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	<title>Toronto &#187; Free Agency</title>
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		<title>Unpacking Early Blue Jays Hot Stove Rumours</title>
		<link>http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/2017/11/21/unpacking-early-jays-hot-stove-rumours/</link>
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		<pubDate>Tue, 21 Nov 2017 15:22:34 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Mike Passador]]></dc:creator>
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		<description><![CDATA[While the offseason has given us pretty much nothing but non-stories and pure speculation to talk about (even amongst the league’s newsbreakers), that doesn’t mean that the hot stove is completely off. The Jays have a few obvious spots to fill headed into free agency and there are already a handful of players that the [&#8230;]]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>While the offseason has given us pretty much nothing but non-stories and pure speculation to talk about (<a href="https://twitter.com/jonmorosi/status/932642941004337152" target="_blank">even amongst the league’s newsbreakers</a>), that doesn’t mean that the hot stove is completely off. The Jays have a few obvious spots to fill headed into free agency and there are already a handful of players that the team has been connected to. There are all kinds of rumors at this point in the baseball calendar with agents and players angling for massive contracts and teams playing coy on who they’re after.</p>
<p>Each rumor makes a certain degree of sense but for the sake of this exercise we’re going to include just about everything that’s been making the rounds so far. No Giancarlo Stanton though, as I don’t want to end up talking myself into something that’s not going to happen under any circumstances. My fragile heart can’t take it.</p>
<p>Instead of sitting around and waiting for things to happen, let’s sit around and talk about what’s rumored to potentially happen, maybe, hopefully.</p>
<h2>Lorenzo Cain</h2>
<p>The Jays were <a href="https://twitter.com/jcrasnick/status/930545118733586432" target="_blank">one of the first teams connected to Cain</a> and it’s not hard to see why &#8211; with two outfield spots there for the taking. While there’s little doubt that Cain is an All Star who has the potential to give the team an immediate jolt, there are plenty of little concerns that cast some negativity over this potential transaction.</p>
<p>One of Cain’s most obvious assets is his speed, as evidenced by the fact that he’s stolen 110 bases across five seasons since becoming a full time player. Even better, his 26 steals last year came with only two failed attempts, placing him sixth in success rate. He’s also been a strong defender in center field for the entirety of his career and is coming off a 5.7 WARP year. Again, he’s really good.</p>
<p>The question becomes how much longer he can stay at that level, as the already-old Jays might balk at signing a 32-year-old for longer term. It also doesn’t help that Cain hadn’t topped 140 games in a season until last year. The odds of a regularly-injured (though not overly seriously) player who relies on speed maintaining that skillset probably aren’t the highest. And while you can go back and forth about the impact of Toronto’s turf, Cain himself might be hesitant to deal with that for half of his games.</p>
<p>There’s also the fact that Kevin Pillar currently occupies center field for Toronto. Cain has handled right field in the past but loses some of his value as a plus defender if he’s not in center. On one hand, playing him in one of the corner spots might save some wear and tear. On the other, the Jays won’t be able to factor that into the price for one of the hottest commodities on the market. Paying for value that you know you won’t recoup isn’t the best strategy in the world. They could move Pillar to right or left but his bat becomes far tougher to play in the corners. A Cain signing would probably portend a Pillar trade, <a title="It’s Time for the Blue Jays to Trade Kevin Pillar" href="http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/2017/11/10/its-time-for-the-blue-jays-to-trade-kevin-pillar/" target="_blank">which might not be the worst idea in the world</a>.</p>
<p>Cain is still a great player and is likely to remain as such for another year or two. It’s after that that things get dicey. And while signing him would represent a definite win-now mentality, it’s up for debate as to how far he (and a post-extension Josh Donaldson, presumably) can prop the contending window open given the AL East landscape.</p>
<h2>J.D. Martinez</h2>
<p>Jon Heyman raised some eyebrows on Monday with an article that was <a href="https://www.fanragsports.com/heyman-blue-jays-could-emerge-as-dark-horse-for-jd-martinez/" target="_blank">basically entirely dedicated to matching Martinez and the Jays</a>, which included a weird attempt at comparing Toronto to Detroit, where Martinez loaded his resume with 99 home runs in three and a half seasons. He’s in line for a huge payday after connecting for a sterling .387 ISO last season and there are plenty of teams who’d make room for him, let alone one with the obvious outfield holes that the Jays have. Put it all together and this smells like some agent-side posturing. On the other hand, <a href="https://twitter.com/jonmorosi/status/929037786711240704" target="_blank">do you really think that Scott Boras would engage in such a tactic</a>?</p>
<p>There’s no denying that a hitter of Martinez’s caliber would be a wonderful fit in the corner for Toronto. If you close your eyes you can see the t-shirts now, with J.D. Kong scaling the CN Tower. The issue lies in the fact that he’s looking for a deal in excess of $200 million with some of the game’s notorious spenders prepping their checkbooks. It’s nice to see the Jays at least on the list here, but don’t get your hopes up.</p>
<h2>Jay Bruce</h2>
<p>No mention of the Blue Jays’ outfield holes is complete without also talking about Jay Bruce. Heyman tossed Bruce’s name out there in the aforementioned Martinez article, though you don’t have to look very hard to find other sources tying the two parties together.</p>
<p>After his star significantly waned towards the end of his Reds tenure, Bruce has made a comeback of sorts in the last two seasons. His defensive metrics have yo-yoed of late and could tank at any point now considering he’s set to turn 31 and already slow, but he’s a natural fit in right field. He’d also fulfill the organizational goal of getting some more left handed presence in the batting order, though it’s unclear if that’s a priority that has carried over from last winter.</p>
<p>Bruce is what he is at this point – a left handed power hitter who has clocked 25 or more home runs in seven of the last eight years. He’s also been in the top 50 (bottom 50?) in strikeout rate in each of his qualified seasons. There are definitely warts to pick at, and that becomes increasingly tough to overlook if he ends up signing in his rumored $80 million range, but the Jays have been connected to Bruce for quite some time now and even had a completed trade for him <a href="http://www.sportsnet.ca/baseball/mlb/new-detail-emerges-failed-jay-bruce-blue-jays-trade/" target="_blank">scuttled by a failed physical</a>. This is their first chance to make a move without sacrificing prospects or players.</p>
<h2>Eduardo Nunez</h2>
<p>GM Ross Atkins has already said that <a href="http://www.sportsnet.ca/baseball/mlb/acquiring-versatile-middle-infielder-top-priority-blue-jays/" target="_blank">creating some infield versatility is one of the team’s priorities this offseason</a>. Nunez is a pretty obvious connection of dots here as he’d fill a utility role and is coming off the best offensive season of his career. It wasn’t necessarily an out-of-nowhere breakout either, as Nunez has combined for 6.4 WARP in four stints between Minnesota, San Francisco and Boston over the last two seasons.</p>
<p>Circling back, Atkins went on to say that “[o]ur priority is complementing our infield in some way with versatility, someone that can not just play when needed, but someone who can potentially get 600 plate appearances across our infield in some form or fashion.”</p>
<p>Nunez picked up 491 PAs last season, so that’s not out of the realm of possibility. How versatile he can be is another question entirely. While Nunez has logged time at second, third, short and in the outfield, he’s seen a dramatic shift in his deployment over time:</p>
<p style="text-align: center"><a href="http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2017/11/NunezGP.jpg"><img class="aligncenter wp-image-14288 " src="http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2017/11/NunezGP.jpg" alt="NunezGP" width="463" height="224" /></a></p>
