Blog Archives
Detroit Tigers Payroll In 2016 + Contracts Going Forward
Detroit is rapidly aging with their core and they have added even more guys to the fold over this winter with Jordan Zimmermann and Francisco Rodriguez both 30 or over. This club may have opened up another 1 – 2 year winning window here – but will pay a steep financial price for it. The club is around $175 MIL already for total team salary and are right near the MLB Luxury Tax Threshold of $189 MIL.
Hunter Stokes (Chief Writer/Part Owner) Follow @stokes_hunter21
Follow The MLB Reports On Twitter Follow @mlbreports
The Tigers are on the cusp of chasing that $189 MIL Luxury Tax Threshold they way they are spending money freely. They have 3 of the top 15 contracts in MLB history – with Jordan Zimmermann just outside the bar with his new 5 YRs/$110 MIL deal.
It has been a decade worth of competitive baseball – with the outlier being the last season where they finished under .500.
Detroit should be right around $171 MIL after the Arbitration contracts are finished this winter. This must be where the budget ends for the franchise.
The Tigers are still paying Prince Fielder $30 MIL over the next 6 years – spread out evenly, and this year they have the pleasure of kicking Joe Nathan another $1 MIL not to play for them.
Miguel Cabrera and Justin Verlander both earn $28 MIL in the upcoming season – while Victor Martinez and Jordan Zimmermann both will make $18 MIL each. Ian Kinsler and Anibal Sanchez round out the 8 figure players.
The Motown Boys also facilitated trades to bring in OF Cameron Maybin and Closer Francisco Rodriguez that will add some money to the bottom line in 2016.
Cabrera is just starting his huge 8 Years/$248 MIL pact – while Justin Verlander still has 4 years and a total of $112 MIL left on the books.
If all of the options are picked up on this team, the whole Roster could be back for the 2017 as well. This may be a good or bad thing. Read the rest of this entry
MLB Shutout Survivor 2015: Then There Were 3: Yanks, Blue Jays and Tigers Last Clubs To Be Bageled.
Miggy Cabrera is cracking the ball around like he did in 20112 and 2013, and far more than the 2015 season he had last year. With Victor Martinez showing signs of breaking out of his slump, along with the Cespedes and Cabrera factor, the Tigers might just have enough to fend off being Shutout the longest of this years contest.
MLB Shutout Survivor 2015: Which Team Do You Have Last To Be Blanked This Year?
Last Year the winners of the contest were the Angels, who lasted pretty much to Memorial Day Weekend without registering a 0. It was a battle between them and Colorado late in the year, with Los Angeles finally prevailing.
Boston took the zero on Friday night, and were eliminated by the Jays, who are still among the 3 squads yet to register no runs in a contest.
The New York Yankees are leading the AL East, and a big reason why they are doing this is also the top of the lineup. Jacoby Ellsbury and Brett Gardner are always on the basepaths, creating havoc for power hitters like Alex Rodriguez, Mark Teixeira and Brian McCann to reel them in.
While we were all laughing at Carlos Beltran for his start of the year, he has hit better recently, and has mustered 9 doubles of the year, and is hitting a lot of warning track outs. He is scraping by near the Mendoza Line, but is faring much better in May.
To me there is no surprise the Detroit Tigers are among the final clubs alive, nor is it a stretch to see the only Canadian franchise vying for the crown as well. Read the rest of this entry
Why Ruben Amaro Jr. Should Be Fired Right Now!
Ruben Amaro JR and the brass of the Phils should have faced the facts – and started dismantling their team before they lost any relevant value over the last few years. Now players like Rollins, Burnett and Utley have had their Vesting Options all exercised – and with the exception of the 2nd baseman, none of them have any trade value. Add brutal dollars owed to Howard and Papelbon, and this team is headed for financial peril.
Why Ruben Amaro Jr should be fired
Jordan Gluck (Prospects/Organization Expert): Follow @jgluck777
Follow The MLB Reports On Twitter Follow @mlbreports
I believe that if any GM were asked what is the organization that they would least like to take over the answer would be the Phillies. This team is a train wreck and it starts with up top where a new general manager is needed.
The Phillies even with the money that they generate are a long-term project that won’t be easy to fix. Rubens tenure started November 3rd 2008. The team had just won the World Series under the tutelage of Pat Gillick.
Amaro had a team that could have brought a dynasty type of run to the franchise. After a slow-moving regression that went from World Series Appearance in 2009, to NLCS in 2010, and then NLDS in 2011, the team finally missed the playoffs.
