YOUR 2017 TORONTO BLUE JAYS

[Weirfan]

Re: YOUR 2017 TORONTO BLUE JAYS

Jarrod Saltalamacchia signed to a minor league deal.

Sorry Jarrod but your name won't fit on the jersey

[Big Shooter]

Re: YOUR 2017 TORONTO BLUE JAYS

Sorry Jarrod but your name won't fit on the jersey

good thing it's not hyphenated!

[fourputt]

Re: YOUR 2017 TORONTO BLUE JAYS

I hate to say it but unless the Jays get career years from a couple batters, they don't stand a chance at getting further ahead than last year. My main concern is with the pitching. Last year's rotation was UNBELIEVABLY healthy. What are the odds of that happening again this year let alone in the next 50 years. I don't know the stats but I doubt they lost more than 5 starts due to injury from the entire staff. Does anybody truly expect the same season from the mound? Surely the pen could be better but on the whole, the Jays had almost as good pitching as you could imagine.

They've done nothing to strengthen or maintain their batting order although I am hopeful of Morales having a great year. I worry about an entire season more like April and September of 2016. Martin alone is such a big question mark - healthy and he'll do fine, not great but fine. WHEN he gets injured I can see the team crumbling as the pitching staff loses confidence throwing to whoever ends up in the spot.

Don't get me started on Smoak, check last year's thread for my feelings on that strike out machine. God save us if he's the #1 guy at first. I'd rather have Pompey play first base. At least he brings 1 skill to the field.

[Arthur Dailey]

Re: YOUR 2017 TORONTO BLUE JAYS

Jarrod Saltalamacchia big name, not so big performance.

Was good enough to be a starter for 4 seasons, is a 31 year old, switch hitter with some power. Has trouble getting on base regularly. Career .309 OBP and .721 OPS. Was released from a contract that paid him $8 million in 2016

Provides depth behind the plate and as back-up catchers go, the Jays could have done a lot worse. So the organization is bettered by his signing, particularly to an inexpensive contract.

That is basically how I am evaluating things. Does each move improve the team/roster/franchise? Since they were not good enough last year, they logically need to be better in 2017.

Not sure that is currently the case. The outfield is unsettled but could be OK. Will Pearce play primarily in the outfield or 1b? The starting pitchers have to stay healthy. Grilli has to maintain his access to the 'Fountain of Youth'. And they need to upgrade the pen, even if it just means getting a dependable LOOGY.

[Big Shooter]

Re: YOUR 2017 TORONTO BLUE JAYS

I hate to say it but unless the Jays get career years from a couple batters, they don't stand a chance at getting further ahead than last year. My main concern is with the pitching. Last year's rotation was UNBELIEVABLY healthy. What are the odds of that happening again this year let alone in the next 50 years. I don't know the stats but I doubt they lost more than 5 starts due to injury from the entire staff. Does anybody truly expect the same season from the mound? Surely the pen could be better but on the whole, the Jays had almost as good pitching as you could imagine.

They've done nothing to strengthen or maintain their batting order although I am hopeful of Morales having a great year. I worry about an entire season more like April and September of 2016. Martin alone is such a big question mark - healthy and he'll do fine, not great but fine. WHEN he gets injured I can see the team crumbling as the pitching staff loses confidence throwing to whoever ends up in the spot.

Don't get me started on Smoak, check last year's thread for my feelings on that strike out machine. God save us if he's the #1 guy at first. I'd rather have Pompey play first base. At least he brings 1 skill to the field.

...so, they are playing for 2nd, again (Wildcard)

Did Baltimore & the Yankees get much better?

[P25]

Re: YOUR 2017 TORONTO BLUE JAYS

...so, they are playing for 2nd, again (Wildcard)

Did Baltimore & the Yankees get much better?

The Yankees will be better IMO. Bird comes back. Sanchez and Judge are more experienced and there for the season. Chapman is back.

While I share fourputt's concerns, I'm not as close to the edge of the cliff. The Jays lack depth. How will Sanchez be after a year where he pitches way more than he has before? If healthy, our rotation is as good as anyone though - including Boston. Big if, but they've had a good couple of seasons, so perhaps the organization has a plan for the health of their pitching staff that's working.

[Big Shooter]

Re: YOUR 2017 TORONTO BLUE JAYS

Jarrod Saltalamacchia signed to a minor league deal.

..well they had to sign him.....

On January 23, 2017, Josh Thole signed a minor league contract with the Arizona Diamondbacks

[fourputt]

Re: YOUR 2017 TORONTO BLUE JAYS

That is basically how I am evaluating things. Does each move improve the team/roster/franchise? Since they were not good enough last year, they logically need to be better in 2017.