<p>While it’s important to note that Nunez has no bearing over his teammates and thus where he slots into the lineup, it’s pretty evident that he’s spent most of his recent career picking up time at third base. In Toronto, that means he’d be spelling Josh Donaldson. If that happens, the season is already lost. In any meaningful season, the Jays would lean on Nunez to play at second and short – the two spots where he grades the worst in both UZR and DRS by a wide margin. The Jays do have need for help in the outfield though, so he works on that level. Nunez makes plenty of sense on the surface but the price may not end up making sense here. Even if the cash isn’t back breaking, the Jays shouldn’t feel compelled to get into a bidding war on a thin market for a guy who’d be playing a little outside of his comfort zone. Nunez is better than Barney or Goins, certainly, but probably wouldn’t be some sort of utility savior.</p>
<h2>Dee Gordon</h2>
<p>The need for infield depth has been highlighted by the unfortunate (though relatively predictable) injuries to Devon Travis and Troy Tulowitzki. The payroll-shedding Marlins would probably love to ditch second baseman Dee Gordon, who’s set to make $37 million over the next three years (plus a $1M buyout of a $14M option for 2021). He’s a bit different than the other middle infield solutions currently in the rumor mill as acquiring Gordon all but ensures the end of Travis’ tenure as Toronto’s starting second baseman. While Gordon has 1,320.2 big league innings at shortstop under his belt, all but 16.1 of those came prior to 2013. Even if Gordon were a viable option at short, it would assume that the Jays could find a taker for Tulowiztki’s monstrous contract, which would easily be the greatest feat of any theoretical transaction on this page.</p>
<p>Given the organization’s apparent focus on restocking the pipeline and Miami’s desire to send out money, it’s highly unlikely that the two teams meet on the middle in terms of outgoing prospects and dollars. Gordon would check a lot of boxes for the Traditional Leadoff Guy crowd but this one seems best left in what-if territory for now.</p>
<h2>Jarrod Dyson</h2>
<p>Speaking of potential leadoff guys, here comes another slap hitting speedster. And he’s left handed! Fetch the fainting couch.</p>
<p>Jokes aside, Dyson has twice been mentioned by Ben Nicholson-Smith, once <a href="http://www.sportsnet.ca/baseball/mlb/potential-off-season-targets-outfielders-fit-blue-jays-roster/" target="_blank">with the interesting tidbit that he apparently has a fan in John Gibbons</a>. The two crossed paths in Kansas City when Gibby was a bench coach for two seasons at the beginning of Dyson’s career, but other than that it’s tough to guess where they might’ve formed a relationship.</p>
<p>Dyson can play all over the outfield and has the speed and track record of a serious threat on the basepaths, but the Jays might also be interested in his on-base skills. He’s delivered OBPs of .340 and .324 over the last two seasons, both of which saw him set career-highs in plate appearances.</p>
<p>While Dyson would make for a cheaper option and likely excel in a limited role, <a href="http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/2017/11/15/why-ross-atkins-might-have-his-most-active-blue-jays-offseason-yet/" target="_blank">the Jays current roster configuration makes it hard to see him sign on</a> in the near future. We’re not in the business of forecasting trades, but another shoe would have to drop before penciling Dyson into the opening day lineup.</p>
<h2>Robbie Ross</h2>
<p>Ross was connected to the Jays <a href="http://www.sportsnet.ca/baseball/mlb/blue-jays-notebook-cains-speed-make-fit-toronto/" target="_blank">in a report from Sportsnet’s Ben Nicholson-Smith</a>. The southpaw is entering his age 29 season and has split his six year career between the Rangers and Red Sox thus far. All but 12 of his 266 appearances have come from the bullpen, and it’s clear here that the Jays would be looking at some lefty help in the bullpen. He produced -1.9 WARP in 2014, his last year with the Rangers and the only season in which he was used as a starter. Since joining Boston, Ross has posted 0.7, 0.1 and -0.1 WARP over the last three years. Take last season’s negative showing with a grain of salt as Ross was limited to just 9.0 innings with a host of injury troubles.</p>
<p>He hit the DL at the start of June with elbow injuries and ended up undergoing back surgery at the end of August, though he’s expected to be ready for spring training. As such, Ross probably won’t command much on the open market. The Jays have hit on these low-risk bullpen moves in the past and that’d be the end goal here, though whether Ross would be worth even the minimal investment considering in-house alternatives like Aaron Loup, Matt Dermody and Tim Mayza remains to be seen.</p>
<p>As for his career numbers, Ross boasts a 3.92 ERA, 1.39 WHIP, 7.5 K/9 and a ground ball rate just shy of 53 percent. He’s outperformed his DRA (Deserved Run Average) in every season besides last year’s injury-induced nightmare, but the ground ball numbers are probably what the Jays are most interested in here. Ross isn’t exactly a lefty specialist either as while he holds them to a lower batting average (.255 vs. .271 for righties over his career), lefties and righties own similar OPS’s of .723 and .712. Considering the probable cost and role here, it’d be hard to get too fired up about Ross one way or the other if this came to pass.</p>
<h2>Joe Smith</h2>
<p>Nicholson-Smith <a href="http://www.sportsnet.ca/baseball/mlb/acquiring-versatile-middle-infielder-top-priority-blue-jays/" target="_blank">mentioned a potential reunion with Smith</a> as an aside in one of his recent columns, and there’d be a ton to like about that move. The Jays were able to sign Smith to a cheap one-year, $3 million contract in early February and it wound up paying off with 1.3 WARP in only 35.1 innings. He was a terrific setup man who held the fort while the team gained confidence in their younger arms and helped the Blue Jays net some prospects in a deadline trade that sent him both to a contender and closer to home in a time of family turmoil. It was a win-win of a year for everyone, and the Jays would probably jump at the opportunity to re-sign Smith even if the price tag is slightly larger than it was this time a year ago. Low risk bullpen moves are really hard to hate, especially in their on-paper form.</p>
<h2>Tyler Chatwood</h2>
<p>Chatwood has the distinction of being the most closely pursued player listed here, at least as far as we know. Atkins revealed that <a href="http://www.sportsnet.ca/baseball/mlb/acquiring-versatile-middle-infielder-top-priority-blue-jays/" target="_blank">the team has already engaged with Chatwood</a>, who is one of the league’s hottest names at the moment. While he’s not likely to break the bank, teams are enthralled with his nasty spin rate, a spike in his ground ball rate and a career 3.31 ERA away from Coors Field.</p>
<p>This regime found success by moving quickly on a lower-tier pitcher in free agency with their J.A. Happ signing and the fact that they’ve already done more than simple due diligence could mean that they’ll try and get this done quickly. There will be plenty of other suitors but Chatwood would make for an excellent addition if the Jays can distinguish themselves from the pack.</p>
<h2>Shohei Ohtani</h2>
<p>The Jays are said to be &#8220;well prepared&#8221; for their pitch to the potential two-way megastar. There are still plenty of hurdles to get through here, namely whether or not Ohtani even comes to MLB this season, but when he does he&#8217;d be a tremendous fit in Toronto. A boy can dream.</p>
<p><em>Lead Photo © Richard Mackson-USA TODAY Sports</em></p>
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		<title>Artificial Turf Wars Ep. 44: A Canadian Classic</title>
		<link>http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/2017/02/17/atw-episode-44-canadian-training/</link>
		<comments>http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/2017/02/17/atw-episode-44-canadian-training/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 17 Feb 2017 11:00:47 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Artifical Turf Wars]]></dc:creator>
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		<description><![CDATA[Greg Hamilton, coach and director of national teams for Baseball Canada, stops by to discuss Canada&#8217;s World Baseball Classic team. He details the selection process for the roster, the need for a blend of youth and experience, and how the team reacted to the absence of so many top players. Greg and Josh also break [&#8230;]]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Greg Hamilton, coach and director of national teams for Baseball Canada, stops by to discuss Canada&#8217;s World Baseball Classic team. He details the selection process for the roster, the need for a blend of youth and experience, and how the team reacted to the absence of so many top players. Greg and Josh also break down the last couple weeks of Blue Jays news with a look at the Joe Smith and Mat Latos signings, Aaron Sanchez&#8217; being let loose, and the loss of the latest &#8220;Catcher of the Future.&#8221; Finally, they answer listener questions and give a Do-Over to their good buddy, Rob Manfred.</p>
