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matthewkniesys · 2 years

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meet cute- bo bichette

Summary: You have been sworn against baseball for years. Even still, some hot shot player named Bo Bichette catches your eye. When your best friend finally convinces you to go to a jays game something you never thought possible, something straight out of a romance novel becomes your life.

Pairing: Bo Bichette x gn!reader

Warnings: maybe a few swears

a/n: okay so this is for @bodacious-bichette and @livsglittertasticworld! Will anyone actually read this... i dont know but i wrote it so... I hope you like it and feedback is always welcome!

Baseball was your biggest joy, biggest passion, favorite hobby growing up and to be honest your life, but now your 24 years old and you haven't watched a baseball game since you were probably 15. All baseball is to you now, is a hard reminder that you weren't good enough.

You played baseball your whole childhood and you were good. Really, really good, but when you got to high school you were cut from the high school team. It cut really deep and since then you just hadn't been able to find any happiness in baseball. You couldn't watch it anymore and you couldn't play it anymore, not even for fun.

Since then you had grown up, gotten a job and we're successful and living on your own. There would always be the hurt though from being cut. You didn't think about it all that often anymore but all of those memories resurfaced when your best friend, Luke, called you wanting to go to a baseball game. The jays game to be exact. Growing up the jays had been everything to you. Everyone who knew you would joke that your mood depended on the jays.

So when Luke who had known you forever wanted to go to the game with you, you were hurt. He knew how much you couldn't watch baseball anymore.

"Y/n, please come to the game. It won't be that bad. It's just one game. I even got those seat right beside the dugout. You know the ones where you can look through the netting right into the dugout." Luke pleads.

"Couldn't you go with someone else?" You ask, wondering why suddenly he wants you to go with him so badly.

"I just miss the old days when we used to have season tickets and go with our dads. All I'm asking is one game y/n."

"I won't even know any of the players." That's a lie. You would very occasionally check in on how the jays were doing because as much as you hated it the Toronto blue jays will forever be a part of you and maybe there was one blue jay member you were especially fond of but you would never, ever admit that.

"Don't even try lying to me like that. I know you were hurt when people told you, you weren't good enough but I think for you baseball will always be apart of you. The blue jays still mean enough to you that I believe you still check the scores."

You sigh knowing he's right. "Fine, okay I'll go to this game with you but just this month. And only because your birthday is next week and I don't have a present so consider this one."

"Sure y/n, pick you up Saturday night, yeah?"

"I'll be waiting."

You weren't sure if Saturday could or couldn't come quick enough. You couldn't deny that the prospect of watching a jays game again was exciting but it didn't make you any less nervous for it. All week you had been checking the scores and the jays were on a 5 game win streak heading into Saturday's game.

4 o'clock on Saturday rolled around and Luke was waiting for you outside in his car. You walk up to it wearing the Bichette jersey you had bought yesterday. You convinced yourself it was cause you didn't want to look stupid not wearing any apparel but in truth Bo had caught your eye since the day he came up to the bigs. You almost caved and watched his debut but you forced yourself not too.

At first, after not making the team, you didn't want to watch baseball cause it hurt to much but after that it was more that you wanted to hold a grudge, not that you hated baseball. It was so much easier to pretend you hated it and we're mad than to be sad about the fact you weren't good enough.

"So I see you've got a jersey. I even see its Bichette. Have you been lying to me about hating baseball?" Says Luke, as soon as you get in the car.

" Dumbass, I bought this yesterday."

"Mhm, sure you did."

"Shut up that's the truth."

"What ever you say, y/n."

The rest of the drive is silent and when you get to the rogers centre you can't stop the rush of adrenaline you get just from being there at the park with all the fans. Being back here was almost euphoric. You didn't think you'd ever be back and you would never admit it especially not to Luke but you were so happy he convinced you to come.

"Dude how did you get these seats?" You ask luke, once you're seated. He wasn't kidding he really got the seats right beside the dugout. You were sitting in the seat right beside the netting.

The players are about to go out for warm ups and that's when you catch your first real, in-person glimpse of Mr.Bo Bichette. You suck in a deep breath trying to catch your breath.

"Oh do you like bobo?" Luke laughs.

"No, shut up." You respond.

"I don't believe you." You sigh knowing you won't win this argument.

"Fine, he's hot. There is admit it. Now will, you stop."

"Sure y/n. Whatever you want." And so the game starts. You get very invested. You missed this. You missed the atmosphere of the sky dome but mostly you just missed baseball and your jays.

