3:32PM: Toronto will send Colorado $9,716,333, according to Rob Gillies of The Associated Press. Those payments are split up as $5,383,333 this season and $4,333,333 for the 2023 season.
1:57PM: Both clubs have officially announced the trade.
12:01PM: The Blue Jays and Rockies have agreed to a trade sending outfielder Randal Grichuk from Toronto to Colorado in exchange for outfielder Raimel Tapia, reports Mark Feinsand of MLB.com (via Twitter). The Jays will acquire infield prospect Adrian Pinto from the Rockies, and they’ll also send cash to Colorado to help cover Grichuk’s contract, Feinsand adds.
Grichuk, 30, has been viewed as a trade candidate for more than a year now as the Rockies have deepened their outfield mix and Grichuk’s performance has slipped. Signed to a five-year contract covering the 2019-23 seasons, Grichuk is still owed $9.33MM both this season and next, while Tapia and the Rox settled on a $3.95MM salary earlier this week. He’s arbitration-eligible and controlled through the 2023 season himself. The difference in salary between the two players clocks in at about $14.7MM.
Grichuk signed a five-year, $52MM contract back on April 2, 2019 — fresh off a 2018 season in which he’d batted .245/.301/.502 with what was then a career-high 25 home runs in 462 plate appearances. It was something of a head-scratching deal even at the time, as Grichuk’s perennial OBP struggles worked to offset his power and solid glovework in the outfield. That’s not to say he wasn’t a useful player, but the Jays already controlled Grichuk for two seasons and were effectively committing about $39-40MM on top of what he might’ve earned in arbitration to buy out his first three free-agent seasons.
Since putting pen to paper, Grichuk has posted a .242/.286/.448 batting line with 65 home runs in 1414 plate appearances. Among the 159 players with at least 1000 plate appearances in that three-year stretch, he ranks 158th in on-base percentage. To his credit, Grichuk curbed his strikeout rate from 26.4% in 2018 all the way down to 20.9% in 2021, but the gains in contact didn’t result in a better average and his walk rate dipped to a career-low 5.0%. It’s clear that there’s above-average pop in his bat, but defensive metrics have also soured on Grichuk’s work in center over the past couple seasons. Meanwhile, the Jays have signed George Springer and received breakouts from Lourdes Gurriel Jr. and Teoscar Hernandez since signing Grichuk to that long-term pact.
There were reports even while the lockout was still ongoing that Tapia could be on the move when transactions resumed. Adding Kris Bryant as the new primary left fielder surely only hastened the Rockies’ efforts to move Tapia, who’d previously occupied that position. Grichuk can serve as a primary center fielder or right fielder in Colorado, and he’ll bring the Rox quite a bit more power than Tapia ever offered — albeit at the expense of some speed, on-base percentage and (arguably) defensive value.
In Tapia, the Jays will get a much-needed lefty bat to help balance out an entirely right-handed outfield mix (and a generally right-leaning lineup overall). The 28-year-old has served as Colorado’s primary left fielder since 2019, logging a .282/.327/.394 slash line that appears solid on the surface but falls well shy of average after weighting for home park and league (79 wRC+). Tapia has strong bat-to-ball skills but an extreme ground-ball approach that has resulted in just 16 home runs through 1186 plate appearances since 2019. He can swipe a base when needed (37 steals with a 77.1% success rate across the past three seasons. Like Grichuk, he’s not one to take many walks (6.3% since ’19), but he’s also a tough strikeout, evidenced by last year’s career-best 13.1% mark.
Tapia has received solid marks in left field from metrics like Defensive Runs Saved (4), Ultimate Zone Rating (6.0) and Outs Above Average (7) since emerging as a regular in the lineup at Coors Field. He’s at least capable of playing center in a pinch, having logged 189 innings there in his career (15 this past season, none in 2020, 83 in 2019). Those ratings, plus his left-handed bat, make him a better fit for Toronto’s roster than the right-handed-hitting Grichuk was.
While Tapia may not be the star the Rockies envisioned when he ranked among the sport’s 50 best prospects in the 2016-17 offseason, he’s emerged as a solid defensive outfielder with better-than-average speed and bat-to-ball skills. The Jays will likely hope to coax some more fly-balls out of Tapia, thus generating some extra power, but even if his batted-ball profile remains unchanged, he can be a useful fourth outfielder for a club that is deep in slugging right-handed options.
As for the 19-year-old Pinto, he’ll give the Jays something of a prospect wild card to plug into the low levels of their farm system. Baseball America rated Pinto 19th in a fairly thin Rockies system this spring, labeling the 5’6″ second baseman as a “breakout candidate” who could take substantial steps forward as he moves from the Dominican Summer League to a full-season affiliate.
Pinto hit .360/.486/.543 in 224 DSL plate appearances last season, walking at a massive 17% clip against just an 8% strikeout rate while leading the league with 41 stolen bases. BA’s scouting report lauds his “outstanding” hand-eye coordination, advanced pitch recognition skills and plus-plus speed. Players of his size and stature will always have their share of skeptics, but the Jays probably feel better about paying Grichuk to play elsewhere if they’re viewing part of the transaction as an effective purchase of Pinto from the Rockies.
The Jays finally got rid of him, He did nothing to deserve that kind of contract
He also did nothing to deserve all the hate.
Hes a really good bench piece and was offered a healthy deal. What should he have done? Declined it?
Agree 100%. He tried hard, did interviews and I saw him go above and beyond to sign autographs for kids. The guy is okay in my books.