The core began to grow older and become expensive. It has been apparent the squad needed a rebuild on the fly, but the powers that be have sat on their diminishing assets too long, and now the apples have become rotten, and not useful to other 29 teams.
It is a flawed way of thinking – and will set the organization back 3 – 5 years.
Out of our entire staff here at MLB Reports, we all hold the same opinion about Amaro JR. – and in this article, we have all added our 2 cents in some form. Be sure to listen to Sully’s great podcasts about the Phillies at the end of the blog.
How All Of The A’s Pitchers Were Acquired: Lots Of Depth Even For 2015 Without Breaking The Bank!
Part of the lure in acquiring Samardzija was that he had 1 year left of Arbitration. He will likely cost in the $12 – 15 MIL range for 2015. He tops the list of several A’s players that will be ARB eligible in 2015 like Moss, Donaldson, Cook, Parker, Jaso, Reddick and Gentry. While the club is going for it in 2014, their unloading of Cespdes’s $10.5 MIL 2015 salary will be used to pay these guys raises for next year, which should ensure them of another chance to compete for it all.. The Pitching Staff will remain almost intact, with losing just Lester, Hammel and Gregerson, while 12 guys are still under Team control, and 3 more guys with lots of MLB experience are in Sacramento waiting for a callup.
How All Of The A’s Pitchers Were Acquired:
By Chuck Booth (Lead Baseball Analyst/Website Owner): Follow @chuckbooth3024
Follow MLB Reports On Twitter Follow @mlbreports
Billy Beane has assembled quite the Pitching Staff for his 2014 final playoff push despite having both Jarrod Parker and A.J. Griffin out for the year with Tommy John Surgery.
Sonny Gray, A.J. Griffin and Sean Doolittle (although he was drafted as a hitter) are the only active pitchers on their staff that are homegrown products.
Jon Lester was acquired with Yoenis Cespedes (who signed as an International Free Agent.
Much like the hitters, the ‘Moneyball GM’ has wheeled and dealt until he put together one of the best run prevention teams in the game baseball.
Bringing in Jeff Samardzija and Jason Hammel cost the team 2 young prospects and Dan Straily, all of whom were team draft picks. Read the rest of this entry
The Toronto Blue Jays Prospects + Org. Depth Charts For All Affiliates – 2014 (MLB + MiLB)
By Chuck Booth (Lead Baseball Analyst/Website Owner): Follow @chuckbooth3024 & Jeff Kleiner (Org Depth Chart + Payroll Expert – find his website here) Follow @prosportsroster
The Blue Jays have used their system well to acquire several key pieces from other organizations via trade over recent years.
Despite all of the prospects that have left, several are still on their way to the Majors for the big club and several are highly touted.
In 2014, the Blue Jays will try to erase a 21 year playoff drought. Will the franchise part with some more of its youth, or may they hold steady with the personnel in the MiLB?
If you are a fan, get to know these players we list in the post, and follow their progress in the Minors. if you click their name, it will take you to baseballreference.com’s player page of them. Read the rest of this entry
The Philadelphia Phillies Prospects + Organizational Depth Charts For All Affiliates – 2014 (MLB + MiLB)
Among Amaro’s staff of scouts and underlings, there must be some level of discomfort because no group of baseball men this large who evaluate talent for a living can make that many mistakes on a professional level. Unless, of course, these men are afraid to go against Amaro’s will. If that’s the case, it will be up to Phillies President and team ownership to hear that the citizens of Philadelphia have already figured out that the emperor has no clothes. It’s time for Amaro to go. It won’t happen soon enough, and with Montgomery’s latest proclamation, this club will set themselves back for a few more years by not selling off some players in a futile season.
By Chuck Booth (Lead Baseball Analyst/Website Owner): Follow @chuckbooth3024 & Jeff Kleiner (Org Depth Chart + Payroll Expert – find his website here) Follow @prosportsroster
Follow MLB Reports On Twitter Follow @mlbreports
TRADE DEADLINE CHAT/Build your system by trading veterans and regroup for 2015.
I have a newsflash for David Montomery (President, part -owner of the Phillies), your fanbase already hates the team right now, and it is not like you won’t spend money on the club in 2015.
The Boston Red Sox were smart enough to realize that 2012 was a lost season. Instead of riding it out, they made huge changes to the roster.
Deals that led to numerous Free Agent signings in that winter, that helped them win the 2013 World Series..
A lot of the trades they did were based on the team dumping payroll, becoming younger, and also not having lengthy contracts plaguing their franchises for many years to come.
