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What The Jays Did Wrong After Clinching The AL East: Never Take The Foot Off The Gas!
The Jays were the best team in the Major Leagues over the last two months, however some late season decisions may have cost them the #1 seed,and thus an easier opponent in the ALDS .
Hunter Stokes (Chief Writer) Follow @stokes_hunter21
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I take you back to Wednesday Sept.30th when the Jays had a slim lead against the Royals for the #1 seed in the American League. Their magic number was also down to one game in the AL East. The object was to clinch with a win in either game of a doubleheader at Camden Yards that evening.
The club responded with an absolute speed-bagging of the home squad – clubbing them 15 – 2 in front of a large Canadian crowd that had made the trip from North of the border in the 1st game. What they did in the next 24 hours might have actually sealed their playoff doom.
Since it was a Division clincher, John Gibbons used the biggest scrub lineup for the next two games in Baltimore – including game 2 of the twin bill, and the following day game. Read the rest of this entry
The Toronto Blue Jays Payroll In 2015 + Contracts Going Forward
Alex Anthopoulos had done a nice job of assembling his club with players from other teams. To construct a team with this type of caliber, it can be traced all the way back to the Jose Bautista and Edwin Encarnacion brilliant extensions, while the Jays GM were able to break free from albatross contracts from Vernon Wells and Alex Rios. He is close to the finish line, but with a flailing Canadian Dollar, and his many guys with 1 or 2 years left on the club signed, he must go one step further to gun for a championship.
Hunter Stokes (Chief Writer): Follow @stokes_hunter21
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What a difference from just a few seasons ago. Toronto is on the cusp of contention, and is yielding the best club they have probably since their 1993 World Series run. The payroll has crept up incrementally – and they are in the top 10 of the game.
The only Canadian franchise is estimated to have a budget of $127.3 MIL this year. This would slate them 10th in the Majors. The clubs ahead of them include: Dodgers, Yankees, Red Sox, Phillies, Nats, Angels, Giants, Rangers and Tigers. This total still only puts them 3rd in their own Division.
Having signed Russell Martin to a 5 YR deal worth $82 MIL jumps the teams salary big time, but one could argue he will help the team lower its ERA.
For a Year to Year Breakdown For all of the Jays players salaries please visit here. Read the rest of this entry
How All Of The Marlins Hitters Were Acquired: 2014 Roster Tree Shows 2012 Trading Looks Good
Jeffrey Loria did a number on the Expos back int he day, and continues to be one of the most controversial owners in the game of baseball. The Miami fanbase had been promised the club would compete in the New Marlins Ball Park. After a $118 Team Salary in 2012, the management pulled the plug on that active roster. While the transactions didn’t look good for the PR side, the operations portion of it has seemed to work out. The New York Art Dealer has pledged to spend more money in coming years, however only time will tell. The franchise has 2 superstar youngsters in Giancarlo Stanton and Jose Fernandez.
How All Of The Marlins Hitters Were Acquired:
By Chuck Booth (Lead Baseball Analyst/Website Owner): Follow @chuckbooth3024
Follow MLB Reports On Twitter Follow @mlbreports
The Marlins took a lot of flak for the big selloff almost 2 years ago.
In the previous winter, Miami set out to dominate the NL East in the 1st season of the New Marlins Ball Park. To do this, they allocated a $118 MIL payroll.
They inked Jose Reyes (6 YRs/$106 MIL), Mark Buehrle (4 YRs/$54 MIL), Heath Bell (3YRs/$27 MIL), and the club took on Carlos Lee midway through the year ($9 MIL) commitment.
The Fish flung down the standings in the 2nd half, and ended with a 69 – 93 record, and Ozzie Guillen was fired after inking a 4 Year Managerial deal prior to that campaign.
The club struggles with injuries to key players and never really jelled.
Miami decided that they were in big trouble with how the current roster was situated, and were carrying an enormous payroll, and the threat of dwindling attendance the following year, caused them to make a block buster deal with Toronto.
Without detailing this too much, Miami traded Reyes, Buerhle, Josh Johnson, Emilio Bonifacio and John Buck to the Toronto Blue Jays.
