Let's round up the newest Blue Jays notes from the Winter Meetings….
- The Blue Jays are unlikely to make a move for a second baseman until they learn whether Kelly Johnson will accept their arbitration offer on Wednesday, tweets MLB.com's Gregor Chisholm. Chisholm says the Jays remain open to the idea of a multiyear deal should Johnson accept. Since Johnson won't cost another team a draft pick to sign, he'll probably turn down arbitration.
- The Jays really like Angels infielder Alberto Callaspo, tweets Mike DiGiovanna of the L.A. Times.
- GM Alex Anthopoulos reiterated that his club isn't interested in seven- or eight-year contracts and that if any free agents require that sort of committment, the Jays "probably won't be a factor" for them (Chisholm Twitter links).
- Anthopoulos said he'd love to make some moves at this week's meetings, but expects it may not be until afterward that things get done, tweets Chisholm. The GM added that this year's meetings are moving much slower than last year's, tweets Mike Wilner of Sportsnet 590.
Cavman_Boland
Just wait, AA the Silent Assassin will strike…
Wooly2010
So the Brewers, Nationals, and Jays are all out on Prince in the same day? That leaves the Cubs, Marlins, and Orioles…and the Rangers if you want to completely disregard everything Ryan and Daniels have said.
mike292929
Why are the Jays out? All AA said was they won’t offer 7 or 8 year contracts…. what’s wrong with 5 or 6 with more guaranteed money?
grownice
Prime example right here ^^ Lol
mike292929
A prime example of what? A Jays fan who wants to see his team succeed and win a championship again? You got me, ridicule me all you want.
Wooly2010
Fielder and Boras aren’t dumb. They’re going for a minimum of 7 years.
nictonjr
Jays are going to offer him a 6 year deal for more guaranteed money than an 8 year deal?? IE 6/180 vs 8/176
BeenThereDoneIt
I think he meant the annual avg. 8/180 vs 6/150
ZZZZZIPPP
WHY GUARANTEE MORE MONEY FOR LESS YEARS? TAKE THE EXTRA YEARS MIKE IT IS LIKE THE FREE GIFT YOU SOMETIMES GET FOR BUYING A CAR
mike292929
and financing it for 7 years rather than 5…. good analogy
grownice
Thank you , now can we all move on from the Fielder , Pujols madness? It was getting out of hand! …Oh wait now people are going to be like but he didnt say anything about 5-6 year deals? he COULD still get him!…Sigh* lol Oh fellow Jays fans, let the dream go… just let it go…
shockey12 2
10 years for Pujols!
mwagner26
20 years/1.5 billion dollars.
mike292929
Fielder for me isn’t a dream.. I would rather not have him for that long… with that being said, AA has said he would rather go the 5 or 6 year route… who knows what will happen.
NorthOf49
Anthopoulos is spelt wrong… the ‘olous’ spelling is probably the most commonly used misspelling in MLB.
Minor Leaguer
Right next to Mark Rzepczynski
Encarnacion's Parrot
It’s no “George Stroumboulopoulos.” At least the o-u’s stay consistent.
rdillon99
“spelt” is spelled wrong.
NorthOf49
‘Spelt’ is less used than ‘spelled’, but it’s not necessarily incorrect to use.
FrankTheFunkasaurusRex
it’s actually not
P.J. Lowry
If I was Fielder’s agent (Scott Boras) I would actually recommend he sign for only 4-5 years. Fielder is only 27, so five years later… he will be Pujol’s age and back in a position to sign another monster contract. That’s two big paydays instead of one. That would be the smart way to get Fielder as much money as possible.
Jameson VanDyke
Close to what Manny did after he left Boston. Smart idea but always a chance of getting hurt and not paid, especially for a bigger guy.
Jon Stark
unless fielder gets injured or shows signs of decline. The thought is that you make clubs pay overvalue for the past prime years in order for them to get your prime years.
101andcounting
It’s the smart way to go… if you’re 100% sure that you’ll maintain your excellent production and health over the next four/five years. Nobody can be sure of that, though – least of all Prince.
Alex Grady
I’m sure if Fielder wasn’t pushing 300lbs he’d do just that.
WasianCU
Or the actual smart way is to sign a huge long contract but negotiate an opt out clause just like CC or ARod did. Then, if you get hurt or suck you can just stick to the big pay day. If you continue to be awesome, you opt out for another big pay day.
Sohaib Syed
Yeah usually he sets up trades in winter meetings but the days after it will be fun since i think we have few trades in the works
But seriously i don’t get building from within thing i mean if you are getting a hitter like Fielder and you know how little your BEST PLAYER GOT TO HIT LAST YEAR, then i think you need to grab him when he is available..
All i am saying is lets say next year AA thinks we are ready and wants to add a big bat, you wont have Fielder on FA market or even pujols .. idk what next yr FA market looks like but i doubt there are any game changing bats available
anyways we can only dream
Melvin McMurf
callaspo for mathis
mike292929
mathis for cano
baseballz
I think AA would be more comfortable with Fielder if Johnson declines arbi and goes out there and gets signed with a team like the Mets giving AA a higher draft pick. Having extra draft picks gives you more cap space and AA will want to use the extra leverage those picks give him, something which he wont be able to enjoy until the next cba.
I’d love to get Callaspo for second if Johnson signs elseware, or what else would we use him for ?
nictonjr
If AA is waiting for the Mets to sign someone, he has a long wait ahead of him. They’re not spending money on Johnson….
popular_mechanics_for_pitchers
2b option for the blue jays so far:
Callaspo (angels)
I don’t think this will happen because the teams would have delayed the Mathis/MIlls, waited for the KJ arbritation, made a multiple player deal.
Murphy ( Mets)
Riccardi usually loves his former draft picks. Maybe a Chad Jenkins would get it done.
Prado (Braves)
Tough one because Wren doesn’t want to feel like he loses another trade with AA.
Who’s playing 2b for the Jays next year?
Diablo 2
What would Jays give for Alberto?
Brandon E.M. Savage
Hopefully nothing, wouldn’t want him on the Jays…
Diablo 2
Oh the only guy i see is Casey Jansen and i would take that if Angels get a 3B that is
BeenThereDoneIt
Vernon Wells?
Diablo 2
That would beef up Angels OF but his contract is just to big =/
BeenThereDoneIt
Well done sir, well done… ^^