Monday Morning Blue Jays Link Roundup

Week one from Blue Jays Spring Training was eventful to say the least. This time is usually reserved for speculation about the 25th spot on the roster, the backup catcher position, and other mundane topics. But the 2016 Spring Training camp was a cavalcade of information.

There was the Jose Bautista contract demands, the Jay Bruce trade that fell apart, and of course … Troy Tulowitzki modeled his brand new leg kick.

Here are a few links to some noteworthy stories you may have missed over the weekend.

Over at the Toronto Sun, Steve Simmons gives an indication as to what Edwin Encarnacion might be seeking in the way of a contract extension.

“Encarnacion, I’m told, will likely accept three years and under $60 million US with a club option for a fourth year.”

TSN had a full interview with Mark Shapiro, and in this short preview, the topic discussed is the contract status of Jose Bautista and Edwin Encarnacion. Shapiro had a pretty interesting response when asked if the Jays could afford both Bautista and Encarnacion,.

“If we have another season like last year where we are a contending ball club, but we do it this year from day one until the end, the answer probably is yes. That revenues are going to rise to a point where you can afford two guys like that.”

Did you hear that leg kicks are in this year? Gregor Chisholm has video of Troy Tulowitzki’s brand new leg kick in action … and it’s pretty sweet, indeed.

Speaking of leg kicks, Shi Davidi goes into the leg kick phenomenon a little further at Sportsnet, noting that Kevin Pillar, Ryan Goins and Chris Colabello are also experimenting with leg kicks as well.

By the way, did you hear the Blue Jays are undergoing a name change this year? Hat tip to Noah Sherman for coming up with this clever observation.

With all the leg kicking maybe it’s time for a Blue Jays re-brand:

The Toronto Rockettes

— Noah Sherman (@noah_sherman) February 28, 2016

More love for Tulo over at Fox Sports, where Ken Rosenthal explains how Troy Tulowitzki and Josh Donaldson have formed a very tight bond. Donaldson even goes on to say that Tulo is one of his best friends on the club.

Circling back to Troy Tulowitzki again, Richard Griffin of the Toronto Star explains how Tulo is much more at ease this time around with the Blue Jays. Tulowitzki reveals that his two year-old son’s acceptance of Toronto and the Blue Jays really put his mind at ease. Oh man, the feels.

Image via Steve Russell/Toronto Star