The game was going good and half way through the 5th you feel a pair of eyes on you. You turn to your side prepared to tell the fan sitting next to you you stop staring when you remember you aren't sitting next to anyone.

You turn around and are looking straight into Bo Bichette's beautiful eyes. When your eyes meet he doesn't look away. He just holds the contact. In the end your the one to break it. It just begins to be too much. You feel your cheeks heat up and you have to look away.

You turn back to the game hoping Luke didn't notice that moment between you and Bo. Judging by the huge grin on his face though, he definitely did.

"Not regretting coming to the game now huh?" Luke teases.

"We looked at each other for a second. It was nothing."

"A second? Bullshit y/n! That was at least 10 seconds." He exclaims.

"Well whatever, it's not like anything stupid gonna come from it."

"You never know." He says, and you just roll your eyes.

The rest of the game goes well. The jays win 6-4. At the end of the game when all of the players are walking off the field you see vladdy nudge Bo and point towards what looks like your direction. Bo shrugs his shoulders back.

You are getting up from your seat and about to follow Luke up the stairs when you hear someone call out to the person in the Bichette. It's a familiar voice. You turn around and you see Bo motioning you over. You stand there suddenly frozen to the spot. It isn't until Luke almost pushes you down the stairs that you regain your ability to walk.

"Hi I'm Bo" Bo says.

"Yeah I uh kinda know that already."

Bo chuckles than answers "so I was wondering if I could get your name?"

"Umm yeah, it's y/n."

"That's a pretty name." You smile at Bo shyly.

"Thank you."

"I was wondering if maybe I could grab your number."

"Oh um what? You want my number? Why?"

"I don't know. You seemed super into baseball and your super beautiful so I thought maybe I could uh call you and we could do something together. You know get to know ow each other. A date maybe?"

"Oh um yes of course." You grab a piece of paper and a pen from your bag and quickly scribble down your number. You are fully aware you are probably smiling like an idiot but you could care less. Bo Bichette just asked you on a date (sorta).

You hand it to him and in turn he hands you his cap. You look at his confused.

"Just keep. I'll be back to get it eventually." He smirks, you realise this is his way of saying I will for sure see you again.

For the last 9 years baseball has been a reminder of something you weren't good enough for. Now it's brought you someone special.

Today you began to make peace with baseball.

I hope you liked it and thanks for reading <33 let me know if you'd be interested in part 2 and as always feedback is very welcome!

#bo bichette #bo bichette x reader #bo bichette imagine #mlb imagine #mlb fanfic #toronto blue jays #vladimir guerrero jr.#claire tries writing <3 #did the ending make sense idk #i hope so

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jimothystu · 1 year

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idk if you’re still writing but if you are could you add my sideblog @bo-bichette to your jays taglist? ty <33

heyyy i haven’t written reader inserts in a hot minute, but i will add it to my list for if/when i write more!!

#asks #leea <3 #tag lists

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holidaywishes · 2 years

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Idk if your taking requests but,

If you could (if your doing it) write something about Bo Bichette again please, preferably with a gn or fem reader. I’ve read everything that I can read about him that also applies with me.

Thank you, I hope you have a good-night-day-afternoon

- :)

Hey! So, I'm not even sure when I'm taking requests and when I'm not lol. Generally, the answer is yes, send in a request but be prepared for it to sit in my drafts for a while before I get to it. Maybe the anticipation will make it better?

Anyway, I'll put your requests in my drafts and hopefully get to it before the end of the year lol but know that I'm very lazy and distracted right now.

#ask #asked #asks

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ao3feed-hockey · 1 year

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Jealousy's Not Your Colour

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/kUKbaZQ

by gardenofstories

Nick takes the reader to a Toronto Blue Jays game for their birthday, but he wasn't expecting Bo Bichette to flirt with them.

Words: 2128, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English

Series: Part 1 of NHL RPFs (Reader-Inserts)

Fandoms: NHL - Fandom, Men's Hockey RPF, Montreal Canadiens - Fandom, MLB - Fandom, Baseball RPF

Rating: General Audiences

Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply

Categories: Gen, Multi, Other

Characters: Nick Suzuki, Bo Bichette

Relationships: Nick Suzuki/Reader

Additional Tags: hockey and baseball crossover, Jealousy, Establishing Relationship, Reader Insert, GN Reader

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/kUKbaZQ

#IFTTT #ao3feed #fanfic #hockey rpf

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zackcollins · 3 years

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hands on you || bo bichette

masterlist

Author’s Note: Heya for the second time today! This is another anonymous request I received from someone. The request was about Bo comforting the reader while they were on their period. I hope I did the request justice for whoever sent the request in! Feel free to let me know if I didn’t and I’ll either try again or write a completely different request. Anyways! GIF credit to @whimsical-daydreams (love you Jenn!! hope you enjoy this too since I know you’ll inevitably read it lmfao)

Warnings: I don’t think there’s anything, but feel free to let me know if you disagree. I’m more than happy to add something for anyone that needs one.

