Center field is a question mark for the Blue Jays, as Randal Grichuk, Teoscar Hernandez, and Derek Fisher are all imperfect defensive options while the likes of Anthony Alford or Jonathan Davis are lacking in MLB experience. There has been some speculation that the Jays could look to upgrade the position, though a notable acquisition like Starling Marte or Shogo Akiyama isn’t likely, as The Toronto Star’s Gregor Chisholm hears from sources within and outside the Blue Jays organization that Marte and Akiyama are “not viewed as a potential solution.”
Marte was perhaps a longer shot, as a Jays team that didn’t have plans to contend in 2020 didn’t seem like an ideal suitor for a player only under control (via a club option) through the 2021 season. A very notable link between the Jays and Pirates did develop, however, when Blue Jays senior VP of baseball operations Ben Cherington hired as Pittsburgh’s new general manager. There has been increasing buzz about the possibility of a Marte trade as part of a wider Bucs rebuild process this winter, as Pirates owner Robert Nutting said that Cherington had free reign to deal any player on the roster that he saw fit to be moved.
GM Ross Atkins said a few weeks ago, however, that the Jays had some interest in Akiyama, as well as two Japanese players available through the posting system — Yoshitomo Tsutsugo and Ryosuke Kikuchi. Unlike Tsutsugo or Kikuchi, Akiyama is free to be signed without any additional posting fee, and has already received some degree of interest from clubs like the Mariners, Padres, Diamondbacks, and Cubs.
Over the last five seasons with the Saitama Seibu Lions, Akiyama hit .320/.398/.497 with 94 homers and 78 steals, displaying the kind of well-rounded skillset that theoretically would’ve helped a Toronto club that struggled to either steal bases or reach base in general in 2019. MLBTR projected Akiyama to land a modest two-year, $6MM deal on the open market, so he wouldn’t have been an expensive purchase for the Jays.
That said, Akiyama also turns 32 in April, and is recovering from a broken bone in his foot suffered in a late October game. Given the injury concern and the unlikelihood that Akiyama would be a long-term answer, the Blue Jays might simply prefer to see what they have with their internal candidates before considering other center fielders. As Atkins recently stated, the team will explore position player acquisitions “based on the opportunity to add, the cost to add that player and determine what that means in terms of sacrifice for playing time. It’s too hard to say exactly how we’ll weigh that. It depends on the position we’re acquiring, which player is coming off or losing playing time.”
shane
Shocking.
sovietcanuckistanian
and in other blue jays front office news, water is wet.
this is a bit disheartening to read, though not at all surprising. one of shapiro/Atkins is Italian right? because throwing pasta at the wall to see what sticks is all they seem to know how/want to do.
Vandals Took The Handles
“.. throwing pasta at the wall to see what sticks….”.
EXACTLY what was said in Cleveland for years about Shapiro when he ran Baseball Ops. Was a very frustrating time for the fans there.
Start counting down the number of the years Vlad and Bo have to free agency. Assuming they prove to be stars, they will not hang around with a team that is in a perpetual state of rebuilding.
In Cleveland, it wasn’t until Francona came over that the Indians began to have any direction and actually started to develop players.
Vandals Took The Handles
Actually, the Indians did have direction under Shapiro. It’s just that it changed every year or two.
He couldn’t seem to close anything. He brought in professional advisers like Hargrove, Showalter and others, but was easily intimidated by their knowledge. He viewed himself as a new wave guy in the Billy Beane mode.
Atkins was supposed to be heading up the development of players, but he too learned to talk in circles with buzzwords, as players came up to the majors unable to execute with any consistency. Basically he proved to be a suck up (fans were fed up with him as well). Francona appeared to be the one that patiently explained to Indians management how to work with players to develop major league skills. Finally ownership (being pressured by season ticket holders and the fanbase) was tired of the never-ending rebuild, and promoted Shapiro up to the business side. Antonetti was smart – he listed to Francona. It’s an common business move that when management wants to dump an employee, they give them a great reference. I did that numerous times with people that were a pain. When the Jays were looking for a guy to run their operation, it was Paul Dolan – one of the Indians owners – that highly recommended Shapiro to the Jays.
Don’t get me wrong. By all accounts Shapiro is a likable guy and a very decent human being. But his skillset appears to be making contacts and advising on the latest trends. When he loses this gig, he’d make a decent consultant……of which there are many. But my guess is that he’ll migrate over to a cable TV network as a highly paid commentator, much like his brother-in-law – Eric Mangini – did. Those that can’t, teach. Those that are slick bypass the teaching and take in the big bucks being an “expert” on TV – investing their money and retiring early. Shapiro’s father was a players agent. Mark learned well.
jimmertee
Good take.
coldbeer
Shapiro will land a job with MLB when he is done with the Jays. Maybe even have aspirations as commissioner one day. And, that isn’t as crazy as it sounds.