The “Phigtins” are 8.5 Games the NL East leading Braves, and 8 behind the playoff bar, but here is the problem…. Read the rest of this entry
How All Of The Blue Jays Hitters Were Acquired (2014 Roster Tree)
How All Of The Blue Jays Hitters Were Acquired:
By Chuck Booth (Lead Baseball Analyst/Website Owner): Follow @chuckbooth3024
Follow MLB Reports On Twitter Follow @mlbreports
For those that have never seen one of our Roster Trees, we go over how all of the players were acquired.
It works like 6 degrees of separation. By searching back to the origin of all the way back until a player is signed, drafted or purchased.
It totally gives you an idea on how the franchise has fared.
Toronto absolutely stole Jose Bautista from Pittsburgh, and then saw Edwin Encarnacion selected off of waivers by the A’s, only to see him return as a Free Agent 6 weeks later.
The Blue Jays have seen EE bash out several seasons worth of awesome since then.
You can track back some of the player to as far as Orlando Hudson and Roy Halladay. Read the rest of this entry
Oakland Athletics Roster In 2014: How All Of The Pitchers Were Acquired
Jarrod Parker is out for the year with Tommy John Surgery. You are talking about a guy that was 25 – 16 with a 3.68 ERA over the last 2 years combined. He has top of the rotation stuff and will be greatly missed. The A’s also had a TJ scare with A.J. Griffin, but it has been downgraded to an elbow strain for now. Parker was traded for by the Athletics in a major package sent to Oakland with Collin Cowgill and Ryan Cook for Starter Trevor Cahill. The club still has Parker and Cahill. While it is bad Parker is out in 2014, he will be back. Cahill has been ineffective for the D’backs in 2014 – with a 9.17 ERA and an MLB leading 4 losses.
By Chuck Booth (Lead Baseball Analyst/Website Owner): Follow @chuckbooth3024
Follow MLB Reports On Twitter Follow @mlbreports
I just finished writing an article about how Billy Beane was smart not to have signed Barry Zito, Mark Mulder and Tim Hudson to extensions here.
You really wont find him do this anytime soon with any of his chuckers.
The Scott Kazmir deal is the one he likes to do. It is simple as to why the man operates like this. He doesn’t have to give up any assets in the process.
Beane is a “Baseball Rounder”.
It is not unlike him to do manage 50 – 60 transactions per year. He was won more than he has lost – whether it is Free Agency or trades. His ballclub has the best record in the Majors since the start of play in 2012 – at 200 – 144 (.581 baseball).
We will go through the Pitching First, and then the hitting by the weekend. Read the rest of this entry
Billy Beane’s Decision To Not Extend Mulder, Zito And Hudson Was The Right One: Money Ball At Its Best
Billy Beane will never spend a king’s ransom for Pitchers on long-term deals or for big $$ because of injuries like Tommy John crippling your salary infrastructure for the whole time a player may be out. Especially with smaller market teams, having too much invested with your pitchers can be catastrophic. Even though Jarrod Parker were out for a couple of years each with TJ surgeries the club was not hampered long-term financially by their injuries. It hurts yes, but not as much as it could have. He was forced into realizing the effects from losing Mulder, Zito and Hudson because the team couldn’t afford to re-sign them a decade ago. But as you will read, it was a blessing in disguise.
By Chuck Booth (Lead Baseball Analyst/Website Owner): Follow @chuckbooth3024
Follow MLB Reports On Twitter Follow @mlbreports
This has been an organization that has thrived on brilliant drafting of young arms. But in saying that. Billy Beane is a manager that will never throw out big dollars to retain Starting Pitching once the club has past the Team Controllable years.
In the early 2000’s, the team featured three ace pitchers in Barry Zito, Tim Hudson and Mark Mulder.
Billy Beane had to let each of them leave Oakland (in the winters of 2004 – Hudson/Mulder, and 2006 winter – Zito) because they couldn’t pay them the kind of dollars needed to secure them long term.
It was a decision that looked dire to start with while the team struggled from 2007 – 2011, but it also paved the way for a new run at AL West Division supremacy from 2012 to current.
Lets take another look at the decision on how it has worked out since then. Read the rest of this entry
Houston Astros Roster In 2014 Part 1: How All Of The Hitters Were Acquired
The Astros decided to rebuild a few years ago In doing so they traded away Lance Berkman, Roy Oswalt, Hunter Pence, Carlos Lee, at first, and then have since also traded Bud Norris, Jed Lowrie, Jordan Lyles and Brandon Barnes. Many of the transactions have given the team many of its current roster today, with many of the players also with the organization – while hardly any of the departing guys are with the team that dealt for them. Today is the 1st part of a 2 parter seeing how the current club was assembled by the Astros.