Word Count: 939 (short boi)

Title: Hands On You by Florida Georgia Line

Additional: The language involving the reader is sorta vague so I think they can be read as gender-neutral. Because like. Anyone with a (functioning) uterus could theoretically have a period. And not everyone with a (functioning) uterus identifies as feminine. As always, I hope everyone enjoys this! Feedback is always welcomed because I love hearing what everyone thinks of my writing.

Tagging: @donttelltheelff @bodacious-bichette

Your entire body was sore as you laid curled in a ball on your bed. It was that time of the month and you hated it with a passion. It made your entire body ache, much like it was now. You would also get a headache occasionally as well as a swollen abdomen and a tender chest. Right now, though, you didn’t have a headache because you had just woken up from a nap; the nap had rid your body of the headache. Your abdomen wasn’t much swollen because today was only the first day of your cycle so it hadn’t had time to react fully. As for a tender chest, a nice massage couldn’t hurt.

“Are you okay, babe?” You uncurled yourself and looked in the direction the voice had come from. Your boyfriend, Bo, was standing in the doorway of the en suite. He had a towel around his waist, though he didn’t appear to be wet. “You look a little uncomfortable.”

Sighing, you gingerly sat up on the bed so that you could get a better angle to look at Bo. “Not... not really. I’m on my period.”

Bo leaned against the door frame, crossing his arms over his chest. He quickly reached down and tugged the towel up because it had slipped down a little when he had moved. You huffed an amused breath and rolled your eyes.

“Not like I haven’t seen you naked before.”

“I don’t need to be naked right now. It’ll make you more uncomfortable because your hormones will get fucked up worse than they already are,” Bo deadpanned as he gave you a pointed look.

You went to raise your hands in surrender but they quickly clutched your stomach when it twisted with a violent cramp. You inhaled and exhaled a couple of times to try and counteract the pain. All that succeeded in doing was making the muscles in your abdomen tighten more, leading to another violent cramp.

You looked at Bo with a pained expression as you laid back on the bed and curled in the fetal position. You wanted the pain to stop. Wanted your period to be done and over with already because you didn’t want to deal with this right now. Hell, you didn’t really want to deal with this at all because of how painful it could be. However, this is what you got for being born with female reproductive organs. It was what it was and there really wasn’t much you could do about it except deal with it every month.

The bed dipped behind you a moment later. Turning your head, you saw that Bo was sitting behind your back on his knees. He looked down at you at motioned his finger along your side. Knowing what he meant, you nodded. Bo smiled as he laid himself on the bed and slotted himself against your back. You sighed when you felt the warmth of his body relax the aching muscles in you back. It felt so good to have some of that pressure be relieved.

“Holy shit,” you mumbled, squeezing back against your boyfriend. “You feel like a furnace. It’s helping with my body aches. Here.” you took Bo’s hands and placed them on your belly. Much like you had expected, his hands felt warm against your skin. The tightness of your muscles started to subside as Bo carefully ran his hands along your belly. You grunted at the feeling, dropping your head back against Bo’s chest. “That... holy fuck. Your hands feel amazing. I don’t feel as crampy or swollen anymore.”

Bo pressed a kiss to your temple as he moved his hands up to your chest. He started massaging it. You full on moaned because his hands felt magical working out the soreness there. The longer he went about relaxing your chest, the more relaxed you were starting to feel. Your eyes were starting to feel heavy and you even yawned once. Bo pressed another kiss to your temple as he shifted his hands away from your chest and started carding the fingers on one of them through your hair. He took the other hand and gently began stroking your hip. You hummed softly at the dual sensations, your eyes suddenly feeling heavier than they had been a moment ago.

“That feels amazing, babe,” you said, voice thick with tiredness. “I feel a lot less sore now. Keep going.”

You yawned again as you wiggled against Bo to get more comfortable. Bo hummed as he started massaging your scalp. He also started running the fingers on his other hand up and down your side gently. You felt your eyes inching closer and closer to sleep the longer you boyfriend went about what he was doing. You also felt completely relaxed and free from body aches and cramps. It was the best you had felt during any period in a long time. It made you feel grateful to have Bo.

