Dbacks acquire Jon Jay from the Royals

[Ronin]

Diamondbacks acquire a ‘hitting machine’ in outfielder Jon Jay
In trading outfielder Jon Jay to the Arizona Diamondbacks, the Kansas City Royals are beginning to rebuild.

Less than three years removed from winning the 2015 World Series, the Royals are on pace to lose more than 100 games.

Kevin Kietzman, the radio host of Kansas City-based Between the Lines on Sports Radio 810 WHB, told 98.7 FM Arizona’s Sports Station’s Burns & Gambo the Royals’ biggest mistake since 2015 was failing to make a trade at the deadline.

http://arizonasports.com/story/1553232/diamondbacks-trade-for-hitting-machine-jon-jay-royals/

 

[DWKB]

http://arizonasports.com/story/1553232/diamondbacks-trade-for-hitting-machine-jon-jay-royals/

Kevin Kietzman is a joke who literally knows nothing about sports. Just putting that out there.

 

[Ronin]

Kevin Kietzman is a joke who literally knows nothing about sports. Just putting that out there.

I have never heard of him, until now.

 

[Ronin]

Moore: Diamondbacks GM Mike Hazen thinking playoffs with Jon Jay trade

We’re still a month out from the All-Star break, but it looks like it’s already time to start thinking playoffs.

Diamondbacks General Manager Mike Hazen certainly is, having just made a move to bring in a contact-hitting outfielder who’s been to the postseason in six of the past seven years.

Adding Jon Jay “is very much focused on right now, the team needs right now and the urgency … addressing a clear area of need for us right now,” Hazen said in a conference call to discuss the trade that sent two pitching prospects to the Royals.

https://www.azcentral.com/story/spo...s-trade-jon-jay-tight-nl-west-race/683462002/

 

[Ronin]

• Diamondbacks GM Mike Hazen spoke with reporters following his team’s surprisingly early acquisition of Jon Jay to explain some of the thinking that went into the move (links via Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic and Steve Gilbert of MLB.com). “With the way the division is shaping up, where every day matters more and more, we just felt like this was the right thing to do at the time,” said Hazen, who is currently without both A.J. Pollock and Steven Souza. Hazen explained that the D-backs pursued Jay this offseason as well and praised his strong start to the year as well as his outfield versatility. The GM acknowledged that the move had some logjam potential down the line but declined to delve into any specifics as to how that’d be addressed. It’s a purely hypothetical scenario right now anyhow, as neither Souza nor Pollock appears to be on the verge of returning.

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2018/06/nl-west-notes-giants-alexander-dodgers-jay-d-backs.html

 

[Ronin]

Less than a month ago, I was drafting a blog post about Jon Jay and the devaluation of the hit tool. He was hitting .290 with a .350 OBP and was one of the hottest hitters in baseball. Yet, as of May 24, he had an OPS below .700 with a wRC+ of 91 and a wOBA of .307. Despite being a .290/.350 player, Jay wasn’t actually an above league average hitter because his power tool was a black hole.

Then Jay took it up a notch. He was already having one of the hottest months in baseball, hitting .346 through May 27. However, his ISO was still an anemic .048 and he was slugging under the .400 mark. The power black hole was still, more or less, a black hole. That changed on May 28 when Jay put together his second four-hit game of the season, with three of them being doubles.

That single game brought Jay’s SLG% up nearly 30 points, from .337 to .362. Up until that game, Jay had just seven extra-base hits, with five doubles and two triples. In his last eight games as a Royal, Jay nearly doubled that with four doubles and his first homer of the season, slugging .606 during that span. He also continued to be a multi-hit machine during that period, hitting .394, and bringing his season average up to a season-high .311 on June 4.

https://sports.yahoo.com/m/5abb6af1-99ac-35df-8fcd-6439d0e02e13/the-curious-case-of-jon-jay.html

 

[Ronin]

Diamondbacks hoping for a boost from newcomer Jon Jay
DENVER – Jon Jay covered his bat in a mist of resin and stepped into the batter’s box for his second at-bat with his new team on Friday night. The Diamondbacks’ new leadoff hitter proceeded to work a six-pitch walk to start the third inning. Moments later, he was jogging around the bases ahead of Paul Goldschmidt, who had launched a home run to center field.

The Diamondbacks can only hope it’s the first of many such trips around the bases for Jay, whom they acquired earlier this week in a trade with the Kansas City Royals to provide a boost to their struggling lineup. The Diamondbacks are banking on Jay being able to do for them what he has done throughout his career – get on base – and do so from the top of their lineup.

