They are going BIGGER than we thought...

Days are going even bigger than we thought and they are planning something huge as we have some comments from Ross Atkins revealing not only how he feels surrounding his ability to land some huge names but a big report that just dropped from Ken Rosenthal. Surrounding details involving their pursuit of Tarik Skubal, it is a lot of great news to go over today as well as a bunch of other updates as names are starting to fall off the board. One of the best free agent bats available went to the Boston Red Sox. There is a lot you're going to want to stay tuned for. Let's start with this. Thursday morning, Ross Atkins sat down in a Starbucks inside the area in Las Vegas and said he feels really good about his... team right now and more importantly about how he's pursuing free agents. His words were he's coming away from the GM meetings feeling more confident than he did four days ago. This is the general manager of a team that just finished last in the AL East and he went on to say that he is feeling really really confident and more confident than he's ever felt before surrounding getting Getting big names. We're going to dive into the full comments in a minute, but it didn't just stop there as well as Ken Rosenthal came out yesterday and was asked about Tarik Skubal and the Jays' pursuit. In his words, the Blue Jays absolutely have to be taken seriously here. Folks, this is getting very, very exciting. But let's start with the Ross Atkins comments, because he didn't stop at just being confident. He called Toronto a very attractive destination, and he said the team's trajectory has just gotten better and better, and he explained why. And listen to how he starts this. He said, it's gotten better because of the support we've had in so many different ways, not just as it relates to the payroll, but the commitment to supporting families, the commitment to advance. Resources. So it's obviously like we know, it's not just the payroll, it's the whole experience, but clearly now ownership is not scared about the lockout. They are willing to spend absolutely huge, which ties into the Tarik Skubal stuff we'll dive into in a minute, but it is very obvious now that the Jays are not going to be hindered. And it's, if you've been following the channel for a while, it's very rare that Ross Atkins speaks this confidently when it comes to free agents. And he even said that with agents and players coming to Toronto, it just feels like it gets a little bit better every year. And it's a very exciting thing to hear, especially for a team that had a devastating last 12 months because we know how bad they were last year, down to 79 wins. They need more offense. They need a bucket list of players that really are going to help this team. But call me delusional. I'm going to be delusional. I actually feel like they're going to get not only a A pitcher, but they're going to get a starting outfielder and a second baseman, which is what Ben Nichols-Smith laid out the order is this week. A bat first, a starting pitcher second, ideally a reliever on top of that, but that they're also hoping to add a second baseman. Now, every big name tied to Toronto this week kind of fills one of those two holes, with one of the biggest ones being Tarik Skubal, so let's talk about him. He obviously started in 2026 in Detroit. At the deadline, the Tigers sent to the Dodgers for three top prospects. He made $32 million last year. He's now a free agent. And the Jays were linked as a part of one of the six teams, four of them known right now, that are going to be meeting with Tarik Skubal this upcoming week. Now, I don't need to convince you guys how good Tarik Skubal is. One of the best fastballs in the game. He's just the best pitcher, I think, in baseball, or at least top three. And having him next to Dylan Cease, you can see why the upside would be there. And like I just mentioned, Heyman did report they are the fourth team in on Tarik Skubal. Now, the question would be, and the question that has been over the past few days, Is it real? Are they actually going to go out and try to get him? Or is this just another leverage play? Well, we can dive into it now. Bob Nightingale, he said that Skubal wants more than $325 million and that he's not interested in a short-term deal, which could potentially deter the Los Angeles Dodgers as they are historically known for those short-term deals. That being said, of course, they signed Roki Sasaki, or not Roki Sasaki, sorry, Yamamoto to a fairly long-term deal and, of course, Shohei Ohtani. But let's not forget, Ken Rosenthal came out yesterday and basically just gassed up the Jays. Now, is he just being used as leverage here? Maybe, but it's. Basically, his full answer was talking about how the Jays absolutely need to be taken seriously on Skubal. And he went on to say that they are very interested in Scooble. But he also said at some point, I would expect maybe if it's not Scooble, that down the line, they get one of these big guys referring to the Toronto Blue Jays. Now, he's not calling the Jays the favorite, but he's saying that at the end of the day, they are going very big this offseason. And we've heard this for many offseasons. The difference now is reporting happening in mid-November usually Usually it's just kind of a bunch of, I don't want to say non. Nonsense. It's a bunch of, you know, a lot of rumors, but right now with the way and the speed at which people are moving here in the off season, these reports are going These reports matter a lot more now than they have ever before in November because the clock is so short with the labor deal running at