We’re less than two weeks away from Opening Day, so there have been quite a few new signings since the last News and Notes.

In this edition, we’ll take a look at a pitcher who is still on the 40-man roster, as well as some of those signings. Let’s dig in!
<h2>Wes Parsons is a depth starter option</h2>
In the middle of winter when I was doing the 40-man Roster Review, I was a bit surprised that Wes Parsons was still on the 40-man. If you recall, he was added before the last game of the 2023 season to eat some innings, but he was never removed.
Well, it appears that may be because the Jays are actually pretty high on him. According to a report for MLB.com’s Keegan Matheson, Blue Jays manager John Schneider said that Parsons may be another option for starting pitching depth or bulk reliever after Mitch White and Bowden Francis.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
John Schneider mentioned Wes Parsons as an option behind Francis and White if the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/BlueJays?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#BlueJays</a> need another starter or bulk reliever.
I&#39;ve had a surprising number of people bring up Parsons to me, unprompted. Deep depth, but still, seems to be a reason he&#39;s been kept on the 40-man.
&mdash; Keegan Matheson (@KeeganMatheson) <a href="https://twitter.com/KeeganMatheson/status/1769033419957166231?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 16, 2024</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Last season in Triple-A, Parsons made 17 starts and had a 4.52 ERA and a 4.72 FIP in 81.2 innings pitched. He also had MLB experience prior to pitching with the Jays last season, as he spent 39.2 innings in the bigs with Atlanta and Colorado in 2018 and 2019. In total, he has a 7.01 ERA and a 7.04 FIP in 43.2 innings pitched, with nine of his 34 earned runs coming in the 162nd game last season.
There’s some merit to him staying on the 40-man roster though, as Thomas Nestico’s tjStuff+ model has him tied for the 10th highest stuff+, behind Bowden Francis who ranks eighth, and former Blue Jay farmhand Josh Winckowski.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
Spring Training tjStuff+ Leaders Through 2024-03-14 (Min. 100 Pitches, Statcast)
Glad to see that Eno and I have a lot of overlap, as we share 8 of the top 10! <a href="https://t.co/NHExY3bBKQ">https://t.co/NHExY3bBKQ</a> <a href="https://t.co/Jv1bocnuKm">pic.twitter.com/Jv1bocnuKm</a>
&mdash; Thomas Nestico (@TJStats) <a href="https://twitter.com/TJStats/status/1768698042201330037?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 15, 2024</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Who knows, maybe there’s something in Parsons.
<h2>Isiah Kiner-Falefa has an extremely player friendly deal</h2>
In a recent article by <a href="https://fansided.com/posts/mlb-insider-what-i-m-hearing-on-astros-blake-snell-dylan-cease-blue-jays-tommy-pham-padres-01hs20hr8kth">Fansided’s Robert Murray, he reported that multiple agents and executives believes that Isiah Kiner-Falefa’s deal was the best for any player</a>.
The Jays signed Kiner-Falefa early in the season to a two-year, $15 million deal with an average annual salary of $7.5 million. It’s a common talking point, but Kiner Falefa makes just $500,000 less than Gio Urshela, Amed Rosario, and Tim Anderson combined, and all three are better offensive options.
It’s been a rough off-season, but jumping the gun to land Kiner-Falefa, who does have value, tied the Jays hands. Not being able to match the Giants’ offer for Matt Chapman is also questionable.
Either way, the 2024 season, no matter what they did off-season, hinged on George Springer, Alejandro Kirk, Daulton Varsho, and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. having better seasons than they did in 2023.
<h2>Michael A. Taylor signs with the Pittsburgh Pirates</h2>
