Senzel makes sense, but Jays don’t have assets

Should the Blue Jays be in on Cincinnati infielder/outfielder Nick Senzel? What would you imagine a deal needs to look like between the Jays and Reds? The Jays have a clear need in centre. — Ryan, Toronto There are a lot of reasons why the Blue Jays should be in on Senzel. The 24-year-old had a bit of a disappointing rookie season, but he entered 2019 as Baseball America’s No. 10 prospect. Senzel hit for a high average throughout the minors, has an above-average eye and possesses some speed. He’s also reportedly on the trading block after the Reds signed outfielder Nick Castellanos earlier this week. That said, I don’t like the Jays’ chances. Cincinnati appears to be in a win-now mode and, outside of Ken Giles, Toronto doesn’t have much to help a contender. Given the starting pitching depth in the lower minors, do you think the front office has one more trade up their sleeves this off-season? — Brendan, Toronto I’d be surprised if the Jays make another major move, but the pitching depth is one reason why Toronto remains active in trade talks. If an attractive piece with multiple years of control becomes available, Toronto will check in. At some point, the Jays would benefit from making a deal like the one that saw J.A. Happ acquired from Houston in 2012. The Jays packaged multiple prospects they were no longer all that high on in exchange for a veteran piece. It seems like the Jays haven’t given up on Anthony Alford yet. Does he have a legitimate shot at earning that starting centrefield job this spring? — Erik, Saskatoon First, Alford has to make the team. The 25-year-old is out of options and cannot be sent to the minors without clearing waivers. Things change fast, so it’s possible Alford’s play will force Toronto to create an opening, but as of right now he’s in the mix for a spot on the bench, not the starting lineup. Teoscar Hernandez and Randal Grichuk are expected to get the bulk of the work in centre. Alford’s name is far down the depth chart. I’d love to see what he can do over an extended stretch in centre, but I don’t think there are a lot of people within the organization who feel the same way. What should we expect from Bo Bichette defensively this season? What do the advanced stats have to say about last season? And if the over/under is 28 errors for the season for Bichette, would you take the under? — Matt, Toronto I’ve always been higher than most on Bichette’s defence and nothing I saw in 2019 forced me to change my opinion. Is he a future Gold Glover? Probably not, but he covers enough ground and his arm should become more accurate over time. The advanced stats are less kind than my eye test after Bichette ranked 24th in the majors last season with a -4 outs above average. But he is a guy I would bet on to continue progressing. For the record, I’ll take the under on 28 errors, but not by much. Which of the Blue Jays “Royal Youth Uprising” do you think will have the best 2020 season? — James, Mitchell, Ont. Ah, the phrase coined by agent Scott Boras to describe Toronto’s young trio of Bichette, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Cavan Biggio. To be honest, I expect all three to have big years. Bichette arguably is the most complete player so he’s likely to become my annual pick in this category, but there’s a lot to like about the other two as well. Of the three, I will be most interested in Guerrero’s performance, not only because of his conditioning but also because of a clear need to get more loft on his line drives. Do you think the Jays should go for someone like the Mets’ Brandon Nimmo or Ketel Marte (even though the Diamondbacks would never say yes)? Or what about moving Randal Grichuk to centre and Biggio to right and finding a new second baseman? — Benjamin I’m not keen on the idea of moving Biggio off second because I still think he handles the position just fine, despite previous criticism, and I envision a scenario in a couple years when Biggio, Bichette and Guerrero are joined in the infield by top prospect Jordan Groshans. That likely would require a position change for Guerrero. In the short term, Grichuk figures to get a lot of reps in centre, just like he did in 2019, while splitting time at the position with Hernandez. If a player reached base on a fielder’s choice, does this have positive/negative or no impact on his on-base percentage? — Colin, Toronto Batters are not credited with reaching base on a fielder’s choice or error. Instead both are recorded as outs and have a negative impact on a player’s average and on-base percentage. Sacrifice bunts and sacrifice flies do not count against the average or OBP.