I thought I was seeing the next best thing when Grichuk first came up. He got triples, lots of triples. Then the league figured him out and he never made the adjustments to be a all star MVP vote getting player?
I was surprised when Toronto offered him the contract they did?
Guys just jealous cause Randal is so god Damn handsome
Apparently criticism equals hate now
Nah he got hate
Let’s hope the whining stops from the Toronto side. I hope RG has a career year.
So many teams sign multi year contracts & turn right around & immediately have buyers remorse. Ugh
Won’t take long, @Dusty – & Jay’s threads’ll read exactly like Yankee threads.
Sew, is that a thread against anyone in particular? Protection order needed? Let’s hope this will be on the mend soon.
he was a stop gap that happened to have a good(ish) year and was rewarded for it I guess. ♂️
Considering 1 WAR share is valued at around 7 million his contract is not that much of an overpay since he’s averaged 1 win per season . He’s both league average offensively and in the field . Therefore OP statement is a stupid thoughtless one
1 WAR is $7MM at the Stupid Man’s Market. Normally teams can figure out a way to get a replacement level player in their own system or the waiver wire.
1 WAR is replacement level?
This whole “1 WAR is worth X amount of money” thing is inherently flawed. He wasn’t worth that much money when you can get comparable production for much cheaper.
You say $ per WAR isn’t a good way if evaluating salary. Then you state that you could get the same production for much cheaper.
How are you evaluating production? You can’t be using WAR as that would equate to $ per WAR which you already dismissed.
So, what are you using?
You seem to have missed the point. Nothing I said is an indictment of WAR.
There are often players capable of producing 1 WAR available on waivers or as call ups from the minors. Those guys make the league minimum. Spending $7 mil on a 1 WAR player is not a good use of payroll.
$7M/WAR is only true for star players. $/WAR is not linear.
Perfect response and prevented me from stating it. It is non-linear and should not be quoted as such despite it being done so many times.
1 WAR players are easier to produce, which makes C-Daddy’s intent somewhat correct. I don’t have numbers on it, but 1 WAR would be much less than $7m. On the other side, 5+ WAR players are much harder to find and because you get so much value in them, the cost scales upward.
1 WAR = 7 million is a clueless idiotic comment lol, if you actually believe that 1 WAR is worth that much you are crazy
OMG stop throwing that stat around. It doesn’t work like that!
Grichuck averaged over 20 HR’s per season in Toronto with his lowest being 12 in the 2020 extended spring training. Grichuck may have been considered to be overpaid but he was consistent. With Springer missing half the season last year the Jays don’t stay in the playoff race without him
Yep. What team has a bench player who can step in and get you 81 RBI?
Who cares he had 81 rbis. He was hitting behind Guerrero and Bichette all year. It’s amazing to me people who are fans can’t figure out how useless of a stat rbi are. Pujols for years had 100 rbis batting behind trout and he was still one of the worst hitters in the league.
RBIs are a useless stat, but WAR is the best way to evaluate a player, right? Lol
Yes.
Pujols was never one of the worst hitters (except arguably 2017 when he actually did get 100 RBIs), but his last few years are a prime example of how RBIs are too much a combination of both a player and team stat to ever be that useful in analyzing either one by themselves.
RBI’s are generally a result of hitting with runners on base so they are a reasonably clutch statistic.
And pointing to Pujols as one of the worst hitters in the league does a disservice to Pujols as a player who never hit less than .312 in any of his first 10 seasons in the league.
Runs batted in is a useless stat? Youve overdosed on sabermetrics bud. Nobody can knock in 100 rbis on pure luck. Even though pujols was past his prime he could still pull a misplaced heater or hanging breaker with the best of them.
@Rsox, nobody who knows baseball would question that Pujols was among baseball’s best hitters his first ten years. His OPS+ for his last 5 years, though, are 80, 91, 92, 79, and 91. I wouldn’t put those numbers among the worst in baseball, but he was among the worst values in baseball.
RBI are a TEAM stat. It tells you very little about INDIVIDUAL talent. WAR is imperfect but MUCH better than RBI. Join us in the modern era, won’t you?
To be fair, those were his age 37-41 seasons. After all the heel injuries had taken a toll on his offensive ability.
RBI’s are not a completely useless stat. Just like other stats, it has to be used correctly with other stats to gain a complete picture.
If a guy has 100 RBIs, he still had to knock those runs in regardless whether he had more opportunities. Either way, thats why you next look to their batting average w/RISP, and if thats above league average then clearly they were really good at getting guys in front of them in.
These days people want to say this dtat is useless, or this stat is the end all be all stat to measure this or that…Stats are so misrepresented nowadays to fit peoples narratives it is ridiculous!!
You combine the data to get a better all around picture. This is the only thing that truly helps even relatively compare players. It is also the best way to find out exactly how good or bad a particular player is in certain situations…
It is all about context and using multiple sets of different data to get the best answers ..
This isn’t rocket science people!!! Use some common sehse…
“There’s no such thing as clutch.”
…..I’m gonna miss that guy!
Yaaaa the context of the comment was most likely a reference to the steady veteran presence grichuk has provided. He has some sorts, but he’s basically as steady eddy as it gets. You’re gonna notice the difference his influence made this season.
Grichuk was NOT consistent. At ALL.
Sure he was, any two strike breaking ball out of the zone was consistently flailed at.
Mid 200s BA, high 200s OBP
He’ll probably see a power surge in Colorado.
