Hope Will Keep Us Together: Toronto Blue Jays Franchise (MLB The Show 19)

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2019 Winter Preview and Season review

Going into the off-season, there are 2 priorities:

1. Lineup protection for Vladdy
2. Pitching Depth

2019 went as expected as a team, maybe a little worse on individual levels (see Guerrero Jr., Sanchez, McKinney, Drury, etc...). Since I'm playing with GM Firing "On" (single team control), I also have to be aware of my contract goals. We need to finish above .500 and make the postseason. Now, I'm not sure how firing and job security works in The Show this year but I think accomplishing one of those two goals should be enough to keep my job. That said, this rebuild has to get off the ground - in the AL East, no less - in 3 years. This off-season I'm hoping to get 2 MLB ready players (1 pitcher and 1 fielder). I also want to improve the lineup, so Vladdy can get better pitches (not necessarily a long term player but someone we can use as a stop gap until we're ready to jump into free agency). The List of players that I'm looking at are as follows:


Zach Eflin - phi
Corbin Burnes - mil
Kyle Wright - atl
Jacob Nix - sd
Chris Paddack - sd
Alberto Almora jr. - chi
Sandy Alcantra - mia
Tyler O'Neill - stl
Trevor Williams - pit
Joey Lucchesi - sd

It's mostly a list of pitchers but I'm haven't seen a lot of hitting talent that would realistically be available for trade. If I'm being honest, Tyler O'Neill is probably the guy I really want (Canadian - check, slugger - check, solid defense - check, likely doesn't fit in to his current club - check). I'll re-sign Shoemaker because the game actually (properly) recognized that he is arbitration eligible this off-season -- so why, not? He pitched well in relief last season but we'll give him another shot in the rotation and, ideally, find one more innings eater.


Expiring Contracts

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1. Freddy Galvis
2. John Axford (offered contract, 1 year 560k and signed)
3. Adrian Gonzalez

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Jays ink "Khrush" to 3 year deal

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Blue Jays management will be happy with their signing of the power hitting DH/LF. Davis finished last season with his lowest home run total (35) and runs batted in (92) since 2015, all the while slashing .267/.352/.894 for the Athletics. Although this was obviously a down season for Davis, he still had better offensive numbers than any Blue Jay not named Randal Grichuk. Toronto was surprised to see him hit the open market and aggressively pursued him in the hopes of providing protection for Vladimir Guerrero Jr. at the top of the Jays' batting order. Davis will be in his age 32 season next year but Toronto management he will be able to provide consistent power for the duration of his contract while coming in at annual salary of under $7M per season.

Notable Free Agent Signings

White Sox sign C Yasmani Grandal to 4 year contract
Braves sign RP Dellin Betances to 2 year contract
Brewers sign CP Craig Kimbrel to 4 year contract
Athletics sign OF Billy Hamilton to 4 year contract
Dodgers sign 3B Josh Donaldson to 3 year contract


Rockies acquire Severino from Yankees

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Players involved: RHP Luis Severino (16-5, 2.85 ERA, 206 IP, 195 Ks) to Rockies; 1B Daniel Murphy, 2B Garrett Hampson to Yankees

Interesting trade. On its face, it looks lopsided. I guess we'll just have to wait and see how this pans out but Yankees don't seem to have a ton of pitching depth but whatever.

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Rays non-tender Tyler Glasnow, Jays immediately swoop in

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Glasnow, 26, was arbitration eligible this year but simply did not fit in the Rays rotation or budget. The right hander is coming a dismal season in which he put up an ERA of 6.68 and WHIP of 1.84 in 15 starts and 29 appearances for Tampa Bay. Control has been a struggle for Glasnow since reaching the majors. The Rays hoped that a change of scenery would help him regain some of that control but it never happened. Given Glasnow's frame and velocity, several teams were in on him. Ultimately, the Blue Jays were the only team willing to offer him a multi year deal, a significant raise ($2M/yr) and the opportunity to play with the likes of Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Bo Bichette and Cavan Biggio. Toronto has the luxury of time and money to take on the type of reclamation project that is Tyler Glasnow and they will certainly give him plenty of opportunities to solidify himself as Major League Baseball Starting Pitcher.

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Rays deal Wendle to Pirates

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Players involved: 2B Joey Wendle to Pirates; minor league 2B Kevin Kramer, minor league SP Kerry Andrews, minor league OF Aristides Acquino to Rays (later claimed by Blue Jays in rule 5 draft)

Analysis:For most teams, this would seem like a strange move but for the Rays it's just another part of the yearly shuffle of maximizing player value. Wendle has come into his own in his late 20s, the Rays have a lot of depth in the infield. It's a good deal for the Pirates, who add a strong middle infielder with multiple years of team control remaining and who is likely reaching his prime. The Rays cash in on an older player at a position of strength while getting back another 2B three years younger and a high ceiling 18 year old pitcher. The only strange part of this deal was leaving Acquino exposed in the rule 5 draft (I actually wasn't going to take him but when I quit the draft, the CPU seemed to have auto-drafted him, so I just left it).

Other Trades

Dodgers acquire Lorenzo Cain from Brewers

Players involved: OF Lorenzo Cain to Dodgers; minor league C Keibert Ruiz (MLB #32 prospect), minor league OF Jeren Kendall (Dodgers #15 prospect)

White Sox acquire Craig Kimbrel from Brewers

Players involved: RHP Craig Kimbrel to White Sox; RHP Juan Minaya, SP Horace Michel

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2020 Blue Jays' 25-man roster announced

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*blue highlight denotes newly acquired player

[kinsmen7]

Very realistic looking roster for 2020! Some sneaky good moves.

Holy moly the trade logic in this game is funny though.

Looking forward to seeing how you keep developing the kids!

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Thanks for the comments. I was really happy with the Glasnow signing. I doubt the Rays would give up on him that quickly but it's really added fun project to see if I can get him to have a good season. I also that the CPU makes moves like that (i.e. most players without his pedigree probably would have a rough time if they had a career ERA over 5 after 3 seasons).

I'm a little behind on my updates and have played through some of the season so far. I'm going to have to turn some of these prospects into MLB players, especially pitchers.

Quote: Originally Posted by kinsmen7

Very realistic looking roster for 2020! Some sneaky good moves. Holy moly the trade logic in this game is funny though. Looking forward to seeing how you keep developing the kids!

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Blue Jays extend Sanchez

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Aaron Sanchez put up a 4.45 ERA with 8 wins last season before signing a 3 year extension through 2022.

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