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MLB’s offseason is, for obvious reasons, going awfully slowly right now — emphasis on either word. But I think it’s been long enough since we did a mail bag around here, and there is maybe just enough new to talk about, that another is worth doing for the sake of at least doing something. So let’s!

Possible topics for you to consider:

• The 2022 ZiPS projections for the Blue Jays, which were released here on Thursday, and were noticeably low on Teoscar Hernández, high on Hyun Jin Ryu, and had showed us that there’s still clearly a Marcus Semien sized hole in the Jays’ infield.

• Or, put another way:

Drew @DrewGROF

The captain has turned on the “upgrade third base” sign. Please stow your prospect hugging baggage underneath the seat or in an overhead bin.

blogs.fangraphs.com2022 ZiPS Projections: Toronto Blue JaysThe Jays may be the most solidly built of the AL East’s four contenders.

• Elsewhere at FanGraphs, earlier in the week their top Jays prospects list was published, featuring two clear guys at the front of the list, and then an interesting mishmash of potential breakout candidates and guys who have taken steps backwards over the last calendar year.

• One more from FanGraphs, as David Laurila has an interesting, extensive chat with Jays prospect Josh Palacios.

• Future Blue Jays continues to do great work on the prospect front, and they are very near to revealing their number on prospect in the organization for 2022 (the name of which I don’t think will be a surprise to anyone). They provide some great stuff on their number three prospect, Nate Pearson (stay patient, folks!), and number two, Orelvis Martinez.

• You’ll find all kinds of food for thought in the latest edition of Mike Wilner’s Deep Left Field podcast for the the Toronto Star, which was a podcaster roundtable that included Arden Zwelling, Ben Nicholson-Smith, Drew Fairservice, and yours truly. Have a listen!

• Elsewhere in Jays land, new minor league signing Gosuke Katoh found a way to instantly endear himself to fans.

Gosuke Katoh (加藤豪将) @GosukeKatoh

Quick clip from my press conference this morning at the Rogers Centre. (Haters will say it’s photoshopped)

Toronto Blue Jays @BlueJays

OFFICIAL: We’ve signed UTIL Gosuke Katoh to a Minor League deal with an invite to #SpringTraining. https://t.co/8DnNYPo3Zp

• Also awesome of Katoh: his 2019 piece for the Players’ Tribune about Ichiro and what his legendary career had meant to him.

• My Blue Jays Happy Hour cohost Nick makes an excellent point in his latest for Sportsnet.

Nick Ashbourne @NickAshbourne

If you think Ross Stripling isn't a suitable 5th starter for the Blue Jays you might be overrating 5th starters or underrating Stripling.

sportsnet.caWhy overlooked Stripling raises floor for Blue Jays’ 2022 rotationFollowing the departures of Robbie Ray and Steven Matz, should the Blue Jays look to add depth to their starting rotation? Nick Ashbourne examines Ross Stripling and how he can raise the rotation’s floor as the team’s fifth starter.

• Of course, there continued to be some news this week on the lockout front, as MLB Network dropped reporter Ken Rosenthal, reportedly (according to Andrew Marchand of the New York Post) because commissioner Rob Manfred was not happy with some of the negative coverage he’d received in Rosenthal’s work at the Athletic. Doesn’t exactly make Manfred seem like a guy who is ready for some good faith negotiations, does it?

• In a related piece at his Substack, Craig Calcaterra took a look at what Rosenthal’s departure means not just for Manfred and the game, but everyone else at MLB Network and MLB.com as well.

• Jeff Passan of ESPN had a good piece this week about the state of the lockout — a thing that is too often (though not by Passan here) referred to as an impasse between two sides, even though it’s very clear that the real issue is about the owners wanting to continue to keep wages stagnant and pocket all of the league’s ever-growing revenue. Of the competitive balance tax, which has acted like a de facto salary cap for all but a couple of teams in recent years, Passan writes: “according to sources, the threshold is emerging as a potential focal point in any deal. From 2011 to the last full-revenue season, 2019, the threshold rose from $178 million to $206 million. Industry revenues in that time jumped from an estimated $6.3 billion to $10.7 billion, according to Forbes. That's a nearly 70% bump in revenue, compared to a CBT threshold that went up 15.7%.” (It’s also noted in the piece that, as I’ve written about before, total player salary in 2021 was $4.05 billion, which is down $200 million since the record high of 2017, and the lowest it’s been since 2015. Clearly only one side in this is being unreasonable — an important fact to keep in mind while brewing your hot takes.)

• An unfortunate Jays-related note in all this came from the Sun’s Rob Longley on Wednesday.

Rob Longley @longleysunsport

40 days until pitchers and catchers are due to report and all seems quiet on the MLB lockout front. Am hearing #Bluejays players are being told not to rush to arrange Florida accommodations for February.

• You’ll be hard pressed to get me to say much about this one in the mail bag, but also worth noting that apparently my former employers have sold their company to the New York Times for $550 million. Hoping this means good things for all my friends and former colleagues there. (No, really!)

Jessica Toonkel @jtoonkel

Scoop: NYT To Buy The Athletic for $550 Million theinformation.com/articles/nyt-t… via @theinformation

theinformation.comNYT To Buy The Athletic for $550 MillionThe New York Times Co has agreed to acquire subscription sports site The Athletic in a deal valued at around $550 million, according to a person familiar with the situation. The deal is a major acquisition for the Times, giving it a new pocket of subscription customers to the New York Times, ...

Anywho! In the coming days I’ll be posting a fresh mail bag, and will need questions for that. So leave me your best Q’s in the comments below and provide a bunch of A’s sometime in the near future.

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