Thursday Roundup Links
You might ask what The Walking Dead has anything at all to do with the following links about the Toronto Blue Jays, and I’ll tell you what it is: absolutely nothing.
It’s merely an excuse to post something zombie-related in this cold, desolate baseball offseason. Actually, not that I think about it, that’s not entirely true.
A few people have commented to me on Twitter about how there seems to be Roy Halladay and Jose Bautista look-alikes on The Walking Dead.
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If you thought Roy Halladay and Bautista were scary enough as is, there’s nothing more frightening than Doc and Joey Bats as undead versions of their previously functioning selves. Because Roy will cut you up, Jose will stare you down, and then they’ll eat you for breakfast.
So … let’s get to today’s links, shall we?
Tao of Stieb has been having some restless nights over Adam Lind lately. Watching those episodes of Walking Dead before bed probably doesn’t help.
If you haven’t already, check out Cooperstowners In Canada for some great Blue Jays insight. They make a pretty convincing case to convert Rich Harden into a closer for the Blue Jays.
The most intriguing part of it all? Rich Harden in small doses isn’t such a bad idea. Looking at his career splits, his ERA balloons from 2.98 after 2 innings to 4.58 after 3 innings.
The 5th Starter did his homework and estimated the trade value of each of the guys on the Blue Jays 40-man roster. It’s interesting to note despite an off year, both Aaron Hill and Adam Lind still have some pretty decent trade value.
This one’s from last week, but Drew from Ghostrunner on First breaks down the starting rotation co-aces Shaun Marcum and Ricky Romero’s pitch type by count. Conclusion: Shaun Marcum is an animal.
The Zack Greinke to Toronto trade talks may have cooled off a little bit, but you never know when something could be cooking on the Hot Stove. Royals Centricity takes a look at what it might cost the Blue Jays to get Greinke. Basically, it’s an arm and a leg, and possibly another appendage to be named later.
In case you missed it, Bluebird Banter has a great five part interview with the new bullpen coach, Pat Hentgen.
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We all know that the purse strings on offseason spending have been tight these past few years, but there was once a day when the Blue Jays shelled out big bucks for free agents. 500 Level Fan has a rundown of how those free agent signings have performed historically for the Blue Jays.
Image courtesy of Collider.com
That price to get Grienke is absolutely ridiculous. No way the Royals get anything remotely close to that.
Anon, the asking price is probably a little high, but let me ask you this – if the Blue Jays were thinking of trading say, Ricky Romero, what would they ask for?
Probably a similar package that involves a few major leaguers and a couple of prospects.
BUT, if they include Alex Gordon in the deal, then Toronto might have to sweeten the pot with 4 players. I'd say go 3 max if they're only going for Greinke.
FYI – In regards to what it would cost the Jays, I sort of assumed that the reader would adjust what the package was based on where on the organizational depth chart players in the package were. Depending on whether you value Arencibia or Perez more, the top catcher would lower the prospect pitcher down to Stewart from Drabek. If Drabek were included, it would drop down to D'Arnaud. If Drabek were in there, depending on where the Royals saw him developmentally, the other pitcher involved would either be lower in the minors or one of the Jays' current back end of the rotation pitchers.
Since I'm not following the Jays day-in and day-out, I'm not sure how the organization feels about Cecil or Snider. Snider was only going in there if Gordon was included, as it feels like Snider is approaching Gordon in terms of frustration with a former top prospect not yet realizing their potential. I was sort of assuming that the Jays must be slightly more enamored with Marcum and Romero, but maybe I'm off base.
P.S. Thanks for the linkage, Ian.
Josh, thanks for the comment, sir! I can't speak for everyone, but I believe that we all tend to view the prospects of our prospective teams a little higher than we should.
We've all been waiting for J.P. Arencibia to break out, but at this point he's still going to be battling for a back-up catching job next year.
I would say between Snider and Cecil, Cecil is more likely to be dealt. But in all likelihood, I imagine neither are on the chopping block at the moment.
Totally in agreement in regards to hometown bias when looking at prospects. The post was definitely meant to be evaluating things from what it seems like the market would bear for Greinke. Obviously, with the higher end prospects, there was also the assumption that Gordon would be included, and there does seem to be a glut of catchers in the Jays organization, so it would be that they're dealing from a position of strength, prospect-wise.
Josh, no doubt a catching prospect (whether it be Arencibia or d'Arnaud) would definitely be included, as would Drabek. I'm just not sure which major leaguer would be included.