In turn, the organization received Jake Marisnick, Adeiny Hechavarria, Henderson Alvarez, Justin Nicolino, Anthony DeSclafani, Yunel Escobar and Jeff Mathis.
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
How All Of The Mets Hitters Were Acquired: 2014 Roster Tree
The Mets brass has kept a patient roster approach in a not so tolerant market for too long. So how have they done? This is part 1 of a 2 part blog series to find out. The waiting still continues. The team has grown a lot of their own talent. Whether or not the guys are good enough for a competitive club remains to be seen.
How All Of The Mets Hitters Were Acquired:
By Chuck Booth (Lead Baseball Analyst/Website Owner): Follow @chuckbooth3024
Follow MLB Reports On Twitter Follow @mlbreports
The success of most franchises usually occurs when a huge core is built up through a drafting system, and then the club can piece the rest of the club together.
The 2nd best way to create a winning squad is to trade for players with the organizational pieces you have supplanted in the Minors or Majors.
The Mets method of acquiring players is all based on the team’s finances of late.
Citi Field has not been a banner home ballpark to the club since it opened its doors for the 1st time in 2009.
The Wilpons inability to not spend money on payroll has hurt, and also a lot of the money was tied up in paying for players not with the team anymore over the last several years.. ie..Jason Bay, Oliver Perez, Bobby Bonilla and Johan Santana.
For the most part, the current hitters were all brought up via the draft, or by Free Agency.
Travis d’Arnaud highlights one of the players that was brought in by way of trade in the R.A. Dickey deal. 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
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
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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
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
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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
Blue Jays’ Was It Worth The Risk?
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Dickey is not the same pitcher he was with the Mets a season ago. He had a 2.73 ERA in 233.7 innings pitched with 230 strike outs and a 1.05 WHIP. He was third in WAR for pitchers, with it at 5.8. This year for Toronto he has a 4.77 ERA in 122.2 innings with a WHIP of 1.28. The opposition is hitting .245 against him, with right-handers hitting .238 , and left-handers hitting .251. When runners are in scoring position this is where he has issues, as teams are hitting .333 with a .996 OPS. When its two outs, it gets even worse, as teams hit.347 facing him with a 1.090 OPS.
By Chris Lacey (Lead Baseball Columnist/Minority Website Owner) Follow @aecanada12
The Toronto Blue Jays 2013 season has not panned out how many envisioned it would. They made a flurry of moves to bring new players to the team. The reason was that their General Manager Alex Anthopoulos saw an opportunity and was willing to take a risk.
He traded away a bevy of prospects to the Miami Marlins, and some more to the New York Mets for proven players that have done well in their careers. The team on paper looked like they could win the American League East division and contend for a World Series title.
Jose Bautista 2011 Highlights- So Parental Guidance Is Advised
Toronto Blue Jays Organizational Charts: Payroll, Depth Charts And Rosters, (MLB + MiLB)
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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
Toronto Blue Jays: Clubhouse Cohesion, New Faces, And The World Baseball Classic
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Follow @mlbreportsMonday, February 18th, 2013
Melky Cabrera, Jose Reyes and Edwin Encarnacion. 3 of the first 4 hitters in the 2013 Toronto Blue Jays lineup, and all from the Dominican Republic. In their first year as teammates on the Blue Jays, and one of their first spring training practices, have already become a close trio. Dominican slugger Jose Bautista is missing from this photo, but is the 4th piece of this dazzling 1-4 combination.
By Alex Mednick (Baseball Analyst and Toronto Blue Jays Correspondent) Follow @mednickalex
The Toronto Blue Jays had a very well publicized off-season. Many moves were made, including two blockbuster trades, the signing of one of baseball’s best and most controversial contact hitters, and a new (old) manager. A core of the former Blue Jays remained intact, but between the big moves made by GM Alex Anthopoulos this off-season, along with the smaller additions, the Blue Jays have 12 new players on their 25 man roster. These 25 players are expected by many, to hit the gates running, and to at the very least, earn Toronto a spot in the playoffs come October 2013.