“I’m grateful for you,” you mumbled, voice barely audible as you were nearly asleep. “You make me feel special because you always take care of me.”

“You are special,” Bo chuckled before he pressed a kiss behind your ear. “And of course I’m gonna take care of the person I love. You take care of me enough. It only seems fair.”

“I love you, Bo.”

With that, you felt the sleep overcome you but not before you heard Bo mumble one last thing into your scalp. One last thing that made your subconscious smile when you ultimately let it take over.

“I love you too, (Y/N). More than you’ll ever know.”

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lam-ila · 2 years

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Beach Day || Bo Bichette

title taken from this ask from my 100 follower sleepover and requested by @bodacious-bichette. also, HAPPY BIRTHDAY SHAR!!

Summary: Bo and you went to Miami for a few days during the off season and on the last day, you spent the entire day at the beach

Word count: 285

Warnings: none (please let me know if you find any that i should add)

Maleeha’s Masterlist

a/n: this is gender neutral. hope you enjoy this! feedback is appreciated

LIKES ARE GREAT, REBLOGS ARE BETTER ♡

Even though it was late January, Bo decided it would be a great idea to do a quick trip to Miami. Opening the trunk of your car, you carefully placed your bag down, making sure it was in the right position so it wouldn’t fall over during the ride to the beach. Bo placed a few items in the trunk before slowly grabbing your left hand and leaving a gentle kiss to the back of it.

“Ready to go?” Bo asked while giving you a small smile. You nodded and closed the trunk.

Bo parked the car and you ran out, excited to finally be at the beach. You and Bo grabbed your things out of the trunk and made your way over to the sand.

Bo laid your beach towel down on the sand and gestured for you to sit down. “Your seat awaits you, your majesty,” he said, offering his hand to you.

“Why thank you, kind prince,” you responded back with no attempt to hide your smile. You took his outstretched hand and he helped you sit down on the towel.

As soon as you sat down, you were in heaven; the soft sand, the warm breeze, the sound of the waves crashing together, being with Bo- it was just perfect.

You and Bo stayed at the beach for majority of the day. After watching the sunset and taking a few pictures, Bo leaned over and kissed you softly on the cheek.

"Happy birthday," Bo said sweetly.

"Thank you Bo." You smiled at him and brush some sand out of his hair. "And thank you for bringing me here, even if you end up with sand in your hair."

"Of course love."

——————————

MLB taglist: @whimsical-daydreams @donttelltheelff @bodacious-bichette

join my taglist here

#maleeha writes #bo bichette #bo bichette my love #bo bichette x reader #bo bichette imagine #toronto blue jays

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flauntpage · 7 years

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Blue Jays Mailbag: Baseball Bloodlines, Osuna's Salary, the Future in CF

This article originally appeared on VICE Sports Canada.

Andrew Stoeten answers your questions in our Blue Jays Mailbag, which runs weekly at VICE Sports. You can send him questions at [email protected], and follow him on Twitter.

The Blue Jays' season is still going. I couldn't blame you for having tuned out a while ago, but the team is still theoretically in it, and, therefore, still capable of kicking us in our guts, the way that they did against Houston on Sunday.

But who wants to talk about that? Surely not I! And evidently not our fine mailbag readers, either, as we've got a fresh batch of questions that mostly look forward to 2018—or, at the very least, to possible August trades.

A legitimate playoff race sure would be more fun, but we can make do! So let's do it!

If you have a Blue Jays question you'd like me to tackle for next week, be sure to send it to [email protected]. As always, I have not read any of Griff's answers.

For what Osuna could bring back this offseason vs. how expensive (saves) he is going to get, do you think it's worth dealing him? Adam

I'm definitely of the mind that a great closer is worth more to an elite team than he is to one a tier or two below that, which seems to be where the Blue Jays are destined to end up in 2018. So I'd absolutely explore trading him—though the team's best shot to really cash in on him may have been at the trade deadline that just passed, especially with the way he's looked since then. But there are two things, in particular, that give me pause about this idea.

One is that the Jays simply aren't as far away from being good as it feels. Twitter's @James_in_to pointed out on Monday that the Jays have lost five games leading with two outs in the 9th—and if they'd recorded those five outs they would be 57-54 and tied for the wild card. With the right tweaks—and there are obvious places they're not getting value this year (right field and second base)—they can still be pretty good.

