Are the Jays in such dire straights that it is impossible to rebuild with Stroman on the team? They play in a sizable market, they've typically been big spenders in free agency, and while their farm may not be completely flush... trading a young club-controlled guy implies that you don't plan on being competitive for 4-5 years. Unless the guy is completely miserable and hates pitching there... and is a clubhouse cancer... I don't get the logic in trading somebody as young as him simply because the win-now strategy didn't work this year. Now, Donaldson is a guy they will have to make a decision on sooner rather than later... he's an upcoming FA on the wrong side of 30, with regression being shown the last 2 years.
My thinking has changed somewhat since a few weeks ago also. But two thoughts linger in my mind. 1) The health of our top SP's --If Keuchel or McCullers are not in top form, much less not available to pitch in the playoffs, our title chances are in big jeopardy. 2) Winning a championship is our top priority, not conserving prospects. --While I agree we shouldn't trade top prospects for a Sonny Gray type SP, we should pounce on the opportunity if a true #1 becomes available. I do acknowledge and agree that we are in better shape than I expected to be at this point. But while masterful patchwork orchestration of our bullpen has kept our regular season lead in tact, I am not confident that that formula is a winning one in a playoff scenario.
I didn't say they were going to trade him, but they might consider it depending on what they could get for him.
I would bleed the farm for Stroman. We all thought he acted like a douche against us yet when Martes was pounding his glove after an inning we saw it as good emotion. Stroman against us was lights out, and we are one of the best offenses in baseball. He would be my first choice with Degrom and Archer next.
Oh yeah - I wholeheartedly agree if a true ace type becomes available. I was more thinking just these Gray/Quintana types that are out there right now.
Justin Wilson is a 29 years old LHP. Contract: Arbitration for 2018, UFA for 2019 2017 stats: .932 WHIP, 2.36 ERA
It was also his first start after being left off the All Star team, he was pretty vocally upset about that. He was pumped and out there to prove something, and it showed.
It depends. The Jays are getting older at key spots and I think you are going to see some teams follow the model of the White Sox over the next few years. The White Sox have likely moved up their rebuilding several years. When you look at the Blue Jays, you see a lot of aging pieces ...... Martin is 35, Tulo is 32, Donaldson 31, Smoak 30, Bautista 36, Morales 34...... their pitching is old as well..... Estrada 34, Liriano 33, Happ 34. Sanchez, Osuna and Stroman are all good to very good pieces......... but the rest of the club is on the down side and their farm system is iffy. So, it is quite possible that the Blue Jays rebuild regardless. So if the Blue Jays can get the Dodgers or Astros or Braves to give up a pair of top 50 prospects and some lower level promising players, they have to seriously consider it. My issue is that Stroman is so far not a #1, and a bit up and down.
I don't usually follow the other teams' game results very closely, but will probably do so for the next couple of weeks. Most teams will play around 15 games from now till the trade deadline and inevitably, some of them will go 4-11 or 5-10 over that stretch. Among those teams that get off to a rough start for the second half, there may be some that have SP's the Astros can acquire who are not the names we've been hearing about so much. So, I'm getting ready to be surprised by what Lunhow eventually does.
I'd think Houston would be involved for Robertson. They tried to sign him when he was a free agent, and the White Sox are likely very familiar with Houstons farm due to the Quintana talks. I'm coming around to the idea that adding 2 elite bullpen arms instead of a SP might be the best approach, depending on prospect cost. If they can't get a DeGrom (regardless of prospect cost), and if they can't get a Gray type without giving up Tucker, and if they CAN get a couple of closer-level arms without giving up any of their top guys (Tucker, Martes, Whitley, Fisher, Perez), the super bullpen makes more sense.
While we all prefer a #1 type and many, including myself, have recently said we don't want to move pieces for a mid rotation type.... The definition of a true number one isn't exact To me, I want someone who is very likely an upgrade over Morton for game 3 in playoffs Is Stroman a true ace? No, but who feels better with Morton than they would with Stroman? Martes, Fisher, Perez, Moran, Teo for Stroman....could backfire if Martes turns into a true Ace, or Fisher is a 30/30 guy No doubt it gives us a better shot at a ring though
I agree with preferring stroman to Morton. But if we are willing to pay a price that steep then I would rather do whatever it takes for deGrom.
Ouch. Grays price may be sky high. Although I could see NY taking on a salary dump (Verlander) instead of giving up Torres (which is what they're looking at to beat any deal Houston is offering).
That may all be true. But having 3 plus young pitchers is also a decent way to rebuild. Young proven pitching still remains the hardest commodity to obtain in baseball. They could sell all their older hitters, along with Happ/Liriano and rebuild around the young starters. They're not that far removed from being the best team in baseball, unlike the Braves and White Sox.
1) he might not be available unless we offered something stupid, like Bregs and Tucker both in a deal 2) if the difference is getting Stroman but keeping Tucker and Whitley, or getting deGrom but having to give Tucker, Martes, Whitley all in the deal (if it could indeed be done without Bregs) I think I might rather a guy like Stroman In a vacuum, deGrom would certainly be better
I don't know much about Stroman (his name fits us well), but his peripherals don't look particularly impressive. He gives up a lot of baserunners and doesn't strike out too many people. His ERA this year is good; last year, not so much, with similar peripherals. He strikes me as similar to McHugh. McHugh's numbers have been progressively declining, so that's a concern, but he's also been outstanding for us late in seasons in the past. Do we know anything about how his rehab is going? I would agree that Stroman is likely better than Morton, if I had to just pick one. And likely better than Fiers. But is he likely better than whoever is pitching best in September of Morton, Fiers, McHugh, and Peacock? I just think he have a whole bunch of those types, and it's sort of a crapshoot who will be best at this point. Adding a 5th guy to that pile seems like a marginal upgrade. In a few weeks, we're already basically trading for a similar pitcher in McHugh in exchange for no prospects. EDIT: Stroman definitely has the plus of several years of club control, potential to improve, etc - so it could be a good trade for the next several years. But that's not as relevant for this year's WS chances.
Sounds like he needs one or two more rehab starts before re-joining the rotation. I would expect to see him in a week or two.
