Archive for the ‘MLBTR’ Category

I still can’t say for certain that this will become a regular feature around here for the early winter (looking like it, though, huh?), but again today, with all kinds of movement happening on the trade and free agent markets, and all kinds of decisions being made on players throughout the league who may wind up having some bearing on the Jays’ plans for the off-season, I think it will be a valuable exercise to comb through the latest from the astonishingly fantastic and comprehensive MLB Trade Rumors and add some Jays-related context to whatever is going on out there…

Dr. Kenny Ken Ken Rosen Rosen is reporting, as the GM meetings begin in Indian Wells, that the Diamondbacks are actively looking to move Justin Upton. He’s a hell of a player, but the Jays don’t likely have the talent to make it happen– Arizona isn’t rebuilding, so they need MLB-ready pieces back, and they don’t need a catcher, so that rules out JP Arencibia. The D’Backs just picked up Cliff Pennington in the Chris Young deal, but Rosenthal notes that they do still need a shortstop. Escobar or Hechavarria alone won’d get it done, though, and what other big league pieces would actually intrigue anyone looking to move this calibre of player, honestly? Using one of those guys to get a pitcher out of the desert as a third party in a deal? That I’d buy. But Upton’s a pipe dream.

Meanwhile, and speaking of one of their pitchers, Jerry Crasnick is tweeting that some in the Arizona organization aren’t so high on Trevor Bauer anymore, so the club is actively engaged in trying to move him. There were definitely issues there, especially when he reached the Majors, and they’d be magnified if he actually somehow wound up here in the AL East, but that’s a guy I’d move one of the Lansing Three for real quick– not that I think Arizona would be interested. Add a shortstop though…? I mean, it’s taking away from a future rotation to add to the present, and really, is it any more likely that Bauer flames out than Syndergaard or Nicolino? Is it maybe the same faction in Arizona souring on him who thought it was a good idea to move Jarrod Parker for Trevor Cahill? Fuck, do it, roll the dice.

Not at MLBTR just yet, but speaking of Rosenthal, and worth noting, is a tweet that went like this: “#BlueJays, in their search for a manager with experience, made contact with Mike Hargrove. Does not appear to have progressed.” Um… thankfully. I think. I mean, the Human Rain Delay? Pffft.

Holy fucking fuck right off, Jeremy Guthrie. The free agent, and former Orioles and Rockies pitcher, who had some nice success in Kansas City at the end of the season after spending most of it pitching like everybody else does in Colorado, is reportedly looking for a three-year deal worth $34-million. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, ten million really is the new five million. And it’s going to be a long couple of years if Rogers continues to force the Jays to play by the old financial rules. Then again, most teams will probably laugh in Guthrie’s agent’s face on this one.

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I still can’t say for certain that this will become a regular feature around here for the early winter (looking like it, though, huh?), but again today, with all kinds of movement happening on the trade and free agent markets, and all kinds of decisions being made on players throughout the league who may wind up having some bearing on the Jays’ plans for the off-season, I think it will be a valuable exercise to comb through the latest from the astonishingly fantastic and comprehensive MLB Trade Rumors and add some Jays-related context to whatever is going on out there…

Cody Ross is looking for a three-year, $25-million deal– which is actually even less than what the contract crowdsourcing project at FanGraphs had, though considerably more than the $14-million over two years predicted by Jim Bowden at ESPN.com (Insider only).

Speaking of money, though it’s not on MLBTR, yet, Shi Davidi has a new one up at Sportsnet, where he perhaps tries to allay some of the fears stoked by his piece of last week, in which he spitballed around a projected payroll of $90-$95-million. This time around he makes a similar calculation, but leaves more possibilities open, wondering if the ceiling will be at $90-, $95-, or even $100-million– which would leave Alex Anthopoulos over $20-million with which to add talent, he figures. “Understandably,” he adds, seeming to make clear that the too-rampant speculation from last week that he must know given his position at Rogers’ own network, “the Blue Jays are keeping their payroll and how much they have to spend quiet.”

By way of Davidi we also learn that the Mariners have claimed Scott Cousins and his amazing ability to quote movies on waivers from the Jays. The Jays seem to be trying to stuff Buffalo with as much depth as possible by claiming everyone and then trying to sneak them through waivers to Triple-A. Can’t say it’s the worst idea, even if it’s… y’know… whatever.

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I still can’t say for certain that this will become a regular feature around here for the early winter (looking like it, though, huh?), but again today, with all kinds of movement happening on the trade and free agent markets, and all kinds of decisions being made on players throughout the league who may wind up having some bearing on the Jays’ plans for the off-season, I think it will be a valuable exercise to comb through the latest from the astonishingly fantastic and comprehensive MLB Trade Rumors and add some Jays-related context to whatever is going on out there…

Not sure what the fuck is taking so long– well, OK, the fact that he’s managing in the AFL might make the logistics difficult– but apparently the Jays have yet to even schedule an interview with Matt Williams. In fact, they haven’t even formally asked for permission, they’ve just “kicked the tires.” Um… figure it the fuck out, Alex.