The other is the fact that Osuna isn't due to get that expensive. He'll pass through arbitration for the first time this winter. The record contract for a first-time-eligible reliever, according to MLB Trade Rumors, still belongs to Jonathan Papelbon, who made $6.5 million in 2009 on the back of his outstanding first three seasons in the big leagues. Osuna has been outstanding, especially in the areas that get relievers paid in arbitration, picking up 84 saves and pitching to a 2.84 ERA in his first three seasons. But Papelbon went to arbitration for the first time with 113 saves and a 1.70 ERA. Osuna should come in lower than that.

The record for a second pass through arbitration also belongs to Papelbon, who went up to $9.35 million in 2010 after a 38-save 2009 season. But he faltered slightly that season (he still had plenty of saves, but his ERA jumped to 3.90), and doesn't hold the record for a third-time-eligible reliever. That goes to O's closer Zach Britton, who after his incredible 2016 season was left on the bench in the wild-card game by Buck Showalter LOLOLOLOL made $11.4 million this year.

Osuna will start getting paid, but nothing the deep-pocketed Blue Jays can't afford. Photo by Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports

That's not even all that expensive, and those are records Osuna almost certainly won't quite reach.

More importantly, the Jays should never be trading a player because of how expensive he's going to get. If a trade presented itself that would make the team better, sure. But moving him out of fear of the cost? This is Toronto, not Tampa Bay.

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If the Jays were to fill LF, RF, and one SP spot internally (Biagini, Hernandez, Pearce, Zeke/Smith). Where could the 30M go? Adrian

Giancarlo?

---

Do bloodlines artificially inflate prospect value? Bo Bichette and Vlad Jr. are media darlings, how much do their last names feed that? Neel

Honestly? I don't think very much.

I mean, I'm sure there's an element with Vlad Jr. that has fueled hype among fans, because of who Vlad Sr. was in this country, and how much Vladito reminds us of his pop, physically (though Jr. actually controls the hell out of the strike zone, rather than relying on his ability to barrel pitches off a bounce). But, no disrespect to a guy who had a really nice career, I don't think people are in a lather about Bichette because he's the son of Dante.

Bo Bichette at last month's Futures Game. Photo by Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports

The Jays have Cavan Biggio in the system, and now Kacy Clemens, who despite their Hall of Fame names don't get a fraction of the hype the other two do. That's because they haven't done anything to deserve it.

The reason you hear so much about Guerrero and Bichette is that they're really, really, really good. The same reason you heard about Travis Snider as a prospect, or Aaron Sanchez and Noah Syndergaard, or Brett Lawrie, or all the other much-hyped prospects we've heard of through the years (Kyle Drabek was hyped on merit, too—merit at the time, that is). Relax and enjoy it.

---

Is Kevin Pillar the answer at CF with Alford and possibly Pompey coming up soon, or even a FA replacement? Craig

The Jays will need to see Pompey and Alford healthy first before they can make that determination (and I think it's still probably a little early to be putting Alford in the bigs, since he missed so much development time during his college football career, and really was only promoted to the big leagues because of guys getting injured ahead of him on the depth chart). But yeah... Pillar...

April and early May sure were great months for Kevin Pillar, weren't they? Since then, though, it's been awful having to watch him come to the plate every day. And if that feels harsh, a quick perusal of his numbers should set you straight.

Since May 20, the day he returned from his suspension for using a homophobic slur, Pillar has slashed .206/.256/.328. That's good for a wRC+ of just 52. Over the last two calendar years, among the 125 players to have come to the plate at least 1000 times, Pillar's wRC+ of 87 ranks 120th.

It's been a rough ride for Pillar after his hot start. Photo by Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports

You can live with a wRC+ in the 90 range when you get the kind of value Pillar provided on the base paths and in the outfield in 2015 and 2016, but that just hasn't been the case for him this year. He's been a run below average on the bases this year—he was two runs above last year and eight runs above in 2015—and defensively he's been merely very good, as opposed to elite-elite-elite. His UZR in center field this season is 6.2, as compared to 21.4 last year, and 14 the year before that.

I must admit, it's hard to envision someone like Pompey or Alford, or anybody, being much worse than this version of Pillar—even though the glove has brought him up to 1.3 WAR on the season—but that seems to me like an issue the club would prefer to have those players force, rather than simply handing them the job and ditching the incumbent. The bar isn't exactly set high, so it's entirely possible we could see those guys—or Teoscar Hernandez—take Pillar's job at some point next season. I'd be surprised if they went another way before that, though. Unless some team actually wanted to give them something good for him.