He was not consistent hitting well at the plate. I think anyone who watches blue jays games regularly would know that. He’d get hot for 30% of the season and tear it up like the big dogs but then look lost for the other 60%. He was however consistently good for 500abs and serviceable defence. He takes care of his body and is an elite athlete who avoids injury. If he could ever learn to lay off or do better with off speed pitches he would be a valuable player in this league.
Absolutely correct.. Grichuk was there when the team needed him, and even though his numbers were down in some respects, he did drive in 81 runs last year. Good luck to him, and his power swing could bring results in the Rockies. I also like what the Jays got in return, with a left handed batter, speed, defense,, and great plate discipline, plus a prospect with up-side.. Its gonna be fun season.
The NL West is now the Rox to lose
It’d be f’ing hilarious if he found another level, won MVP, and somehow guided them into a division race with the Dodgers.
Bro u don’t know what u talking about he have 3 decent year even with nop been a starter awful trade
So this is how they make room for Conforto.
I doubt it. Otherwise they wouldn’t have gotten Tapia in the deal.
Plus, you don’t trade a player in order to “make room” for a future signing. No one does this. Not how it works.
Which team? LOL
…And made the team worse in the process.
I didn’t understand or agree with the Grichuk contract, but enjoyed watching him play the game. Results weren’t always what we wanted, but he played the game the right way, which is rare in this age of baseball. Best of luck RG!
Good job on Shapiro and Atkins to trade Randal. When he is hitting he is awesome but Randal disappears for months on end at the plate.
100%
If he limits the plate disappearances he may excel at Coors! Good luck to him. I always liked him.
Comforting in play?
Same reason they gave KB 182 million, they’re not smart.
Wait til you see Tapia play. This is DEFINITELY a plus move for the Rockies.
Plus move for the dodgers, tapia was just annoying against them!
I’ve seen him play, it’s a plus move for the Jays. Randal isn’t good.
Not like Grichuk wasn’t annoying when he blasted a homerun off the dodgers in the playoffs a few years back.
It’s hard to be more annoying than Tapia. Just a speedy guy who seems to always make the play and beat out the grounder
Yup I get the impression that tapia is a toolsie scrub. Better than dalton pompey but best case scenario is probably Austin Jackson when he was near washed.
Jays fan here, Grichuk gets a lot of hate as he is overpaid ($12M/year for 2 years now) but since they are going for the WS and with Springer’s legs the Jays technically got worse with this move as Tapia is not good. Sure he is left handed but he plays at Coors and has a career 80 OPS+. So we will have to see if any other moves are made prior to opening day but as it stands, not an ideal move.. I suspect the 4th OF will get lots of burn with the Jays so having Tapia 3 days a week will be ugly.
They also have Biggio and Palacios for the OF so they will be fine. A left handed OF with some speed is a nice addition
We already have that in Palacios and Smith, I think this was purely a salary dump to a team that has no idea what it’s doing.
It’s not a salary dump. The Jays are covering the difference to make it a salary neutral deal.
this likely means Smith is not making the team. you don’t need 2 left handed hitting OF with speed and Tapia is better
Smith is bad and was in the minors with Toronto last year and never made it then.
My opinion of Tapia is a poor hitting poor fielding OF who relies on speed to survive in the majors and hasn’t really had an above average season yet
At least Smith has had 1 pretty good season, is capable of playing CF decently (don’t pay attention to spring training miscues) hits LH and has plus plus speed.
It’s easier for me to rationalize Smith as a 4th OF who could rediscover his rookie form vs Tapia who probably is a AAAA player at best and doesn’t have any upside or track record to look at
I think more highly of Tapia that you do. They are both serviceable fourth outfielders. Grichuk has the advantage of being able to play CF. We will see if Coors Field makes him the next Joey Gallo. Tapia may yet hit 0.300, but he is still fourth outfielder material. Calling him a AAA or AAAA does not do him justice.
Tapia being left-handed is pretty irrelevant, considering he hits 80 wRC+ against RHP.
Grichuk was 19% better against RHP (his weak side) over his career.
Hmm, this is surprisingly true, although it remains to be seen how much of Tepia’s performance has been hindered by the Coor’s hangover effect while not being able to take as much advantage of hitting at Coors Field compared to most players
OPS+ is already park adjusted. “He plays at Coors and has an 80 OPS+“ is nonsensical.
This is a good example of why fans wouldn’t make good gms.
Including you as well.
I would make the best gm out of everyone here and that’s not debatable
The point of the deal for the Blue Jays is to hit better against RH pitching, and Tapia has a better OPS+ platoon split against righties than Grichuk both in 2021 (97 vs. 89) and across their respective careers (103 vs. 98).
Furthermore, Tapia’s speed and ground ball hitting tendency can take advantage of the turf at Roger’s Centre.
As such, Tapia instead of Grichuk does make the team better.
Offensively, Grichuk was terrible last season. Talk about selling low!
He’s always been terrible offensively
Hella lot better than Tapia tho.
Not really Randal is a strike out machine who’s only either gonna 3 things, hit a hommers and kill rally’s
Sure, but last year his OBP was below .300 AND his slugging was down. But yes, he is simply not very good.
Conforto..stupid auto correct
Autocorrect doesn’t explain the reply fail
Why did Colorado take on that contract?
Because now they are contenders
They didn’t. Jays are sending the money to make it neutral (Tapia makes real money too).
Is it really salary neutral? I only see that they are sending some money with no dollar figure cited anywhere. If they are sending $15m to the Rockies, they must really like Pinto. Tapia will have more opportunity than Grichuk would have with the Jays with the way the roster is constructed, but I don’t know that it would make sense as a strictly salary neutral deal. If it’s neutral in ’22 but Colorado is taking on the ’23 obligation, that makes a whole ton of sense for Toronto.
