for $1.4 million less than his 2020 salary.
Glad is a dh and that’s it
Of course Cashman is interested in Schwarber. He’s coveted him for a while now a la Wilson Betemit, Dustin Ackley, etc..
I think most of these rumors are started by players agents in order to either drum up or increase interest in their players. There is no doubt that Toronto has talked to nearly everyone, but, much of that is basically gathering info on player costs and varying interest from the player playing in Toronto. Most likely the players Toronto is really interested in there is little rumors flying.
Sad that Shatkins can’t just focus on what the Jays clearly need – top of rotation, quality starting pitching to slot in behind Ryu, and defensive upgrades in CF and the middle infield… get on with it already.
This has nothing to do with this post but I’d like to see the MLBTR writers each make a top 10 at each position list like how MLBN does with Brian Kenny and the Shredder. Would be bringing a lot of opinions and debates
And the MLBTR ones would be way less stupid than than those too.
Yeah Brian Kenny had Vlad Jr as his 10th ranked 3rd baseman in the game going into 2019….. before he had even debuted
This!
The Blue Jays, Angels, and Yankees should not sign Schwarber. The Yankees and Angels already have designated hitters.
I’d be okay with it as an Angels fan. The more at bats stolen from Pujols the better. If he doesn’t work out, cut him loose and bring up Marsh.
andrewgauldin
Between Walsh and Ohtani, Pujols ABs will already be severely limited. As they should be.
Maybe he’ll get 300 ABs next year.
Remember when Pujols said he’d retire if he couldn’t do it anymore.
224/270/395
How is that not doing it?
You’re definitely right, Walsh and Ohtani will be taking a lot of potential AB’s from Pujols. Not to mention AB’s that will go to Taylor Ward and hopefully one day to Matt Thaiss. I just can’t ignore the fact that Schwarber would be a cool bench bat to have. A 4th OF. Maybe he can compete with Schebler for that 4th Of spot.
Yeah it’s that pujols…… that’s why mike can’t make it to the series. It’s all him and Arte’s fault. They are the devil. I’ll send you his address and if you hate pujols that bad….. you will tell him he needs to retire to his grill, in front of his wife and children. And if any of his kids cry, tell em you hate kids. Then tell him it’s his fault mike trouts not in the World Series. When you walk off his front steps give him the bird my guy! If you don’t do that man….. You ain’t real about your pujols hate. Just sayin….
What kind of drugs are they selling in your neighborhood?
Maybe the angels have decided to pitch their dh full time since they can’t fn pitch at all lol
Kim would help the Jays.
Schwarber and Fiers feel like backward moves. Why bother?
Well said.
Actually would love a Scwarber/Dahl platoon in LF for next couple of years.
If Schwarber gets a 1 year deal from the Yankees he should take it and Yankee fans will have to wear helmets in RF bleachers.
his bats flying that far out?
It’s crazy where Schwarber’s perceived value was a few years ago when the names you heard him mentioned with in trade rumors would make you laugh now.
The juiced ball era has definitely devalued his skillset big time and it’s another example of the Cubs holding on too long to a player, similar thing will happen with Bryant, Baez, Rizzo, Contreras.
No wonder Theo jumped ship.
I remember once upon a time reading a trade proposal of Baez, Schwarber and Russell to Angels for Trout. And it was on ESPN. How times have changed….
It really sounds like the Jays are just doing their due diligence on almost every player and agents are leveraging that to stir the market. This Kim stuff is actually quite different than all the other rumours though.
Yea that’s way more interesting than 75% of the Jays rumors thus far. That has substance
Re the Jays meme … y’all know most of the “interest” is routine diligence, right? These rumors often come from agents, whose interest lies in drumming up the perception of demand for their clients. They know Toronto has money to spend this year so they try to make the Jays look like competitive suitors for whichever club they’re actually trying to deal with.
It’s the agents leaking the most basic meetings, hoping to scare a team like NYY and even Boston into spending, for fear if they don’t, a super team will be built in their division
Happens every year the Yankees claim they won’t spend. Suddenly their division foe (usually Boston, this time Tor) is interested in every big name player
Ryu would do recruiting often for LA. Not surprised at all. Will be interesting to see if it helps
Fiers and Springer sounds like a great idea for the Jays…..while your at it get Joe Kelly and Carlos Correa
The Jays aren’t interested in Fiers or Schwarber. That would be plain stupid.
Although bringing in a Kim might be a good thing. I haven’t seen him so I don’t know if he can play in the big leagues.
Valid point.
But man would it be fun to have those 2 on the same team.
Seeing how Thames and Ruf bats performed after KBO time has me hopeful for Kim based on all reports I’ve been reading.
I can easily imagine Schwarber hitting a lot of jacks at Yankee Stadium, but do they really need another DH type? I guess he wouldn’t be the worst insurance (at least from a power perspective) for the seemingly inevitable Judge and Stanton injuries.
Will the Orioles get the Blue Jays sloppy seconds?
I doubt it.
No one want to bang anyone from Baltimore.
The Blue Jays had Smoak now they want Fiers?
The Jays’ offseason really shouldn’t be this complicated: bring back Taijuan and trade for Sonny Gray to shore up the rotation; sign Liam Hendriks so that they have a shutdown closer; and trade for Jean Segura, to get that positional flexibility for the infield.
And if they really want to make a big splash, sign Realmuto.
Moon, exactly. Can Shapiro and Atkins get it done?
Instead they’ll sign JA Happ and Garret Richards, hope Anthony Castro can pitch in relief, and bring back Freddy Galvis. Maybe splurge on Glen Sparkman, Trevor Williams and Greg Holland.
These rumors seem to have the Jays’ interested in every player that’s not currently on an MLB team
Yanks do need some left handed hitters tho. That’s really the only thing I c that makes sense in looking into Schwarber. Maybe he can play first? And they can move Voit for pitching? The Yanks legit r right handed across the board. Sanchez and Higgy Right. Voit, Andujar, Torres, Gio Right. Judge, Stanton, Frazier right. Gardner is the only Left handed hitting regular. And Hicks switch hitter. The only lefty other then that is Wade and Tauchman. And they aren’t nearly regulars. LeMahieu resigns to play 2nd that is a full right handed starting lineup. Ford hits lefty but he didn’t play much either like Tauch and Wade. So it’s a low risk signing for a 1 year deal and c how he performs. Just wouldn’t stick with him long if he shows what he has shown the last 2 years.
And Gardner isn’t on the team.
I hope the Angels are working out a trade involving Upton.
Yes. For Stanton.
Angels do not need Schwarber. They have addressed two immediate needs with 2 Iglesias. The Angels need to focus on upgrading the starting pitching. They traded for Bundy and signed Teheran. Neither was a top tier option, but.one exceeded expectations and one was a disaster. Bauer would be the top option, but he will be over $20M a years, which the Angels have never paid for a starting pitcher.