Blue Jays Off-Season Moves

[Toronto Passions]

Teo is a big swing & miss guy. Lackadaisical D. Not ideal for this team.

I think Hernandez would be very good for this team. Not for nothing but it wakes up Vladimir in my opinion. Unfortunately Guerrero needs to be sandwiched with protection and he needs a fellow countrymen older brother for psychological support.

This is a matter of opinion. He may strike out but he makes a lineup better I don’t know what happened with my first reply but it got all mangled with quoting lol.

if they don’t get Bellinger I think that would be a major disappointment. They need an offensive outfielder

Philip

 

[K Douglas]

I don’t know Cody Bellinger might happen. What’s that thing yesterday about his fiancé posting on her Instagram a photo of the CN Tower or something? I personally feel like if they obtain Cody Bellinger and Teoscar Hernandez, problem solved.

I ama a huge advocate for Teoscar Hernandez and i still am. I was telling Shack yesterday, there’s a number of reasons why I liked him so much. His presence is dangerous in a lineup and he kills mistakes. But he’s affordable for the Blue Jays, he likes Toronto, he looks good in a jays uniform, and the fans like him.

I think Teoscar and Cody Bellinger are the way to go.

Philip

I like Bellinger and I think we should pursue him. He went in a funk during the covid years but completely resurrected himself last season, cutting his K rate massively and upping his average by almost 100 points. Shades of the 2019 version that was NL MVP.
I don't like Teoscar because I think his stats of the past two seasons are more indicative of him as opposed to what he did for us in 2021. Plus he's a defensive liability.

 

[Toronto Passions]

I don't like Teoscar because I think his stats of the past two seasons are more indicative of him as opposed to what he did for us in 2021. Plus he's a defensive liability.

I’m not speaking for him being an everyday Right Fielder by any stretch. But he can give and always grimacing faced Springer a few days off here and there. Plus he’s a homer threat and he makes the lineup better in my opinion. Plus he provides much needed support for Vladimir Guerrero and that’s probably his biggest value. And the Blue Jays can get him for cheap I would imagine… don’t get me wrong I’m also saying go out and get Ballinger but do not sleep on Hernandez.

….I’m not going to keep defending Hernandez lol I feel like that’s all I ever do. Unfortunately Vladimir is too immature to be a leader or to be a stand out talent, and he needs his big brother back. It’s not all about stats, sometimes momentum and chemistry play a humungous factor.

Philip

 

[The Oracle]

Lourdes Gurriel Jr. agrees on return to Diamondbacks | TSN

Lourdes Gurriel Jr. is returning to the Arizona Diamondbacks after agreeing on a new contract, according to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. Mark Feinsand of MLB.com reports the deal is for three years and a total of $42 million.

www.tsn.ca

 

[shack]

Lourdes Gurriel Jr. agrees on return to Diamondbacks | TSN

Lourdes Gurriel Jr. is returning to the Arizona Diamondbacks after agreeing on a new contract, according to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. Mark Feinsand of MLB.com reports the deal is for three years and a total of $42 million.

www.tsn.ca

I predict that he'll regress. I don't think that he'll improve on the 0 errors he had this past year.

 

[K Douglas]

I’m not speaking for him being an everyday Right Fielder by any stretch. But he can give and always grimacing faced Springer a few days off here and there. Plus he’s a homer threat and he makes the lineup better in my opinion. Plus he provides much needed support for Vladimir Guerrero and that’s probably his biggest value. And the Blue Jays can get him for cheap I would imagine… don’t get me wrong I’m also saying go out and get Ballinger but do not sleep on Hernandez.

….I’m not going to keep defending Hernandez lol I feel like that’s all I ever do. Unfortunately Vladimir is too immature to be a leader or to be a stand out talent, and he needs his big brother back. It’s not all about stats, sometimes momentum and chemistry play a humungous factor.

Philip

Fair point about the chemistry. And if there were a chance to get him back close to the 2021 numbers I would welcome him back in a mostly DH role. But man he's got to do something to reduce the K rate that was ridiculous last season. Also looking at the FA tracker there aren't really that many quality bats available to be had so Hernandez could make sense.

 

[K Douglas]

I predict that he'll regress. I don't think that he'll improve on the 0 errors he had this past year.

Last year Gurriel Jr. had career lows in BA and OBP and he hit into 20 double plays. I don't see him regressing from that. He did have a career high 24 home runs and 35 doubles, perhaps those numbers drop slightly. 3 years and $42 million is reasonable in this market.

