I wish we had some news to talk about.
There are a lot of rumours—there are always rumours. I tend to ignore them because most come from reporters who plant things for agents or the AI bot sites.
Anyway:
- There is also a rumour that the Jays and Vlad Guerrero are $100 million apart in their negotiations. It sounds like a lot of money. But then that’s roughly what Rogers charges me monthly for my cell phone, so pony up. Just sign the man.
- The Jays made an offer to Anthony Santander in the last couple of days. There is no word on whether he is considering it or using it to shop for offers from other teams. Or, for that matter, how much they offered.
- There is a report that the Jays are ‘one of three’ teams with a real possibility of landing Alex Bergman. I’m thinking of wallpapering the house with printouts of tweets telling us that the Jays will likely sign some player.
- They have also talked to Jack Flaherty. He might be looking for a one-year deal to prove he’s healthy.
- Tanner Scott, a left-handed closer, is still out there, and the Jays need a closer, so there are rumours there, too.
- Nick Pivetta is another they are talking about. I’m less than thrilled about the idea. I’d much rather have Bowden Francis in the rotation.
- The Score tells us they are also looking at Pete Alonso.
Over at Sportsnet Arden Zwelling writes about new Jays reliever Nick Sandlin, which includes this gif:
Among the points, Zwelling made:
Most of that swing-and-miss comes with Sandlin’s slider and splitter, which he used to finish nearly three-quarters of his strikeouts in 2024. Sandlin has used his slider as his primary pitch in each of his four MLB seasons, adding or subtracting from its velocity and shape — Sandlin threw the pitch anywhere from 75-83 m.p.h. last season with spin rates ranging from 2,200 to 2,800 — when he wants it sweepier to encourage hitters to chase or tighter to land for a strike.
Averaging a foot of glove-side cut, Sandlin’s slider featured one of the 20 largest breaks of any across MLB in 2024. This is where the feel for pitching he developed as a starter at Southern Mississippi comes into play. He can manipulate his wrist angle to make the pitch behave differently depending on what he wants it to do in various situations.
I think that sidearmers, on average, have a good first season with a team, a decent second season, and after that, you don’t want them anymore. I am looking forward to watching him.
Yesterday was Kevin Gausman’s 34th birthday. Not to scare you, Kevin, but time speeds up right around that age. I hope it was a good one.
In real signings, the A’s signed outfielder Brent Rooker to a five-year, $92 million deal. They are working to get their payroll over the minimum.
It is depressing when the A’s make bigger moves than the Jays.