By Chuck Booth (Lead Baseball Analyst/Website Owner): Follow @chuckbooth3024
Follow MLB Reports On Twitter Follow @chuckbooth3024
At the MLB Reports, we intend to show you the Roster Tree for the Houston Astros – and how they assembled their current roster for hitting and Pitching.
It will work in a six degrees of separation like format.
Once we figure out the origin of how many trades going back in time it takes to see where the tree started, it will be time to dissect how the team fared on the deals.
If a player has never left the organization at all, the tree will be easy – as it will just be the year they were drafted or signed.
Sometimes pitchers will be in the hitters part of the write-up and vice versa. This is simply done when one side of hitter or pitcher is dealt for each other. Read the rest of this entry
The Toronto Blue Jays State Of The Union: 2014 Preview
The SkyDome was opened in May of 1989. For the championship ERA, the club drew 4 Million fans each per year. In recent years, it was tough for the club to draw 2 Million fans. In 2013, with the promise of a new club mantra, based on Free Agent signings, the team held the best year to year attendance boost in 2013. If the Jays can’t spring out of the gate fast in 2014, I think the Walkup single game tickets will be tremendously affected negatively. Toronto has not made the playoffs since winning back to back World Series in 1992 and 1993, and only them and Kansas City hold that dubious honor since the Player Strike/Lockout ensuing seasons of 1994 – 1995.
By ‘Baseball Writer’ Steve Cheeseman Follow @steveccheeseman
Follow MLB Reports On Twitter Follow @mlbreports
The Toronto Blue Jays have been a franchise in question for over 20 years. This floundering franchise has gone through 11 manager changes since winning the World Series in 1993 vs. the Philadelphia Phillies.
2 of those managers in Cito Gaston and John Gibbons have been hired twice! The 2013 season was supposed to be the year the Jays went all the way.
GM Alex Anthopolous numerous moves acquiring major pieces to what was supposed to be a contending team.
R.A. Dickey, Jose Reyes, Josh Johnson, Emilio Bonifacio, Maicer Izturis, Mark Buehrle, and Melky Cabrera. Despite these additions via trade or signing….same story, different season! Read the rest of this entry
Toronto Blue Jays Payroll In 2014 + Contracts Going Forward
The Blue Jays were the odds on favorite to win the World Series in 2013 among oddsmakers. After a failure of a season, the gambling websites are still placing way too much faith in the team. To have them listed as tied with the Rays for the 12th best odd (+1800) to win the World Series is a stretch. This team has committed $129 MIL already for 2014 payroll, and have not much room to gamble any more cash on the Roster. This is incredible considering the bargain the team has with Edwin Encarnacion and Jose Bautista being just paid $23 MIL between the two of them.
By Chuck Booth (Lead Baseball Analyst/Website Owner): Follow @chuckbooth3024 & Jeff Kleiner (Org. Depth Chart Expert) Follow @prosportsroster
Follow MLB Reports On Twitter Follow @mlbreports
It was a 2013 season that saw the team have the biggest spike in attendance in the majors, but it also came at a hefty price in total team salary.
For as much as the team forked out in payroll, they must not have been able to recoup all of their money.
Their payroll places them right in the middle of AL East pack. The Yankees are right near the Luxury Tax Threshold right now of $189 MIL at $182 MIL – and the Boston Red Sox are hovering at around $160 MIL.
The Orioles will be near the $100 MIL range, and the Rays figure to be in the low $70 MIL area. Read the rest of this entry
The Toronto Blue Jays Players, Organizational Affiliates, Prospects + Depth Charts (MLB + MiLB)
The Blue Jays have been trading away all of their top prospects in recent years, and so far, not one of the players has come back to burn them. Unfortunately, the veterans brought in via trade haven’t pushed them over the top either.
By Chuck Booth (Lead Baseball Analyst/Website Owner): Follow @mlbreports and Jeff Kleiner (Salary, Roster and Depth Chart Expert for the MLB) – visit his website here Follow @prosportsroster
For all of the Rosters, Depth Charts, State of the Unions and Salaries Posts that we do, please visit our dedicated page link here.
The Blue Jays have invested a great deal of their future in trades in recent years. First they traded away several prospects to acquire Jose Reyes, Mark Buehrle, Josh Johnson and John Buck.