ShieldF123
As a proud Italian American, go kick rocks kid. Totally unnecessary
davemlaw
Seems like Ender Inciarte would make a lot of sense for the Jays, especially if the Braves throw in a little money. With the Alex Anthopolous ties this deal could get done in 5 minutes with a phone call.
Another outside the box idea would be to acquire Villar and throw him in center field. Dee Gordon made the move from 2nd to center so it’s not an outrageous concept; they”re both speedsters who could handle the position change.
throwinched10
Inciarte would make more sense than Marte. Jays will compete in 2021 at the earliest but their biggest weakness is the rotation. They need that strengthened before they can really compete.
Nego
AA has ties to Toronto, sure. They’re not necessarily good ones though. Not with Shapiro anyway, and by extension, Atkins. I’d be shocked to see a deal between the two
johnnybadd2019
Whew! I was worried for a minute. Blue Jays don’t want Marte because he’s not a son of a former major leaguer. Marte’s son has a better chance of being a blue jay
ReverieDays
Wow, what a complete nothing article.
dynamite drop in monty
You should demand your money back.
nymetsking
he’ll probably get it
TheBoatmen
Going to break the bank and sign Billy Hamilton
MetsFanaticDanny
Marte is going to the Mets.
bleacherbum
I’d beg to differ, Pittsburgh is going to want young controllable pitching in return. A team like the Padres could overwhelm them with a trade Lucchesi/Quantrill/Lamet could all be young arms that would slot into Pittsburgh’s rotation.
Dice 66
I talked a couple weeks ago or so about Marte to Mets but it wasn’t received very well.
Dan LeBlanc
I have a feeling Marte will somehow end up with the White Sox as a fall back move after being denied any more big additions in free agency.
coldbeer
As a Blue Jays fan it’s difficult to stomach other Jays fans. The same folks that have claimed to understand that the teardown and rebuild they are doing is the only long term successful approach and that the expected closest season as a competitive club is still 2 years out. Those same folks that sit here day in and day out and whine about how they aren’t rumored to or admittedly aren’t going to go after the biggest free agents or available players via trade. You can’t have it both ways! Hold the course and be patient and stop reminding us Shapiro and Atkins came from Cleveland. We know.
sovietcanuckistanian
cold beer = shapiro/Atkins burner account?
I agree with some degree of patience and not spending bags of money on anyone deemed ‘elite’ (cole?) this year. but, if you’re one of the budding stars of this team, if the front office isn’t at least trying to make (minor even) upgrades with young(ish) players with a little bit of control, so your team isnt a doormat (for this year) so that in a year or two, you collectively should be ready to be gangbusters. what kind of message does that send? because the throwing stuff at the wall and seeing what sticks cant/should not be the (only) plan to be ‘competitive’.
coldbeer
Too much of the fanbase believes spending a bunch of money equates to more success. None of the Jays budding superstars added much in the ways of wins last season and until they continue to grow and the team as a whole wins more there’s nothing logical to going out and catering to their egos and the fanbase without tangible expectation of the postseason.
sovietcanuckistanian
chicken or the egg dilemma. do they need help to bring out the best in them or do they only get help once they proven they can be very good consistently at the major league level.
its_happening
The only whining I see here is this comment.
Blue Jays, not us, said they were looking to spend this offseason. I don’t agree with it. However, if they plan on spending do it on the best of the best rather than the Kyle Gibson-types. They already spent stupidly on Grichuk, why do that again?
They should be dealing Giles for future pieces, leverage a potential deal with one of the catchers if one is on the table (I’d rather keep them), and get rid of a couple OFs rather than acquire one. There is still the huge question surrounding Bo’s D at SS and Vlad’s D at 3B. Makes no sense to contend with questions looming. It’s 2012-2013 all over again.
But don’t blow smoke to the fanbase and say “we plan to spend”.
coldbeer
I feel Grichuk earned the 1st year of his new contract. (Enough so he could probably be traded and still yield a modest return) There’s more to be desired, undoubtedly, but WAR doesnt take into account a good clubhouse presence, maybe even a leadership role, and moreover still some upside thats left that he works hard to try to achieve.
I appreciate your response claiming I myself am whining. Perhaps that’s a fair assessment. However I am far from griping, and more pleading with people to not put the cart before the horse.
Jays want to spend at their price and will do so until next offseason or more likely thereafter when it makes more sense based on the product they have on the field at the time.
its_happening
We can’t measure what Grichuk brings to the clubhouse. He’s not a smart, heads-up player. But he might be an excellent teammate. Regardless, that contract prohibited the Jays from having a much easier time dealing Grichuk. At this point he is an addition by subtraction, only because it would allow 1 more year to give an Alford or Fisher or Teoscar or McKinney plenty of playing time to make a case for themselves as the future.
I’m with you, I don’t want much spending. All or nothing. Next year’s crop isn’t top heavy at pitcher so it will be interesting how the SP in the minors progress. All the more reason to deal Giles to a contender and there are at least 10 teams who could use his services.
jdgoat
Not surprised at all about Marte, he’s not really a fit without an extension, but I wouldn’t have minded a no risk look at Akiyama. Oh well.
jaysfansince1977
Fake news being reported by Gregor and his imaginary sources!
coldbeer
New job with the Toronto star and he’s now covering Raptors and other sports. I wonder what that means for his Jays content which has always been top level.