 

[Toronto Passions]

Fair point about the chemistry. And if there were a chance to get him back close to the 2021 numbers I would welcome him back in a mostly DH role. But man he's got to do something to reduce the K rate that was ridiculous last season. Also looking at the FA tracker there aren't really that many quality bats available to be had so Hernandez could make sense.

it’s starting to feel like the Blue Jays are going to do a whole lot of nothing. If they don’t sign Bellinger I will be very disappointed.

Philip

 

[shack]

it’s starting to feel like the Blue Jays are going to do a whole lot of nothing. If they don’t sign Bellinger I will be very disappointed.

Philip

Rumor has it that Toronto is in the lead to land Bellinger.

Hmmm. Have we ever had that before?

 

[shack]

More rumors:

Blue Jays interested in this second baseman (msn.com)
Milwaukee Brewers: Christian Yelich Linked In Toronto Blue Jays Trade Rumors By 1 MLB Insider (wisportsheroics.com)

 

[maurice93]

If all the remaining Jays players in 2024, simply did the average of what they did in 2022 and 2023, it would more than likely elevate the team more than any free agent remaining in the market.

Not even asking them to reach 2022 levels .. just the average. That is how far they regressed last year. Whether it was luck, chemistry, the hitting coach (and his associates), there is room for internal improvement here that isn’t even based on reaching new levels of performance.

But we do have the money to bring in 2 or 3 players in the 10m+ range and it is quite important that we hit on a few of thrm.

The thing is the performance issues last year were not even due to losing Teoscar and LG. Their replacements KK and Belt were fine.

It was the holdovers from 2022 regressing and Varsho regressing.

 

[maurice93]

More rumors:

Blue Jays interested in this second baseman (msn.com)
Milwaukee Brewers: Christian Yelich Linked In Toronto Blue Jays Trade Rumors By 1 MLB Insider (wisportsheroics.com)

Yelich has been a slightly above average outfielder the last 4 years. Unless Milwaukee is picking up over two thirds of that awful contract he is not even worth discussing.

 

[maurice93]

Rumor has it that Toronto is in the lead to land Bellinger.

Hmmm. Have we ever had that before?

The difference is that we can overpay/outbid if we choose for Bellinger and that can get him here as others will not match if we get high enough.

That wasn’t really an option with Ohtani. We were just purely leverage for him in my view.

The question is do you want to overbid on Bellinger? Ultimately do you want to offer 250 million to Bellinger? Even if you ignore his Alfredo Griffinesque hitting performance in 2021, and his Poor man Daulton Varsho season in 2022, his predictive analytics from how he hit the ball in 2023 aren’t as good as his actual stat line. Don’t get me wrong though he was still very good in 2023.

But apparently his numbers were a bit greater than expected based on how hard he hit the ball and where and how often he put the ball in play. Call them “luck” factors that dont tend to carryover annually. Given that there was some “luck” in his 2023 numbers it makes even more risky when you consider 2021 and 2022.

I would still sign him. Our window is now, he is still only 29. But it’s really risky.

 

[The Oracle]

How is Bellinger going to fare on the turf versus grass where he's used to playing?

He has a history of knee and hamstring injuries.

 

[mitchell76]

 

[shack]

How is Bellinger going to fare on the turf versus grass where he's used to playing?

He has a history of knee and hamstring injuries.

They could give him his maintenance and DH days at home.

 

[shack]

What are these guys' qualifications as experts?

 

[mitchell76]

What are these guys' qualifications as experts?

Well, these guys couldn't be any worse then Atkins or Shapiro. IMHO, Atkins should have already been fired. The only reason to have Shapiro stick around, is for business purposes, like helping to renovate the Rogers center etc

 

[mitchell76]

They could give him his maintenance and DH days at home.

I personally don't think Bellinger is worth over $240 million on a multi year contract!! I think the Jays should look elsewhere!!

https://bleacherreport.com/articles/10101210-mlb-rumors-cody-bellinger-contract-eyed-by-blue-jays-cubs-remain-a-threat

 

[shack]

Well, these guys couldn't be any worse then Atkins or Shapiro. IMHO, Atkins should have already been fired. The only reason to have Shapiro stick around, is for business purposes, like helping to renovate the Rogers center etc

That doesn't answer my question. What are their qualifications to be experts? Why should we give a shit what they say?

They look like a couple of doofusses.