December 1st, lockout is expected Scoupl is expected to sign before it starts These reports matter a lot. But if it's not Scoupl, who else is on the board? Well, the bat that keeps coming up is, of course, Seiya Suzuki. Now, the Cubs made him a qualifying offer, which means if the Jays go out and get him, they do lose a draft pick. Now, his agent, Joel Wolfe, said this week that Suzuki will turn it down because they want to explore other teams. He has until November 17th I believe he already actually made it official. But he had 26 home runs last year I've covered him a lot on the channel Fantastic on-base percentage, a WAR above five And the Jays have been linked to him more than any other player And obviously now the rumors over the past few days have been I feel like it's the worst kept secret in baseball that they're going to get a Seiya Suzuki because every reporter, literally everyone is saying the Jays right now want a second baseman and an outfielder. You could go out and get a Ketel Marte or Brandon Lau and still land a Seiya Suzuki. Of course, Mitch Bannon said the Jays are expected to pursue him Ken Rosenthal is calling him a great fit. It's just a part of the big plan here where you pair the comments from Ross Atkins, the reports that are flying from numerous sources. They're going huge. And not only that, Ben Nicholson-Smith even reported yesterday they're looking at Alex Avesia, formerly of the Dodgers, an elite left-handed reliever It just doesn't start It doesn't stop, rather And of course, we also have the second baseman, Ketel Marte The Jays chased him last winter. He liked a post of himself in a Blue Jays jersey This is one that I think is getting more real by the second as well. We're going to have to wait and actually see if the Arizona Diamondbacks want to trade him. But if it isn't Ketel Marte it's clear they want to add to second base And I think for the first time in a while Ross Atkins recognizes now that this team needs. Just huge offensive upside, and usually they would just be going after maybe a decent rotation piece and a starting left fielder, but now they're going after a big bat in the infield and a big bat in the outfield, which is exactly what this team needs, even if you take away the horrific, unlucky, quote-unquote, season last year. Even 2025, did the Jays get lucky? No, they were very good. They had an approach. You need now to get better offensively. Another name I do want to briefly touch on is Teruaki Sato. The Jays are, of course, kind of the wild card in potentially getting him. And I think if they strike out on Seiya Suzuki, they could be huge players. Now, he played third base for the Hanshin Tigers in Japan, but executives across the MLB reportedly view him more as an outfielder, which would fit the Jays a lot better. This past year, he had 306 with 39 home runs and 106 RBIs, which is the Central League Triple Crown. The year before that, he had 40 home runs and won MVP. He'll be 28 next season in the middle of his prime. And he's on a lot of people's list is kind of the second best outfielder behind Seiya Suzuki, maybe Randy or Rosarena, but there are a lot of teams interested, and the Jays are going to be one of them, though their interest is a lot less documented than a guy like Seiya Suzuki. Let's go back to what Atkins said in that Starbucks. They've learned more about individuals on the free agent market and trade market side in every demographic that could impact them. They're going to be extremely interested, so that is obviously players from Japan. That is free agents now. Obviously, none of them are done right now, but this is pretty big. But we have heard all this before, right? They met with Shohei Ohtani, made a real pitch. They didn't get him. Is that going to happen again with a guy like Tarik Skubal? I mean, that's where you have to take it with a grain of salt. I just think the increased urgency because of the reports that have been flying as of late make it a little bit more likely that they actually go out and get someone big. I mean, we're hearing reports from the most notable guys in the industry. And whether or not you think it's just leverage or hoopla is up to you. But they are going really big after Tarek Skubal. And they're also going really big after offense. And I don't think they land Skubal. for what it's worth, but I do think they're going to get an elite second baseman and an elite outfield bat. Because when Ross Atkins sounds this confident, instead of using his usual corporate jargon, you have to listen. So folks, where do you stand? Do you think they're going to land Tarik Skubal, or do you think they're just going to go after an elite second baseman, an elite outfielder? A Seiya Suzuki or Ketel Marte offseason would be Fantastic. Brandon Lau could, you know, Seiya Suzuki offseason. You could have a Teraki Sato and a Ketel Marte. No matter what the combination is, obviously the Jays are going to check in on every big name every winter. But I think the most likely is Seiya Suzuki and the dream, I think, would be a Tarik Skubal. But with the lack of free agent pitchers that are coming up to the market in the next handful of seasons, in the next handful of offseasons, if the Jays maybe want to get really aggressive to lock down the rotation for the foreseeable future. It could make sense as to why they're willing to overpay for Tarik Skubal, especially when a lot of other teams are scared of the lockout and the Toronto Blue Jays, according to Ross Atkins, are willing to spend. Thank you guys for watching. Lots of videos coming, potentially a stream tonight. Stay tuned for that. We'll see you later. Cheers. Peace.