The 2nd move was to also trade Travis d’Arnaud and Buck for R.A.Dickey. However the moves backfired on them in 2013.
What is worse for the team, is the franchise has not been able to develop their own talent over the last several years. Their best players on the club were all brought in via trades.
Jose Bautista and Edwin Encarnacion were absolute steals for the guys they doled out to reel them in (Robinson Diaz, never played in the Majors for Pit in the Joey Bats deal, and they originally acquired in the Scott Rolen traded to Cincy. He was selected off of waivers by Oakland, before he came to the club via Free Agency.
Jose Bautista 2013 Highlights
Houston Astros State Of The Union Address: Fall 2013
From 1992 – 2006, Houston was one of the best franchises in the games of baseball, not having one losing season in that time span. They won 4 Division Titles, 8 – 2nd place finishes, and appeared in 6 playoffs. After being swept in the 2005 World Series, the core got old, and the team waited too long to rebuild. Once it was time, the management actually did a smart thing in totally gutting the entire franchise, in order to restock the Minor League System. Now with 3 105+ Loss seasons, and back to back 1st overall picks, the team has begun the process. An ownership changed mirrored the last transference of all the remaining Veterans from the previous regime. How long will it take for the Astros to compete again?
By Chuck Booth (Lead Baseball Analyst/Website Owner): Follow @mlbreports
Follow MLB Reports On Twitter Follow @mlbreports
The Astros had one of the easiest years to peg down in the game of baseball for 2013.
They were horrible early, traded away every possible Veteran that were making any kind of cash on the Major League Level, and then proceeded to be even worse after the ALL – Star Game.
The worst part of the campaign was left for the end, where they promptly lost their last 15 games – to finish with a record of 51 – 111.
It was their 3rd straight 100+ Loss season. But overlooking the obvious is that they actual drew a few more fans in 2013 – compared to 2012.
That was more a symptom of the club moving to the American League. At least they were not last in the league for Attendance, like payroll.
The Disaster That Was The Blue Jays 2013 Season: State Of The Union
Following the 2012 Major League Baseball season, Toronto Blue Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos made some noticeable moves, to seemingly re-invent Canada’s team. Jay’s fans everywhere were ecstatic and pumped for the upcoming season, thinking that playoff baseball would finally return to Canada after 20 long seasons.
By ‘Special Guest Blue Jays Writer’ Steve Cheeseman Follow @cheeseman_s
Follow MLB Reports On Twitter Follow @mlbreports
Another Season, Another Disaster.
The off-season started with a boom, with the signings of Maicer Izturis (3 yr-$9 million), and Melky Cabrera (2 yr-$16million). This was followed by acquiring hard throwing Esmil Rogers from Cleveland.
They weren’t done yet.
On November 14th, Anthopoulos completed a blockbuster trade with the Miami Marlins, receiving pitchers Josh Johnson (2-time All-Star)and Mark Buehrle (4-time All-Star), short-stop Jose Reyes (4-time All-Star, 2011 NL Batting Champion), catcher John Buck, utility man Emilio Bonifacio, and $8 million in cash in exchange for pitcher Henderson Alvarez, short-stop Yunel Escobar, catcher Jeff Mathis, and prospects.
It was a steal. Toronto then sent John Buck and prospects to the New York Mets, for reigning NL Cy Young winner R.A. Dickey, catcher Josh Thole and a prospect.
Odd makers out of Las Vegas named the Toronto Blue Jays as the favorites to win the 2013 World Series. Too good to be true right? Pretty much.
Munenori Kawasaki – See You Tomorrow
Toronto Blue Jays Payroll In 2013 And Contracts Going Forward
Like us on Facebook here
Follow @mlbreportsFriday, August.16, 2013
Jose Bautista is one of the power threats in the line up for Toronto. He has rebounded nicely this season, after injuries cut his 2012 season short. He has a .261/.357/.857 triple-slash in 2013 with 27 HRs and 72 RBIs in 440 at-bats. He has 51 extra-base hits on the season, with 115 hits overall to go along with 220 Total Bases. He fares better against right-handers with a .263 batting average in 350 at-bats against them, while he is just hitting .256 facing southpaws. Bautista is still a threat with runners in scoring position, as indicated by his .301/.410/1.002 triple-slash with 6 HRs and 45 RBIs in this situation. He is still solid with two outs and runners in scoring position with a .306 batting average and 17 RBIs. They need him to stay healthy to contend in 2014.
