John Thomson

[McCarroll21]

Rotoworld says:

FOXSports.com's Ken Rosenthal says the Jays will likely trade or release John Thomson prior to Opening Day.
Such a move would clear a rotation spot for Josh Towers. That the Jays want to go down that road again seems like a bad sign to us, but at least they wouldn't locked into him, not with Shaun Marcum and Casey Janssen in reserve. Because he was signed as a free agent over the winter, Thomson would have to approve any trade. The A's could do worse than to bring him in as their fifth starter. The Mets made him an offer before he signed with Toronto, but they couldn't bring him in now, not after he insulted Paul Lo Duca.

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Not that I'm saying he's an option for us, we've been down that road and not sure if it's something we need to try again, but someone is going to get a very cheap starting pitcher.

Remember how we were saying the Blue Jays made a great signing by the way they signed Thomson, well, now they're equally stupid for just letting him go, and it appears they aren't going to ask for much in return.

Anyway, here's his contract...

$500K salary increases to $1.5M if Thomson is on Opening Day roster
performance bonuses to $4M based on games started

Best thing is that the Mets probably won't take a stab at him because of his shot at Lo Duca, which is always good for us.

[CosmoBravo]

Rotoworld says:

FOXSports.com's Ken Rosenthal says the Jays will likely trade or release John Thomson prior to Opening Day.
Such a move would clear a rotation spot for Josh Towers. That the Jays want to go down that road again seems like a bad sign to us, but at least they wouldn't locked into him, not with Shaun Marcum and Casey Janssen in reserve. Because he was signed as a free agent over the winter, Thomson would have to approve any trade. The A's could do worse than to bring him in as their fifth starter. The Mets made him an offer before he signed with Toronto, but they couldn't bring him in now, not after he insulted Paul Lo Duca.

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Not that I'm saying he's an option for us, we've been down that road and not sure if it's something we need to try again, but someone is going to get a very cheap starting pitcher.

Remember how we were saying the Blue Jays made a great signing by the way they signed Thomson, well, now they're equally stupid for just letting him go, and it appears they aren't going to ask for much in return.

Anyway, here's his contract...

$500K salary increases to $1.5M if Thomson is on Opening Day roster
performance bonuses to $4M based on games started

Best thing is that the Mets probably won't take a stab at him because of his shot at Lo Duca, which is always good for us.

I'd give him a look, if only for his shot at Lo Duca (whom I really don't care for) :D

As good as Cormier has pitched this season, I'd probably prefer having Thomson as our number 5 over him.

[vnodnarb]

does he have any options left? could we stash him in triple A without his permission if necessary? if so, you can never have too many cheap starters

[jschafer5]

I wouldn't mind getting John back, but I don't know if we would have money if his salary would raise...

[JayDonnelly10]

I'd give him a look, if only for his shot at Lo Duca (whom I really don't care for) :D

Id take him back for the exact same reasoning!

[McCarroll21]

I'm not sure if I've seen the performance bonuses, all I know is it's based on games started. I'm sure it ladders it's way up from 1.5 million based on probably 15, 20, 25, 30, 35 starts, but who knows.

I remember when the signing went down we were griping about how JS decided that Thomson wasn't worth $500K and possibly $1.5 million, yet we gave Sturtze $750K and possibly $1.1 million.

Give the Jays back Woodward, let Tony Pena or Martin Prado sit on the bench instead and have another starter stashed away for a rainy day.

Hell, if they release him we can give him a similar deal on a minor league contract so we don't have to worry about options. Minor league contract, $1 million if you make the Major League roster, $4 million based on incentives.

He does have a 7.27 ERA this Spring though.

[BGarrett7]

If we can get Thomson with a deal similar to the one he had with the Jays, I say we go for it. We've got a couple question marks in our rotation and could benefit greatly from having more healthy, veteran arms.

[CosmoBravo]

I'm not sure if I've seen the performance bonuses, all I know is it's based on games started. I'm sure it ladders it's way up from 1.5 million based on probably 15, 20, 25, 30, 35 starts, but who knows.

I remember when the signing went down we were griping about how JS decided that Thomson wasn't worth $500K and possibly $1.5 million, yet we gave Sturtze $750K and possibly $1.1 million.

Give the Jays back Woodward, let Tony Pena or Martin Prado sit on the bench instead and have another starter stashed away for a rainy day.

Hell, if they release him we can give him a similar deal on a minor league contract so we don't have to worry about options. Minor league contract, $1 million if you make the Major League roster, $4 million based on incentives.

He does have a 7.27 ERA this Spring though.

Sheesh. I had forgotten about Tanyon friggin' Sturtze:blah: Talkin' about throwing money down a rat hole.

Aside from that, I think would like Thomson to come back aboard. He seemed like his time in Atlanta, and given the right contract we know he'd be a good fit in the clubhouse. You can never have too much pitching.