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The rumours of Dee Gordon had me excited. We need team speed badly. Do you see the Jays getting faster for next season? That Far Cry Guy

Good Lord. For the life of me, I will never understand Blue Jays fans and their obsession with speed. Don't get me wrong, it's certainly a useful element of the game—I'm not saying avoid players who might steal a few more bases and beat out a few more double plays than the guys currently on the Jays are capable of—but let's not act like it's a fucking panacea. The Jays need more good players, not more fast ones.

WATCH: VICE Sports Meets Dee Gordon

If being fast is part of what makes someone good—like Gordon—then that's great, but there's no need to elevate it into some kind of extra special force out there on the diamond. We know pretty well what Gordon's speed is worth—FanGraphs' all encompassing baserunning metric, BsR, pegs him at 6.6 runs above average this season. Impressively, that's the third-best mark in the league. But it only can do so much, as their explainer on the stat tells us:

BsR is like any other run value statistic available on FanGraphs in that it tells you the number of runs above or below average a player is at that particular aspect of the game. As usual, zero is league average for that particular year and every nine or ten runs above or below average is equal to about one win.

Gordon's speed on the basepaths has been worth less than a win this season. His speed bleeds into his athleticism as a defender, and that's helped make him even more valuable. But this stuff—especially at second base or in left field—can only go so far. Being able to hit the baseball is still pretty important. And the disruptive powers speedsters wield when they're on base isn't as significant as you think—they often end up distracting the hitters behind them as much as they do the opposing pitcher, or more.

Sure, in a perfect world, you'd like a Mike Trout at every position: fast, athletic, with an otherworldly bat. In reality, teams have to make compromises. And if that means compromising speed for the ability to hit because it means getting a better player overall—like when the Jays, who themselves admit their long-term aim is to get younger and more athletic, still went and brought in Steve Pearce and Kendrys Morales—that's completely fine.

That's three solid starts in a row now for Marco! Can we confidently say his struggles seem to be behind him now? Kate

The fact that he did so well against a really strong Houston lineup over the weekend certainly seems to bode well. It certainly bodes much better (if we're talking about boding) than pitching well against the A's and the White Sox did.

I'm not sure that three starts is enough to say that he's back to being "Good Marco," but I'd imagine that there are teams still looking to add some starting pitching that have taken notice. His next three starts are likely to be against the Yankees, Rays, and Cubs. Those should be telling.

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Does Estrada have more value as an August trade chip or a buy low signing for the Jays? Leemo Legs

Why not both?

Estrada will have something to play for down the stretch even if the Blue Jays don't. Photo by Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports

I mean, yes, there's a chance that Estrada pitches his free agent value back up over the next couple of months—especially if he does it after being moved to a contender and into the playoffs. But he'll still look like exactly the kind of mid-tier veteran starter with upside beyond his likely salary that the Jays will be targeting this winter.

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If Marco Estrada is a WWE Champion who wins a Blue Jays Royal Rumble? Jordan

This is obviously a reference to this picture of Estrada holding the WWE title belt at ringside Monday night at the Air Canada Centre. It's actually a pretty interesting question, because the guy who would be the odds-on favourite based solely on the Jays' listed heights and weights would be Joe Biagini, who at 6'5" is tied for the tallest player on the club, and at 240 pounds, outweighs Kendrys Morales (who is only 6'1") by 15 pounds, and the 6'4" Justin Smoak by 20. Of course, height and weight alone do not make a Royal Rumble champion (plus, Biagini is not technically a Blue Jay at the moment), but he'd be hard as hell to get out of the ring, even if he didn't particularly want to be there.

Blue Jays Mailbag: Baseball Bloodlines, Osuna's Salary, the Future in CF published first on http://ift.tt/2pLTmlv

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amtushinfosolutionspage · 7 years

Text

Blue Jays Mailbag: Baseball Bloodlines, Osuna’s Salary, the Future in CF

This article originally appeared on VICE Sports Canada.

Andrew Stoeten answers your questions in our Blue Jays Mailbag, which runs weekly at VICE Sports. You can send him questions at [email protected], and follow him on Twitter.

The Blue Jays’ season is still going. I couldn’t blame you for having tuned out a while ago, but the team is still theoretically in it, and, therefore, still capable of kicking us in our guts, the way that they did against Houston on Sunday.

But who wants to talk about that? Surely not I! And evidently not our fine mailbag readers, either, as we’ve got a fresh batch of questions that mostly look forward to 2018—or, at the very least, to possible August trades.

A legitimate playoff race sure would be more fun, but we can make do! So let’s do it!

If you have a Blue Jays question you’d like me to tackle for next week, be sure to send it to [email protected]. As always, I have not read any of Griff’s answers.