By Chris Lacey (Lead Baseball Columnist/Minority Website Owner) Follow @aecanada12
The Toronto Blue Jays have not had the greatest of seasons with them dead last in the American League East division. They trail the Boston Red Sox by 15 games and the chances of them being a Wild Card team are slim at best.
One of the reasons that this season has been a nightmare for the team that made plenty of noise during the offseason is with their pitching. They have allowed 590 runs this season, and only the Houston Astros have allowed more runs at 633 this season.
J.P. Arencibia Toronto Blue Jays Highlights – Parental Guidance Is Advised
Toronto Blue Jays Organizational Charts: Payroll, Depth Charts And Rosters, (MLB + MiLB)
Like us on Facebook here
Follow @mlbreportsSaturday, June.14/2013
The Blue Jays have played better baseball of late, are now 30 – 36. They sit in last place in the AL East – 9.5 Games Behind the Boston Red Sox. Mark Buerhle was great in a 8 – 0 win versus Texas Fri. The two teams continue a Series today.
By Chuck Booth (Lead Baseball Analyst/Website Owner): Follow @chuckbooth3024 and welcome Jeff Kleiner (Salary, Roster and Depth Chart Expert for the MLB) – visit his website here Follow @prosportsroster
You guys are all in for a treat. Jeff Kleiner recently contacted me about a partnership merge for the website. He has developed a site (prosportsrosters.com) that covers all organizational affiliates in the Minors for all of the Major League Baseball Clubs. We are going to combine efforts to bring you the best look at salaries, current 25 Man Player Rosters and Depth Charts for all 30 teams.
Jeff is going to provide the documents in form of spreadsheets and I am going to accompany the posts with deep analysis of what the numbers tell us from my perspective. If you can’t wait for all of my assessments for each club, go and visit Jeff’s website over at http://www.prosportsrosters.com.
In Speaking with Jeff, he is one of the more passionate fans I have come across towards the game of baseball. He spends enough time in updating his MLB Facts for it to be a Full-Time Job. So after the usual Video Clip and READ THE REST OF THIS ENTRY button, you will find some serious &*!@?!#!
Jeff updates this page below on a daily basis. After you click on it….Bookmark it. There is a 3 year salary forecast and stats not listed here on this page. Jeff updates these pages daily and these changes include any Roster moves!
For a Full 3 year Salary Outlook plus last years Stats for every player in the Blue Jays Organization click here
The Astros Are Making Player Moves And Are 4 – 5 In The Last 9 Games
Like us on Facebook here
Follow @mlbreportsSaturday, April.20/2013
Brett Wallace had struggled something fierce to start this year before his most recent demotion to the Minor Leagues. At Age 26, he is nearing the end of his rope with the Astros. He has a Career 3 Slash Line of .243/.316/.682 – with 16 HRs and 66 RBI in 743 At-Bats. Not encouraging numbers. He was acquired from the Toronto Blue Jays during the 2010 season for OF Anthony Gose. At least Gose hasn’t accomplished much with the Canadian franchise yet.
By Richard Perez (Astros Correspondent visit the StrosBros Website here): Follow @yokorick
After seven games played, 17 Strikeouts, and one hit in 27 Plate Appearances, the Astros optioned First Baseman Brett Wallace to Triple-A Oklahoma City, and it comes a great news to me. I feel that Brett Wallace is on limited time in the Major Leagues and that he just isn’t going to pan out to be the highly touted prospect he once was.
He’s had somewhat of a successful tenure in Houston, but I feel compelled to believe that he was transferred around from one organization to the next while never making an appearance at the Major League level is one of the more pieces of condemning evidence from early on the Brett Wallace was doomed to be a dud
Astros Struggle in the 2013 Year:
The Toronto Blue Jays Franchise 1994-2012: Part 2 of a 7 Part Series
Wednesday, Nov.28th, 2012
Note from Chuck Booth: I am attempting to bring the history for each of the 30 MLB Franchises into a 5-7 part series that will focus on 1. The teams history. 2. The hitters 3. The pitchers. 4. The Teams Payroll going into 2013 and 5.The Ball Park that they play in. (The stadium articles will all be done next summer when I go to all of the parks in under a month again.) Be sure to check my author page with a list of all of my archived articles section here.
Today’s Part 2 Feature of the Blue Jays Franchise will be written by our Baseball Writer Alex Mednick. To do this franchise series service, Alex has studied this club a lot more than I have in the last 20 years and will do this article better justice for you the reader!
Alex Mednick (Baseball Writer and Analyst):
Note from Alex Mednick: Chuck Booth offered to me the opportunity to step in to his Franchise Series and cover the Blue Jays history from 1994-Present. I gladly accepted the honor.
