Blue Jays Rumors

Blue Jays To Qualify Edwin Encarnacion, Jose Bautista; Not Michael Saunders

By Connor Byrne | November 5, 2016 at 9:21pm CDT

As expected, the Blue Jays will issue $17.2MM qualifying offers to their top two impending free agents, Edwin Encarnacion and Jose Bautista, by Monday’s deadline, according to FanRag’s Jon Heyman. Conversely, Toronto will not submit a QO to Michael Saunders, meaning he’ll hit free agency without draft pick compensation weighing down his value (Twitter links).

Of the three, Encarnacion is the one the Blue Jays want to retain the most, per Heyman. The soon-to-be 34-year-old first baseman/designated hitter is coming off his fifth straight season with at least 34 home runs, having swatted a career-high-tying 42 in 2016. Overall, Encarnacion slashed .263/.357/.529 in 709 plate appearances. Since 2012, his breakout season, the former Red has batted .272/.367/.544 with 193 homers and a .273 ISO in 3,133 PAs. Only the Orioles’ Chris Davis (197) has hit more long balls in that span than Encarnacion, whose ISO over the past half-decade ranks behind only Giancarlo Stanton and David Ortiz. Now, the power-hitting Encarnacion should encounter a robust market for his services in free agency as one of the two best position players available (Yoenis Cespedes is the other).

While Bautista won’t fare as well as Encarnacion on his next contract, the right fielder will still garner plenty of interest and rake in a sizable payday. Going back to his out-of-nowhere breakout in 2010, Bautista has recorded a phenomenal .264/.387/.542 line with 249 HRs to go with nearly identical strikeout and walk rates – 16.0 and 16.5 percent – and a .278 ISO. The 36-year-old is fresh off a less-than-ideal platform season, however, as he endured two stints on the disabled list and experienced a decline in his normally superb production. Bautista still hit an easily above-average .234/.366/.452 with 22 homers in 517 PAs and continued exhibiting mastery over the strike zone (87 unintentional walks, 103 strikeouts). But a dip in offense combined with Bautista’s age, not to mention a lack of defensive value, are among the factors that will keep him from netting a contract anywhere close to as rich as he reportedly wanted before the season.

At the midway point of the campaign, Saunders looked as though he was playing his way to a qualifying offer and a lucrative multiyear pact. In 344 PAs before the All-Star break, the outfielder batted a stellar .298/.372/.551 with 16 HRs and a .252 ISO. Saunders’ production cratered in the second half – .178/.282/.357 with eight HRs and a .178 ISO in 214 PAs – thereby putting a damper on his seemingly skyrocketing value. He also graded poorly as a left fielder, ranking toward the bottom of the majors in Defensive Runs Saved and Ultimate Zone Rating, and comes with an injury-prone label. Saunders (30 later this month) did play a career-high 140 games in 2016, though, and both that and not having a QO attached should help the ex-Mariner’s cause as a free agent.

Blue Jays Exercise Jason Grilli’s Option

By charliewilmoth | November 5, 2016 at 8:48am CDT

The Blue Jays have announced that they’ve exercised righty Jason Grilli’s 2017 option. (SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo was first to tweet the news.) That means they’ll pay Grilli a $3MM salary for next season, rather than a $250K buyout.

Jays GM Ross Atkins recently described exercising Grilli’s option as “as near to a no-brainer” as there exists in baseball, so the team’s decision comes as no surprise. Grilli turns 40 this week, but he was very effective with Toronto in 2016, posting a 3.64 ERA with 4.1 BB/9 and an outstanding 12.4 K/9 over 42 innings following a trade from Atlanta. His option was part of a two-year, $7MM deal he signed with the Braves following the 2014 season.

Grilli, the fourth overall pick in the 1997 draft, struggled for his first several seasons in the big leagues, but he emerged as a quality late-inning reliever and then a closer with the Pirates several years ago. In addition to the Bucs, Braves, and Blue Jays, he’s played for the Marlins, White Sox, Tigers, Rockies, Rangers and Angels over the course of a 14-year career in the Majors.