For what Osuna could bring back this offseason vs. how expensive (saves) he is going to get, do you think it’s worth dealing him? Adam

I’m definitely of the mind that a great closer is worth more to an elite team than he is to one a tier or two below that, which seems to be where the Blue Jays are destined to end up in 2018. So I’d absolutely explore trading him—though the team’s best shot to really cash in on him may have been at the trade deadline that just passed, especially with the way he’s looked since then. But there are two things, in particular, that give me pause about this idea.

One is that the Jays simply aren’t as far away from being good as it feels. Twitter’s @James_in_to pointed out on Monday that the Jays have lost five games leading with two outs in the 9th—and if they’d recorded those five outs they would be 57-54 and tied for the wild card. With the right tweaks—and there are obvious places they’re not getting value this year (right field and second base)—they can still be pretty good.

The other is the fact that Osuna isn’t due to get that expensive. He’ll pass through arbitration for the first time this winter. The record contract for a first-time-eligible reliever, according to MLB Trade Rumors, still belongs to Jonathan Papelbon, who made $6.5 million in 2009 on the back of his outstanding first three seasons in the big leagues. Osuna has been outstanding, especially in the areas that get relievers paid in arbitration, picking up 84 saves and pitching to a 2.84 ERA in his first three seasons. But Papelbon went to arbitration for the first time with 113 saves and a 1.70 ERA. Osuna should come in lower than that.

The record for a second pass through arbitration also belongs to Papelbon, who went up to $9.35 million in 2010 after a 38-save 2009 season. But he faltered slightly that season (he still had plenty of saves, but his ERA jumped to 3.90), and doesn’t hold the record for a third-time-eligible reliever. That goes to O’s closer Zach Britton, who after his incredible 2016 season was left on the bench in the wild-card game by Buck Showalter LOLOLOLOL made $11.4 million this year.

Osuna will start getting paid, but nothing the deep-pocketed Blue Jays can’t afford. Photo by Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports

That’s not even all that expensive, and those are records Osuna almost certainly won’t quite reach.

More importantly, the Jays should never be trading a player because of how expensive he’s going to get. If a trade presented itself that would make the team better, sure. But moving him out of fear of the cost? This is Toronto, not Tampa Bay.

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If the Jays were to fill LF, RF, and one SP spot internally (Biagini, Hernandez, Pearce, Zeke/Smith). Where could the 30M go? Adrian

Giancarlo?

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Do bloodlines artificially inflate prospect value? Bo Bichette and Vlad Jr. are media darlings, how much do their last names feed that? Neel

Honestly? I don’t think very much.

I mean, I’m sure there’s an element with Vlad Jr. that has fueled hype among fans, because of who Vlad Sr. was in this country, and how much Vladito reminds us of his pop, physically (though Jr. actually controls the hell out of the strike zone, rather than relying on his ability to barrel pitches off a bounce). But, no disrespect to a guy who had a really nice career, I don’t think people are in a lather about Bichette because he’s the son of Dante.

Bo Bichette at last month’s Futures Game. Photo by Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports

The Jays have Cavan Biggio in the system, and now Kacy Clemens, who despite their Hall of Fame names don’t get a fraction of the hype the other two do. That’s because they haven’t done anything to deserve it.

The reason you hear so much about Guerrero and Bichette is that they’re really, really, really good. The same reason you heard about Travis Snider as a prospect, or Aaron Sanchez and Noah Syndergaard, or Brett Lawrie, or all the other much-hyped prospects we’ve heard of through the years (Kyle Drabek was hyped on merit, too—merit at the time, that is). Relax and enjoy it.

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Is Kevin Pillar the answer at CF with Alford and possibly Pompey coming up soon, or even a FA replacement? Craig

The Jays will need to see Pompey and Alford healthy first before they can make that determination (and I think it’s still probably a little early to be putting Alford in the bigs, since he missed so much development time during his college football career, and really was only promoted to the big leagues because of guys getting injured ahead of him on the depth chart). But yeah… Pillar…

April and early May sure were great months for Kevin Pillar, weren’t they? Since then, though, it’s been awful having to watch him come to the plate every day. And if that feels harsh, a quick perusal of his numbers should set you straight.

Since May 20, the day he returned from his suspension for using a homophobic slur, Pillar has slashed .206/.256/.328. That’s good for a wRC+ of just 52. Over the last two calendar years, among the 125 players to have come to the plate at least 1000 times, Pillar’s wRC+ of 87 ranks 120th.

