When the Blue Jays selected Joe Biagini in the Rule 5 Draft last offseason, he had made just two relief appearances in his entire career. Both came in 2012, when he was in low-A ball playing for the Salem-Keizer Volcanoes. Biagini was a starter, through and through. Yet the Blue Jays took Biagini with the […]
Author: Matt Gwin
It’s Time to Make a Decision on Dalton Pompey
Player development is no easy task. Even after developing an overall future projection for a player there’s an incredulous number of questions that a team has to try and answer: How is the player’s work ethic? Is he mature enough to handle a tougher challenge at a higher level in the minor leagues? Will he […]
Blue Jays Sign Right-Handed Reliever Joe Smith to Major League Deal
According to Fox Sports’ Ken Rosenthal, the Blue Jays and reliever Joe Smith have agreed to a one-year deal. Source: #BlueJays in agreement with free-agent reliever Joe Smith on one-year, major-league contract. — Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) February 5, 2017 While his name is so generic that it almost seems fake, his talent is anything but. From […]
The Unfortunate Result of a Clash of Baseball Ideologies
It’s the middle of January and the Blue Jays have yet to make any big moves. Of course, there is technically still time. The free agent market is all but depleted of big names, but the team could still make a splash through trade. However, with each passing day, the possibility that a big trade […]
What if the Blue Jays Had Extended Jose Bautista in March?
There’s an old saying: good things come to those who wait. When it comes to contracts in baseball that’s sometimes true; players who can afford to wait on their talent get paid. But, it is certainly not always true. We saw that this year with Jose Bautista. From October of last year to March of […]
Jay Bruce is a Remarkably Terrible Trade Candidate
The Blue Jays have reportedly re-sparked their interest in Jay Bruce. This is at least the third time in the last year that the Jays have been linked to Bruce. We first saw it prior to the 2016 season, as a trade fell that would’ve left Michael Saunders in Anaheim and had Jay Bruce in […]
Edwin Encarnacion and Jose Bautista Decline Qualifying Offers
As was to be expected with the Blue Jays two big sluggers, Edwin and Jose have officially declined the qualifying offers extended to them. OF Jose Bautista, 1B/DH Edwin Encarnacion decline @BlueJays' $17.2M qualifying offers; they are free agents. pic.twitter.com/96qKFuqk8S — MLB (@MLB) November 14, 2016 Edwin Encarnacion and Jose Bautista were among six other […]
Creative Ways to Navigate the Weak Free Agent Market
It’s no secret that the 2017 free agent market isn’t quite as strong as we’ve seen in recent years. MLB Trade Rumours predicts that just one free agent, Yoenis Cespedes, will receive a contract for more than $100 million when last season, MLBTR predicted that nine free agents would receive more than $100 million, with seven of them […]
Mark Shapiro, Alex Anthopoulos, and the Failures of Change
History as we know it is defined in eras. Sports history is no different. When we think back to dynasties in baseball’s past, they’re asssociated with something specific. First, it was managers as the face of teams; like the Connie Mack A’s or the John McGraw Giants. That eventually gave way to the player era: […]
Recap: Blue Jays 3, Mariners 2; Marco the Magician is Back
Marco Estrada has had a rough go of things lately, but boy was that not the case on Monday. Over seven innings, he struck out eight batters and gave up three walks. Marco had actually taken a no-hitter into the seventh inning, and looked like he might cruise through the rest of the game. Robinson […]