Part of the Jays acting like big boys is demonstrating a willingness to eat their mistakes (apologies to Grichuk), so with that in mind, two questions: Do you anticipate the Jays paying him to play elsewhere to free up an OF spot, or keeping him around as their 4th OF, and who is your most expendable player on the roster if a trade for a SP is in the cards? (Given that it will require giving up talent to get it.)
I am curious to know more about the Bluejays tv rights. We often hear about other teams signing these lucrative tv deals - some worth billions of dollars. However, we never hear how much money the Bluejays make from their tv deal. I understand that Rogers is essentially robbing Peter to pay Paul, but I am quite interested in knowing what kind of money is at play. We saw that during the 2015-16 playoff runs, millions of Canadians tune in. This has to be worth a pretty penny!
Side note: I couldn't be more excited to read you work again. Hands down, my favourite baseball writer!
While SP and 3B remain our more pressing needs, I can’t quit Realmuto. Total stud in his late prime, would need something like 5/120-6/140. Jansen becoming close to JT is a 99th percentile outcome, Kirk’s body comp at age 22 is literally “Jose Molina at age 40” (Longenhagen, E.), and the rest are far off at a notoriously difficult position to develop. Is there any realistic scenario where in addition to Springer we sign Realmuto and fill SP/3B through trade? Do you think the Jays will be loathe to lose another draft pick after Springer and avoid such FA? So great to have you back!
This is currently less of an issue with the news that Brantley is going back to Houston, but do you think the organization would consider Gurriel in the infield again? He had a rough go at second base, but he played short for a reasonable time (not great of course), but do you think he could he be a potential in-house option at 3rd or 2nd?
With Springer signed, do we now focus Austin Martin full time to the infield and let him develop as a third baseman along side Jordan Groshans? A little too prospect race for third while the runner up replaces Biggio at second?
Trevor Bauer has publicly talked about every team he’s been connected to at length except for the Jays. He recently released a video describing what he’s looking for and basically straight up describes the jays. He was also spotted at an Arizona Coyotes game wearing a jays hat, but hid the logo. Could he be headed North (or to Dunedin)?
While they are in the business of acquiring high end talent, is there a possibility of getting Jose Ramirez from the Clevelanders to fill the hot corner vacancy? What would a hypothetical trade look like?
With the flurry of news in the last 24 hours, it's hard not to think about how signing news get broken online these days and the gamesmanship of it all. I guess my question is: how much of it is bullshit?
With Springer you had a little guy with the scoop and the big names caught totally off-guard, and then seeming to resort to generalities so that they didn't seem so out of the loop (e.g., https://twitter.com/JonHeyman/status/1351715201716989953?s=20). And then with Brantley you have Hazel tweeting something, folks like Rosenthal and Passan confirming it, and then the whole thing going up in smoke...with Olney later saying that the Jays weren't even close.
What's happening here? Are journalists getting so caught up in being part of the scoop that they loosen their verification standards? Are they all leaning on the same source? Are they passing off assumptions and conjecture as sources? Are they wholesale making stuff up? A mix of everything?
Hey Andrew, with the front office saying that improving the defence is a priority, do you think Teo might be the outfielder that is dealt? He has to have way more value than Grich, but isn’t exactly a delight to watch in right field...
You have to give up value to get value, so it's going to hurt when we lose one of our outfielders to get some form of starting pitching. Between Gurriel and Teoscar, who would you be least upset at missing out on their inevitable 6 WAR season?
Selfish mailbag question: Any news on a podcast!? In your first post you mentioned that you might need to go solo. Could you potentially discuss some of the logistical hurdles you need to jump over to make this happen? Anything us fans can do to support this effort?
Assuming we get a #2 or 3 starting pitcher, who do you line up in the 4 and 5 slot and how would you think the ideal usage (piggybacking) for these guys be? We are going to have to be so careful managing innings this year, what could be an optimal solution for the club?
Does Springer's role in the 2017 trashcan cheating scheme affect your enthusiasm for the signing? I am finding it hard to be happy to have him on my favourite team even though he is a very good player.
No word so far on Giles or Shoemaker any thoughts on where they will end up signing.
