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ryan008 · 07-10-2009, 04:17 PM

2012 Blue Jays Offseason Report

The 2013 Blue Jays are going to be a much different team. The Jays finished the 2012 season with the best record in the majors at 115-47 but were ousted in the American League Championship Series by the eventual World Series Champions the Kansas City Royals. Toronto's 2013 buget was set by ownership at slightly over $103,000,000 US and their current payroll is already $98.5 million. Toronto has 10 players heading to salary arbitration this year and they are going to ahve to cut roughly $15-20 million worth of payroll in the offseason inorder to get under their projected buget.

This bugetary constraint was a main reason that the Jays did not offer CL Hong-Chih Kuo a new contract after the 2012 season and he was allowed to walk as a free agent. The 31 yearold from Taiwan was 6-2 with 37 SV and a 3.39 ERA for the Jays last season. He was demmanding a salary in the $8-10 million dollar range and that was just too much for the Jays. He would eventually end up signing a 1 year contract with the San Francisco Giants at $8.5 millon. He was also considered a Type B Freeagent and the Jays will receive a selection in the Supplemental Round of the 2013 First Year Player Draft as compensation.

Salary Arbitration Hearings

Toronto had 10 players that they would end up going to arbitration with. Toronto also declined to offer arbitration of 2B Aaron Hill and INF Joe Inglett. Both players became unrestricted free agents adn could sign with any team of their chosing.

The other 10 players would all agree to contracts for the following amounts:

3B Mike Moustakas - $7,830,000
SP Brett Cecil - $6,820,000
SS Carlos Triunfel - $663,000
SP Neftali Feliz - $6,485,400
1B Justin Smoak - $9,500,000
C J.P. Arencibia - $7,480,000
MR Kevin Jepsen - $600,000
CF Elijah Dukes - $7,994,000
SP David Purcey - $7,303,000
LF Travis Snider - $12,500,000

Player Trades

GM Ryan Stewart was very busy this offseason as he had to shed some salary inorder to stay within the teams designated budget for the 2013 season. The Jays started the offseason a little more than $20 million dollars over their budget and were forces to make a number of trades. GM Ryan Stewart "The hardest aspect of this offseason was attempting to move some of our talented players and to bring players back that will be able to step in and help us now. We are not heading into a rebuilding mode and we plan on competing next season. I think that the players that we brought in will compliment our guys that were on the roster last season"

The Jays first trade was a deal that saw them ship CF Elijah Dukes and his $7,944,000 contract to the Pittsburgh Pirates along with minor league SS Al Hoorelbe for CF David Price.

CF Elijah Dukes was aquired from the Nationals in 2010 as has been the Jays starting centerfielder since. In 2012 the 28 yearold hit .287 with 27 HR and 108 RBI. He has been a very good producer for the Jays over the last few seasons but he has had injury problems, missing a significant amout of time on the disabled list. The Jays also packeged up 23 yearold SS Al Hoorelbe who was the Jays 24th Round Pick 735th Overall in 2012 out of Northern Illinois University in the NCAA. He spent the entire 2012 season with the GCL Blue Jays and hit .304 with 1 HR and 3 RBI.

Coming back to the Jays is 25 yearold switch hitting CF David Price. Price was drafted by the Pirates in the 4th Round 115th overall in 2010 out of the Army Acadamy. He spent the entire 2012 season with the Pirates and hit .280 with 9 HR and drove in 30 RBIs. He was used as more of a backup in Pittsburgh but will be the Jays leadoff man and starting centerfielder in 2013. He can hit for average and a little power and is very fast on the basepaths. He will give the Jays an element of speed that they have not had in their lineup for a number of years.

The Jays second trade was a tough one to make. The Chicago Cubs and GM Joe Ellis were looking to make a splash in the NL Central and inquired about the availiability of the 2012 American League MVP RF Alex Rios. Rios has 3 years and nearly $38 million left on his contract. He has seen a resurgance over the last 2 seasons in Toronto and although it was not easy to do GM Ryan Stewart shipped Rios along with SS Carlos Triunfel and SP Madison Baumgarner to the Cubs for SS Joel Walker and MR Lawrence Harris.

The Jays ship out Rios who hit .366 with 22 HR and drove in 110 RBIs in 2012. The 31 yearold was named the American League MVP in 2012 and is coming off one of the best seasons in his career. Along with Rios the Jays esnt SS Carlos Triunfel who was the Jays starting shortstop last season. The 22 yearold hit .301 with 17 RH and 91 RBI. Rounding out the package is 23 yearold SP Madison Baumgarner who was up and down between AAA Las Vegas and the Jays multiple times last season. The southpaw was 5-8 with a 4.43 ERA for the 51's and did battle some arm problems that caused him to miss time on the disabled list.