It’s been a rough ride for Pillar after his hot start. Photo by Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports

You can live with a wRC+ in the 90 range when you get the kind of value Pillar provided on the base paths and in the outfield in 2015 and 2016, but that just hasn’t been the case for him this year. He’s been a run below average on the bases this year—he was two runs above last year and eight runs above in 2015—and defensively he’s been merely very good, as opposed to elite-elite-elite. His UZR in center field this season is 6.2, as compared to 21.4 last year, and 14 the year before that.

I must admit, it’s hard to envision someone like Pompey or Alford, or anybody, being much worse than this version of Pillar—even though the glove has brought him up to 1.3 WAR on the season—but that seems to me like an issue the club would prefer to have those players force, rather than simply handing them the job and ditching the incumbent. The bar isn’t exactly set high, so it’s entirely possible we could see those guys—or Teoscar Hernandez—take Pillar’s job at some point next season. I’d be surprised if they went another way before that, though. Unless some team actually wanted to give them something good for him.

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The rumours of Dee Gordon had me excited. We need team speed badly. Do you see the Jays getting faster for next season? That Far Cry Guy

Good Lord. For the life of me, I will never understand Blue Jays fans and their obsession with speed. Don’t get me wrong, it’s certainly a useful element of the game—I’m not saying avoid players who might steal a few more bases and beat out a few more double plays than the guys currently on the Jays are capable of—but let’s not act like it’s a fucking panacea. The Jays need more good players, not more fast ones.

WATCH: VICE Sports Meets Dee Gordon

If being fast is part of what makes someone good—like Gordon—then that’s great, but there’s no need to elevate it into some kind of extra special force out there on the diamond. We know pretty well what Gordon’s speed is worth—FanGraphs’ all encompassing baserunning metric, BsR, pegs him at 6.6 runs above average this season. Impressively, that’s the third-best mark in the league. But it only can do so much, as their explainer on the stat tells us:

Gordon’s speed on the basepaths has been worth less than a win this season. His speed bleeds into his athleticism as a defender, and that’s helped make him even more valuable. But this stuff—especially at second base or in left field—can only go so far. Being able to hit the baseball is still pretty important. And the disruptive powers speedsters wield when they’re on base isn’t as significant as you think—they often end up distracting the hitters behind them as much as they do the opposing pitcher, or more.

Sure, in a perfect world, you’d like a Mike Trout at every position: fast, athletic, with an otherworldly bat. In reality, teams have to make compromises. And if that means compromising speed for the ability to hit because it means getting a better player overall—like when the Jays, who themselves admit their long-term aim is to get younger and more athletic, still went and brought in Steve Pearce and Kendrys Morales—that’s completely fine.

That’s three solid starts in a row now for Marco! Can we confidently say his struggles seem to be behind him now? Kate

The fact that he did so well against a really strong Houston lineup over the weekend certainly seems to bode well. It certainly bodes much better (if we’re talking about boding) than pitching well against the A’s and the White Sox did.

I’m not sure that three starts is enough to say that he’s back to being “Good Marco,” but I’d imagine that there are teams still looking to add some starting pitching that have taken notice. His next three starts are likely to be against the Yankees, Rays, and Cubs. Those should be telling.

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Does Estrada have more value as an August trade chip or a buy low signing for the Jays? Leemo Legs

Why not both?

Estrada will have something to play for down the stretch even if the Blue Jays don’t. Photo by Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports

I mean, yes, there’s a chance that Estrada pitches his free agent value back up over the next couple of months—especially if he does it after being moved to a contender and into the playoffs. But he’ll still look like exactly the kind of mid-tier veteran starter with upside beyond his likely salary that the Jays will be targeting this winter.

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If Marco Estrada is a WWE Champion who wins a Blue Jays Royal Rumble? Jordan

This is obviously a reference to this picture of Estrada holding the WWE title belt at ringside Monday night at the Air Canada Centre. It’s actually a pretty interesting question, because the guy who would be the odds-on favourite based solely on the Jays’ listed heights and weights would be Joe Biagini, who at 6’5″ is tied for the tallest player on the club, and at 240 pounds, outweighs Kendrys Morales (who is only 6’1″) by 15 pounds, and the 6’4″ Justin Smoak by 20. Of course, height and weight alone do not make a Royal Rumble champion (plus, Biagini is not technically a Blue Jay at the moment), but he’d be hard as hell to get out of the ring, even if he didn’t particularly want to be there.

Blue Jays Mailbag: Baseball Bloodlines, Osuna’s Salary, the Future in CF syndicated from http://ift.tt/2ug2Ns6

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