What a crazy off-season for the Jays could look like
If the Blue Jays are truly looking to move in a new direction, I started to look at what it could potentially look like.
Hear me out, I understand that these moves would be unrealistic for Ross Atkins to consider actually executing, but let's have some fun with the re-build.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Chad Green, Ernie Clement and Chris Bassitt traded to Cincinnati for Matt Mclain, Hunter Greene, Jeimer Candelario, Cam Collier and Alexis Diaz
So, the elephant in the room would be Cincinnati's need to sign Vlad long-term following this deal, however, with the Reds emerging young offense led by physical freak Elly De La Cruz and a commitment to drafting top end arms going forward, Cincinnati doesn't seem like a bad place to hang a hat for the next decade or so.
Coupled with a glowing recommendation from former short-term «teammate» Joey Votto, and an extension doesn't seem all too far fetched.
In McLain, the Jays would get a dynamic, talented and versatile former 1st round pick who is coming off shoulder surgery but is anticipated to be 100% for spring training.
Furthermore, the Reds would be dealing from a position of strength with an influx of burgeoning star infielders.
Hunter Greene has an electric arm, however, he has had trouble staying healthy throughout his career.
His is signed on an extension through 2029, so he should fill a long-term hole in the Jays rotation for years to come.
Bassitt, who is durable, consistent should help fill the gap until 2024 2nd overall pick Chase Burns is ready to star in this young line-up.
Lastly, As the Jays need to re-fill the bullpen with arms, fireball closer Alexis Diaz will be a good start.
Chad Green would go the other way, where he could benefit from a change of scenery after finishing the season poorly, but sill with strong peripherals as a valuable pen arm who has proven that he can close games.
Lastly, swapping Ernie Clement for Jeimer Candelario is purely a salary swap as Cincinnati is still a lower payroll team and provides a limited balance of the contract costs while also providing the Jays a 3B who hits for more power than Clement.
The Red's 5th overall prospect, 3B Cal Collier would fill out the deal, as Collier is projected to possibly move to 1B as there are some concerns about his ability to play the hot corner.
It is a big-time deal, for a big-time player. It is also a deal that goes a long way to start filling the holes that will be left if Guerrero Jr. is inevitably exiting the franchise.
Additionally, it is also a deal that frees up significant operational capital (approximately $39M to be exact) to further the rebuild from the available free agents in the market.
Bo Bichette, Jonatan Clase and Juaron Watts-Brown traded to LA Dodgers for Dalton Rushing, Landon Knack and Anthony Banda
Speaking of big-time deals for big-time players, moving Bo Bichette to the defending World Series champion LA Dodgers further opens up money to spend, while getting some value for another player who seemingly has zero intent on re-signing after next season.
Yes, essentially the rich get richer in this deal, but the Dodgers are already rumoured to be the destination for stud starter Roki Sasaki and have also thrown their hat in the ring for superstar Juan Soto, so they certainly are not averse to spending the cash that Bichette will be looking for in free agency.
In return, the Jays received Daulton Varsho 2.0 in Dalton Rushing, the Dodgers top prospect.
Rushing has a ton of power from the left side and has proven to be able to also hit for average at all levels.
He also can catch but has recently spent time patrolling the outfield.
He provides a top-tier, long-term controllable talent that could end up a centrepiece for a refreshed Blue Jay line-up.
Swapping Jonatan Clase and Juaron Watts-Brown for Landon Knack and Anthony Banda will also provide a rotation-ready arm who performed solidly in the playoffs and additional firepower for the bullpen who has developed into one of the more dependable bullpen arms in the Major Leagues.
This trade will also save the Blue Jays around $15M in 2025.
Spencer Horowitz and Orelvis Martinez traded to Oakland for Brent Rooker and Esteury Ruiz
The Last trade I would suggest would be to make a move for breakout star Brent Rooker of the Oakland A's.
As the financial side of business seems to consistently be the driver for making deals happen and also considering that it will be a couple of seasons before the A's occupy their new home in Las Vegas, this may be the perfect timing to pounce on an asset that appears to be developing into a perennial power threat, while also scooping up a player who seems to be on the outs but that could seriously change the offenses dynamic in former base-stealing champ Esteury Ruiz.
The cost on this one would be a bit of the future for the Jays in moving Horowitz and Martinez.
The fact remains that you must give something to get something, and that is exactly what this trade is.
Ultimately, the cost on this deal is simply picking up Rooker's $3.5M tag for next season as Ruiz and Horowitz make the major league minimum at $800K (which is also what Martinez will make when he gets the full-time call to Oakland).
So, there you have it, a simple re-build done in 3 swift strokes freeing up about $50M in salary for 2025 which in my opinion should be used to sign both Pete Alonso, Tanner Scott and Willy Adames, while also moving Yariel Rodriguez to the bullpen.
I look forward to hearing what you think of the plan and would encourage you to provide your own plan.
Whether it is bound to happen or not, playing GM is one of the fun things about the long baseball off-season.
| POLL | ||
NOVEMBRE 21 | 75 ANSWERS What a crazy off-season for the Jays could look like It the Blue Jays were to jump-start a re-build, who would they move this off-season? | ||
| Guerrero Jr. | 5 | 6.7 % |
| Bichette | 19 | 25.3 % |
| Both | 12 | 16 % |
| Neither | 39 | 52 % |
| List of polls | ||