The Blue Jays were linked to Michael A. Taylor earlier this off-season, but with the re-signing of Kevin Kiermaier, it all but took them out of the race to land the defence-first outfielder.
Well, he signed with the Pittsburgh Pirates on Friday according to Jeff Passan. It’s a one-year, $4 million deal for a Gold Glove winner who also had a career-high 21 home runs in 388 plate appearances last season.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
Center fielder Michael A. Taylor and the Pittsburgh Pirates are in agreement on a one-year, $4 million contract, sources tell ESPN.
&mdash; Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) <a href="https://twitter.com/JeffPassan/status/1768749661697753363?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 15, 2024</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Still, Kiermaier is probably the better option as he’s one of the greatest defensive centre fielders in the history of the game, and even proved useful with the bat last season.
<h2>Adam Duvall signs with the Atlanta Braves</h2>
For the past few seasons, the Blue Jays have lacked a right-handed batting outfielder that mashes left-handed batting. They had one in Randal Grichuk, but moved him prior to the 2022 season and have yet to replace him.
One option who has been available the last two off-seasons is Adam Duvall, but like Taylor, he signed on Friday with the Atlanta Braves, his third such stint.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
Outfielder Adam Duvall has signed a one-year, $3 million contract with the Atlanta Braves.
&mdash; Robert Murray (@ByRobertMurray) <a href="https://twitter.com/ByRobertMurray/status/1768321917893906551?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 14, 2024</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Due to it being so late in the off-season, Duvall signed a one-year, $3 million deal, which is absolutely affordable for the Jays. Not just that, but Duvall slashed .247/.303/.531 with 21 homers in 353 plate appearances for the Boston Red Sox in 2023 for a 1.9 fWAR.
He would have been a good addition to a team that really doesn’t have an actual fourth outfielder still.
<h2>J.D. Davis signs with the Oakland Athletics</h2>
As you may know, the San Francisco Giants signed Matt Chapman to play third base in 2024 and potentially beyond, meaning that they designated third baseman J.D. Davis for assignment.
Well, according to Robert Murray once again, the Oakland Athletics have signed him. <a href="https://twitter.com/Ken_Rosenthal/status/1768788271465914774">Ken Rosenthal later stated it was a one-year, $2.5 million deal</a>, meaning that there’s a good chance he could be traded at this season’s trade deadline.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
Free-agent infielder J.D. Davis and the Oakland A’s are in agreement on a contract, pending physical, according to sources familiar with the deal.
&mdash; Robert Murray (@ByRobertMurray) <a href="https://twitter.com/ByRobertMurray/status/1768786394921759156?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 15, 2024</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Still, the hot corner is an area of need for the Blue Jays, and Davis could have been a very cheap option to play there for the Jays this season. Last season, he slashed .248/.325/.413 with 18 homers in 546 plate appearances, along with a 9.5 BB% and a 27.8 K% for a 104 wRC+.
His home run total was the second most of his career (22 in 2019), but his 104 wRC+ was the second lowest of his career with 100 or more plate appearances. The 30-year-old right-handed batter is a career .261/.343/.432 hitter with 68 home runs in 1985 plate appearances.
Really wish the Jays went out and got him, because there’s a pretty glaring hole at third base.
<hr />
As always, you can follow me on Twitter @Brennan_L_D.
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We’re less than two weeks away from Opening Day, so there have been quite a few new signings since the last News and Notes.