In Part 1 of this series, Chuck covered the Blue Jays history from their humble beginnings at Exhibition Stadium in 1977, through the glory years in the late 80s and early 90s. The story dropped off right after the Blue Jays won back-to-back World Championships in 1992 and 1993. We closed the books with the walk-off winning home run by Joe Carter to win the World Series, and the parties and celebrations that were to follow across Ontario, Canada. I will pick it back up at the beginning of the 1994 season, when the Blue Jays had high hopes to win a third consecutive world championship.
(Scroll Down Past the Links or Click the READ MORE OF THIS ENTRY ICON.)
Franchise Series Links:
Franchise History Part 1 1977-1993: https://mlbreports.com/2012/11/09/jays1/
The Hitters: The Toronto Blue Jays Franchise Hitters: Part 3 Of A 7 Part Article Series:
The Pitchers: The Toronto Blue Jays Franchise Pitchers Part 4 Of A 7 Part Series
Skydome: An Interview with ‘Rogers Centre Expert’ and “MLB reports Founder” Jonathan Hacohen Part 5 of 7
2013 Team Payroll: https://mlbreports.com/2012/09/10/tor/
Special Bonus Fan Blog Of 2013 Team Payroll: https://mlbreports.com/2012/09/12/torfanalex/
Dissecting The Blockbuster Trade Between The Blue Jays And The Marlins
Wednesday, November.14/2012
Jose Reyes is a .291 Career Hitter and has averaged 55 Steals and 110 Runs Per 162 Games Played. He should have no problem scoring runs with Encarnacion and Joey Bats hitting in the middle of the lineup for Toronto.
Chuck Booth (Lead Baseball Writer): Follow @chuckbooth3024
I think you can safely say that the off-season has truly begun! I was writing on my computer yesterday when the big trade blew up on twitter. I live in White Rock, British Colombia, Canada, so you can only imagine how excited the whole country of Canada was to talk about baseball on the big media Social Website. Within minutes, it was clear that the Marlins and Jays were talking about a huge deal. There is a remarkable quality that I have admired about Alex Anthopoulos for a few years now. That his organization is pretty tight-lipped about their negotiations with any MLB team, just as it was with the Marlins on Tuesday. I waited a few minutes and then…..WHAM! A Blockbuster trade came right down the PIKE! Here is the trade in case you have been living under a rock for the past 24 hours.
To visit the 2013 Updated Version of the Toronto Blue Jays 2013 Payroll Blog I did click here
To the Blue Jays 2012 Stats:
SS/2B Jose Reyes .287 11 HRs 57 RBI, 86 Runs, 40 SB
SP Josh Johnson 8-14 3.81 ERA 191.1 IP 165 SO
C John Buck .192 12 HRs 41 RBI
2B/ss/3B/ Emilio Bonifacio .258 1 HR 11 RBI, 30 Runs, 25 SB in 244 AB
SP Mark Buehrle 13-13 3.74 ERA 202. IP (12th straight year of 200 IP+)
4 Million Dollars Cash
To the Marlins:
SS Yunel Escobar .253 9 HRs 51 RBI
2B/SS Adeiny Hechavarria .254 2 HRs 10 RBI, 126 AB
C Jeff Mathis .218 8 HRs 27 RBI, 211 AB
SP Henderson Alvarez 9-14 4.85 ERA 187.2 IP
Also Prospects:
SP Justin Nicolino:
RP: Anthony DeSclafini:
The Blue Jays Payroll 2013: A Reader’s thoughts On The Jays Part 7 of a 7 Article Series
Wednesday, September.12/2012
Note from Chuck Booth: Sometimes at the Reports, we are fortunate to have someone take out some serious time to write a huge-detailed explanation of their thoughts on a piece we have written about. I was blown away by the enthusiasm of one of these such readers. Alex Mednick and I started back and forth on the piece I wrote about the 2013 Toronto Blue Jays and I suggested that we should give his analysis a full appreciation by posting it in a guest column for him, So this is Alex’s guest column:
Alex Anthopoulos has fixed a lot of the problems that J.P. Ricciardi left him with. It will take a few more years to see the club reap the benefits of the stock-piled talent coming from the replenished Minor League System.
