Morning Brew: Blue Jays Rumors Flying

Unfortunately, lately there has been nothing but speculation, conjecture and flat out rumor mongering. But, there’s been a lot of it. As such, there is a seemingly never ending supply of analysis and opinions. Let’s see what the world’s been saying about the Toronto Blue Jays rumors.

TSN’s Scott Ferguson gives us a rundown of recent Blue Jays winter moves. Obviously, the Miami trade, Melky signing and Dickey trade of 2012 was one of the biggest in recent memory. It didn’t exactly work out…yet. There is still room to think that this move will pay off. Although, if it does, it won’t be the sole reason for success. There is lots of work to be done. Ferguson also points out the trade that sent Mike Aviles and Yan Gomes to Cleveland. Considering Gomes just won the Silver Slugger award, that one stings. 

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Shi Davidi looks at the big 3 rumors that have been flying around the Blue Jays to see which is the most likely to actually be true. He explores the signing of Pablo Sandoval, Victor Martinez and Russell Martin. Of the three, Davidi actually thinks the one that addresses a less obvious area of concern for the Jays will be the one that is more likely to happen. He thinks that the Canadian, Russell Martin could be the most likely to come north. When Toronto tried to sign him before, they couldn’t commit many at bats to him. Now, they seem to be (at least according to Davidi) OK with DHing Dioner Navarro and giving the catcher’s job to Martin. This is a tad surprising since the others would fill a more obvious need at 3rd and DH.

Shi also points out something that may excite Blue Jays fans. GM, Alex Anthopoulos, seems to be taking a more aggressive stance this winter. Apparently, he’s “ready for whoever wants to deal”. Giddyup! This could be a fun winter.

Fans may also be disappointed to hear that Munenori Kawasaki may not return. Davidi says he is leaning toward returning to Japan, but could be convinced to stay for a major league contract. Is it worth it?

In case you got caught up in all the hoopla that has been flying around and forgot about the minor leagues, Ben Nicholson-Smith informs us that the Blue Jays haven’t forgotten. They signed 4 of their minor leaguers to contracts yesterday. They signed Austin Bibens-Dirkx, Mike Lee and Bobby Korecky and Scott Copeland. Lee pitched in the Daimondbacks organization last season. 35 year old Korecky was the MVP of the Buffalo Bisons team last season. Copeland is 26 and split time between AA New Hampshire and AAA Buffalo last season. He’ll also get an invite to the big league camp this spring. 

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Over at FanGraphs.com, Drew Fairservice gives us an interesting look at what could be for Brandon Morrow. He looks at 4 possibilities for the Faberge Pitcher: 1) reclamation starter 2) back end bullpen 3) middle relief or 4) which is probably the most likely- he’ll continue to be himself. Fairservice suggests that Morrow could fetch $6M for next season. As a starter, that might be a fair price…IF he can stay on the mound. As a reliever, the slightly less $5M may seem about right. Either way, I would tend to agree that Morrow will get a one year deal and hope that all the king’s horses and all the king’s men can keep him together.

Over at MLB.com, Gregor Chisholm discusses the challenge of upgrading the infield that the Blue Jays face. He points out that AA has the advantage of putting

at either second or third which creates flexibility in trying to fill the openings. However, making a move this winter to address this area of need may not be so easy as there really isn’t a whole lot of depth to be found.

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At CBSsports.com, Jon Heyman discusses how free agent Nick Markakis seems to have stepped away from negotiating with Baltimore to get a survey of the land. Heyman suggests that part of the land may include the Blue Jays. He says that the Jays “are said to have some interest”. Before we get too far into that one, we had better wait to see just how much “interest” there is. Heyman also says that the Jays would prefer bringing back Melky Cabrera. Would they? Markakis is a much more sure bet than Melky. Granted, Markakis plays right field and that position is currently filled. But, could the Blue Jays maybe offer him a bit more to leave Baltimore and his normal position? It might be a smart move to do so and collect the draft pick for Melky signing elsewhere.