Blue Jays Notes: Saunders, Encarnacion, Bautista, Free Agent Targets

By Jeff Todd | October 31, 2016 at 10:31pm CDT

The Blue Jays are about to embark upon an interesting offseason in which three key offensive producers — first baseman/DH Edwin Encarnacion, right fielder Jose Bautista, and left fielder Michael Saunders — will qualify for free agency. Their situations have been the subject of much analysis and debate, but we’ll soon begin to receive some clarity with qualifying offers due to be made (and either accepted or denied) shortly after the end of the World Series.

Here’s the latest on those positions out of Toronto:

Despite indications that the Jays are still weighing the issuance of a QO to Saunders, a rival executive tells Jon Heyman of Fan Rag that there’s “no chance” that happens. We’ll learn soon enough what direction that situation is headed in, but Saunders’s marginal second half makes the one-year, $17.2MM offer seem like a rather lofty outlay.
Toronto may now be more inclined to push to retain Encarnacion than Bautista, Heyman adds, noting that the preference for the younger slugger perhaps represents a change of position from the organization. Encarnacion certainly outproduced Bautista in 2016, though that also figures to elevate his market standing. Regardless, odds are that the Blue Jays will need to compete with the rest of the league to land either player, as both are expected to decline the QO.
Ultimately, the Jays have several bat-first roster spots in flux — both corner outfield positions, first base, and the DH slot. The overriding mandate, Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca writes, is “to get more athletic, flexible and balanced in the batting order.” There are certainly some pieces on hand to assist in that regard, including the left-handed-hitting Ezequiel Carrera and righty swingers Melvin Upton Jr. and Chris Colabello. Young switch-hitter Dalton Pompey could also factor in, though he has yet to put it all together in the upper minors. Clearly, though, there’s room for additions (or, perhaps, re-acquisitions).
Toronto will be able to look to a reasonably robust market in filling these voids. According to Davidi, the club has interest in the switch-hitting Dexter Fowler, who could add a significant on-base threat to the top of the order while playing left field (and, perhaps, also stepping in from time to time for light-hitting center fielder Kevin Pillar). There’s certainly reason to believe the Jays would be well-served to add an everyday player to their lineup given the number of areas that will need to be addressed. Ian Desmond is another, quite different player who the team is expected to contact, per Davidi. Though he’s a greater home run threat than is Fowler, he’s also inconsistent in the on-base department. As Davidi notes, though, the converted shortstop could also provide some insurance against an injury to infielder Troy Tulowitzki.
Alternatively, or perhaps additionally, the Jays could look at some players who are somewhat more limited and may require platoon partners. The club is said to have some interest in Josh Reddick, who hits from the left side and could be paired with Upton — though he figures to be fairly expensive for a player who ought to be limited mostly to facing right-handed pitching. Brandon Moss and even former Blue Jay Colby Rasmus could represent more budget-friendly, southpaw-swinging options, Davidi suggests. And there are a variety of other, presumably reasonably-priced players with solid offensive chops (but also plenty of limitations) who’ll be available.
That’s all before getting to the trade market, of course, which could offer some interesting possibilities. Davidi indicates that the Jays are likely to “work on parallel fronts” to open possibilities with a variety of combinations of players. GM Ross Atkins recently suggested that the club will remain flexible as the offseason progresses. “I think it’s a matter of being transparent as you are considering your alternatives,” he said. “So it would be something as simple as letting others know that you’re weighing alternatives as you make these certain offers.”
It’s worth bearing in mind the role that financial considerations will play in dictating the course for the Jays. The team has never reached the $140MM line in Opening Day salary, and is already approaching $120MM in 2017 commitments after accounting for a few arbitration cases and the option over reliever Jason Grilli. Those obligations fall off quite a bit in the years that follow, so backloading salary could be a possibility, but one truly significant expenditure (say, Encarnacion) or a few quality veteran additions would leave Toronto without much wiggle room to address other needs — barring, perhaps, a payroll increase.

Heyman On Potential QO For Michael Saunders

By Connor Byrne | October 30, 2016 at 8:45am CDT

Commissioner Rob Manfred expressed optimism about negotiations for a new collective bargaining agreement earlier this month, and players’ association executive director Tony Clark did the same Saturday, according to FanRag’s Jon Heyman. “I’ve always been a glass half-full guy. We continue to work. We continue to go through the issues,” said Clark, who didn’t reveal if the draft-pick compensation attached to the qualifying offer will remain the same in the next CBA. In the current agreement that’s set to expire in December, a team receives a first-round pick if it issues a QO to an impending free agent and he then signs elsewhere.

