Jay Bird Watching Podcast Recap: Welcome Mr. Green and the coming of Spring Training

Craig Borden, Jason Lyons and Ken Alfred are back at it again, this time joined by our very own Graeme Wallace.

After the fellas threw a few mentions of Tom Brady in there to boost SEO purposes, they jump right into it with the signing of Chad Green.

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Welcome, Mr. Green

Chad Green is ditching his pinstripes for Northern Blue!

Graeme kicks things off, citing that Green was arguably the best reliever still available on the free agent market now that the cupboards are largely stripped bare. He says Green is the type of guy that fits the exact mold that the Blue Jays and their fans are looking for. Combined with Erik Swanson, Graeme mentions that it's hard to say at this point that the bullpen is not improved.

Jason echoes this sentiment, saying that it's going to be nice to have him on our side instead of functinoing as a Jays-killer like has in years past.

The surprise DFA of Matt Gage was also brought up. His subtraction from the 40-man roster really shortens the depth on-hand when it comes to left-handed pitching. Matt Moore and Andrew Chafin were mentioned as possibilities.

Non-Roster Invitees

The recently-released list of 16 non-roster invitees was next on the agenda. Craig points out that Ricky Tiedemann's inclusion on this list is especially of note. Overall, all four of the guys expect big things out of the club's No. 1 prospect in 2023.

Jason made it a point to bring up Zach Britton, who is another player he has his eye on. Britton, 24, is an intriguing up-and-coming power piece that can play catcher and both outfield corners.

Craig's favorite non-Tiedemann pick here is Bowden Francis, who he's been following for years. He points out that Bowden's path to the bigs feels eerily similar to Tim Mayza in that he doesn't crack the big leagues until his mid-20s but once he makes it to The Show, he's here to stay.

Position battles

The guys move on to the upcoming position battles to watch in Spring Training, with second base getting the most attention. Whit Merrifield is mentioned as the likeliest starter but the guys make a case for each of Santiago Espinal, Cavan Biggio and even Otto López.

Jason says that if he was in charge, he'd give Espinal the starting spot with Merrifield getting everyday action all around the diamond.

Graeme follows that up by saying that he feels Espinal would thrive in a season with around 400 at-bats, pointing out the fact that he started off 2022 red-hot but came crashing down to Earth down the stretch. He also says that Espinal should get some looks at both shortstop and third base along with his standard second base.

Ken likes the club's defensive versatility, mentioning Merrifield and Biggio's ability to play all over the place. Ben Zobrist and Chris Taylor are mentioned as super-utility types that one of Merrifield or Biggio could turn into.

Next. Alek Manoah giving back to his hometown during offseason. dark

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