Here are three things we’ll be keeping an eye on around the baseball world today:
1. Astros 40-man roster move incoming:
The Astros are reportedly signing right-hander Ryan Weiss to a major league deal, bringing him over from the Korea Baseball Organization. The Astros have a full 40-man roster, so they’ll need to make a move in order to accommodate their new signing. The most common way to accomplish that is simply by designating a player for assignment, but it’s also possible Houston could look to work out a trade that clears 40-man roster space instead. That could be a minor trade of a low-level player on the 40-man, but a bigger deal is also possible given that Houston is reportedly receiving interest in outfielders Jake Meyers and Jesus Sanchez on the trade market.
2. Fairbanks next to move?
Former Rays right-hander Pete Fairbanks was a somewhat unexpected addition to this year’s free agent market after the Rays declined their $11MM club option on his services for the 2026 season. He’s garnered plenty of interest in the weeks since then, with the Tigers, Marlins, and Blue Jays among a number of teams known to be involved in his market on at least some level. The relief market has gotten moving faster than the rest of this winter’s free agent class, with names such as Raisel Iglesias, Devin Williams, Ryan Helsley and Phil Maton having already come off the board on notable contracts. Could Fairbanks be the next domino to fall?
3. What’s next for the Jays?
The Blue Jays reportedly reached an agreement with right-hander Cody Ponce yesterday, and in doing so added a second starter to a rotation that already brought in Dylan Cease earlier this winter. With Kevin Gausman, Shane Bieber, and Jose Berrios already in place from last year plus top prospect Trey Yesavage and depth options like Eric Lauer, Yariel Rodriguez, and Bowden Francis, the addition of Ponce creates a glut of rotation options. Perhaps a pivot to the trade market could make some sense to leverage that depth, though it’s also worth noting that star shortstop Bo Bichette remains unsigned and the Jays, as previously mentioned, remain involved in the market for Fairbanks and other high-end relief arms.
Seems like the Blue Jays are year after year in the hunt for the top free agents available. I think the commitment to Vlad Jr made everyone stop and believe they are committed to winning, and after last year’s finish, they are attractive to the major FA’s.
Keep going, Jays. Edwin Diaz is your next stop.
It’s time for the Jays to make yet another commitment on the way to the ‘26 WS – a trade feels good here- Loperfido and Jake Bloss to the Nats for Abram’s. Clears another 40-man spot for Fairbanks. Could also trade Garcia today…
Would like to see the Jay’s trade for donovan and romero
Bighiggy, Donovan feels like he fits the Jays’ style of play right now. A lot of Donovan trade speculation articles have suggested the Cardinals want a very specific shape in a trade return for Donovan: MLB ready pitching. But I don’t see the Jays as being particularly well positioned to offer that.
Blue Jays.
Sign BOTH Tucker and Bitchette
@ASTROS27
Those 2 paired would come in around 60M AAV. And they still need a closer.
I’m saying. What about Bo, Kyle, and Edwin?
That’s going to be a dynasty caliber team.
@ASTROS27
Roughly 85M then. That would bring them to 350M for ’26. Nope can’t see that kind of exposure. They should look to value/platoon players to fill the cracks on the 26 man.
Don’t the Jays already have about 8 players just like Donovan already on the roster? I don’t see the point of Jays trading (who?) for yet again another multi-positional player.
Ignorant SOB, sort of but not really. They could use a left handed bat near the top of the order. They have Barger who can play 3B but is likely ticketed more for the OF. That leaves them with an infield of Vlad and two glove first players in Gimenez and Clement who both profile as platoon guys. Even if people think those guys should play everyday on account of their defense, they still need another infielder. So while they don’t need another multi positional guy, he still fits into the diamond and more importantly would fit the lineup. I’m not sure what the trade package from the Jays would look like. They traded a lot of upper minors pitching already. Though the Cards already collected some of that in the Gray trade. Maybe there are other needs they have. I don’t know if Toronto’s system has this level of trade in it after last deadline.
@KamKid
If they’re going to have Barger in the OF they need to get an OF or have Loperfido on the 26 man. In just over 400 innings in the OF last season he put up -4 in both DRS and OAA. That’s not good at all. Keep Barger at 3B where he plays it neutral.
NoSaint, I guess it depends on what metrics you like. Statcast fielding run value had him as -1 at 3B and +1 in RF. He doesn’t have great range (OAA) yet, but one of the best OF arms. It feels like the team likes him in the OF best. Though maybe he proved them wrong by being close to average at 3B when he had opportunity. I think 3B is a more valuable outcome and I’d be happy if he played there plenty. He’ll probably do a fair bit of both again. Even if they add an OF and that puts Barger primarily at 3B, I’d be more than happy to add a left handed 2B like Donovan. I’m not a big believer that Ernie Clement is ever going to hit enough against right handed pitching to warrant being an everyday guy even if the glove is great.