Pillar Undergoes Thumb Surgery

By Mark Polishuk | October 29, 2016 at 5:01pm CDT

Blue Jays center fielder Kevin Pillar underwent surgery this week to repair a torn thumb ligament, Sportsnet’s Shi Davidi reports. The defensive standout is expected to be fine by Spring Training. Pillar hurt his thumb while stealing a base on August 6 and spent some time on the DL before playing through the injury throughout the rest of the regular season and Toronto’s postseason run.

Bautista Unlikely To Accept Qualifying Offer

By Mark Polishuk | October 29, 2016 at 3:13pm CDT

Jose Bautista isn’t likely to accept a qualifying offer from the Blue Jays, a major league source tells Cafardo. Bautista had two DL stints, a rough postseason and (for him) a subpar regular season that saw him hit .234/.366/.452 with 22 homers over 517 PA. There was some thought that Bautista could accept the one-year, $17.2MM QO in order to try for a better free agent platform season in 2017, but Bautista feels he’ll be able to find solid multi-year offers this winter.

[SOURCE LINK]

Jose Bautista isn’t likely to accept a qualifying offer from the Blue Jays, a major league source tells Cafardo. Bautista had two DL stints, a rough postseason and (for him) a subpar regular season that saw him hit .234/.366/.452 with 22 homers over 517 PA. There was some thought that Bautista could accept the one-year, $17.2MM QO in order to try for a better free agent platform season in 2017, but Bautista feels he’ll be able to find solid multi-year offers this winter.

Blue Jays Part Ways With Scout Ed Lynch

By Mark Polishuk | October 29, 2016 at 9:29am CDT

The Blue Jays have parted ways with scout Ed Lynch. Best known as the Cubs’ GM from 1994 to 2000, Lynch had been working as a scout for the Jays since 2010.

[SOURCE LINK]

The Blue Jays have parted ways with scout Ed Lynch. Best known as the Cubs’ GM from 1994 to 2000, Lynch had been working as a scout for the Jays since 2010.

Blue Jays GM Ross Atkins Discusses Offseason

By Steve Adams | October 24, 2016 at 3:20pm CDT

Blue Jays general manager Ross Atkins met with the media today and addressed a number of topics, including qualifying offers for the team’s free agents, his club’s offseason needs, Jason Grilli’s club option and much, much more. Sportsnet’s Ben Nicholson-Smith was among the many on hand and relayed a number of highlights from Atkins’ media session (all links to Twitter)…