[KB 34]

Sign Thomson for $1 million guaranteed with $3 mil in incentives and use him as a long reliever/starter (starter if he earns it and injuries arise). To make room for him send Sturtze home with his $750,000 and trade little K-, also known as Tyler Yates for a box of cracker jacks and a walking stick for BC to use if the Braves pitching requires him to make frequent trips to the mound at his age!

[CosmoBravo]

Sign Thomson for $1 million guaranteed with $3 mil in incentives and use him as a long reliever/starter (starter if he earns it and injuries arise). To make room for him send Sturtze home with his $750,000 and trade little K-, also known as Tyler Yates for a box of cracker jacks and a walking stick for BC to use if the Braves pitching requires him to make frequent trips to the mound at his age!

Trading Yates would be foolish...if he can cut down on his walks, he'll be a dynamite reliever.

[CB1]

I really feel bad for John if this is true, because he has just been unlucky his whole career. I hope he makes the Blue Jays roster for his own sake, because it would suck for him to get cut and be out of work. Maybe we could sign him, I don't know, but whatever happens, I wish him the best.

[jschafer5]

I really feel bad for John if this is true, because he has just been unlucky his whole career. I hope he makes the Blue Jays roster for his own sake, because it would suck for him to get cut and be out of work. Maybe we could sign him, I don't know, but whatever happens, I wish him the best.

I wish him the best as well...

Trading Yates would be foolish...if he can cut down on his walks, he'll be a dynamite reliever.

agreed...

[KB 34]

Trading Yates would be foolish...if he can cut down on his walks, he'll be a dynamite reliever.
Have you ever looked at his splits? With a decent lead he's incredible but put him in a pressure situation and you've got Dan K*** II. I don't know about everyone else but after K*** and 9ishERA I'm ready to watch some real relievers work their magic.

[McCarroll21]

Have you ever looked at his splits? With a decent lead he's incredible but put him in a pressure situation and you've got Dan K*** II. I don't know about everyone else but after K*** and 9ishERA I'm ready to watch some real relievers work their magic.
I'll drink to that.

:beer:

[CosmoBravo]

Have you ever looked at his splits? With a decent lead he's incredible but put him in a pressure situation and you've got Dan K*** II. I don't know about everyone else but after K*** and 9ishERA I'm ready to watch some real relievers work their magic.


I don't look at splits. When you isolate stats like that and reduce sample sizes you really reduce the value of statistics, that's just my opinion.

[jschafer5]

Thanks for not typing the "K" word, KB, lol

[KB 34]

So it's just coincidence that Yates' stats gets worse as the lead goes down? I'm not buying it. Take a look at the clutch stats and tell if you honestly think they mean nothing.
http://www.baseball-reference.com/pi/psplit.cgi?n1=yatesty01&year=2006

[CosmoBravo]

So it's just coincidence that Yates' stats gets worse as the lead goes down? I'm not buying it. Take a look at the clutch stats and tell if you honestly think they mean nothing.
http://www.baseball-reference.com/pi/psplit.cgi?n1=yatesty01&year=2006

No, what I'm saying is that by reducing a sample size like that you're reducing the validity of the stats (not completely but you're marginalizing it). Fundamental statistics: greater the sample size the more reliable the statistic. Additionally, you can pretty much manipulate the statistics in a variety of different ways to make an argument. I prefer to just take the larger sample sizes and make inferences based on those stats, and honestly, all Yates needs to do is work on his control, and his numbers will improve markedly. There's no guarantee he will do that, but given his BAA and wicked strike out rates, I'm willing to stick with him.

[CB1]

Stick with Yates. He can pitch pretty well.
Unless it means that Boyer doesn't get a roster spot.
:D

[gilley22]

KB, you've had an unwarranted dislike for everything Yates since his very first outing with Atlanta last year.

[KB 34]

Not unwarranted as he did a nice job blowing plenty of games as did the rest of the desperation attempts. I may have gone overboard on Yates but that doesn't take away from the fact that he wasn't a solid reliever last year and I'm all for going with Boyer, Startup, or Devine over him as they're really young and not retreads.

[CosmoBravo]

KB, you've had an unwarranted dislike for everything Yates since his very first outing with Atlanta last year.

QFT.

[gilley22]

Yates missed all of '05, he came back last year, struck out a ton of hitters, and only allowed runs in 2 of his final 17 appearances. He's definitely given us reason to believe he can be solid for us this year KB.

Not to mention his stuff if filthy.

[CosmoBravo]

Yates missed all of '05, he came back last year, struck out a ton of hitters, and only allowed runs in 2 of his final 17 appearances. He's definitely given us reason to believe he can be solid for us this year KB.

Not to mention his stuff if filthy.

Again, QFT. I like your style.:beer:

[Nasadega]

I also have faith in the Hawaiian nemesis. If he can remind himself what the K zone is made for, he'll be very good, he has a great fastball that sinks nicely, combined with his changeup and slider he'll be a killer if he can fet control