Alex Mednick: (Special Guest Writer):
Update after the Nov.13 Trade with Miami:
Man, I gotta say…The move with the Miami Marlins made by the Blue Jays shows that management want’s to play ball. Signing Josh Johnson and Mark Buehrle give the Blue Jays two bonafide front-end starters to add into the mix in 2013. With a healthy year from Johnson and Morrow, you’ve got to guys with electric stuff going 1-2, and Buehrle is about as solid of a #3 any team could wish for. Romero in the number 4 slot, takes a lot of pressure off of him to bounce back, and even if he can simply perform at 90% of what he is capable of…it’s a pretty sight for the Blue Jays to have this kind of rotation in the AL East. Management definitely quieted some dubious fans and put it’s money where it’s mouth is!
The signing of 29 year old Jose Reyes gives the Blue Jays a superstar shortstop up the middle for the next 5 years. A guy to lead off who gets on base and steals 40+ bases a year will be very nice to set up the table for Bautista, Encarnacaion and Lawrie. And I wouldn’t be surprised if the Blue Jays still added some more pop to the lineup by trading for an offensively minded left fielder or DH.
The Blue Jays inherited a lot of salary from the deal, but only parted with a few prospects from their deep farm system (Nicolino…one of the Big 3 pitchers, Hechevarria, and Marisnick). They now have Bonifacio and Izturis at 2nd base who are nearly identical players and can deal from a sudden strength there in a emaciated 2nd base market…and they have a plethora of catchers in another thin market, that they can trade. Not to mention the remainder of their extensively talented farm system which they can use as trade bait.
I don’t think the Blue Jays are happy with expecting Adam Lind to bounce back, and I’m unsure whether they are comfortable with Gose/Rasmus in CF either so I would expect them to bring in another outfielder or DH. They already have incredible speed on the basepaths between Gose, Lawrie, Bonifacio, Reyes and Davis.
They may still go after ANOTHER pitcher in the mold of Edwin Jackson, but it is doubtful that they want to spend any more money on the rotation after acquiring Johnson and Buehrle. If they did anything it would likely be via trade, but why when they have Drew Hutchinson, Kyle Drabek, JA Happ and a bunch of other great 5th starter possibilities laying in wait? They are more likely at this point to use trading chips for offense/and or bench players.
The Blue Jays finally made a bold move that shows they recognize that with their current players/contracts/core and the current health of the AL East…the time to strike was now…we couldn’t continue to wait for a rich farm to develop and then harvest. Who would have ever guessed that the two front end starters we required this offseason would come in a single trade? Out of nowhere! And we knew that Yunel Escobar was on the trading block, but we never would have expected to have a Super Star like Jose Reyes at SS for the next 5 years? I know the Blue Jays inquired on Reyes last year during the offseason, but wow…All we can say is “Thank you Mr. Loria”.
I really enjoyed your analysis of the Blue Jays future (for that blog click here ) along with your digest of the various possibilities and directions that may chose going forward.
Furthermore, you hit the nail on the head: When Alex Anthopoulos inherited this team from J.P. Ricciardi, he was merely a protégé of a failed, and over-hyped GM (Ricciardi), who was the protégé of Billy Beane…possibly also “over-hyped”. If Anthopoulos learned anything from his time working under J.P. Ricciardi, and his time sweeping floors in Montreal it may have been this: “While some people may quantify your value based on perceived potential, it is best to quantify yourself on what you have actually done”. Therefore, Anthoploulos wasted no time making moves and proving to all of Canada (along with most of baseball) that he truly is a Ninja. Somehow, someway…he was able to convince the Angels brass, and the ChiSox to fill in the holes that Ricciardi had dug with contract extensions to Vernon Wells and Alex Rios (respectively).
For Part 1 of a 7 Part Article Series: The Toronto Blue Jays Franchise 1977-1993, click here
For Part 6 of the 7 Part Series: Blue Jays 2013 Team Payroll Click here:
The 2012 Toronto Blue Jays: Need a Big Bat to Contend in the A.L. East
Tuesday May 2nd, 2012
Rob Bland: Much has been said about the quiet offseason that Toronto Blue Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos underwent. After the uproar that was caused by the media in the Yu Darvis bidding process, and the Prince Fielder free agency, fans became upset that Anthopoulos was just sitting on his hands. The fact that Anthopoulos stated numerous times that they would not be major players in free agency seemed to fall on deaf ears. Anthopoulos has been adamant about building this team with young and athleticism, the latter of which is something that Prince Fielder doesn’t necessarily embody. That’s no knock against Prince, because he is paid to mash, not steal bases.
The question is asked, do the Jays need a big bat or another arm to take that final leap into contention in the American League East? Now, I could answer this a few different ways. Read the rest of this entry
MLB Reports 
You must be logged in to post a comment.