Entering Friday, no team in the National League had an on-base percentage worse than the Diamondbacks’ .292. The collective on-base from their outfield was .299, third-worst in the league, and that number drops to .285 when looking at all outfielders not named A.J. Pollock.

https://www.azcentral.com/story/spo...acks-hoping-boost-newcomer-jon-jay/684951002/

 

[Ronin]

xc_hide_links_from_guests_guests_error_hide_media

 

[Ronin]

Diamondbacks' Jon Jay: Whiffs three times in season debut
by RotoWire Staff | RotoWire
Jay went 0-for-4 with a walk, a run and three strikeouts Friday in the Diamondbacks' 9-4 win over the Rockies.

Acquired from the Royals on Wednesday, Jay made his Arizona debut out of the leadoff spot in the series opener. While he didn't make much of an impact atop the order Friday, Jay's .360 on-base percentage should make him a useful table setter, at least against right-handed pitching. Jay, who is capable of playing all three outfield spots, made his first start with the club in right field, resulting in Chris Owings moving to the bench.

 

[Ronin]

OAKLAND -- Wednesday's trade of center fielder Jon Jay to the D-backs for Minor League pitchers Elvis Luciano and Gabe Speier didn't exactly take the Royals' clubhouse by surprise.

Kansas City third baseman Mike Moustakas said while it was disappointing to see one of the team leaders traded away, "we weren't shocked."

View Full Game Coverage
"Obviously when you are in this business for as long as a lot of us has been, you learn it's just part of the game," Moustakas said. "For us losing J.J., it's a huge blow to us because of the kind of guy he is and the leadership he provided and the things he was able to do on the field."

https://www.mlb.com/news/mike-moustakas-discusses-trade-of-jon-jay/c-280278594

 

[Ronin]

https://www.foxsports.com/arizona/video/1251782211718

 

[Willie D]

Jon Jay has something that few (if any) of the current D-backs roster has, a World Series title with the Cardinals in 2011. If you really are "renting" him for a year ala Martinez ya may as well saddle up and ride as afar as you can.

 

[Willie D]

https://www.azcentral.com/story/spo...acks-hoping-boost-newcomer-jon-jay/684951002/

LOL @ Nick for channeling his inner Grantland Rice!

 

[Ronin]

Diamondbacks hoping for a boost from newcomer Jon Jay

DENVER – Jon Jay covered his bat in a mist of resin and stepped into the batter’s box for his second at-bat with his new team on Friday night. The Diamondbacks’ new leadoff hitter proceeded to work a six-pitch walk to start the third inning. Moments later, he was jogging around the bases ahead of Paul Goldschmidt, who had launched a home run to center field.

The Diamondbacks can only hope it’s the first of many such trips around the bases for Jay, whom they acquired earlier this week in a trade with the Kansas City Royals to provide a boost to their struggling lineup. The Diamondbacks are banking on Jay being able to do for them what he has done throughout his career – get on base – and do so from the top of their lineup.

https://www.azcentral.com/story/spo...acks-hoping-boost-newcomer-jon-jay/684951002/

 

[Ronin]

Jon Jay happy to be on a club in the "hunt for October"

https://sports.yahoo.com/m/603f22b9-4a79-389b-a45d-30d025412551/jon-jay-happy-to-be-on-a-club.html

 

[Ronin]

Diamondbacks' Jon Jay: Heating up atop order
by RotoWire Staff | RotoWire
Jay went 2-for-4 with a walk, two RBI and a run scored Wednesday in the Diamondbacks' 5-4 loss to the Pirates.

After going hitless with eight strikeouts in 12 at-bats over his first four games since being acquired by the Diamondbacks, Jay has gotten comfortable in his role as Arizona's leadoff man. He's registered five hits and has driven in five runs over the last two contests, which has kept the red-hot Diamondbacks offense humming. Jay shouldn't be relied upon for much power production -- he's recorded no more than three home runs in any of the past four seasons -- but his impressive contact skills and 8.2 percent walk rate should lend itself to plenty of run scoring atop the order.

 

[Shaggy]

Diamondbacks' Jon Jay: Heating up atop order
by RotoWire Staff | RotoWire
Jay went 2-for-4 with a walk, two RBI and a run scored Wednesday in the Diamondbacks' 5-4 loss to the Pirates.

After going hitless with eight strikeouts in 12 at-bats over his first four games since being acquired by the Diamondbacks, Jay has gotten comfortable in his role as Arizona's leadoff man. He's registered five hits and has driven in five runs over the last two contests, which has kept the red-hot Diamondbacks offense humming. Jay shouldn't be relied upon for much power production -- he's recorded no more than three home runs in any of the past four seasons -- but his impressive contact skills and 8.2 percent walk rate should lend itself to plenty of run scoring atop the order.

He has been a great spark in the rotation.