The lockout may already be a week old, but there’s still a surprising amount of Blue Jays news to talk about. The Jays reportedly made a huge push for Corey Seager, they’re reportedly aggressively in on Seiya Suzuki, they apparently very nearly signed Noah Syndergaard
How would Trevor Story look at 3rd? Could he pull a Semien? Nice to have a backup for Bo with pedigree. Not left-handed, but power and D. How about 1 yr 25M show me contract? Save the prospects!
What are your best 'out of left-field predictions'? I don't mean the position of course. Plenty of talk about the big FAs and the possible trades with Oakland, Cleveland, or even Miami.
Have you some sweet off-the-radar moves? Who might be a secret unlikely trade partner? Which FAs are people neglecting to talk about?
Do you think a healthy Cavan Biggio is a lock for the opening day roster this season? Or has he become a fringe player that may get pushed aside by someone like Otto Lopez?
Andrew, again, thanks for all your insights this past year. Hands down my favourite sports writer. I have a two part question about needs. Firstly, in your eyes, where do you think the Jays biggest need currently is? Secondly, I’m curious to know your thoughts on what it would take to acquire either Jose Ramirez or Ketel Marte? And is it worth it? Thanks again. I hope you had some restful downtime with your friends.
If the Jays don’t ultimately trade a catcher, how do you think they will allocate playing time among Jansen, Kirk, McGuire and Moreno (including at Buffalo)?
Andrew, let's forecast a bit on the lockout, potential outcomes and implications to the young Blue Jays core.
Free Agency is granted at six years playing time. The players are seeking a change to this, that could, result in a shorter window of player control. If shorter, this could be a hit for Jays contention window with Vlad, Bo, and others.
Not at all wanting to see an end to good times, but if this was potentially, to, shortened to four years of control, or five years, how does this play out for the Jays? Do they go in harder on opportunities now to open the window of contention? Do they simply accelerate and or pay more sign Vlad, Bo or Theo? And aside from strategy, how does this actually play out - would such a change have a graduated process, or would it be simply implemented, and applied to players in the middle of their service time/window?
Hi Andrew, what's the best Christmas present the Blue Jays could give you once free agency and trading starts up again? Also, treat yourself to 'The Wax Pack' by Brad Balukjian - one of the best baseball books I've read.
Will also jump on the trade for Ramirez/Chapman train. I really don't want to give up Gurriel but happy to give up Kirk and prospects. Starting with Kirk and Groshans, how many more top 10 prospects(no Moreno/Orelvis) do we need to throw in to make it happen.
Secondly, loving the Vladdy Jr sibling content I'm seeing. What does the International signing process look like and how quickly can Shapiro and Atkins get more large adult sons into the Blue Jays org?
Hi Stoeten, here’s a random one for you. It strikes me as a little odd that both of the Springer and Berrios signings were broken on Twitter by somewhat lesser known baseball writers (no disrespect to BKuh, who, since that signing is much less, uh, lesser known).
Do you think Shapiro/Atkins/someone else in the organization choose to intentionally leak big news to up and coming baseball writers for…some reason? Maybe to develop relationships with the next generation of baseball writers/reporters and hopefully curry favour from them and get more positive coverage? Am I going crazy thinking of things like this in the absence of actual baseball news? (Don’t answer that last one). Also, not a question but a sincere thank you from me for never letting people forget that as great as the Jays’ new Spring Training facility is, it was still largely paid for by taxpayers and not the multi-billion dollar corporation that owns them. I understand that’s how these things typically work, but it doesn’t mean it should be.
Hey Andrew. Really appreciate the work you and Nick have done over the last year. This might be a completely bird-brained idea, but I've been fixated on it all offseason. I want Robinson Cano to be a Blue Jay, so bad.
Sure his contract looks terrible, with 2 years/roughly $48 mil remaining. But getting rid of Grich somewhere could offset that. So what if Cano is a middle infielder pushing 40? And who cares if just a couple weeks ago he was pulled from a winter league game for back discomfort? Maybe that that just means the Mets will retain some salary, though for some reason I can't imagine Cohen operating like that. The Jays, for vibes alone, need an old man who can mash.
Of course this will never happen, but at least asking this question puts the idea out into the ether. Who knows what internal Blue Jays people are mining your substack for fresh ideas. Do you have any interest in pushing this idea along?
I would love if the Jays could score a trade for Jose Ramirez or Matt Chapman - but do you think a package w Kirk and Gurriel Jr as the headliners (that seems to be the package I hear the most talked about - along w picks and/or a lower prospect or two) would really be enough to get it done? Haha just saw @Joe N's question pop up... now THAT's optimism I'd buy for a dollar.
If you were GM, how important would you consider the need to get the lineup to be more left-handed ? And if you considered it a priority, how would you do it?
Hiya Andrew, what does the future hold for Espinal? Sounds like the jays may be trying to upgrade but he’s young, “controllable”, has decent numbers and a solid glove.