Clearly, team chemistry plays are huge part of winning championships. We have seen numerous teams boasting extremely talented rosters have merely moderate success, and we have seen teams loaded with professional journeymen have historic success. Michael Jordan is noted for making the comment, “Talent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence win championships”.
The 2013 Blue Jays are very unique in that while half of their team is in fact new to Toronto, many of these players have played together and have cultural bonds. The blockbuster trade with the Miami Marlins brought a total of 6 players to Toronto, all of whom, were quite obviously teammates in South Florida. 5 of these players are expected to immediately be impact players in the clubhouse. Another big trade with the Mets brought over three players who will likely contribute to the team to varying degrees, and have already formed close ties amongst each other due to the relationship that exists between a knuckleball pitcher and his battery mate. Right off the bat, we can account for 8 of the 12 new players on the roster who at the very least, already are familiar with each other and are not entering a new city completely unfamiliar with their teammates. The following players might all make their way to the ALL-Star Game at Citi Field this year: R.A. Dickey, Mark Buehrle, Jose Bautista, Jose Reyes and Edwin Encarnacion .
2013 Preview of the Toronto Blue Jays:
Josh Thole, Travis d’Arnaud and the Mets Catcher Situation
Sunday, December 16th, 2012
Sam Evans (Baseball Writer): Follow @RJA206
After Josh Thole’s promising year in 2010, it seemed almost as if Thole was a long-term solution for the New York Mets at catcher. However, over the last three years, Thole has become less and less productive at the plate. In just one day, New York made a statement proving that they no longer believe Josh Thole can be the kind of player he was when he first arrived in the majors. The Mets made a gigantic trade with Toronto yesterday, which will send out Thole and bring in Travis d’Arnaud, one of the finest catching prospects in the game. Thole’s future in New York is over, while d’Arnaud’s is just beginning.
After being selected in the 13th round of the 2005 Amateur Draft, Thole spent five seasons in the minors. While moving up through the minor league ranks, Thole never dominated any level but he hit for average and played solid defense pretty much everywhere he went. Years later, Thole’s value is practically centered around his ability to hit for average and play average defense behind the plate. Read the rest of this entry
The Blue Jays New Reality: Building Towers on Shaky Ground
Saturday, November 23rd, 2012
The Blue Jays have made a lot of moves in a short period of time and added a jolt to a fan base which had become numb of 19 years of not competing. People are saying they will win, including Las Vegas odds makers. They certainly look way better on paper than they did two weeks ago and people have a reason to be excited with the direction the franchise is going. They have taken 2 quick steps forward, but what happens when Murphy’s Law strikes and they take 1, or 2 steps back? How good are they then?
Alex Mednick (Baseball Writer and Analyst):
There has been a lot of talk thus far about how the Blue Jays are slotted to be ultra-competitive. And I don’t want to be a “negative-Nancy”, because this hype comes with good reason. I, as a Blue Jays fan, am beyond thrilled with the organization allowing Alex Anthopoulos to pull the trigger and make this kind of off-season happen…there is no doubt that this is what Blue Jays fans have been waiting for over the last 18 years. The Rogers family has shown that they aren’t simply using the Rogers Centre as the world’s largest billboard. They demonstrated that they are committed to take the financial risks necessary to make this team competitive. They said they would spend big $$$ when the “time came”, and they kept their word. The time has definitely come when you have two guys hitting 40 home runs a season in the middle of your lineup. I applaud the Rogers’ and the front office for saying something and sticking to it.
That being said, when I hear things like “we’re not done yet”, and, “the Blue Jays would like to add another front-line starter”, it soothes me and calms my nerves. The truth is, and I don’t want to seem greedy, but I am not content with where the team is now. If the past three seasons have shown us anything it is that over the course of 162-game season, injuries happen. Bottom-line: the roster you start with on opening day, will not be your roster throughout the season. Nobody has a rubber arm and muscles made of Teflon. Murphy’s law is constantly looming over any clubhouse and just waiting to strike. Look at 2012, we lost our 2, 3, and 4 slotted pitchers in 3 consecutive days! Read the rest of this entry
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