<p><strong>Podcast</strong>: <a class="powerpress_link_pinw" title="Play in New Window" href="http://d1at8ppinvdju8.cloudfront.net/9/826/show_9826433_2017_02_17_05_11_20.mp3" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Play in new window</a> | <a class="powerpress_link_d" title="Download" href="http://d1at8ppinvdju8.cloudfront.net/9/826/show_9826433_2017_02_17_05_11_20.mp3" rel="nofollow">Download</a></p>
<p><a href="https://itunes.apple.com/ca/podcast/blue-jays-plus-podcast/id705699884?mt=2"><img class="alignnone wp-image-63" src="http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2016/03/itunes1.png" alt="itunes" width="168" height="62" /></a><a href="https://soundcloud.com/turfpod"><img class=" wp-image-9054 alignleft" src="http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2017/02/soundcloud.jpg" alt="soundcloud" width="123" height="60" /></a><br />
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<p>Intro music is Slow Burn (<a href="http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Kevin_MacLeod/" rel="cc:attributionURL">Kevin MacLeod</a>) under <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/" rel="license">CC BY 3.0</a>.</p>
<div><strong>Podcast Email</strong>-<a href="mailto:artificialturfwars@baseballprospectus.com" target="_blank">artificialturfwars@baseballprospectus.com</a> Please drop us a line if there is a guest you&#8217;d particularly like us to interview, to submit a question to <strong>Stump the Josh</strong>, or to simply give us feedback on the podcast. We&#8217;d love to hear from you!</div>
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		<title>Measuring Panic: A Timeline of the 2016-17 Offseason</title>
		<link>http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/2017/02/09/measuring-panic-a-timeline-of-the-2016-17-offseason/</link>
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		<pubDate>Thu, 09 Feb 2017 11:00:43 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Nick Dika]]></dc:creator>
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		<description><![CDATA[If you’re anything like me, this Blue Jays offseason felt like a turbulent one. There were lots of ups and downs when it came to the team’s transactional activities. Much like we do at the end of the regular season, with Spring Training just around the corner, now is a good time to look back [&#8230;]]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>If you’re anything like me, this Blue Jays offseason felt like a turbulent one. There were lots of ups and downs when it came to the team’s transactional activities. Much like we do at the end of the regular season, with Spring Training just around the corner, now is a good time to look back on the highs and lows that embodied the 2016-17 hot stove season. The timeline should also serve as a reminder to be patient – the sky isn’t falling when you lose out on one great player; or even five of them. Even if it really, really feels like it.</p>
<h4>November 11 &#8211; Jays Sign Kendrys Morales</h4>
<p>When the Jays act quickly to <a href="http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2016/11/blue-jays-to-sign-kendrys-morales.html" target="_blank">sign a middle of the order bat</a>, many people talk themselves into the idea that Edwin can still return and play first base. Are Mark Shapiro and Ross Atkins some of those people? Others are confused, as Morales is definitely not the young, athletic guy the front office said they had their heart set on. We all pay more attention to exit velocity.</p>
<p><strong>Panic Level: Moderate.</strong> It looks like the team will lose Edwin, but there’s lots of time to build the roster. While the fences at the Rogers Centre might be closer to home plate than they were at Kaufman Stadium, unfortunately for Morales, the distance between the bases remains 90 feet.</p>
<h4>November 21 &#8211; Brett Cecil Signs with the St. Louis Cardinals</h4>
<p>The under-appreciated lefty reliever <a href="http://www.stltoday.com/sports/baseball/professional/cardinal-beat/cardinals-add-depth-with-toronto-lefty-cecil/article_e4321ea1-5279-57dc-af93-6d14e970f37a.html" target="_blank">gets big dollars</a> ($30.5 million over four years) from the Cardinals. Cecil’s departure leaves a hole in the Toronto bullpen.</p>
<p><strong>Panic Level: Remains Moderate.</strong> Mostly because people don’t appreciate Cecil as much as they should.</p>
<h4>November 23 &#8211; Josh Reddick Signs with Houston</h4>
<p>He was an outfield target, but he’s got some holes in his game and <a href="http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/mlb/2016/11/17/astros-acquire-brian-mccann-yankees-trade/94043520/" target="_blank">he signed for a lot of money</a>.</p>
<p><strong>Panic Level: Low.</strong> No big deal, he can’t really hit lefties anyway.</p>
<h4>December 4 &#8211; Steve Pearce Signs in Toronto</h4>
<p>The move serves as a reminder that Justin Smoak is likely going to be taking a whole mess of at bats for the team next season. <a href="http://www.sportsnet.ca/baseball/mlb/report-blue-jays-sign-steve-pearce-two-year-deal/" target="_blank">Pearce’s signing</a> also likely represents the end of the Encarnacion era. Lost in everything is that Pearce can be a useful player himself – assuming he can stay healthy and on the field.</p>
<p><strong>Panic Level: Escalating to High.</strong> Are we sure Rowdy Tellez is too young for the majors?</p>
<h4>December 6 &#8211; Red Sox Trade for Chris Sale</h4>
<p>In response to the Steve Pearce signing, <a href="http://www.csnchicago.com/chicago-white-sox/sold-white-sox-trade-chris-sale-red-sox-package-including-baseballs-no-1-prospect" target="_blank">the Red Sox acquire Chris Sale</a>. Everyone in Blue Jay land is reminded that playing in a division with the Red Sox and Yankees leaves you grappling with existentialism more often than you should.</p>
<p><strong>Panic Level: Too sad to be panicked.</strong> Silver lining: at this rate, Dave Dombrowski and the Red Sox will be out of prospects to trade sooner rather than later.</p>
<h4>December 9 – Dexter Fowler Signs with the Cardinals</h4>
<p><a href="http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/cubs/ct-dexter-fowler-cardinals-contract-20161209-story.html" target="_blank">Fowler decides</a> that playing for Mike Matheny is still better than having to run on turf and pay Canadian income taxes.</p>
<p><strong>Panic Level: High.</strong> Edwin is likely gone and Fowler was the team’s top alternative target. Outfield options on the market are thin beyond him. We start talking about Brandon Moss way too much.</p>
<h4>December 22 &#8211; Edwin Signs in Cleveland</h4>
<p>Jays’ fans get their lump of coal early when <a href="http://www.cleveland.com/tribe/index.ssf/2016/12/cleveland_indians_edwin_encarn_1.html" target="_blank">Edwin signs in Cleveland</a> a few days before Christmas. In signing for fewer dollars and years than was reportedly offered by Toronto in early November, Edwin’s agent, Paul Kinzer, gives Aaron Sanchez a reason to fire his current representatives and <a href="http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/2017/01/03/aaron-sanchez-reportedly-hires-scott-boras/" title="Aaron Sanchez Reportedly Hires Scott Boras" target="_blank">hire super-agent Scott Boras</a> shortly after Christmas.</p>
<p><strong>Panic Level: High.</strong> High enough that we are making something out of Sanchez’s agency change even though he won’t be a free agent until the fall of 2021.</p>
<h4>January 5 &#8211; Jays Rumored to Still Be Uninterested in Re-Signing Jose Bautista</h4>
<p>Despite filling a glaring need, the best player left on the market is <a href="http://www.fanragsports.com/mlb/heyman-mlb-winter-winners-non-winners/">allegedly not on the Blue Jays’ radar.</a> Even amidst rumors that he can be prickly in the clubhouse, if Danny Valencia can still find work…With Jose’s price dropping, fan’s worry that the biggest offseason acquision will be two compensatory draft picks. The chances of having of playoff caliber team feel slim.</p>
<p><strong>Panic Level: Sky high.</strong> Are the Jays rebuilding? At least the Maple Leafs are good right now. It hasn’t really come to that…has it?</p>
<h4>January 17 &#8211; Jays Re-Sign Jose Bautista</h4>