Oakland has re-signed suspended starter Bartolo Colon, in a somewhat surprising move. This immediately adds to the A’s rotation depth, making it all the more possible that they’ll deal from it at some point this winter– perhaps to address their hole at short and to add a live-armed prospect. Hmmm…

Colon’s deal, reportedly, won’t stop the A’s from trying to re-sign Brandon McCarthy, who the Jays are reportedly interested in. There are injury red flags, sure, but there are damn red flags on just about every free agent out there this year, and I’d be all for McCarthy bringing his Twitter wit to Toronto, and maybe getting some of his teammates to step up their (Twitter) game.

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I still can’t say for certain that this will become a regular feature around here this winter, but again today, with all kinds of movement starting to happen on the trade and free agent markets, and all kinds of decisions being made on players throughout the league who may wind up having some bearing on the Jays’ plans for the off-season, I think it will be a valuable exercise to comb through the latest from the astonishingly fantastic and comprehensive MLB Trade Rumors and add some Jays-related context to whatever is going on out there…

OK, so as I begin writing this post this one’s not on MLBTR just yet (it is now), but it deserves our attention, as Jon Morosi of Fox Sports, despite knowing damn well that the Jays are going to contact everyone– despite Alex Anthopoulos having said on the radio that he’d already been touching base with free agents– notes that the Jays have been in contact with pretty much everyone. Or, as he puts it, the Jays “already showing interest in free agents Zack Greinke, Anibal Sanchez, Kyle Lohse and Ryan Dempster, among others, according to major-league sources.” Well, yeah.

Morosi’s piece also suggests that the Jays have interest in Scott Baker, formerly of the Twins. I think he’d be a nifty, cheap-ish option for them to go for, and quite possibly the kind of free agent pitcher who will have an interest in coming here, because the opportunity to land an actual rotation spot is certainly here.

Turning to MLBTR, today is supposedly the day that the Angels will trade Dan Haren, and the latest updates suggest that the Cubs and Red Sox are interested– as well as “others,” according to a tweet from Jon Heyman– but not the Yankees. Yes, I’m still hopeful that the Jays will wind up landing him– the short commitment makes a whole lot of sense– but we’ll soon see what the price of doing business is, which might mitigate my inevitable disappointment.

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I still can’t say for certain that this will become a regular feature around here this winter, but again today, with all kinds of movement starting to happen on the trade and free agent markets, and all kinds of decisions being made on players throughout the league who may wind up having some bearing on the Jays’ plans for the off-season, I think it will be a valuable exercise to comb through the latest from the astonishingly fantastic and comprehensive MLB Trade Rumors and add some Jays-related context to whatever is going on out there…

The Boston Red Sox are one of many teams interested in Dan Haren, who the Angels intend to deal in order to save cash to try and keep Zack Greinke, and I think a lot of people would be very upset if the Jays weren’t, as well– especially with Rogers and their abject failure when it comes to keeping payroll in line with salary inflation, which appears to be ready to take a huge leap forward league-wide, just as the Jays are scraping up to an almost respectable level for the fiscal environment in the rear-view mirror. Ugh. But on the bright side, there was talk of the Red Sox hilariously looking at taking Vernon Wells to make the deal happen– though it’s since been shot down, unfortunately.

Sticking with the Red Sox, it sounds as though the club and David Ortiz aren’t as close to a deal as was believed as recently as this morning, and the DH may end up being unsigned through Friday night, which would allow other clubs to come a-calling. The Jays absolutely have to get in on that, even if it’s just to drive up the price and stick it to those Masshole shits. If I’m Ortiz, even if I have no intention of leaving, I totally hit the market, feeling confident there will be offers out there to trump whatever the Red Fux are offering.

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I can’t say for certain that this will become a regular feature around here this winter, but today, with all kinds of movement starting to happen on the trade and free agent markets, and all kinds of decisions being made on players throughout the league who may wind up having some bearing on the Jays’ plans for the off-season, I think it will be a valuable exercise to comb through the latest from the astonishingly fantastic and comprehensive MLB Trade Rumors and add some Jays-related context to whatever is going on out there…

Cleveland has declined their option on Travis Hafner, among other players, making him a free agent. Hafner would be an excellent left-handed power to slot in at DH against right-handers if he weren’t to failing health what Adam Lind is to infuriating inconsistency. Since 2008 Hafner’s high water mark for games played is 118, and in 2012 he was sidelined by knee troubles a bulging disc in his lower back. Still, his lowest wOBA was .342, and that’s a whole lot better than what Lind can say. And he shouldn’t be terribly expensive. Then again…

It sure looks like $10-million really is the new $5-million, as last night the Dodgers re-signed reliever Brandon League for three years and $22.5-million. As Parkes points out at Getting Blanked, the ex-Jay becomes the 16th highest paid reliever in history, despite having a declining strikeout rate (his strikeout rate of 18% ranked 98th among 121 qualified relievers last year) which doesn’t exactly bode well for future performance, but hey… TV money!

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