The Jays aquire an allstar caliber player in SS Joel Walker. Walker was the 2nd overall pick in the 2011 draft by the Cubs out of Penn State University and was already playing at the Major League Level at just 23 years old. He hit .286 with 7 HR and 38 RBIs in 2012 for the Cubs and the Jays are hoping he is the answer at short for the next decade. Walker is also defensively sound and has a very strong throwing arm, GM Ryan Stewart really wanted him as part of the package in return for Rios and it took a lot to pry him away from the Cubs. Toronto also gets MR Lawrence Harris a hard throwing 23 yearold righty who was the Cubs 15th Round Pick 433rd Overall in 2011 out of Northwestern University in the NCAA. He spent all of the 2012 season with the Cubs and was 1-1 with a 2.15 ERA with 15 BB and 33 K in just 31 innings pitched. He will compete for a spot in the Jays bullpen at spring training this year and the Jays see him as a future setup man.

GM Ryan Stewart's final move of the offseason was to ship SP Dustin McGowan to the Texas Rangers for 25 yearold SP Chris Oglethorpe.

The 30 yearold McGowan was 10-10 with a 5.80 ERA for the Jays as their #5 starter this season but is scheduled to make $4,360,000/year for the next 2 seasons and the Jays have some young arms in AAA that can do the same job for much cheeper.

Coming over to the Jays is SP Chris Oglethorpe. A 25 yearold righty with an average fastball in the 89-90 MPH range. He was the Rangers 5th Round Pick 147th Overall in 2010 out of Old Dominion in the NCAA. He was 10-10 with a 3.76 ERA with A Bakersfield. He doesn't scout as a front of the rotation starter but could be useful as a back of the rotation/spot starter out of the bullpen for the Jays.

The Blue Jays and GM Ryan Stewart managed to shave a significant amout of salary this offseason setting them up well under their $103,000,000 budget. The Jays saved $12,400,000 when 2B Aaron Hill and CL Hong-Chih Kuo were allowed to walk as free agents ($8 million for Hill, $4.4 million for Kuo). The Jays also saved a total of $25,467,600 with the trades that they made. This means that the Jays shaved a total of $37,867,600 off of their payroll which now sits at a comfortable $85,133,100.

Waiver Claim

The Jays added another bullpen arm as they claimed 22 yearold MR Willie O'Macken off waivers from the Pittsburgh Pirates. O'Macken was a 17th Round Pick of the Pirates 505th overall in 2010 out of Bowling Green highschool and was 1-1 with 4 SV and a 1.64 ERA in AA Altona. The 22 yearold lefty has a very good fastball in the 94-96 MPH range and also throws a plus sinker. He will get an invitation to Spring Training in 2013 and will compete for a spot in the Jays bullpen.