In this edition, we’ll take a look at a pitcher who is still on the 40-man roster, as well as some of those signings. Let’s dig in!
<h2>Wes Parsons is a depth starter option</h2>
In the middle of winter when I was doing the 40-man Roster Review, I was a bit surprised that Wes Parsons was still on the 40-man. If you recall, he was added before the last game of the 2023 season to eat some innings, but he was never removed.

Well, it appears that may be because the Jays are actually pretty high on him. According to a report for MLB.com’s Keegan Matheson, Blue Jays manager John Schneider said that Parsons may be another option for starting pitching depth or bulk reliever after Mitch White and Bowden Francis.

https://twitter.com/KeeganMatheson/status/1769033419957166231

Last season in Triple-A, Parsons made 17 starts and had a 4.52 ERA and a 4.72 FIP in 81.2 innings pitched. He also had MLB experience prior to pitching with the Jays last season, as he spent 39.2 innings in the bigs with Atlanta and Colorado in 2018 and 2019. In total, he has a 7.01 ERA and a 7.04 FIP in 43.2 innings pitched, with nine of his 34 earned runs coming in the 162nd game last season.

There’s some merit to him staying on the 40-man roster though, as Thomas Nestico’s tjStuff+ model has him tied for the 10th highest stuff+, behind Bowden Francis who ranks eighth, and former Blue Jay farmhand Josh Winckowski.

https://twitter.com/TJStats/status/1768698042201330037

Who knows, maybe there’s something in Parsons.
<h2>Isiah Kiner-Falefa has an extremely player friendly deal</h2>
In a recent article by <a href="https://fansided.com/posts/mlb-insider-what-i-m-hearing-on-astros-blake-snell-dylan-cease-blue-jays-tommy-pham-padres-01hs20hr8kth">Fansided’s Robert Murray, he reported that multiple agents and executives believes that Isiah Kiner-Falefa’s deal was the best for any player</a>.

The Jays signed Kiner-Falefa early in the season to a two-year, $15 million deal with an average annual salary of $7.5 million. It’s a common talking point, but Kiner Falefa makes just $500,000 less than Gio Urshela, Amed Rosario, and Tim Anderson combined, and all three are better offensive options.

It’s been a rough off-season, but jumping the gun to land Kiner-Falefa, who does have value, tied the Jays hands. Not being able to match the Giants’ offer for Matt Chapman is also questionable.

Either way, the 2024 season, no matter what they did off-season, hinged on George Springer, Alejandro Kirk, Daulton Varsho, and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. having better seasons than they did in 2023.
<h2>Michael A. Taylor signs with the Pittsburgh Pirates</h2>
The Blue Jays were linked to Michael A. Taylor earlier this off-season, but with the re-signing of Kevin Kiermaier, it all but took them out of the race to land the defence-first outfielder.

Well, he signed with the Pittsburgh Pirates on Friday according to Jeff Passan. It’s a one-year, $4 million deal for a Gold Glove winner who also had a career-high 21 home runs in 388 plate appearances last season.

https://twitter.com/JeffPassan/status/1768749661697753363

Still, Kiermaier is probably the better option as he’s one of the greatest defensive centre fielders in the history of the game, and even proved useful with the bat last season.
<h2>Adam Duvall signs with the Atlanta Braves</h2>
For the past few seasons, the Blue Jays have lacked a right-handed batting outfielder that mashes left-handed batting. They had one in Randal Grichuk, but moved him prior to the 2022 season and have yet to replace him.

One option who has been available the last two off-seasons is Adam Duvall, but like Taylor, he signed on Friday with the Atlanta Braves, his third such stint.

https://twitter.com/ByRobertMurray/status/1768321917893906551

Due to it being so late in the off-season, Duvall signed a one-year, $3 million deal, which is absolutely affordable for the Jays. Not just that, but Duvall slashed .247/.303/.531 with 21 homers in 353 plate appearances for the Boston Red Sox in 2023 for a 1.9 fWAR.

He would have been a good addition to a team that really doesn’t have an actual fourth outfielder still.
<h2>J.D. Davis signs with the Oakland Athletics</h2>
As you may know, the San Francisco Giants signed Matt Chapman to play third base in 2024 and potentially beyond, meaning that they designated third baseman J.D. Davis for assignment.

Well, according to Robert Murray once again, the Oakland Athletics have signed him. <a href="https://twitter.com/Ken_Rosenthal/status/1768788271465914774">Ken Rosenthal later stated it was a one-year, $2.5 million deal</a>, meaning that there’s a good chance he could be traded at this season’s trade deadline.

https://twitter.com/ByRobertMurray/status/1768786394921759156

Still, the hot corner is an area of need for the Blue Jays, and Davis could have been a very cheap option to play there for the Jays this season. Last season, he slashed .248/.325/.413 with 18 homers in 546 plate appearances, along with a 9.5 BB% and a 27.8 K% for a 104 wRC+.

His home run total was the second most of his career (22 in 2019), but his 104 wRC+ was the second lowest of his career with 100 or more plate appearances. The 30-year-old right-handed batter is a career .261/.343/.432 hitter with 68 home runs in 1985 plate appearances.

Really wish the Jays went out and got him, because there’s a pretty glaring hole at third base.

<hr />

As always, you can follow me on Twitter @Brennan_L_D.

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News and Notes: Wes Parsons “may be an option for starting depth”, J.D. Davis signs with the Athletics, and more!

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