Dan LeBlanc
His source is not imaginary, it’s Jeff Blair.
rocko
good for jays
therealryan
Jays should talk to the Red Sox about JBJ. The Jays can swallow the full salary and then they have a couple of options as an unlikely QO candidate or as a summer trade chip. Worst case they eat a little salary and get back a mediocre return. Best case, he has a solid first half and you get back a better prospect than you sent over. I figure someone like a McGuire or Alford will work. The Sox get a cheap back up catcher or 4th OF.
coldbeer
Jays pass on that all day.
Johnny Baseball
I think the Pirates can achieve their goals without trading to the Blue Jays. I was messing around on Baseball Trade Values simulator and managed to devise 3 feasible trades to revamp the Pirates farm and put a decent team on the field.
Pirates trade Bell, Kela & Gonzalez to the Rangers for C Huff, LHP Burke, SS Ornelas & 1B/OF/C Hernandez. Bell fits at 1B/DH, Kela fits right in their pen & Gonzalez is SS depth until Basabe or Acosta are ready. Pirates get a promising catcher, needed LHP, SS & utility piece for the farm.
Pirates trade Marte, Crick & Burdi to the White Sox for OF Walker, RHP Stiever, & 1B Sheets. The White Sox get Marte for the OF until Robert is ready, & Crick/Burdi for the BP. The Pirates get a young 1B & OF both of which are blocked for a MLB spot and a promising RHP.
Pirates trade Archer, Frazier & prospect OF Mitchell to the Padres for RHP Bolanos, LHP Cantillo, 2B Edwards & 3B France. Padres get a #3-5 SP, a 2B to platoon w/ Kinsler & to replace Urias until Abrams is ready, an OF prospect for the farm and all while freeing up a 40 man spot.. The Pirates get a pair of LH/RH pitchers for the farm, a 2B for depth & a 3B to platoon w/ Moran until Hayes is ready.
The Pirates then would need to sign 4 FA’s OF Dickerson, C Romine, LHP MIley & RHP Teheran to actually have a payroll and supplement the MLB roster until the prospects are ready.
2020 roster
1B Osuna
2B Newman
SS Tucker
3B Moran/France
C Romine/Stallings
LF Dickerson
CF Reynolds
RF Polanco/J Martin
SP Keller Musgrove Miley Williams Teheran
RP Brault Feliz Rich Rod Cederlind Holmes Howard Brubaker
This would have a 2022 roster like
1B Sheets depth Craig & M Martin
2B Newman depth Edwards & Bae
SS Tucker depth Cruz & Ornelas
3B Hayes depth France & Kramer
C Huff depth Stallings & Diaz
LF Walker depth J Martin & Siani
CF Reynolds depth Swaggerty & Gorski
RF Oliva depth Hernandez & Lolo Sanchez
SP Keller Musgrove Burke Bolanos Stiever depth Priester Ashcraft Bolton
RP Cantillo Feliz Rodriguez Cederlind Holmes Howard Brubaker depth Flores Jennings
dynamite drop in monty
Neat post.
Ashleyr
I often see fans posting that the Jays should trade the farm for other players, they should sign top free agents at 30 plus per year, but they never consider that the team is in a state of flux in 2020.
Yes, they promoted Vlad, Bo, and Biggio, plus they don’t know what those three players will do over a full season. They are a question mark. Next, there are suggestions to trade McGuire, but again, the team doesn’t know if Jansen or McGuire is their full-time catcher. They haven’t done anything yet to declare a winner behind the plate.
Then we have fans saying trade players for bad contracts. Any prospect attached would be five years away and no one knows if they will be a failure by then. Why should the Jays trade for a player to put money on their books? They didn’t sign the player to a bad contract, the other teams did, so why give other teams money to improve their rosters at the same time? I could see it if San Diego attach Gore, highly unlikely to shed a Myers or Hosmer, but anything less benefits San Diego, not Toronto. The odds a bad contract player helps the Jays is minimal, or they wouldn’t be referred to as a bad contract. It also ties up payroll in future years.
My suggestion for the team is use 2020 to weigh the value of the team. See what they have as core players, give players in the minors the opportunity to sink or swim, and then see what they need for 2021. Pearson should be up by then. Boruki should be healthy, Reid-Foley may hit his stride, Thornton may become a keeper, but if the Jays leave them in the minors, they will never know what could have been. Signing players from other teams, or trading prospects for players that are gone when the contention window opens is a waste of time.
Dorothy_Mantooth
When did the comment section become the short story board?
1) Mets will get JBJ for CF
2) Padres or Braves will trade for Marte
3) Blue jays will spend $11.99 for their next CF per usual
jimmertee
Amen Dorothy.