The Blue Jays, as has been widely expected, will issue qualifying offers to both Edwin Encarnacion and Jose Bautista barring some form of unforeseen injury popping up between now and the point at which that decision must formally be made. The Jays are “still working” on determining whether they’ll make a QO to Michael Saunders, who enjoyed a massively productive first half of the season before flaming out in the season’s final months. Toronto would, of course, receive a compensatory draft pick for any free agent that rejects the one-year, $17.2MM qualifying offer and signs with a new team. The Jays will “do everything” they can during contract talks with Encarnacion and Bautista in the exclusive five-day window they have with their own free agents following the completion of the World Series. Atkins added that he still feels Bautista can be an effective defensive outfielder.
Atkins described right-hander Jason Grilli’s affordable $3MM club option as “as near to a no-brainer” as you’ll find in baseball, per Nicholson-Smith. The soon-to-be-40-year-old Grilli came over to the Jays in a minor swap back on May 31 after struggling with the Braves through the first two months of the season and rebounded tremendously with Toronto. In 42 innings with the Blue Jays, Grilli posted a 3.64 ERA with 12.4 K/9 against 4.9 BB/9. Those numbers would’ve been better had Grilli not served up six runs in his final 1 2/3 innings of the regular season (he had a 2.45 ERA in Toronto prior to that stretch), but he was terrific in the postseason, tossing 3 2/3 scoreless innings with three punchouts, one hit and no walks.
Kevin Pillar had a thumb injury this season but played through the pain, the GM revealed. Surgery is being considered to remedy Pillar’s hand, but even if he goes under the knife he’s expected to be ready for Spring Training. A thumb injury could help to explain Pillar’s power outage over the season’s final couple of months. While he’s never exactly been a slugger, Pillar went homerless over his final 78 games of the season, hitting .270/.311/.333 in that time. Even with the thumb injury, Pillar was very arguably the best defensive player in Major League Baseball this season. His +21 marks in both Defensive Runs Saved and Ultimate Zone Rating ranked third and second among all players at all positions, with only Adam Eaton of the White Sox topping him in both categories. But, much of Eaton’s defensive work came in right field after being moved out of center partly due to poor defensive ratings there last season.
There are no plans to stretch closer Roberto Osuna out to try him as a starter again, so it would seem that the 22-year-old phenom has laid claim to the Toronto closer’s gig for good. Osuna came up as a starter through the minors, of course, but he wound up closing games in 2015 out of necessity and has been one of baseball’s best stoppers since assuming that role. Over the past two years, he has a 2.63 ERA with 9.8 K/9 against 1.9 BB/9 in 143 2/3 innings.
Rule 5 pick Joe Biagini, on the other hand, could be stretched back out and given a look in the rotation, Atkins said (via Brendan Kennedy of the Toronto Star). Selected out of the Giants organization, the 26-year-old Biagini was perhaps the best pick of this year’s Rule 5 class, totaling 67 2/3 innings with a 3.06 ERA to go along with 8.2 K/9, 2.5 BB/9 and a 52.2 percent ground-ball rate. Biagini was a starter with in the Giants’ minor league system and could give the Jays some valuable rotation depth if the team elects to go that route.
Of course, if Toronto does move Biagini to a starting role, it’ll only further the need for bullpen help. Atkins said the team expects to address that need this winter and is willing to go to three or more years for the “right” free agent reliever, per Nicholson-Smith. The Jays are set to lose Brett Cecil and Joaquin Benoit to free agency this winter.
Generally speaking, Atkins said the Jays will look to potentially add “more balance, more platoon advantage and potentially more speed,” via Nicholson-Smith. The Jays feel that the free-agent market suits their needs well (Twitter link), as the team has a good amount of starting depth but needs to add some corner outfield/first base/DH types, which are indeed fairly plentiful this winter.

Blue Jays Had Pre-Deadline Interest In Carlos Beltran

By Connor Byrne | October 23, 2016 at 12:26pm CDT

The Blue Jays were among the teams that chased then-Yankees designated hitter/right fielder Carlos Beltran prior to the Aug. 1 non-waiver trade deadline, Gerry Fraley of the Dallas Morning News reported earlier this month.

“We saw Beltran over the years with the Yankees, and what a great hitter he was,” said Blue Jays manager John Gibbons. “A clutch-type perfomer.”

Deals between the AL East rival Yankees and Blue Jays have been rare, with Brendan Kuty of NJ.com noting that the teams’ most recent trade came when New York acquired Raul Mondesi in 2002. Beltran ended up going to the Rangers, who sent three right-handed pitching prospects (including 2015 fourth overall pick Dillon Tate) to the Yankees for the 39-year-old. Along with the Rangers and Blue Jays, at least three other AL playoff contenders – the Astros, Indians and Red Sox – pursued Beltran in advance of the deadline.

Even though their summer interest in Beltran didn’t lead to a deal, the Blue Jays still went on to vanquish him and the Rangers in a three-game ALDS sweep. Toronto, which then fell to Cleveland in the ALCS, is now facing an offseason in which three of its most important offensive cogs could depart as free agents. With Edwin Encarnacion, Jose Bautista and Michael Saunders all potentially on the way out, the Jays circling back to Beltran as an affordable stopgap in free agency seems possible.

Considering his age and declining defense, Beltran’s a strong bet to remain in the AL as primarily a DH, where Encarnacion, Bautista and Saunders saw action in a combined 121 games this year. Beltran won’t come cheap after slashing .295/.337/.513 with 29 home runs in 593 plate appearances in 2016, but he should appeal to offense-needy teams on a short-term contract.

Should Blue Jays Rebuild?