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How would Trevor Story look at 3rd? Could he pull a Semien? Nice to have a backup for Bo with pedigree. Not left-handed, but power and D. How about 1 yr 25M show me contract? Save the prospects!
What are your best 'out of left-field predictions'? I don't mean the position of course. Plenty of talk about the big FAs and the possible trades with Oakland, Cleveland, or even Miami.
Have you some sweet off-the-radar moves? Who might be a secret unlikely trade partner? Which FAs are people neglecting to talk about?
Do you think a healthy Cavan Biggio is a lock for the opening day roster this season? Or has he become a fringe player that may get pushed aside by someone like Otto Lopez?
Andrew, again, thanks for all your insights this past year. Hands down my favourite sports writer. I have a two part question about needs. Firstly, in your eyes, where do you think the Jays biggest need currently is? Secondly, I’m curious to know your thoughts on what it would take to acquire either Jose Ramirez or Ketel Marte? And is it worth it? Thanks again. I hope you had some restful downtime with your friends.
Hi Andrew,
If the Jays don’t ultimately trade a catcher, how do you think they will allocate playing time among Jansen, Kirk, McGuire and Moreno (including at Buffalo)?
Andrew, let's forecast a bit on the lockout, potential outcomes and implications to the young Blue Jays core.
Free Agency is granted at six years playing time. The players are seeking a change to this, that could, result in a shorter window of player control. If shorter, this could be a hit for Jays contention window with Vlad, Bo, and others.
Not at all wanting to see an end to good times, but if this was potentially, to, shortened to four years of control, or five years, how does this play out for the Jays? Do they go in harder on opportunities now to open the window of contention? Do they simply accelerate and or pay more sign Vlad, Bo or Theo? And aside from strategy, how does this actually play out - would such a change have a graduated process, or would it be simply implemented, and applied to players in the middle of their service time/window?
Thanks for all your great writing,
Jonathan
Hi Andrew, what's the best Christmas present the Blue Jays could give you once free agency and trading starts up again? Also, treat yourself to 'The Wax Pack' by Brad Balukjian - one of the best baseball books I've read.
What happened to your leg?
Will also jump on the trade for Ramirez/Chapman train. I really don't want to give up Gurriel but happy to give up Kirk and prospects. Starting with Kirk and Groshans, how many more top 10 prospects(no Moreno/Orelvis) do we need to throw in to make it happen.
Secondly, loving the Vladdy Jr sibling content I'm seeing. What does the International signing process look like and how quickly can Shapiro and Atkins get more large adult sons into the Blue Jays org?
Hi Stoeten, here’s a random one for you. It strikes me as a little odd that both of the Springer and Berrios signings were broken on Twitter by somewhat lesser known baseball writers (no disrespect to BKuh, who, since that signing is much less, uh, lesser known).
Do you think Shapiro/Atkins/someone else in the organization choose to intentionally leak big news to up and coming baseball writers for…some reason? Maybe to develop relationships with the next generation of baseball writers/reporters and hopefully curry favour from them and get more positive coverage? Am I going crazy thinking of things like this in the absence of actual baseball news? (Don’t answer that last one). Also, not a question but a sincere thank you from me for never letting people forget that as great as the Jays’ new Spring Training facility is, it was still largely paid for by taxpayers and not the multi-billion dollar corporation that owns them. I understand that’s how these things typically work, but it doesn’t mean it should be.
Cheers,
Josh
Hey Andrew. Really appreciate the work you and Nick have done over the last year. This might be a completely bird-brained idea, but I've been fixated on it all offseason. I want Robinson Cano to be a Blue Jay, so bad.
Sure his contract looks terrible, with 2 years/roughly $48 mil remaining. But getting rid of Grich somewhere could offset that. So what if Cano is a middle infielder pushing 40? And who cares if just a couple weeks ago he was pulled from a winter league game for back discomfort? Maybe that that just means the Mets will retain some salary, though for some reason I can't imagine Cohen operating like that. The Jays, for vibes alone, need an old man who can mash.
Of course this will never happen, but at least asking this question puts the idea out into the ether. Who knows what internal Blue Jays people are mining your substack for fresh ideas. Do you have any interest in pushing this idea along?
I would love if the Jays could score a trade for Jose Ramirez or Matt Chapman - but do you think a package w Kirk and Gurriel Jr as the headliners (that seems to be the package I hear the most talked about - along w picks and/or a lower prospect or two) would really be enough to get it done? Haha just saw @Joe N's question pop up... now THAT's optimism I'd buy for a dollar.
J-Ram AND Bieber from the Guardians...What would it take to get this done?
If you were GM, how important would you consider the need to get the lineup to be more left-handed ? And if you considered it a priority, how would you do it?
Hiya Andrew, what does the future hold for Espinal? Sounds like the jays may be trying to upgrade but he’s young, “controllable”, has decent numbers and a solid glove.