@KamKid
We agree on alot. On Clement, ya, going to have to partner him with a lefty someone to make up for his bat unless he’s a dedicated utility guy. Full time makes no sense. Maybe permanent platoon with Giminez if Bo doesn’t re-sign.
The cost for 3 years of control on Abrams will be more than that.
I’m not saying that we can’t add more- Abram’s brings incredible speed on the bases, and we’ve got Francis who could be moved (he’s surplus)… Tiedemann is not ready to start, and we’ve got enough starters, but I see Tiedemann filling that lefty bullpen spot vacated by Dominguez. That’ll keep his innings down to 60/70 this year while using his immense talent.
Loperfido and Bloss both feel like viable trade candidates to me. Bloss’ trade value would be interesting to know. He was on the back end of top 100 prospects lists entering last year. But was injured and will be out for a good chunk of this season. He’s already used up two of his options and will either need to use up his third this year or be put on the 60 day IL and get major league service time. He hasn’t been active for 90 days in five professional seasons and won’t eclipse that this year so his team would be eligible to get that fourth option. I’m not sure how the development setback at the same time as already being on a 40 man roster would affect his trade value. It can’t be good for it but maybe teams will like the upside enough.
Yeah a bench bat and an injured pitcher for Abrams sounds reasonable.
Odds that your comment’s intent is missed? Strong………
joe – I never doubted the Jays desire to win, they just have a harder time attracting top free agents because of being in a different country etc.
They invested a lot of money in Rogers Centre which is generating considerably more revenue, that helps.
FPG
Is this the end of Bichette in Toronto? Are they going to have a payroll of $300 million?? The Rogers Centre looks like a cool place to see a game. What kind of field ( turf) is that?. It looks like the American League East will be a battle of 3 teams for the foreseeable future.
cdc – hi !
Like most everyone I picked Bo to remain in Toronto, I’m sure Vlad is pressuring them to sign him. Springer coming off the books will help pay for Bo.
Right now their CBT payroll is at $275M so yeah they will reach $300M.
I used to attend 9-12 games at Rogers Centre every year, I love that place and the city. People are friendly, the city is clean and relatively safe, very modern and so much to see and do there. I used to sit 2nd row right behind the plate, lots of celebs were next to me …. Geddy Lee, Ron Howard, Bennifer, etc. I still have pics and autographs from those days.
It’s synthetic turf.
If Baltimore gets some pitching they could be a 4th contender. And who knows what will happen with the new Rays owner.
I’d like to see the Jays sign Bichette, but if we could grab a Ketel Marte from the D-Backs, for 1/2 the price, and improve our defense, that’s another route. We have Loperfido, Bloss, Berrios, Francis, Lazardo, and Leo Jimenez as possible trade pieces… We could pay down some of the Berrios dollars if needed…
FPG
Just read the Blue Jays we’re the 1st team to surpass 4 million in attendance,I think it said in 1991. Coming off the WS and what they are doing this off season, they might break there attendance record. They are certainly shaping up to be very tough to topple.
Springer is still on the team and books, right.. Josh Reddick just accused him of taking part in the cheating scam with the Astros.
cdc – hi !
Yeah the Jays were the first, from 1991-1993 they drew 4M each season. A lot of that had to do with SkyDome, it’s first full season was 1990 and it was a HUGE attraction as the world’s first retractable roof stadium.
Yes Springer is off the books after next season as I doubt he’s gonna sign an extension with them. I see he was indirectly implicated, not sure how much I believe Reddick’s claim that only him, Altuve and Kemp didn’t participate.
In fairness to George, he didn’t have that great a 2017 season …. his career best year was 2019 after the cheating stopped.
The Jays won’t break their attendance record because the dome now holds about 40-42k whereas in the 90’s capacity was 51k
F99
Interesting that they would limit the seating capacity to 40-42k when they are capable of approximately 10k additional. Of course empty sections never look good.
cdc – hi !
They literally demolished the entire lower bowl and replaced much of it with premium seating, that’s what I meant above when I said they invested a lot in Rogers Centre. It’s a common trend being done in many MLB stadiums.
Jays longtime season ticketholders were pissed. Did you see on TV the seats during games? Those extra wide plush seats with waitress service went up from $200 when I would sit there to $900 per ticket now ….. that’s $146K for a pair of season tickets.
FPG
$900 per ticket is outlandish… I would love to take in a ballgame sitting there. The most I ever paid for a Sox game was $ approx. $240 from Ace Tickets in Kenmore Square day of the game against the Angels. About 15 rows up ,third base line, closer to the plate than 3rdbase. Great seats,but could not see the corner of the Monstah. It had to be 6 or 7 years ago, wanted to see Trout play.
cdc – hi !
When the new Yankee Stadium opened, the seats behind home plate were $1K per game …. not sure what they are now. And so many of them were empty throughout the season. It’s the way of the world, in cities like Toronto and NYC money is no object to millionaires and successful corporations. I would need to be on OnlyFans to make enough money to afford good seats like that.