07-10-2009, 04:17 PM	#83
ryan008 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: St. Catharines, Ontario Posts: 2,355	2012 Blue Jays Offseason Report The 2013 Blue Jays are going to be a much different team. The Jays finished the 2012 season with the best record in the majors at 115-47 but were ousted in the American League Championship Series by the eventual World Series Champions the Kansas City Royals. Toronto's 2013 buget was set by ownership at slightly over $103,000,000 US and their current payroll is already $98.5 million. Toronto has 10 players heading to salary arbitration this year and they are going to ahve to cut roughly $15-20 million worth of payroll in the offseason inorder to get under their projected buget. This bugetary constraint was a main reason that the Jays did not offer CL Hong-Chih Kuo a new contract after the 2012 season and he was allowed to walk as a free agent. The 31 yearold from Taiwan was 6-2 with 37 SV and a 3.39 ERA for the Jays last season. He was demmanding a salary in the $8-10 million dollar range and that was just too much for the Jays. He would eventually end up signing a 1 year contract with the San Francisco Giants at $8.5 millon. He was also considered a Type B Freeagent and the Jays will receive a selection in the Supplemental Round of the 2013 First Year Player Draft as compensation. Salary Arbitration Hearings Toronto had 10 players that they would end up going to arbitration with. Toronto also declined to offer arbitration of 2B Aaron Hill and INF Joe Inglett. Both players became unrestricted free agents adn could sign with any team of their chosing. The other 10 players would all agree to contracts for the following amounts: 3B Mike Moustakas - $7,830,000 SP Brett Cecil - $6,820,000 SS Carlos Triunfel - $663,000 SP Neftali Feliz - $6,485,400 1B Justin Smoak - $9,500,000 C J.P. Arencibia - $7,480,000 MR Kevin Jepsen - $600,000 CF Elijah Dukes - $7,994,000 SP David Purcey - $7,303,000 LF Travis Snider - $12,500,000 Player Trades GM Ryan Stewart was very busy this offseason as he had to shed some salary inorder to stay within the teams designated budget for the 2013 season. The Jays started the offseason a little more than $20 million dollars over their budget and were forces to make a number of trades. GM Ryan Stewart "The hardest aspect of this offseason was attempting to move some of our talented players and to bring players back that will be able to step in and help us now. We are not heading into a rebuilding mode and we plan on competing next season. I think that the players that we brought in will compliment our guys that were on the roster last season" The Jays first trade was a deal that saw them ship CF Elijah Dukes and his $7,944,000 contract to the Pittsburgh Pirates along with minor league SS Al Hoorelbe for CF David Price. CF Elijah Dukes was aquired from the Nationals in 2010 as has been the Jays starting centerfielder since. In 2012 the 28 yearold hit .287 with 27 HR and 108 RBI. He has been a very good producer for the Jays over the last few seasons but he has had injury problems, missing a significant amout of time on the disabled list. The Jays also packeged up 23 yearold SS Al Hoorelbe who was the Jays 24th Round Pick 735th Overall in 2012 out of Northern Illinois University in the NCAA. He spent the entire 2012 season with the GCL Blue Jays and hit .304 with 1 HR and 3 RBI. Coming back to the Jays is 25 yearold switch hitting CF David Price. Price was drafted by the Pirates in the 4th Round 115th overall in 2010 out of the Army Acadamy. He spent the entire 2012 season with the Pirates and hit .280 with 9 HR and drove in 30 RBIs. He was used as more of a backup in Pittsburgh but will be the Jays leadoff man and starting centerfielder in 2013. He can hit for average and a little power and is very fast on the basepaths. He will give the Jays an element of speed that they have not had in their lineup for a number of years. The Jays second trade was a tough one to make. The Chicago Cubs and GM Joe Ellis were looking to make a splash in the NL Central and inquired about the availiability of the 2012 American League MVP RF Alex Rios. Rios has 3 years and nearly $38 million left on his contract. He has seen a resurgance over the last 2 seasons in Toronto and although it was not easy to do GM Ryan Stewart shipped Rios along with SS Carlos Triunfel and SP Madison Baumgarner to the Cubs for SS Joel Walker and MR Lawrence Harris. The Jays ship out Rios who hit .366 with 22 HR and drove in 110 RBIs in 2012. The 31 yearold was named the American League MVP in 2012 and is coming off one of the best seasons in his career. Along with Rios the Jays esnt SS Carlos Triunfel who was the Jays starting shortstop last season. The 22 yearold hit .301 with 17 RH and 91 RBI. Rounding out the package is 23 yearold SP Madison Baumgarner who was up and down between AAA Las Vegas and the Jays multiple times last season. The southpaw was 5-8 with a 4.43 ERA for the 51's and did battle some arm problems that caused him to miss time on the disabled list. The Jays aquire an allstar caliber player in SS Joel Walker. Walker was the 2nd overall pick in the 2011 draft by the Cubs out of Penn State University and was already playing at the Major League Level at just 23 years old. He hit .286 with 7 HR and 38 RBIs in 2012 for the Cubs and the Jays are hoping he is the answer at short for the next decade. Walker is also defensively sound and has a very strong throwing arm, GM Ryan Stewart really wanted him as part of the package in return for Rios and it took a lot to pry him away from the Cubs. Toronto also gets MR Lawrence Harris a hard throwing 23 yearold righty who was the Cubs 15th Round Pick 433rd Overall in 2011 out of Northwestern University in the NCAA. He spent all of the 2012 season with the Cubs and was 1-1 with a 2.15 ERA with 15 BB and 33 K in just 31 innings pitched. He will compete for a spot in the Jays bullpen at spring training this year and the Jays see him as a future setup man. GM Ryan Stewart's final move of the offseason was to ship SP Dustin McGowan to the Texas Rangers for 25 yearold SP Chris Oglethorpe. The 30 yearold McGowan was 10-10 with a 5.80 ERA for the Jays as their #5 starter this season but is scheduled to make $4,360,000/year for the next 2 seasons and the Jays have some young arms in AAA that can do the same job for much cheeper. Coming over to the Jays is SP Chris Oglethorpe. A 25 yearold righty with an average fastball in the 89-90 MPH range. He was the Rangers 5th Round Pick 147th Overall in 2010 out of Old Dominion in the NCAA. He was 10-10 with a 3.76 ERA with A Bakersfield. He doesn't scout as a front of the rotation starter but could be useful as a back of the rotation/spot starter out of the bullpen for the Jays. The Blue Jays and GM Ryan Stewart managed to shave a significant amout of salary this offseason setting them up well under their $103,000,000 budget. The Jays saved $12,400,000 when 2B Aaron Hill and CL Hong-Chih Kuo were allowed to walk as free agents ($8 million for Hill, $4.4 million for Kuo). The Jays also saved a total of $25,467,600 with the trades that they made. This means that the Jays shaved a total of $37,867,600 off of their payroll which now sits at a comfortable $85,133,100. Waiver Claim The Jays added another bullpen arm as they claimed 22 yearold MR Willie O'Macken off waivers from the Pittsburgh Pirates. O'Macken was a 17th Round Pick of the Pirates 505th overall in 2010 out of Bowling Green highschool and was 1-1 with 4 SV and a 1.64 ERA in AA Altona. The 22 yearold lefty has a very good fastball in the 94-96 MPH range and also throws a plus sinker. He will get an invitation to Spring Training in 2013 and will compete for a spot in the Jays bullpen.