<p>The Jays (or maybe just Ed Rogers) decide they want to <a href="https://www.thestar.com/sports/bluejays/2017/01/18/blue-jays-confirm-jose-bautista-signing.html" target="_blank">sign Jose Bautista after all</a>. The return of Joey Bats fills a major hole in Toronto’s roster. The cherry on top is in signing what will likely amount to a one-year contract, Jose’s deal has the potential to be one of the bargains of the winter. News also leaks out that the Jays were trying to land Tony Watson and Andrew McCutchen in a blockbuster deal with the Pirates.</p>
<p><strong>Panic Level: Dropping fast.</strong> One power-hitting outfielder does a lot to improve the roster. Even though the McCutchen rumors didn’t go anywhere, it’s nice to know the front office was trying to be competitive all along. It funny how obvious this seems now; yet seemed so improbable three weeks earlier.</p>
<h4>January 24 &#8211; Jays Sign Jarrod Saltalamacchia</h4>
<p>After a few weeks of worrying that Toronto will break camp without an established backup catcher, <a href="http://m.mlb.com/cutfour/2017/01/24/214305654/null" target="_blank">Toronto signs Jarrod Saltalamacchia to a minor league deal</a>. Salty provides a major league-tested backup option that isn’t Josh Thole for the first time in four years. The torch has been passed to another sub-.200 hitting backup. 2017 batting average aside, Saltalamacchia has been valuable against right-handed pitching in the past and gives the Jays the opportunity to keep Russell Martin rested.</p>
<p><strong>Panic Level: Even lower.</strong> Backup catchers don’t make a ton of difference, but it’s the principal of the thing. The deal would have been finalized earlier, but it took a few drafts before Salty’s name was finally spelled correctly on the contract.</p>
<h4>January 31 &#8211; Jays Sign J.P. Howell</h4>
<p><a href="http://m.bluejays.mlb.com/news/article/214831462/blue-jays-sign-pitcher-jp-howell/" target="_blank">Howell gets about half the annual salary</a> that the Cardinals shelled out for Brett Cecil on a one-year deal. While he isn’t Cecil, Howell has been known to grow some similarly interesting facial hair. He should be a serviceable replacement out of the pen. Then a few days later, <a href="https://twitter.com/Buster_ESPN/status/828965236589940736" target="_blank">they threw in Joe Smith for good measur</a>e.</p>
<p><strong>Panic Level: Low.</strong> It hasn’t been this low since Josh Donaldson slid home in Game 3 of the ALDS against Texas.</p>
<p>Bring on 2017. While it sure didn’t feel like it at Christmas, or even early in the New Year, the Jays look like they’ll head to Spring Training with a roster that looks like it can compete for a playoff spot. Watching the offseason play out chronologically is a good reminder that the season doesn’t start in December. It ain’t over until the last lefty reliever signs.</p>
<p><em>Lead Photo: © Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports</em></p>
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		<title>Artificial Turf Wars Ep. 40: A Long Winter&#8217;s Nap</title>
		<link>http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/2016/12/22/artificial-turf-wars-ep-40-a-long-winters-nap/</link>
		<comments>http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/2016/12/22/artificial-turf-wars-ep-40-a-long-winters-nap/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 22 Dec 2016 11:00:57 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Artifical Turf Wars]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Articles]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Podcast]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Artificial Turf Wars]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Edwin Encarnacion]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Free Agency]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Jose Bautista]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/?p=8430</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Greg and Josh discuss the latest news surrounding Edwin Encarnacion and Jose Bautista, the extremely slow offseason, and the apparently Blue Jays strategies to fill their remaining roster holes. They also give out a Do Over, take a trip down memory lane to visit a man temporarily called Ralph, and answer a bunch of listener [&#8230;]]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Greg and Josh discuss the latest news surrounding Edwin Encarnacion and Jose Bautista, the extremely slow offseason, and the apparently Blue Jays strategies to fill their remaining roster holes. They also give out a Do Over, take a trip down memory lane to visit a man temporarily called Ralph, and answer a bunch of listener questions.</p>
<p><strong>Note:</strong> There will be no pod next week unless something extremely noteworthy happens, such as a big signing or a trade. We will return in two weeks with episode 41!</p>
<p><strong>Podcast</strong>: <a class="powerpress_link_pinw" title="Play in New Window" href="http://s3.amazonaws.com/btr.shows/9/696/show_9696589_2016_12_22_04_22_15.mp3" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Play in new window</a> | <a class="powerpress_link_d" title="Download" href="http://s3.amazonaws.com/btr.shows/9/696/show_9696589_2016_12_22_04_22_15.mp3" rel="nofollow">Download</a></p>
<p><a href="https://itunes.apple.com/ca/podcast/blue-jays-plus-podcast/id705699884?mt=2"><img class="alignnone wp-image-63" src="http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2016/03/itunes1.png" alt="itunes" width="125" height="46" /></a></p>
<p>Follow the guys on twitter: <a title="@coolhead2010" href="https://twitter.com/coolhead2010" target="_blank">@coolhead2010</a>, <a title="@JoshuaHowsam" href="https://twitter.com/JoshuaHowsam" target="_blank">@JoshuaHowsam</a> and <a title="@CWSherwin" href="https://twitter.com/CWSherwin" target="_blank">@CWSherwin</a></p>
<p>Intro music is Slow Burn (<a href="http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Kevin_MacLeod/" rel="cc:attributionURL">Kevin MacLeod</a>) under <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/" rel="license">CC BY 3.0</a>.</p>
<div><strong>Podcast Email</strong>-<a href="mailto:artificialturfwars@baseballprospectus.com" target="_blank">artificialturfwars@baseballprospectus.com</a> Please drop us a line if there is a guest you&#8217;d particularly like us to interview, to submit a question to <strong>Stump the Josh</strong>, or to simply give us feedback on the podcast. We&#8217;d love to hear from you!</div>
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		<title>Artificial Turf Wars Ep. 39: A Pearce-ing Winter Wind</title>
		<link>http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/2016/12/08/artificial-turf-wars-ep-39-a-pearce-ing-winter-win/</link>
		<comments>http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/2016/12/08/artificial-turf-wars-ep-39-a-pearce-ing-winter-win/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 08 Dec 2016 10:47:57 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Artifical Turf Wars]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Articles]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Podcast]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Artificial Turf Wars]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[Offseason]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Steve Pearce]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[winter meetings]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/?p=8280</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Greg, Josh, and Nick break down the happenings (and not) from the Winter Meetings in Washington, D.C. They start by discussing the value of recent Blue Jays signing Steve Pearce, then look at the fallout from the Chris Sale trade, Edwin Encarnacion&#8217;s market crash, Dexter Fowler rumours, Ian Desmond&#8217;s bizarre contract from the Rockies, and [&#8230;]]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Greg, Josh, and Nick break down the happenings (and not) from the Winter Meetings in Washington, D.C. They start by discussing the value of recent Blue Jays signing Steve Pearce, then look at the fallout from the Chris Sale trade, Edwin Encarnacion&#8217;s market crash, Dexter Fowler rumours, Ian Desmond&#8217;s bizarre contract from the Rockies, and a minor league signing.  Finally, the trio gives out a Do-Over and tackle the Cliché of the Week, &#8220;Won the Winter.&#8221;</p>
<p><strong>Note:</strong> There will be no pod next week unless something extremely noteworthy happens, such as a big signing or a trade. We will return in two weeks with episode 40!</p>
<p><strong>Podcast</strong>: <a class="powerpress_link_pinw" title="Play in New Window" href="http://s3.amazonaws.com/btr.shows/9/657/show_9657879_2016_12_08_04_46_13.mp3" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Play in new window</a> | <a class="powerpress_link_d" title="Download" href="http://s3.amazonaws.com/btr.shows/9/657/show_9657879_2016_12_08_04_46_13.mp3" rel="nofollow">Download</a></p>