Precisely my point as well. They weren't good enough last year, will they improve to be good enough this year? I don't see that having happened yet and I doubt current management is inclined to make the moves for it to occur this year.

I have high hopes and low expectations.

[WeekendDuff]

Re: YOUR 2017 TORONTO BLUE JAYS

The bullpen worries me; Osuna is the only blue-chip arm they've got. Grilli is getting old and could hit the wall at any time. No guarantee Biagini will live up to last year's performance and if a starter gets injured he will be the first to go into the rotation. After that it's Tepera and Loup and a bunch of farm hands.

[Big Shooter]

Re: YOUR 2017 TORONTO BLUE JAYS

The bullpen worries me; Osuna is the only blue-chip arm they've got. Grilli is getting old and could hit the wall at any time. No guarantee Biagini will live up to last year's performance and if a starter gets injured he will be the first to go into the rotation. After that it's Tepera and Loup and a bunch of farm hands.

maybe Gavin Floyd can pick-up where he left-off early last season!?

[Shankapotamus86]

Re: YOUR 2017 TORONTO BLUE JAYS

Tough to pitch around JD if the lead off guy is on base. That's why I'd lead Jose off. Travis would be great there if he were to show the ability to consistently get on base.

This also sets-up nicely for the bottom of the order to set the table in the middle innings for Jose, then JD.

[Pimento Cheese]

Re: YOUR 2017 TORONTO BLUE JAYS

Gideon Turk @GideonTurk
Based on what I have heard, I’d be shocked if the Jays don’t end up with one of Wood, Logan or Blevins. Breslow is a backup plan.

Gideon Turk has very good contacts; I'm not sure how good he is about this sort of speculation, but it's reasonable to assume, at least, that the basis of it is something he heard from an insider. (BP Toronto doesn't break a lot, but they broke the Bautista signing, and I believe it was in their former life as Blue Jays Plus that one of their writers had early word about the Donaldson trade.)

Now, it's no secret that the Jays are interested in these arms, but Turk's tweet seems to suggest an aggressive approach. They're all lefties, of course. Wood has a history as a starter before moving to the pen full time. Not big strikeout numbers but he dominates lefties. Something of a LOOGY, though, since righties have hit him well. He's young, so he might cost more in dollars and term.

Blevins has higher strikeout numbers and good splits vs. lefties; his career against righties has been better than Wood but he is still generally used for less than an inning at a time. He's had some arm trouble.

Logan doesn't excite me. He'd be all right. Breslow ... I'll take a hard pass. He used to be excellent, but he'll be 36 this year and has been kinda yucky since 2013.

[Arthur Dailey]

Re: YOUR 2017 TORONTO BLUE JAYS

Gideon Turk has very good contacts; I'm not sure how good he is about this sort of speculation, but it's reasonable to assume, at least, that the basis of it is something he heard from an insider. (BP Toronto doesn't break a lot, but they broke the Bautista signing, and I believe it was in their former life as Blue Jays Plus that one of their writers had early word about the Donaldson trade.)

Now, it's no secret that the Jays are interested in these arms, but Turk's tweet seems to suggest an aggressive approach. They're all lefties, of course. Wood has a history as a starter before moving to the pen full time. Not big strikeout numbers but he dominates lefties. Something of a LOOGY, though, since righties have hit him well. He's young, so he might cost more in dollars and term.

Blevins has higher strikeout numbers and good splits vs. lefties; his career against righties has been better than Wood but he is still generally used for less than an inning at a time. He's had some arm trouble.

Logan doesn't excite me. He'd be all right. Breslow ... I'll take a hard pass. He used to be excellent, but he'll be 36 this year and has been kinda yucky since 2013.

Thanks, a great summary. Wood would indeed seem to be the best of this bunch. Made $6 million last year. Logan is interesting based on the fact that he is a 'big body' and has had decent numbers pitching in Colorado the past few seasons.

[Pimento Cheese]

Re: YOUR 2017 TORONTO BLUE JAYS

Well, so much for that. Unless the plan is to sign another lefty, our newest lefty bullpen arm is J.P. Howell. I don't mind that, though he's coming off a shaky year. Prior to that, pretty damn good numbers against lefties.

[Pimento Cheese]

Re: YOUR 2017 TORONTO BLUE JAYS

Meanwhile, Barry Davis has left Sportsnet. No word on whether it was his decision, but given that Sportsnet has spent the last year or so looking for a job for Hazel Mae (her sportscast was dumped for Tim & Sid), and she was tag-teaming with Davis last season, I guess we should have expected one of them to be gone. I like Hazel in that job, though I feel bad for Davis. He seems like a nice guy, even if he wasn't the greatest interviewer.

Maybe he'll end up in Chicago and reunite with Kawasaki? Okay, maybe not -- they've probably got a guy.