Because Toronto is paying the salary.
I take it you haven’t been paying much attention to the dumpster fire Management running the Rockies.
Rox offseason continues to twist minds.
Wow they actually got rid of Grichuk.. Tapia only makes 4m… big cash saver here…room for another addition
I believe they paid the Rockies to take him so likely minimal savings.
It’s savings against payroll cap though… they will pay his contract, but it won’t count against their salary which is great
Well I dont think the Jays will be getting to the soft cap anyways, maybe it will be easier to sell to the shareholders though as the visual number will be smaller.
HAHA, good call!
Yes it still counts.
That is not how that works. Any money the Jay’s include in the deal counts towards their CBT bill. Fyi.
Ducky’s right. Jays are still carrying the hit against the luxury tax though dig might be right too. Still, the Blue Jays seem motivated so who knows.
Jays aren’t anywhere near the luxury tax and won’t be this year so it doesn’t matter
Any money they send to COL still counts against the Jays or salary/CBT purposes.
Well, you know.
Yankee fans can thank Hal for understanding the vagaries of CBT/payroll implications. Which is a subject I would have preferred knowing absolutely nothing about to be honest.
Correct.
Solid acquisition by the Jays. Tapia will do well in the north.
No he won’t. Tapia swings at literally everything and has zero power. And it’s getting worse. He also takes terrible paths in the OF. His main skills are foot speed (but he’s one of the worst baserunners I’ve ever seen) and an excellent throwing arm. Nice guy too.
I disagree. A change of scenery and his involvement in a franchise that does not have its head-up-its-own-arse will prove beneficial to Tapia. It’s a matter of role & expectations.
Ok, guess you’ll figure it out yourself. Tapia has the worst plate approach I’ve literally ever seen in a major leaguer. Rox have been trying to trade him for two years.
I understand. Change. Of. Scenery. Did Tapia kick your dog? This seems personal.
I agree with all that except the part about the throwing arm. That is subpar which is why he never plays RF. He also has a habit of making poor throwing decisions, trying to throw somebody out where he has no shot and letting others take an extra base.
A halfway decent choice as a 4th OF, but if he gets more than 300 Plate Appearances it’s a bad sign for the Jays season.
Trade makes sense for both sides.
A minor addition that could make a big difference for the jays as tapia is .278/.328/.402 vs RHP
A slap hitter fits the jays current build so well. May be a bit of a stretch but feels like Devon White, albeit slightly less.
Tapia’s a terrible OF. There’s no comp with White.
With that sprint speed, just assumed he would be better. His jump is….not good considering his speed. Thanks for the heads up!
Grichuk is gonna rake at Coors Field.
Grichuk and Cron will be all stars….. maybe lol
Wasn’t the ideal LH bat but at least as Jays fans we won’t have to hear other Jays fans complain about Grichuk anymore
I’d rather Malex Smith as a 4th OF over Tapia though
That’s a good comp.
Tapia is a better hitter than Mallex.
Jays fans will continue to complain about Grichuk after they realize he wasn’t so bad (aside from the money …which Jays are paying anyway). He’ll go on one of his hitting blitzes for a month and you will see
You can still have Mallex Smith as the 4th Outfielder because the Jays don’t have a set DH and Tapia is likely to play everyday with Hernandez/Springer/Gurriel rotating at DH. Tapia doesn’t change anything as far as the Blue Jays roster construction goes.
As a jays fan, I appreciate what Grichuk did. He’s a good guy and team player. He was streaky. Making room for Conforto?
Clearing salary to sign Conforto
The deal is salary neutral.
Unfortunately the Toronto FO is too smart to sign Conforto. Don’t judge them by the fans.
I hope youre right unless he’s looking for a pillow contract
Please explain how Conforto justifies 25 Million per year and fans were angry that Grichuk made half of that at 12 Million.
Conforto: 125 games
At bats: 406
Runs: 52
Hits: 94
RBI’s 55
Walks: 59
K’s: 104
HRS: 14
BA .232
Randal Grichuk:
GP: 149
AB: 511
R 59
H 123
RBI 81
BB 27
SO 114
HR 22
BA:.241
Stats don’t lie and Grichuk was the better hitter in 2021. The only difference in Conforto’s favor is 32 more walks and 10 less strike outs. That is NOT a good reason to fork out over 20 million to Conforto and have the fans complain about Grichuk’s contract that is roughly half that amount. Baseball is a game of stats and names mean nothing.
@wisdom shared
Grichuck 89ops+ conforto 101ops+
Yep stats dont lie. Next time you go on a long tirade talking crap about somebody maybe you should know what you are talking about.
I think the Rockies may have actually made a decent trade. Grichuk should be better defensively and provide good power that will play up in Coors. Tapia gets on base more but his approach is not significantly better and he is the worse defender. Tapia is a 4th outfielder with the Blue Jays.
Grichuk was a 4th outfielder for the jays.
In the last month or two of last year, Grichuk was the 6th outfielder with Dickerson and Jarrod Dyson playing more than him.
I like Tapia… as a fourth OF his peak is like .340 OBP which is certainly better than Grichuk. I wish Grichuk the best in Colorado
I don’t understand all the hate for Grichuk. While his BA is not high, he’s guranteed to deliver 20+ doubles & 20+ HRs every season. Besides the shortened 2020 season, he has done this in 5 straight seasons and his defense isn’t too bad either. That level of consistency usually results in an $8M-$9M salary so he is a little overpaid but he is a much better player than Tapia. If Grichuk is a starter in Colorado, I wouldn’t be surprised if he hits 30+ HRs this season. If the Jays have any major injuries in the OF, they are going to miss him.
