Blue Jays Morning Brew: MLB GM Meetings Ending

The 2015 GM Meetings are wrapping up in Florida and there are some tidbits of information that may give us some insight into which direction this club will be headed. Of course, with nothing actually having happened yet, we’re till stuck reading between the lines a bit. So, today we bring you the lines between which you can read.

Don’t forget that you can keep up to date with all news and rumors on our Blue Jays Offseason Tracker!

Incentives! According to Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet, the Toronto Blue Jays will be open to looking at possibly offering incentive based deals. This is interesting since the club has avoided those deals for the most part under Alex Anthopoulos. But, with Mark Shapiro running the show, nothing is off the table. Interim GM, Tony LaCava said: “Certain guys that maybe are coming off of injuries and it’s tough to place a value on them, you might want to consider doing something like that.”

Toronto Blue Jays

Nicholson-Smith lists a few guys who would fit the category of an incentive based deal: Rich Hill, Joe Blanton, Trevor Cahill and the more interesting of the group: Mat Latos. With 3 teams in 2015, he compiled a 4-10 record. He’s been a huge question mark with his recent injury woes, but he’s just a couple years removed from some rather good 14 win seasons in 2012 and 2013. It could be a good deal for the Blue Jays if he’s worked out his issues given that he’s just 27.

Shopping Spree? Sticking with Sportsnet, Shi Davidi looks at just how the Blue Jays are going to address their starting pitching needs. The club acknowledges that they need 2-3 starters. So, how are they going to do that? Well, trading is going to cost prospect capital and the kind that is close to MLB ready. There just isn’t much of that around these parts. Also, there aren’t many internal options.

So, that leaves free agency. Davidi gives us the idea that this just might be a time where they break from their bargain shopping of the past few years. Of course, that depends on what happens with Marco Estrada and his qualifying offer decision. But, this might be good news for those of us expecting the club to flirt with free agency, but not quite take it our for dinner.

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Looking for Trades? So, in conflict with what is above from Davidi, Steve Buffery of The Toronto Sun leads us to believe that the Blue Jays are looking at the trade route for some action this winter. The title of “Blue Jays looking to pursue multiple trade ‘possibilities’” leads you to think that there are active trade talks going on. Now, depending on your level of comfort with the current roster, you might read that and get nervous. Several people have called for Troy Tulowitzki, Jose Bautista and Edwin Encarnacion to be involved in some sort of trade to bring in pitching.

But, thanks to not just reading a headline, we get some clarification. Buffery writes that the reality is that the Blue Jays have spoken to other teams (d’uh) and know that those teams are interested in a number of Blue Jays bats (d’uh). What is the interesting part is that LaCava says that he doesn’t think they’ll go the trade route to bring in pitching. Not if it costs a part of the potent offense.

Next: 5 Realistic Free Agent Options for Blue Jays

Texas Sized Chirps- In case you missed it, the Dallas Stars and Toronto Maple Leafs played a few days ago. But, it was more than the players getting in on the action. DallasNews.com brings the story of the two teams chirping each other. It is actually quite funny. Here are the tweets to explain the story:

https://twitter.com/DallasStars/status/664256526891089920

You have to admit, that the fake PSA is funny. Throwing beer and having it hit anywhere near a baby is not, of course. But, the people in Dallas were successful in their attempt at chirping. The Leafs’ response was even more successful:

Of course, the Leafs were lucky that the game ended in a win for them. Otherwise, this wouldn’t have been as effective. The conversation the deteriorated quickly after that. But, this whole thing highlights the creativity and ingenuity that trash talking has taken on. Some might say it is as unnecessary as a bat flip. Others would say that it is just as entertaining.