By Connor Byrne | October 22, 2016 at 9:57pm CDT

Behind 7 1/3 innings of two-hit, shutout ball from right-hander Kyle Hendricks, the Cubs defeated the Dodgers, 5-0, on Saturday to take the NLCS in six games and advance to the World Series. To knock out the Dodgers and win their first pennant since 1945, the Cubs had to overcome baseball’s best pitcher, left-hander Clayton Kershaw, who yielded five runs (four earned) on seven hits in five frames. Among those hits were solo home runs from catcher Willson Contreras and first baseman Anthony Rizzo. Chicago will now take on Cleveland in a battle of the majors’ longest championship droughts. The Cubs haven’t won a World Series since 1908, while the Indians’ latest title came 40 years later in 1948. The long-suffering franchises will meet Tuesday in Cleveland for Game 1.

More on the NL champs and the rest of the majors:

Brilliant trades by the Cubs’ Theo Epstein-led front office have been integral to the team’s success, as Tyler Kepner of the New York Times details. Since Epstein took the reins in 2011, the Cubs have swung deals to land the likes of Hendricks, Rizzo, Jake Arrieta, Addison Russell and Dexter Fowler without surrendering any crucial pieces. The Cubs picked up Rizzo from San Diego, where two Chicago executives – general manager Jed Hoyer and senior vice president of scouting and player development Jason McLeod – were before Epstein hired them. Their familiarity with Rizzo helped spur the 2012 trade that sent him to the Cubs for righty Andrew Cashner. “Having intimate knowledge of who he is as a person, on top of what we felt he was going to be as a player, played a huge role,” McLeod told Kepner. Epstein offered some insight to Kepner on the trade process, saying, “It’s best not to think about winning or losing trades anyway, because the best ones work out for both teams. But, as a rule, if you’re the team that’s selling — if you’re out of it and you’re trading with a team that’s in it — you usually have the pick of just about their whole farm system, with a few exclusions. You should hit on the guys that you get back.”
In his latest column, Joel Sherman of the New York Post outlines why league executives expect an active trade market during the offseason. One reason is a lack of quality free agent starting pitchers, leading Sherman to wonder if any of Chris Sale, Jose Quintana, Justin Verlander, Zack Greinke, Jeff Samardzija or Ian Kennedy could end up on the block. Sherman opines that the Astros are in dire need of an ace and have a big-time trade chip in young infielder Alex Bregman, who would perhaps be able to land a front-end starter in return. On the position player front, Sherman observes that new Diamondbacks GM Mike Hazen might consider trading first baseman Paul Goldschmidt. Meanwhile, recently minted Twins executive vice president and chief baseball officer Derek Falvey has a potentially interesting trade candidate on his hands in slugging second baseman Brian Dozier.
If Orioles GM Dan Duquette decides to shop any veterans, right-handed reliever Brad Brach might carry the most appeal, writes Rich Dubroff of CSNMidAtlantic. Dubroff contends that the Orioles should deal Brach if they’re able to acquire help in the leadoff spot or behind the plate. That could be a tall ask in either case, though the soon-to-be 31-year-old Brach is under team control at affordable rates over the next two seasons and has been particularly effective since 2015. Over the past two seasons, Brach has combined for a 2.58 ERA, 10.29 K/9 and 3.58 BB/9 in 158 1/3 innings. Brach underwent knee surgery earlier this month, but it was a minor procedure that shouldn’t affect his 2017 availability.
In separate pieces for FanGraphs, Dave Cameron and Jeff Sullivan argue for and against a rebuild for the Blue Jays. Re-signing just one of Edwin Encarnacion or Jose Bautista – both of whom are set for free agency – would push the Jays up against their budget, limit their ability to address other needs, and further age a roster that already includes several 30-somethings, writes Cameron, who suggests shopping shortstop Troy Tulowitzki, catcher Russell Martin and right-hander Marco Estrada. Moreover, in Cameron’s view, not committing to a short-term rebuild could hinder the team’s ability to keep third baseman Josh Donaldson for the long haul (the reigning AL MVP is under club control for two more seasons). Conversely, Sullivan still expects Toronto to contend even if Encarnacion, Bautista, Michael Saunders and Brett Cecil leave as free agents, citing the rest of the club’s talent.

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