Canada. They like the bandwagon,
That’s ridiculous. Casual fans everywhere like the bandwagon
Best
A Canadian girl must have shot you down or something only logical explanation for your constant dishing on Canada without one lick of real world experience or fact. That or you are a redneck who has never been outside your own county in which case your ignorance should be pitied.
‘dissing’. Constant ‘dissing’.
No reason to hate either of these players, they just aren’t starters but they still have talent.
Conforto going to Colorado?
Nah, they’ve got too many OF as it is. If Grichuk were a catcher or something I would think that too. If they could find a taker for Blackmon, then yeah.
yea.
Just so you all know because Jays fans far outnumber us Rox fans on this site, we VERY much consider this addition by subtraction.
… so do Jays fans.
Yup. So fair trade.
Grich is an upgrade, of sorts… I think the Rox will get at least their 2 solid years from him, just a question if losing 5’6″ Pinto and his .487 OBP (in the DSL) was worth it. Time will tell, happy ’22 season amigos!
A woodchuck for a Talapia?? Canada is weird…
I don’t think it’s Grichuk for Tapia at all. Looks to me like they traded Grichuk for an 18 yr. old on-base machine in the Dominican, who plays up the middle, and had to pay some money and take back some salary to do it. That’s where Tapia comes in, a salary. How did they even know about that kid? Does Tapia have options? if not, he may be cut after ST.
I was looking the kid up.
He’s 5’6 and a buck fifty.
2nd base is about the best that kid can dream of.
Would love him to be an Altuve clone for 5 years down the road, but in all likelihood this is a trade that’s forgotten about a few years from now when all 3 are out of the league
Tapia is out of options. He had zero value. Rox very nearly nontendered him two years in a row.
Yes, this seems to me like Toronto figured out a way to move money to Colorado for this Pinto kid in the Dominican. Grichuk and Tapia are just the vehicles. Smart FO move, but it’s something MLB has to be wary of. Didn’t they do something similar in a trade with Houston to get Hernandez?
I’m gonna miss Randal
When Grichuk was with the Cards he was always a stand up guy. I got his autograph after a Spring Training game and he stuck around a while after the game to do so. IMO the Blue Jays were hoping to find another Bautista in a similar way, 5 year deal on a modest contract, it just didn’t come to fruition. I hope he finds it in CO.
I’ve always heard he was as a good guy and great to have in the clubhouse.
Good trade
The Rockies are just so poorly run. Even with rose covered glasses they are the 3rd best team in the division. 4th if you are realistic.
Keep your prospects!
Looks like a win win….Grichuk needed new scenery and what better scenery than Colorado for a fly ball hitter. Going on record he hit 30hrs.
Hes hit 30+ with Toronto so thats not far fetched
I mean that was three years ago, the only season he ever hit over 25 HRs, he had 630 plate appearances and it was the Homer Ball season. He obviously has pop but if it wasn’t far fetched that he’d hit 30 HRs, there would’ve been more interest in him.
He had 22 in nearly 550 PAs this season, the only reason it isn’t far fetched is because he’s in Colorado now.
Toronto gets the LH hitter they were looking for.
I’m not sure what they expect from Tapia though
Classic rockies move that makes no sense. Watching him and Bryant and old hobo mcgee Charlie Blackmon slowly shuffle around out there chasing after misplayed balls should be exceedingly entertaining
Blackmon is almost certain to DH.
I would expect Bryant in LF, Grichuck in CF, and a Connor Joe/Sam Hilliard platoon in RF
Omg the Yankees don’t have to face this guy anymore ? Thank God smh
the Rox are clueless
By trading for the better player?
What trade are you talking about? Grichuk is not a good player and is overpaid.
so they’re eating that contract to get Adrian Pinto… Raimel was trash. Typically an easy out for the Dodgers, but that boy was lowkey dangerous in 2021. I have a feeling this is going to end up being an easy trade W for the Blue Jays.
Bad trade. Maybe one of the worst. Grichuk was well liked. An integral part of the clubhouse and offense
This isn’t going to go over well with the rest of the players. This is like the Graveman trade
Jays had great chemistry going. This seriously effects it. All to save some $. Save money elsewhere. Grichuk is too valuable
Wtf are you talking about seriously?
lmao he has obviously gone and asked each player how they feel about this
His power will play at Coors. Up there he has the potential to hit 30+ and he is what he is. Going to strike out a ton and pop a few. Fits the narrative of today’s game. Overpaid? Maybe, but there are a lot worse deals out there. Can anyone say they’d turn it down?
It seems no 1 remembers but I believe Frick was traded for after the Jays lost out on yellich. I’m another world bechette is in MIA and Yellich is a Jay, I wonder what else is different with those teams
Grichuk was one of those guys who hits when either the game is out of reach, or when the Jays are way up. He was always a rally killer otherwise. Nice stats on paper, but when you watch the games and see how he literally does nothing of impact, you dont get upset to see him gone.
Oh wow. What a fantastic trade for the Blue Jays. Man, we’re really getting better in a lot of areas. Tapia is controllable for a few more years, brings contact, speed, defense. We also get a prospect which is always nice. Wonder how much money the Jays are sending to Colorado.. I really like this deal. We just keep getting better and better, great to see.
