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Toronto Blue Jays Morning Brew: Rumors swirling around Johnson, Kawasaki
By Michael Wray
Where will Munenori Kawasaki end up playing baseball next season? Photo Credit: Anthony Gruppuso-USA TODAY Sports
Toronto Blue Jays News and Rumors
We took a little World Series break from the Morning Brew but with the offseason officially in full swing we are back with the latest news and rumors surrounding the Toronto Blue Jays.
Kyle Franzoni covered it here for us yesterday but basically the Blue Jays have until 5pm on Monday to make a decision about whether or not to offer a qualifying offer to Josh Johnson. Shi Davidi at Sportsnet says that the Blue Jays are still weighing their options but Jon Heyman at CBS Sports says its unlikely they will make the $14.1 million offer.
Bluebird Banter asks if the Blue Jays should target Mark Ellis after the Los Angeles Dodgers somewhat surprisingly declined to pick up his $5.75 million option.
Richard Griffin at the Toronto Star tweeted that Munenori Kawasaki is likely headed back to Japan on a $2 million deal and also says the Jays were aware.
However Mike Wilner at The Fan 590 says through Twitter that he was told Kawasaki does not have a deal with any team in Japan and there is not a $2 million offer on the table.
Jeff Blair at the Globe and Mail writes that the thin free agent market will test the Blue Jays limited budget this offseason.
Sportsnet released an excerpt from John Lott and Shi Davidi’s upcoming book Great Expectations: The Lost Toronto Blue Jays Season. The snippet mentions the Blue Jays failed attempts to land Hisashi Iwakuma and Kyle Seager from the Seattle Mariners, which Andrew Stoeten at DJF gives his thoughts on.
Gregor Chisholm posts a full transcript of the Blue Jays’ new hitting coach Kevin Seitzer‘s conference call with reporters on his blog North of the Border.
Steph Rogers at the Globe and Mail writes that Drew Hutchison can’t wait to return to the Blue Jays in 2014. He last pitched with the Jays in June 2012 and is currently dominating the Arizona Fall League.
Marc Hulet at FanGraphs takes a look at the strongest and weakest rookie classes of 2013.