Part of the Jays acting like big boys is demonstrating a willingness to eat their mistakes (apologies to Grichuk), so with that in mind, two questions: Do you anticipate the Jays paying him to play elsewhere to free up an OF spot, or keeping him around as their 4th OF, and who is your most expendable player on the roster if a trade for a SP is in the cards? (Given that it will require giving up talent to get it.)
I am curious to know more about the Bluejays tv rights. We often hear about other teams signing these lucrative tv deals - some worth billions of dollars. However, we never hear how much money the Bluejays make from their tv deal. I understand that Rogers is essentially robbing Peter to pay Paul, but I am quite interested in knowing what kind of money is at play. We saw that during the 2015-16 playoff runs, millions of Canadians tune in. This has to be worth a pretty penny!
Side note: I couldn't be more excited to read you work again. Hands down, my favourite baseball writer!
Do you think Cathal Kelly's head exploded when the Jays signed George Springer? :-)
While SP and 3B remain our more pressing needs, I can’t quit Realmuto. Total stud in his late prime, would need something like 5/120-6/140. Jansen becoming close to JT is a 99th percentile outcome, Kirk’s body comp at age 22 is literally “Jose Molina at age 40” (Longenhagen, E.), and the rest are far off at a notoriously difficult position to develop. Is there any realistic scenario where in addition to Springer we sign Realmuto and fill SP/3B through trade? Do you think the Jays will be loathe to lose another draft pick after Springer and avoid such FA? So great to have you back!
This is currently less of an issue with the news that Brantley is going back to Houston, but do you think the organization would consider Gurriel in the infield again? He had a rough go at second base, but he played short for a reasonable time (not great of course), but do you think he could he be a potential in-house option at 3rd or 2nd?
I wrote this poorly haha
With Springer signed, do we now focus Austin Martin full time to the infield and let him develop as a third baseman along side Jordan Groshans? A little too prospect race for third while the runner up replaces Biggio at second?
This is a great question.
Trevor Bauer has publicly talked about every team he’s been connected to at length except for the Jays. He recently released a video describing what he’s looking for and basically straight up describes the jays. He was also spotted at an Arizona Coyotes game wearing a jays hat, but hid the logo. Could he be headed North (or to Dunedin)?
While they are in the business of acquiring high end talent, is there a possibility of getting Jose Ramirez from the Clevelanders to fill the hot corner vacancy? What would a hypothetical trade look like?
Singing Bauer would solidify the Jays as serious contenders, no?
To be clear, I’m conflicted with the thought. It might be wise to give that boat a wide berth. But can’t help but think of the possibilities....
With the flurry of news in the last 24 hours, it's hard not to think about how signing news get broken online these days and the gamesmanship of it all. I guess my question is: how much of it is bullshit?
With Springer you had a little guy with the scoop and the big names caught totally off-guard, and then seeming to resort to generalities so that they didn't seem so out of the loop (e.g., https://twitter.com/JonHeyman/status/1351715201716989953?s=20). And then with Brantley you have Hazel tweeting something, folks like Rosenthal and Passan confirming it, and then the whole thing going up in smoke...with Olney later saying that the Jays weren't even close.
What's happening here? Are journalists getting so caught up in being part of the scoop that they loosen their verification standards? Are they all leaning on the same source? Are they passing off assumptions and conjecture as sources? Are they wholesale making stuff up? A mix of everything?
Great questions Christopher!
Hey Andrew, with the front office saying that improving the defence is a priority, do you think Teo might be the outfielder that is dealt? He has to have way more value than Grich, but isn’t exactly a delight to watch in right field...
You have to give up value to get value, so it's going to hurt when we lose one of our outfielders to get some form of starting pitching. Between Gurriel and Teoscar, who would you be least upset at missing out on their inevitable 6 WAR season?
Selfish mailbag question: Any news on a podcast!? In your first post you mentioned that you might need to go solo. Could you potentially discuss some of the logistical hurdles you need to jump over to make this happen? Anything us fans can do to support this effort?
Assuming we get a #2 or 3 starting pitcher, who do you line up in the 4 and 5 slot and how would you think the ideal usage (piggybacking) for these guys be? We are going to have to be so careful managing innings this year, what could be an optimal solution for the club?
Does Springer's role in the 2017 trashcan cheating scheme affect your enthusiasm for the signing? I am finding it hard to be happy to have him on my favourite team even though he is a very good player.