Grichuk was a solid contributor, but giving him 9-10 million for two more seasons just didn’t make sense. I think he’ll do well in Colorado, I think he’ll fit real well in that ball park. But man, what a fantastic deal for the Jays. Russ Atkins deserves all the credit in the world for this offseason.. This is an under the radar move that could pay huge dividends for us.
The two of them have the exact same number of years of control (2). Tapia is a terrible defender, and you’re losing a TON of power (Tapia has virtually none).
Grich will start off in April hitting gangbusters then by June have fallen off a cliff and be barely playable. It’s his MO the past 3 years. Big time rally killer. Lot’s of SO and double plays.
jays don’t need tapia to have power they have one of the most formidable power line ups in the AL. they need a left handed bat and a slap hitter who gets on base and has good speed on the bags will not hurt them.
Dudes gonna crush the ball in Colorado. I met him at a restaurant and he’s so down to earth. I talked with him in the parking lot telling him how the Cardinals are lucky to have him and love that he gives it 100% or as they call it the Cardinals way. Hope all goes well man and you crush it.
So who is the backup CF for when Springer gets hurt or needs a day off? Tapia, or do they have someone else>
Tapia can play CF (at least, if absolutely necessary). Mallex Smith and Josh Palacios likely make the team and can both play CF
Aren’t all three kind of identical?
I like this trade a lot for Toronto. Tapia should settle in nicely as the 4th outfielder. He has good speed, bats for a solid average, should score plenty of runs with Toronto’s ridiculous lineup.
That said, I wouldn’t be surprised if Grichuk hit 35-40 homeruns for Colorado.
Kimbrel +$6 mill for McGuire (or another catcher) and Pinto?
Is McGuire really any better than Collins or Zavala?
If you’re offering another catcher, we’ll take Kirk or Moreno. lol!
For those that say this clears salary for Conforto, he’s unvaxed and he can’t even enter Canada.
I offer my deepest condolences to Randal Grichuk and his family. This is the end of his career.
He’s set to make 20 million with this season and the next, combined. He’ll be fine. While already made 30 million the previous 3. The Grichuk family will survive… And I’d bet he’ll still be in baseball two years from now, even if he’ll make a quarter of what he makes now per season.
It wasn’t meant to be taken that seriously…
I think this is a lovely new beginning where his offensive numbers go up, going to a park that will play to his HR potential. End of his making the playoffs, though, that’s for sure for as long as he stays.
this trade makes a lot of sense for the jays. unload grichuks nasty contract while adding a former top prospect to be a defensive backup. if tapia offers anything at the plate they got more than what they wanted out of the trade. plus adding a 19 year old with standout numbers is a move with upside, no matter what else you say about pinto
“Defensive backup”
Tapia is a below average defender.
He is. He’s fast and has a good arm, but will turn a well hit catchable flyball into a double at least a few times a month.
Gritcuck will rake at Coors Field. I’m sorry to see him go I liked his hard nose play but it was hard to watch his up and down battles at the plate. He’s good in the outfield though even though the numbers are not in agreement. In the end I think the trade will prove to be close to even trade. Now go get Conforto and trade for JRam and bring us back to the world series lol
Neither of that is going to happen nor will, stop suggesting it.
Tapia is interesting because he plays in Coors but his offensive skillset really doesn’t suit it at all.
I think he’ll do well in Toronto.
Hitting groundballs isn’t really an offensive skillset anywhere.
That may be true, but more grounders get through on artificial turf than they do on grass.
I guess, but Tapia also had the worst hard hit rate among qualified hitters in baseball last year. He hits soft ground balls. Does get a few infield hits due to his speed.
I’m a little split cuz Randal is the better player. But Tapia is cheaper and they can hopefully use the money on something we need more than a 4th outfielder.
Tapia also fills several needs.
Speed and contact are two huge issues for this team. Same with being a lefty bat. And being a pinch-hitter who can hit over .250 (Tapia hits .270+). That is huge.
What I like though is that you can hit Tapia #9 and have him get on base in front of Springer, Bichette. Steal a base too.
Perfect #9. The lineup is looking better and we get a prospect and cash savings. Hope this means more moves to come!
Player A vs. RHP: 99 wRC+, .320 wOBA
Player B vs. RHP: 80 wRC+, .314 wOBA
Grichuk is Player A.
What value is a left-handed bat if they don’t hit RHP at all? (And Tapia’s numbers vs. LHP are even worse.)
Tapia was one of the worst OF in all of baseball last year.
Its not the performance as much on the batters part, its getting the pitcher out of his groove.
Wut?
I promise you, no right-handed pitcher is facing Raimel Tapia and is worried about that ball being hit. They’ll see it as a pretty easy out, as they should.
Seriously, baseball fans too easily buy into handedness, but can’t be bothered to look into an individual player to see if it matters at all. You’re losing 20% of offensive run production at one roster spot… that’s not insignificant.
Jays are covering the difference in salary. There is no extra money to spend.
Jays are sending 8 Mil in cash and freeing up 6 mil via Spotrac, no retained or deferred salary
You keep saying that but where does it say the Jays are paying the full difference?
a mlb outfielder with decent numbers is too expensive for jays at mere $10 mil? jays are too cheap!
Bryant, Grichuk, Blackmon left to right in the massive Coors outfield? Should be fun.
Connor Joe, Garrett Hampson, and Sam Hilliard are all gonna play, and all (especially Hampson) are excellent defenders. Blackmon’s gonna mostly DH I’d guess.