<p><a href="https://itunes.apple.com/ca/podcast/blue-jays-plus-podcast/id705699884?mt=2"><img class="alignnone wp-image-63" src="http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2016/03/itunes1.png" alt="itunes" width="125" height="46" /></a></p>
<p>Follow the guys on twitter: <a title="@coolhead2010" href="https://twitter.com/coolhead2010" target="_blank">@coolhead2010</a>, <a title="@JoshuaHowsam" href="https://twitter.com/JoshuaHowsam" target="_blank">@JoshuaHowsam</a> and <a title="@CWSherwin" href="https://twitter.com/CWSherwin" target="_blank">@CWSherwin</a></p>
<p>Intro music is Slow Burn (<a href="http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Kevin_MacLeod/" rel="cc:attributionURL">Kevin MacLeod</a>) under <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/" rel="license">CC BY 3.0</a>.</p>
<div><strong>Podcast Email</strong>-<a href="mailto:artificialturfwars@baseballprospectus.com" target="_blank">artificialturfwars@baseballprospectus.com</a> Please drop us a line if there is a guest you&#8217;d particularly like us to interview, to submit a question to <strong>Stump the Josh</strong>, or to simply give us feedback on the podcast. We&#8217;d love to hear from you!</div>
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		<title>How the New CBA Affects the Blue Jays</title>
		<link>http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/2016/12/01/how-the-new-cba-affects-the-blue-jays/</link>
		<comments>http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/2016/12/01/how-the-new-cba-affects-the-blue-jays/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 01 Dec 2016 16:52:51 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Joshua Howsam]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Articles]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Featured]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[CBA]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Collective Bargaining Agreement]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Free Agency]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[qualifying offer]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/?p=8142</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Last week I wrote a speculative piece on how a potential 26th roster spot would affect the Blue Jays going forward. It was supposed to be the only lock in the new collective bargaining agreement. Well, the union and MLB finally agreed on the framework for a new CBA…and roster sizes are staying exactly the [&#8230;]]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Last week I wrote a speculative piece on <a title="How the 26th Roster Spot Could Affect the Blue Jays" href="http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/2016/11/24/how-the-26th-roster-spot-could-affect-the-blue-jays/" target="_blank">how a potential 26th roster spot</a> would affect the Blue Jays going forward. It was supposed to be the only lock in the new collective bargaining agreement. Well, the union and MLB finally agreed on the framework for a new CBA…and roster sizes are staying exactly the same. That being said, <a href="https://apnews.com/41de5400e505440cba0478fbac8a6ee4/MLB-players,-owners-reach-tentative-labor-deal" target="_blank">There <em>are</em> many other changes</a> and it would be good to see just how much those will adjust how the Jays do business.</p>
<h4>Luxury Tax/Revenue Sharing</h4>
<p>While many expected the luxury tax threshold to rise to $210-215M to represent the growth of the game since the last agreement, the MLBPA was actually only able to gain an increase from $189M to $195M for the coming season. That number will rise to $197M in 2018, $206M in 2019, $209M in 2020 and $210M in 2021.</p>
<p>There are also stiffer penalties for teams that exceed the tax, with higher tax rates for both new and repeat offenders, and even the potential of draft pick changes if a team is too far above the stated level.</p>
<p>While this change has no direct effect on the Blue Jays (they won’t come close to $195M), it will certainly change how their division rivals do business. Both the Yankees and Red Sox are already up against the tax number, and in Boston’s case specifically it will reportedly stop them from going after top level FAs like Edwin Encarnacion.</p>
<p>On the flip side, the revenue-sharing system seems to help the richest clubs , as <a href="https://twitter.com/Ken_Rosenthal/status/804329328855097345" target="_blank">there is no longer a multiplier</a> for the top earners (meaning they consistently pay more). This helps New York (who also receives <a href="https://twitter.com/Ken_Rosenthal/status/804329334173564928" target="_blank">a reduction for paying for their new park</a>), LA and Boston, but not enough to offset the damages of luxury tax penalties.</p>
<p><strong>Result: Positive for Toronto</strong></p>
<h4>International Free Agency</h4>
<p>MLB entered these negotiations pushing for a draft, and while they didn’t get it, they got what they wanted anyway: Extreme cost certainty. While in the past CBA teams had bonus pools which they could exceed if they were willing to pay penalties as well as slots they could trade to other teams (the Jays used this to get Vlad Guerrero Jr), the new system has put in place a hard cap that ranges from $4.75M to $5.75M per team based on market size.</p>
<p>These changes are shocking, as the MLBPA seemed to be actually putting up a fight for amateur rights. So much for that.</p>
<p>For reference as to how much this hurts, <a href="http://www.baseballamerica.com/international/50-biggest-international-bonuses-of-all-time/#3Ubhe5jY60bemxJX.97" target="_blank">eight players</a> have <a href="http://www.baseballamerica.com/international/team-team-international-signing-tracker/#ThXtTUr0kkCZiPO1.97" target="_blank">agreed to IFA bonuses</a> for $4M or more on their own, including Yoan Moncada <a href="http://www.cbssports.com/mlb/news/yoan-moncada-agrees-to-315-million-signing-bonus-with-red-sox/" target="_blank">who was given a whopping $31.5M</a> by the Red Sox, with a 100% penalty on the overage (bringing the deal closer to a $60M cost for Boston).</p>
<p>Guaranteed costs are beneficial to all clubs as it relates to spending, but it should have an additional side benefit to the Blue Jays. Neither Alex Anthopoulos nor Mark Shapiro (when in Cleveland) were known for throwing big amateur money around, and the Jays’ budget was typically in the $3-4M range before getting into penalties (they actually went over slightly to sign Guerrero).</p>
<p>With the new rules, rich clubs like Boston, New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles can no longer just blow by their bonus caps and pay overage penalties, which means the Jays can now compete for all the top amateurs.  This is also true of all other clubs, but the smaller market teams usually had a lot more to work with than Toronto. It remains to be seen whether the Jays are considered a &#8220;big club&#8221; or &#8220;medium club,&#8221; but the dollars are still so close that they should be able to be competitive for any player they wish to pursue.</p>
<p>There is an interesting potential loophole to the bonus limits, however, and we will have to wait for the final language to see if the CBA closes it:</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Loophole to watch for in new CBA. Teams signing int&#39;l players then trading them to teams who have hit hard cap limit.</p>
<p>&mdash; JJ Cooper (@jjcoop36) <a href="https://twitter.com/jjcoop36/status/804354309358055424">December 1, 2016</a></p></blockquote>
<p><script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p>
<p>Teams love exploiting those sorts of holes, so that will be one to watch for.</p>
<p>In addition to the bonus limits, <a href="https://twitter.com/jonmorosi/status/804195361980030976" target="_blank">Cuban free agents now must be 25 years old</a> to be exempt from bonus pools, up from the previous cut off of 23. This means that the pool of Cuban players will be slightly smaller, and that teams can no longer get them while they&#8217;re still &#8220;prospects&#8221; like Lourdes Gurriel, but that will only affect one or two players a year.</p>
<p>That said, this new change could have a HUGE impact in Japan if the new rules apply to them as well.</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">This means Otani stays in Japan for 3 more years. <a href="https://t.co/BbyPPWepo3">https://t.co/BbyPPWepo3</a></p>
<p>&mdash; JJ Cooper (@jjcoop36) <a href="https://twitter.com/jjcoop36/status/804361845633142785">December 1, 2016</a></p></blockquote>
<p><script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p>