I’ve been spoiled with spectacular seats in the past because I had great connections, let’s just say you’ve probably seen me between 1998-2015. LOL! Most of the connections are gone now, but the memories are forever.
I highly recommend taking in a game on the Monstah sometime, but closer to the Fisk Pole than the Flag Pole.
Being owned by Rogers Communications which has a monopoly in Canada doesn’t hurt.
@16
What do they have a monopoly in? It’s not telecommunications.
More like an oligopoly.
@vtadave
That is an accurate descriptor which can be applied globally in this sector. I believe the last major monopoly in Canada was Telesat. I might be wrong on that.
It’s taken a long time but jays have done a good job changing the culture and finally getting guys to sign in Canada. That trend will continue but I doubt they are able to bring Bo back. He’s going to have plenty of destinations to choose from
While I’d still have the Mets as my favorite to land Diaz. I think the jays are a real threat to sign him.
I don’t watch a ton of jays games but it seemed like every time I did it felt like they needed a closer upgrade.
Gonna spend all that money on starting pitching, make sure you can close out those games. Get Diaz who is in my opinion the best closer available by a large margin. Heck grab another dude on top of that. They can win with just pitching.
Jays still have to overpay free agents to sign there. That may never change.
Today feels like a good day for some serious moves. Let the dealing begin!
Chaim might move Contreras before the end of the year. He’s looking like he’s ready to do what Mo couldn’t do.
Don – Winter meetings officially begin Monday, but everyone is gathering in Orlando this coming weekend …. I would be surprised if anything gets finalized prior to this weekend.
What a great day to come out of a coma!
Fairbanks would be a nice grab for the Mets if they don’t sign Diaz. Even better if they put Holmes in the pen as well. They are overloaded with starters to begin with.
Not going to lie I would love the Blue Jays to sign Edwin Diaz, sign Kyle Tucker AND Bo Bitchette. What do other people think. When the Astros didn’t win the World Series, I rooted for Blue Jays to win WS.
Astros – Can’t tell if you’re implying a lack of masculinity with the spelling of Bo’s last name. LOL
Whoops.
Raisel 1yr/16mil
Maton 2/14
Helsey 2/28
Fairbanks – rays decline 1yr/11mil
So mets decide lets give the worst RP out there the longest commitment & highest salary
Stearns should start looking for new job asap
bing, looking at his results from last year, I can understand your frustration. However, his underlying peripherals are great – velo is strong. I think he’s a solid bounce back candidate.
you dont give a bounceback candidate 51mil for 3 yrs
especially if he’s just a set up guy
its absurd
and if he’s meant to CL then its a nightmare waiting to happen, and they will regret not re signing diaz. any way you put it, this is gonna be a terrible signing like frankie montas. stearns had to have an A+ offseason and so far its a D-
coop – What the heck are you talking about, he had spectacular results last year! I’m guessing you’re harping on the 22 innings pitched because of his back issues.
YES, back injuries can be chronic and perhaps it was a factor in his poor performance this year. I agree with you, that’s a big contract for a guy with back concerns. But no, his peripherals were not all great. His H9 was the worst of his career, so was his K% and EV and HardH% among others.
It’s possible going from laid back Milwaukee to intense NYC was a difficult adjustment for him. Same thing happened to Diaz his first year with the Mets, if you go back that far.
Diaz adapted, can Williams? Time will tell. But I agree it was a high risk signing which I am glad my team didn’t make
spectacular results ? hi i’m earth, have we met?
every yankee fan is on their hands and knees thanking god himself that devin is gone
Since there’s interest in Fairbanks, I would at least check on him to see if he’s good for saving games, on account of his ability in that department.
Fairbanks may only be good in domed stadiums on astroturf or tiny replica Yankee Stadiums at the AAA level. More data forthcoming.
With six starters for five spots + decent depth in case of injury, wonder if the Jays are actively shopping one of the incumbents to fill another hole. I imagine Berrios would be the odd man out, does the Jays paying most of his salary allow them to get something of value if they deal him? If someone’s going to have to pick up a lot of his contract, I don’t see another team touching him, but decent 3-4 starters who eat up innings and keep you competitive in a game still value at the right price.
The problem with dealing Berrios is more than the $ value, but the opt out he has at the end of this season, what team picks him up with the chance he ops out if he has a decent season???
Padres never ever do that deal. They certainly aren’t looking to take on money.
The Jays need to focus on signing a legitimate closer before anything else, their focus doesn’t need to be on re-signing Bo. Its been proven the Jays can play fine without him so if he really wants to stay & contend he should get it done, if not then there’s other bats out there.
@Carver
Agreed. Hoffman can’t continue to close in ’26. As for Bo, I’m indifferent. Sliding Giminez to short could turn Bo’s defensive limitations into a net positive DRS at the position. Even if he is slight above average at SS you could see a 20 point DRS swing to the positive or about 2 fWAR. Not insignificant.
Sevage? Sewege?
Big Chunks Java more like Big Chunks Smoking Crack with that trade proposal.