It’s a good move for the Jays. Tapia is meh, but he is a decent fielder and gives them the lefty bat they need. Also opens up DH slot for Kirk to get a bit of at bats, DH Vlad some with Lordes playing some 1st/DH/LF. They definitely are my pick to win the division, and I am a Red Sox fan saying this sadly.
Jays
Rays
Red Sox
Yankees
Baltimore
Also helps them that unvaccinated can’t travel there. But that’s another story
The unvaccinated want to play in Toronto the solution get vaccinated
As an unbiased Braves fan, I agree that Toronto is the favorite in the AL East. Hopefully someone keeps Houston out of the World Series this year…whether it’s Toronto, Chicago, Tampa or Seattle.
I have the Jays slightly ahead of us as well, but I don’t see the logic in this move. First, if Springer has to hit the IL or the DH for say 20 games, I think I’d prefer Grichuk. He actually has a history in CF. And having a lefty helps, but is there any difference between Tapia and Mallex Smith?
This will free up more DH AB for Kirk and the Jays will call up Josh Palacios if they need someone to cover for an OF injury. Thing is Grichuk was making too much to just be a 4th OF bench piece , and Palacios should see fulltime ABs in AAA.
Everyone should go look at Grichuk’s #s from May 1st onward for his career. He is a Kevin Pillar clone in that respect. ( Finally think he has figured it out then fall off a cliff every single year. )
Definetly a headscratcher considering Tapia had the weakest hard hit rate in all of baseball for qualified hitters. Grichuk is a much better player
Your name is missing “th place” after the “7” in parentheses.
He’s even better against RHP.
I get wanting to clear a contract, but why would you make your offense worse here? Tapia is not good. He offers little defensively. At least Grichuk had some pop.
The prospect the Jays got is not without some interest. Very young and very short, but he destroyed the DSL last year.
Rockies still overpaying Bryant. Lol
Jays get a prospect and Tapia for Grichuk.
The Rockies FO sucks so bad it’s embarrassing.
Exactly who do you all think Raimel Tapia is, actually? I think everyone is confusing him with someone else. This is Grichuk for a 19 year old semi-prospect, money neutral.
You’re almost right.
Jays could non-tender Tapia next year and save ~$5M if they want.
But otherwise yes. Defensively similar. Same years of control. Grichuk more power. Tapia higher obp.
With all the mashers Toronto has they likely view the higher OBP off the bench as an asset. And they grab a prospect while adding financial flexibility next season.
The Rockies may have leapfrogged the Diamondbacks with this trade. Way to go.
Nice to get Tapia out of the NL. Always feared his bat when playing the Friars. A damn near 300 hitter the Jays are getting!
He’s among the worst hitting regulars in baseball. Certainly among non-catchers. Set an all time record for ground ball pct last year. You mixing him up with someone?
282 Batting average Shaquille Bro’Neil.
There is some value in people who put the ball in play.
Grichuck is a poorer man’s Adam Duvall.
Tapia OK
Jays fan here that rostered Raimel in a fantasy league last year. Tapia fits the Jays needs — speed, high OBP, lefty, utility type 4th OFer.
Grichuk will still be productive especially in Coors.
Probably turns out to be a win-win type smaller deal for both sides.
Tapia profiles nicely as a 9 hole 4th OF
Tapia killed against the Dodgers! glad he’s no longer in their division!
I swear all 16 homers came against the Dodgers. It sure felt like it.
Anyone else read Tapia, think of tilapia, and get hungry for fish?
So many comments on here about who is the better player. Well, Fangraphs has updated their projections. Grichuk was at 0.7 WAR for Toronto before the trade and is now at -0.1 for the Rockies. I don’t know what Tapia was at for Colorado but he is projected at 1.1 for the Jays. I like the trade for the Jays given the inclusion of Pinto and even with the cash considerations revealed.
Tapia will have to win me over. Lets see what he does for us. Wish Randal the best and I won’t miss all his GDPs
Kind of like the deal for both teams. Grichuk will put up some nice numbers in Colorado and moving him will provide some versatility for the Blue Jays and free up some financial resources. Mostly happy as a Yankee fan. Grichuk was always a pain!
Recheck your math.
$5,383,333.00 + $4,333,333.00 = $9,716,666.00
NOT $9,716,333.00
Give Colorado every nickle they deserve !!
Didn’t understand this deal for Jays till I read Taipia balances out the batting order
Glad grichuck got traded for equal fair value so don’t have to hear blue jays fans proposing him as any kind of piece in a Ramirez trade ! Gridchuck is of no use to the guardians even for free but with that contract he’s a will Myers like negative asset!
Jays don’t need JRam. We’ll keep our prospects, thanks.
That math doesn’t work.
It is basic addition.
Al Avila misses another opportunity to get prospects.
I don’t care if he has inherited J Edgar’s Bonnie Cashin and Hunert Givenchy collection!
That doesn’t qualify him to run a team!
I don’t see how this is a good move for Toronto.
R.G. fit in as part of a 4 man OF/DH rotation, and a decent CF when the astro-cheater guy is hurt. (I don’t care if he’s in a BJ uniform, I will never like that guy, or anyone from that Astros team)
I don’t want to see Tapia’s little popcorn bat in the lineup on a regular basis. He’s no where near the basestealing threat he needs to be to balance out the fact he brings zero power to the lineup.
The Blue Jays, barring another move are a weaker team now then what they were yesterday.