<p>If Shohei Otani is not allowed to come over for another three years (without being subject to bonus limits), this is a huge benefit to the Blue Jays. He projects as a true ace, and it&#8217;s very unlikely the Jays would ever pay the money required to sign him. If nobody else has him, that&#8217;s even better (though bad for baseball). This one <a href="https://twitter.com/Joelsherman1/status/804362661735571456" target="_blank">is still up in the air though</a>, and we&#8217;re going to have to wait for full language to see if it applies.</p>
<p><strong>Result: Positive for Toronto</strong></p>
<h4>Qualifying Offer System</h4>
<p>While the actual qualifying offer is unchanged (a one year deal at the average of the top 125 salaries), the effect of signing/losing a qualified free agent has undergone a massive overhaul.</p>
<p>Rather than attempt to breakdown the extremely convoluted rules, I am just going to include a screengrab from the AP story linked at the top of this piece.</p>
<p style="text-align: center"><a href="http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2016/12/qos.png"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-8143" src="http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2016/12/qos.png" alt="qos" width="641" height="257" /></a></p>
<p>There are actually some slight disagreements on what kind of draft compensation is awarded to the team that loses the player, as <a href="http://www.espn.com/espn/now?nowId=21-0595981839814890747-4" target="_blank">Jayson Stark is reporting</a> that there is an extra tier beyond “luxury tax paying’ and not, and that the $50M contract only affects teams in the smallest markets.</p>
<p>This rule doesn’t apply until next offseason, so Edwin Encarnacion, Jose Bautista, and potential signings like Dexter Fowler are unaffected.</p>
<p>Looking to the future, the Blue Jays have two players who could have been considered for 2017 qualifying offers: Francisco Liriano and Marco Estrada.</p>
<p>With the new rule that players can only be given an offer once, Estrada is off the table. Liriano, however, is definitely affected. Even if he has a good year, there are slim odds of him getting a deal worth more than $50M (and in fact, this CBA encourages the smaller deal). This means the penalty for signing him will be limited.</p>
<p>However, that means the return to the Blue Jays would also be limited to a pick after the second round. That isn’t enough of a reward to risk a non-star player accepting an offer of approximately $18M. So this likely means no QO for Liriano.</p>
<p>This same calculus will have to go into play in trade discussions for rumoured targets like Jay Bruce, Curtis Granderson, and Carlos Gonzalez. Each of those players is a pending free agent. With the promise of a first round pick at the end no longer part of the deal, the trade packages will undoubtedly change somewhat.</p>
<p>When it comes to signing qualified players next offseason (and beyond), the Jays are in a bit of a tough spot. While they now won’t have to give up a first round pick, the $500K international bonus pool loss combined with the second pick is significant. This likely means the Jays will only pursue top free agents who receive qualifying offers.</p>
<p><strong>Result: Slightly Negative for the Blue Jays</strong></p>
<h4>Expanded Regular Season and Shortened Disabled List Time</h4>
<p>While not exactly the sexiest parts of the new CBA, the lengthened regular season (187 days up from 183 starting in 2018) and the shortening of DL stints (from 15 days to 10) will likely have the most visible impact on the Blue Jays.</p>
<p>It’s no secret that the Jays have a few players who are a little bit prone to getting banged up. Troy Tulowitzki, Josh Donaldson, Devon Travis, and Russell Martin all suffer their share of bumps and bruises, and that’s before getting into whoever they pick up as the offseason continues.</p>
<p>With the ability to return a player from the DL within 10 days, teams will no longer have to guess on those 5-6 day injuries that could turn into more (I’m looking at you, Travis). Now they can put them on the DL right away and summon a replacement without having to worry that they’ll be without a healthy regular for 8-10 days. This could mean no more two man benches where one is Josh Thole. That’s nothing but good news.</p>
<p>This becomes even more valuable once the new schedule kicks in for 2018. Not only will extra days off mean fewer DL days are actually game days, but the four extra days will provide the rest that some of the Jays’ aging veterans so often require.</p>
<p>Note: There are many who believe the 10 day DL will mean fifth starters get skipped by being sent to the DL, allowing the team to call up a replacement bench/bullpen option. While this type of gaming of the system is certainly plausible, the MLB would likely push to alter the rule if it is wholly abused.</p>
<p><strong>Result: Hugely Positive for the Blue Jays.</strong></p>
<h4>Draft Bonus Pools Increasing</h4>
<p>With the new agreement, the drop off in slot values from the top picks to later picks in the first round will no longer be as steep (meaning higher values at the back).</p>
<p>With the 24th pick, the Blue Jays stand to benefit from this change, and even more so if it extends to the supplemental picks that the Jays will receive for Encarnacion and Bautista.</p>
<p>While this does mean the Jays lose a bit more if they sign a qualified free agent like Fowler, it likely isn’t enough to really dissuade the front office.</p>
<p><strong>Result: Slightly positive for the Blue Jays</strong></p>
<p>There are a bunch of other little details in the CBA, like the All-Star game no longer deciding World Series home field (it’s about time), a slight increase in minimum salaries (meh), the grandfathered elimination of tobacco products, and many other little minutiae that will filter out over the next few days and weeks, but they don’t/won’t have the same direct impact on individual clubs.</p>
<p>Most importantly, baseball once again has labour peace for another five years. The Winter Meetings will start on time, and the sport we all love will continue to operate and grow.</p>
<p><em>Lead Photo: Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports</em></p>
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		<title>The 9 Most Significant Spring Training Transactions in Blue Jays History</title>
		<link>http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/2016/03/08/the-nine-most-significant-spring-training-transactions-in-blue-jays-history/</link>
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		<pubDate>Tue, 08 Mar 2016 14:57:31 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Andrew Arnold]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Articles]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[The 9]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[David Cone]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Free Agency]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Rance Mulliniks]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Spring Training]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Trades]]></category>

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		<description><![CDATA[The 9 is a monthly list series that will take a look at interesting parts of Blue Jays history, with an attempt to throw in a fun fact or two for every entry. Why nine? Well, there are nine innings and nine players on the field, so it seemed like a proper baseball number. Without [&#8230;]]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><em>The 9 is a monthly list series that will take a look at interesting parts of Blue Jays history, with an attempt to throw in a fun fact or two for every entry. Why nine? Well, there are nine innings and nine players on the field, so it seemed like a proper baseball number. Without further ado, here is this month&#8217;s issue.</em></p>
<p>It&#8217;s finally time for spring training. All the free agents have signed, and the team is ready to do battle with the players they have in camp. There are a few position battles yet to be sorted out, but for the most part, the 2016 Toronto Blue Jays roster is fairly close to being set. Two fights still being waged recently had a new name thrown into the hat, as Rafael Soriano was signed to a minor league contract to compete for the last spot in the bullpen, and Domonic Brown was brought in to compete for the fourth outfield spot. For the last few years though, big Blue Jays transactions in spring are uncommon.  However, historically the Jays have added some pretty nice pieces to their team after camp had opened.  So with that in mind, let&#8217;s take at a look at the 9 most significant spring training transactions in Blue Jays history:</p>
<p><strong>9. March 30, 1993 &#8211; Darrin Jackson acquired from the San Diego Padres for Derek Bell and Stony Briggs</strong></p>
