Winter meetings bring more Jays rumours
Major League Baseball’s virtual winter meetings got off to a slow start on Monday but there were at least a few moves to kick off what’s supposed to be the sport’s busiest week of the off-season calendar.
The Blue Jays remained relatively quiet as the meetings began over Zoom, instead of in-person at the Omni Dallas Hotel in Texas because of COVID-19 protocols, but they added two pitchers via waiver claims and were linked to veteran right-hander Mike Fiers through a report by MLB.com’s Jon Morosi.
The biggest move of the day belonged to the Los Angeles Angels and freshly minted general manager Perry Minasian. The former assistant GM to Alex Anthopoulos, in Atlanta and Toronto, pulled off his second deal in four days. Last week, Minasian found a potential replacement for free agent shortstop Andrelton Simmons by acquiring Jose Iglesias from Baltimore. On Monday, he added Raisel Iglesias, who spent the past four years as Cincinnati’s closer.
The Reds’ decision to move Raisel, a 31-year-old with 104 career saves, continued the recent trend of small-to-mid market teams looking to cut costs during the pandemic. A year ago, the Reds were one of the off-season’s most aggressive shoppers, inking Mike Moustakas, Nicholas Castellanos, Shogo Akiyama and Wade Miley as part of a $165-million (U.S.) spending blitz.
This year, they’re sellers. No. 1 starter Trevor Bauer is expected to leave via free agency, No. 2 starter Sonny Gray reportedly is being shopped via trade, and the hard-throwing Archie Bradley was recently cut loose. Other savings will be found in the weeks ahead as a slew of Central Division teams in both leagues shed salary, including last week’s record number of non-tenders.
The Jays are more comparable to the Reds of a year ago than the Reds of today. Toronto has been linked to almost all the top free agents but Day 1 came and went without any movement from the upper tier, including outfielder George Springer, infielder D.J. LeMahieu and catcher J.T. Realmuto. The only real development from that group was ESPN’s Jeff Passan reporting the Chicago White Sox, once considered a top suitor for Springer, were now an “unlikely” destination.
The high calibre of the Jays’ targets is what made the Fiers rumour mere hours into Day 1 a bit of a head scratcher. Atkins is in the market for an upperto mid-level starter and not too many people would make the case Fiers is that guy. The 35-year-old posted sub-4.00 ERAs in back-to-back years for the Oakland A’s and saw it rise to 4.58 during the abbreviated season. Take away the pitcher friendly ballpark in Oakland and the Blue Jays could have another Tanner Roark on their hands.
Adding Fiers this early makes about as much sense as ordering meat loaf from the local diner. Sure, it’s edible, but I’m not picking it until the other dozen items are sold out. This team needs an impact arm, not a back-end innings eater. Either way, it’s likely a moot point for now because indications are the Jays intend to take care of the position player side before dipping into the market for another starter.
One interesting bit of news to come out of Monday’s virtual meetings was Japanese righthander Tomoyuki Sugano being posted by the Yomiuri Giants. Sugano’s 30-day signing period begins Tuesday morning and runs through Jan. 7 as teams have until that time to work out a deal. A percentage of whatever deal he signs will be given to the Giants.
Sugano is a two-time winner of the Sawamura Award, which is Japan’s equivalent to the Cy Young. He is coming off a 14win season with a 1.97 ERA and the 31-year-old is considered by some baseball insiders to be the second-best free-agent starter behind Bauer. ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel called Sugano a likely fourth starter and projected a two-year deal in the neighbourhood of $24 million.
The only official moves by Toronto on Day 1 were the additions of relievers Anthony Castro and Walter Lockett off waivers. Castro is a 25-year-old who was ranked the Detroit Tigers’ No. 17 prospect by MLB Pipeline. He has made just one appearance in the majors while posting a 4.58 ERA and striking out 116 across 102 1⁄3 innings at double-A. The 26-year-old Lockett has a bit more experience at the big-league level with 20 appearances and a 7.67 ERA across three seasons for the Padres, Mets and Mariners.
The two minor additions mean the Blue Jays don’t have any open spots on their 40man roster, but that will change soon. Both recruits are candidates to be designated for assignment as the Jays look to sneak them through waivers, or alternatively the front office could part ways with an outfielder like Derek Fisher instead. With multiple adds expected this off-season, both scenarios seem likely at some point in the coming weeks.
Day 1 of the meetings are usually dull, this year’s even more so than normal. There’s no hotel lobby for reporters to gather, no scouts to chase down the hallway and no agents using dozens of readily accessible cameras to make their sales pitch. Work is being done over the phone, through texts or over Zoom, just like it is any other day of the offseason. This week isn’t that much different than the others.
The floodgates will open once one of the big boys comes off the board. Until then, we’ll have to be content with a few waiver moves and a rumour du jour that doesn’t make a whole lot of sense.