Go look at RG numbers for the first 4-5 weeks vs the rest of the season. The guy is also a rally killer with a ton of SO and DP balls. Now Kirk who is a much better bat then Grich will get more DH AB’s . Ton of reasons
If you define “decent CF” as a CF that had a -10 DRS over the past 2 seasons, then OK. Most would say it’s pretty bad.
Tapia isn’t going to hit. He could barely hit in Colorado, so him at sea level is going to be painful. But I like this deal for one reason: speed. With the stupid extra inning rules back, Tapia is a guy who can pinch run in a big spot to win a game. Also the defensive upgrade is nice. If Springer stays healthy all year, this will be a good deal — if he doesn’t, it could be disastrous having Tapia collect 400 ABs.
The real winner is probably Alejandro Kirk, who no longer has to compete with an outfielder for DH time.
The thing is , you can’t just look at the Of for OF aspect, as you mention it will benefit Kirk for sure. Plus RG did not profile as a 4th OF ( Strikeouts, SB, OPS, etc. ) Also have to consider how much Grich tailed off each year after a hot start . Tapia profiles better as a 4th OF then Grichuk did. If one of the OF goes down for an extended period I can see Palacios coming up to take over and Tapia stay as the #4 .
Palacios turns 27 this season and so far he’s turned in decent production in AA. Basically nothing in AAA or the majors. How in the world is that a better injury replacement to stick in your lineup every day than Tapia?
The guy hit .273 last season just because he’s not a home run hitter doesn’t mean he “can’t hit”. If he can do anything with the bat, it’s actually hit. Not for power, not to get on base. But hit singles, and doubles, and limits strikeouts. Don’t get why people keep saying he can’t hit. So I guess many of you would prefer a guy who will lead the league in strikeouts but run into some useless home runs every now and then. Smh
Home runs are the most valuable hit because they’re an automatic run scored every time. You can slap all the singles you want, but it’s not always going to add up to runs.
Yeah, not when you play with the Rockies. He’ll come in useful for a team like the Blue Jays.
On the road last year he hit .259 with a .589 OPS, which is solid if you’re a pre-2022 National League pitcher, not if you’re a corner outfielder. A lot of balls fall in with the huge outfield at Coors.
@smuzqwpdmx.. yet still had a higher war then Grichuk.
I honestly don’t think Tapia is a defensive upgrade from any of the Jays current outfielders.
Very Rockies move lol.
It’s just a lateral move, to be honest. Like Grichuk isn’t a bad ball player, he’s just a victim of his contract, but he’ not much better than Tapia, if at all, and with where the Rockies are, it makes no sense to trade a 28 year old outfielder with 2 years of inexpensive team control and a lottery ticket prospect for a more expensive outfielder who is 2 years older.
I give the Jays the edge, because they get a cheap, younger, outfielder, who could be a clear cut starter on half to two thirds of teams, while shedding some salary. Grichuk is also a winner because he gets a guaranteed starting job in a hitters park.
The biggest loser here is Tapia. Yes, he gets to be on a winning team, but with a considerably smaller role.
He might not be much better than Tapia, but his skillset is much more needed for the Rockies than Tapia’s. The Rockies OF was one of the worst in the league in 2021 when it came to hitting HRs. Considering Coors is in play here, that’s a huge indictment. Tapia is not a HR hitter, Grichuk is. He fits better with the team.
To me, Tapia is very reminiscent of Dexter Fowler. An outfielder with a lot of tools that just didn’t put it together with Colorado for whatever reason. He could blossom elsewhere much like Fowler did. Could be Toronto…could be another team down the road. Fowler didn’t blossom with Houston, the team the Rox traded him to, but became an All Star with the Cubs.
Hmm … not a terrible comp but Dexter was a lot better and more productive as a Rockie than Raimel.
Yeah Fowler was better, but he always seemed like he should have been even better. He always played like he never took it out it out of first gear unless he was hitting triples. To me, he was of the more disappointing Rockies of all time
Grichuk also has two years of control. He’s a much better player and he’s not more expensive because the Jays are paying his salary. Tapia was one of the worst regular position players with the bat in baseball last year. The key element in this deal was the prospect. Otherwise it would have been very unbalanced.
I think Grichuk will benefit from the trade. Every year he’ll try a more patient whole field approach and then give up on it when he hits a slump… but with Coors inflating his numbers perhaps he won’t feel he’s slumping and he’ll stick with it.
Blue Jays bought a prospect, basically. Grichuk isn’t good at anything except hitting dingers sometimes. Tapia isn’t good at anything except running really fast. Blue Jays are taking on both of their salaries. Really gotta hope that Pinto becomes somebody. This is just a confusing trade that barely moves the needle for both sides.
I hope I’m wrong but this trade seems to only benefit COL. Randal Grichuk can play all three OF positions and is a better hitter (but Ks more) than Raimel Tapia. Tapia lacks the elevated offense we expect from Coors Field residents and although both players have lower than average defensive range, Tapia’s speed makes his defensive range even more suspect.
The prospect Adrian Pinto could be interesting. He hit .360/.487/.543 in 224 pa in the DSL league in his first taste of professional baseball as an 18 year old.
One of the things that jumped out at me was that he stole 41 bases in those 224 plate appearances; that’s pretty impressive. A quick glance at the leaderboards showed that he lead the dsl in sb with only 3 other players stealing as many as 30. Those other three players all had similar amounts of plate appearances though, so it seems like SB numbers are inflated by the league. Still impressive though.
His height could work against him going forward, but you never know. He’s far from a sure thing considering how far away he is and the body type; but interesting none the less.
He also walked 38 times against 18 strikeouts and won the DSL MVP.
I hate Denver!