<p>After 1992 World Series hero and starting left fielder Candy Maldonado signed with the Chicago Cubs, the Toronto Blue Jays were left with a hole in left field going into the 1993 season.  24 year old Derek Bell had been the team&#8217;s 4th outfielder in 1992, but the team wasn&#8217;t confident he was was ready to step into a starting role on contending team, so they traded for &#8220;proven veteran&#8221; Darrin Jackson. He wasn&#8217;t flashy, or all that good, but Jackson had played 155 games in 1992 and hit 17 home runs.  He would start on opening day after beating out fellow veteran journeyman Darnell Coles,  but would play very poorly with the team, as is evident by looking at his slash line of .216/.250/.347.  He would appear in only 46 games with the Jays before being traded for Blue Jays great Tony Fernandez.  Derek Bell, on the other hand, would immediately become a starter in San Diego and go on to carve out a decent enough career for himself, even getting some MVP votes in the 1995 season. On its surface, this trade looks quite bad for the Jays, but since they were eventually able to flip Jackson for a rejuvenated Tony Fernandez &#8211; a key figure in the 1993 world series run &#8211; it&#8217;s hard to view the move as a total loss. That&#8217;s why it makes this list.</p>
<p><em>Fun Fact:</em> Derek Bell had been the Jays top prospect going into the 1989 season, and again prior to 1992. After one so-so season as the fourth outfielder, Toronto gave up on him and sent him packing. It was a fairly shocking trade at the time, and Bell turned out to be a much better player than Darrin Jackson in the end, which really surprised no one. However, the Jays viewed Bell as a lazy player, and it was a reputation that followed him his entire career. In 2002 he famously was released with 4.5 million left on his Pirates contract after leaving the team in spring training because they told him he had to battle for his starting position after putting up terrible numbers the previous year. He never played again.</p>
<p><strong>8. March 19, 1992 &#8211; Alfredo Griffin signs as a free agent</strong></p>
<p>34 year old light-hitting utility infielders are not normally thought of as meaningful pick-ups, but in much the same vein as the previous entry on this list, any transaction made by a championship team is likely to be looked upon favorably after the fact. In Griffin&#8217;s case, he&#8217;d already been a Blue Jay fan favorite for 6 seasons in the 1970s and 1980s. Manuel Lee had been the starting shortstop for 1991, but had not played very well. Eddie Zosky (remember him?) was slated to take over the starting spot for 1992, but after performing terribly in spring training at the plate and in the field, it was decided he needed to get more seasoning in the minors. That&#8217;s why Griffin was brought in to back-up Lee at short and Alomar at second. Griffin held that job for 2 seasons (backing up Dick Schofield/Tony Fernandez and Alomar in 1993) and performed the way you&#8217;d expect a light-hitting back-up middle infielder to perform; he held his own defensively when called upon, while not proving to be very effective at the plate. Griffin retired after 1993, with his last moment on a baseball field being standing on deck to watch Joe Carter&#8217;s World Series winning drive to left field clear the fence.</p>
<p><em>Fun Fact:</em> Let&#8217;s be honest, Griffin was kind of bad. Known for playing fairly decent defense, he was an historically terrible hitter, finishing his career with a .249/.285/.319 slash line. So he didn&#8217;t hit for average, didn&#8217;t walk, didn&#8217;t hit for any kind of power, yet somehow managed to play in 1962 games. For players who had at least 7000 plate appearances at the major league level, his OBP is dead last&#8230;of ALL-TIME (the .319 slugging is 3rd worst, the batting average 5th worse). Yet amazingly, he just kept getting starting starting jobs, even somehow managing to somehow block future all-star shortstops (Tony Fernandez, Walt Weiss, and Jose Offerman) at three different stops in his career.</p>
<p><strong>7. March 15, 1978 &#8211; Rick Bosetti Acquired from the St. Louis Cardinals for Tom Bruno.</strong></p>
<p>During the expansion season of 1977, no one Blue Jay played more than 60 games in center field.  Going into the following spring training, no one appeared poised to grab the job, so the Jays pulled the trigger on a trade for 24 year old Rick Bosetti, who had played center for parts of the previous two seasons in St. Louis. He would immediately be installed as the Blue Jays starter, a role which he held for two seasons. A decent fielding outfielder, Bosetti&#8217;s .645 OPS in 1978 was hardly ideal, but for a team that managed to win only 58 games, it was certainly good enough to keep him in the line-up every day. For a new franchise that was desperately seeking some level of stability, simply being able to take the field every day made Bosetti a valuable Blue Jay, and earned him a spot on this list. He would be out of baseball by 1982, and has served as the mayor of Redding, California and is currently running for the California District State Assembly.</p>
<p><em>Fun (or Just Plain Weird) Fact:</em>  Bosetti was kind of weird.  He is on record as stating that it&#8217;s his goal to urinate in every baseball stadium in America.  It makes sense for a visiting player to want to mark his territory in some way in an unfamiliar ballpark, but this seems to be taking it to the extreme.</p>
<p><strong>6. March 29, 1994 &#8211; Mike Huff acquired from the Chicago White Sox for Domingo Martinez</strong></p>
<p>Possibly the least recognizable name on this list for Blue Jays fans, Mike Huff nonetheless was incredible for the Toronto Blue Jays in 1994 after being acquired at the end of spring training. Left field had been a position of weakness for the Blue Jays for much of 1993, and with Rickey Henderson returning to Oakland, the Jays were looking to add depth for the 1994 season. For this reason, Toronto shipped out first baseman Domingo Martinez (who would never play another game in the major leagues) for the four-year veteran, Huff. He finished the strike-season with a .304/.392/.449 slash line, with his OPS of .842, third on team behind Paul Molitor and John Olerud, but <em>ahead </em>of Joe Carter and Roberto Alomar. Suffice it to say, the Blue Jays were happy they made this move, despite the incredible disappointment of the year, both in terms of team success and a league wide strike. Unfortunately, Huff couldn&#8217;t replicate the success of 1994, ultimately losing his starting spot part-way through 1995 to Shawn Green. He was out of baseball entirely by the end of the 1996 season, but for one half season in 1994, the Blue Jays had a very very good left-fielder by the name of Mike Huff.</p>
<p><em>Fun Fact:</em> Despite the fact he started 80 out of 115 games in 1994, Huff didn&#8217;t win the job out of spring training. In fact, the opening day left fielder was actually some prospect by the name of Carlos Delgado. Delgado would struggle a bit at the plate and a lot in the field, and was eventually sent down to make way for Huff to begin his improbable run. We all know Delgado as the great first baseman he eventually became, but many of us likely forgot that the two-time defending World Series champions opened the following season with Delgado on the team, and in the outfield.</p>
<p><strong>5. March 15th, 1978 &#8211; Rico Carty acquired from the Cleveland Indians for Dennis DeBarr</strong></p>
<p>Carty was acquired on the same day as Bosetti. 38 years old at the time, Carty was still considered a pretty good hitter, having played very well for the Indians the past few seasons. Playing exclusively as the DH, he would be the best hitter in the Jays line-up by a fair margin for most of 1978, slugging 20 home runs for the team in 104 games with an OPS of .850. For his part, Dennis DeBarr, who had played 14 games in middle relief for the Blue Jays in 1977, would never play in the majors again.</p>
<p><em>Fun Fact</em>: Rico Carty apparently liked Toronto. With him hitting as well as he was, the Blue Jays traded Carty to an Oakland team hoping to finish with a winning record (they wouldn&#8217;t; they played terrible ball over the last month and a half and finished well below .500). He clearly held no ill feelings, as he would sign with the Jays in the following offseason anyway, finishing his career with one more season as the Jays DH. Uniquely, he had played AAA ball for the Toronto Maple Leafs as part the the Brewers organization in 1963. There&#8217;s a legend that while a member of the Maple Leafs, Carty hit two home runs in the same at bat, hitting one after the umpire had called time, but followed it up by hitting another one on the next pitch anyway.</p>
<p><strong>4. April 6, 1995 &#8211; David Cone acquired from Kansas City Royals for Chris Stynes, David Sinnes and Tony Medrano.</strong></p>
