Blue Jays Evening Brew: ‘Twas the night before playoffs…

The Toronto Blue Jays take the Rogers Centre turf for playoff baseball tomorrow, and if the weather cooperates, it will come under an open roof. David Price is set to lead off the series followed by Marcus Stroman, before Marco Estrada and R.A. Dickey are scheduled in Arlington. With the Chicago Cubs and Pittsburgh Pirates facing off in what should be a fantastic N.L. Wild Card game this evening, here’s one last fill of Blue Jays news before first pitch.

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Eyes on… 2016?  –  The life of a general manager is spent looking ahead, which is why Alex Anthopoulos is already having thoughts about the 2016 Jays roster. He tells Ben Nicholson-Smith that he still keeps an eye on potential trades throughout October, and will enter the offseason with a good idea of which players may become available after his prior trade deadline talks.

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“We have a sense from July conversations of who might be available in trade, but there’ll be another wave of players that no one’s expecting as we talk to clubs that we’ll get a sense of. That can be exciting,” Anthopoulos told Nicholson-Smith. “The off-season can come up fast on you, so you don’t end up shutting it down.”

Donaldson’s Dollars  –  Eric Elliot of Statliners recently looked at the projected payday of Josh Donaldson, whose late bloom leaves him still under team control. MLB Trade Rumors has projected the MVP candidate to earn $12 million in arbitration, and from a sabremetrics standpoint, that’s an absolute steal. With each win above replacement worth approximately $5-7 million, Donaldson remains a deep discount.

Dueling Aces  –  Jasper Bosman of Blue Bird Banter wrote a great side-by-side of David Price and Cole Hamels. Price will pitch in the opener Thursday while Hamels will be held until game two While Price receives far more attention as the trump-card ace, Hamels has put up similarly strong numbers over recent seasons. This matchup could really come to a head if the series is pushed to five games, leaving them to meet in the finale.

Blue Jays the virtual champs  –  Over at Gamesided, Daniel George ran a full simulation of the MLB Playoffs on the video game MLB 15: The Show. After the Blue Jays topped Texas 3-1 in the ALDS, they went on to top the Yankees (this sim was done early yesterday) in seven games. In game seven of the World Series against the New York Mets, Marcus Stroman hurled a gem and turned it over to Roberto Osuna who shut the door. Oh, how sweet it sounds…

Next: Should Gibbons allow Jays starters a third trip through the lineup?

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• Blue Jays: Adam Cimber, the unlikely decision King