<p>This could have easily been number 1 on this list, had Cone not have been traded to the Yankees right before the trade deadline of the same year, as he was almost certainly the best player the Blue Jays ever picked up in Spring Training. To be fair, it&#8217;s also a slight misnomer; Cone was certainly traded for during Spring Training, but since the offseason started with baseball still mired in a strike, there hadn&#8217;t really been any transactions made up until that point. 1994 was a terrible season for the Blue Jays, so hoping to make the best of their second chance to defend their 1993 title, the Jays struck a deal for the the 1994 Cy Young Award winner, Cone. Hopes were high, as this team still had the core nucleus of the 1993 World Series championship team; Roberto Alomar, Joe Carter, John Olerud, Devon White, Paul Molitor, Pat Hengten, Juan Guzman, Duane Ward and Mike Timlin were all still Blue Jays. Cone would prove to be every bit the player Toronto hoped for, as he would go 9-6 with a 3.38 ERA with the Blue Jays, but the high expectations were misguided, as the Blue Jays sat in 5th place. Eventually, they traded Cone to the wild-card bound Yankees, where he&#8217;d go on to help the Yankees to earn the first ever American League Wild Card and win game four of the World Series as a member of the Evil Empire.  But for half a season, the Jays were treated to some of the best pitching in all of baseball. Going the other way were Chris Stynes, who was rated the Blue Jays 9th best prospect at the time of the trade (he would go on to have a 10 year career, mostly as a back-up), Tony Medrano, a career minor leaguer, and David Sinnes who would spend only one year in the Royals organization before retiring from the game at age 24.</p>
<p><em>Fun Fact:</em>  Most of us remember the <em>other </em>time the Blue Jays traded for David Cone. In 1992 the Jays picked him in August (how the heck did he clear waivers?!) and went on to win the World Series. At the end of that season, Cone decided to sign with the Kansas City Royals for three years/$18 million, making him the highest paid pitcher in the game at the time.  In 2015, another former Cy Young winner named David made his way into our hearts in a mid-season trade, only to leave and become highest paid pitcher in the the game at the end of the season. The contract? seven years/217 million. What a difference 22 years makes in terms of player salaries. Wow.</p>
<p><strong>3. March 16, 2000 &#8211; aquired Brad Fullmer in a three team trade (David Sequi going to the Rangers/Lee Stevens going to the Expos)</strong></p>
<p>In a rare trade that featured both the Toronto Blue Jays and Montreal Expos, the Blue Jays traded for Brad Fullmer in March of 2000, the last year before Rogers would take over ownership of the team from Interbrew. The Texas Rangers sent power hitting but defensively flawed and strike-out prone Lee Stevens to a Montreal Expos team hoping to contend, the Blue Jays sent slick-fielding, good hitting David Segui and his $4.3 Million contract to the Rangers, and the Expos send a 25 year old, mostly unproven first baseman to the Blue Jays. Brad Fullmer was by far the youngest, cheapest, and least accomplished of the three players involved, but would go on to have the best 2000 season of them all, hitting 32 home-runs and posting an .898 OPS as the Blue Jays full time DH. The 2000 Blue Jays had seven players who hit 20 home-runs, including four who hit more than 30, so Fullmer&#8217;s season is kind of lost in the shuffle, but he was very, very good that year, and cost significantly less than the guy for whom he was traded. He would play one more season as the Jay&#8217;s DH before being traded to the Angels, but Fullmer&#8217;s 2000 season is one of the best seasons by a DH the team has ever had.</p>
<p><em>Fun Fact:</em> This trade was pretty interesting for a variety of reasons. For one, all three teams traded only a first baseman (although most reports indicate that Blue Jays sent cash Texas&#8217; way as well). For another, David Segui had only recently joined the Blue Jays when he was dealt. Only half a game back of Boston for the wild card spot in July of 1999, the Blue Jays traded for Segui to bolster an already pretty great offense. He would play well the rest of the way, the Jays would score a team record number of runs, but they would finish 11 games back of the Wild Card. He actually re-signed with the Blue Jays in January before they traded him in March.</p>
<p><strong>2. John Mayberry Sr. Aquired from the Kansas City Royals for cash on April 3rd, 1978.</strong></p>
<p>The third move made by the new Jays franchise for a starting position player during spring training of 1978, Mayberry was a former two-time All-Star who had finished second in MVP voting in 1975. His stock had dropped since then, as he finished both the 1976 and 1977 with batting averages in the .230s. In fact, his coach, Whitey Herzog, had actually blamed him for the team&#8217;s 1977 ALDS loss to the Yankees (he struck out a lot, made errors and even arrived late to a game), so the team didn&#8217;t really want to keep him. Waiting until almost the start of the season, the Blue Jays managed to pick Mayberry up for just cash, and immediately plugged him in as their starting first baseman. While he was never able to regain his former glory, Mayberry nonetheless proved a valuable player in the middle of the team&#8217;s order for the next few seasons, even managing to hit 30 home runs in 1980. He played five seasons in Toronto, and even spent some years as a coach in their system following his retirement.</p>
<p><em>Fun Fact:</em> Mayberry&#8217;s son, John Mayberry Jr. is currently in the Tigers training camp trying to crack the roster.  He has played for a variety of major league teams, including a short stint in Toronto in 2014, making John Mayberry and John Mayberry, the only father and son pairing to both suit up for the Blue Jays to this point (unless we count Prince Fielder&#8217;s apparently legendary adolescent batting practices in Toronto).</p>
<p><strong>1. Rance Mulliniks: acquired from the Kansas City Royals for Phil Huffman on March 25, 1982</strong></p>
<p>Rance Mulliniks was drafted as a shortstop, but had languished in the minors, spending only parts of five seasons in the big leagues. Already 25 and running out of options, the Blue Jays saw something they liked, picking him up for pitcher Phil Huffman. Huffman hadn&#8217;t played with the big league club since 1979, a year in which he lost 18 games due in large part to being fairly terrible, so he was easily expendable. Mulliniks was immediately moved to third base (a position occupied on his former team by some guy named George Brett) as the left-handed side of a platoon with Garth Iorg. . Rance immediately proved he could handle the position defensively, and his offense started to come around as well, especially his ability to get on base, as he would end his Jays career with an OBP of .365. The platoon would last until 1987, when Iorg retired and Mulliniks was moved to DH to make room for Kelly Gruber. Mulliniks played 11 years as a member of the Toronto Blue Jays, and in only one of them, his first year in 1982, did the Blue Jays have a losing season. He played an integral part on the first Blue Jays playoff team, and was able to gain a ring in his final season with the club in 1992. This is one reason why he&#8217;s first on this list. The other is that Phil Huffman never played a game for the Royals big league club, and was out of baseball by the end of 1985, having pitched only 4.2 innings since the trade. Basically, this ended up being possibly the most lopsided trade in the history of the Blue Jays (non-Jose Bautista for Robinzon Diaz division).</p>
<p><em>Fun Fact:</em>  Rance Mulliniks was slow his entire career, and obviously even slower late in his career. Of some surprise, then, is that he actually hit the first inside the park home room ever at the Skydome. On July 11, 1991, as a 35 year DH, Mulliniks &#8220;sprinted&#8221; around the bases after a drive off of Kevin Brown in a 2-0 victory for the first place, playoff bound Blue Jays over the Texas Rangers.  It would prove to be the last home-run of his career.</p>
<p>So, there you have it. Nine players that the Jays picked up late in the offseason, after the sounds of spring had already started.  You may have noticed that the most recent player on this list was acquired in the year 2000. It&#8217;s been a long time since the Jays have made any significant Spring Training moves, so hopefully Soriano, Brown, or even another addition over the next few weeks can make an appearance on a future issue of &#8220;The Nine&#8221; as key late moves for the eventual 2016 World Series champions.</p>
<p><em>Lead photo: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports</em></p>
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