I vote YEA!

I emphatically approve. 20 years since Joe Carter touched 'em all. I have bitterly complained about the cheapness of the ownership and the poor management for years. Now ownership has stepped up with an infusion of cash and management has moved boldly to go for it at a perceived moment of relative weakness for NY and Boston. For the first time in forever, the Jays are bona fide playoff and WS contenders. I am starved for a winner. I want to talk about how the playoff rotation sets up, not another top 30 prospect list.

I think Dickey has been largely underrated in this debate while d'Arnaud has been overrated. We just acquired the NL Cy Young Winner for crying out loud! Rany Jazayerli lays it out beautifully in Grantland - this guy is really, really good. While many seem conflicted, I think it's an easy yes on this trade. We'll see who's right this October.

My only complaint right now is that it appears we have to endure another season of Adam Lind.

The time is now.  Bautista is not getting any younger. It is time for Baseball to come back to Toronto. 

I also like how we have a mix of two power right handers, two lefties and a knuckballer.  Teams are going to hate facing them.  Thier timing is going to be so messed up after.

I'm excited to get Dickey, so I guess I'll vote Yay.  The Mets ended up with an excellent package for him, but Dickey has a good chance to be worth it.  On the free agent market, the price for great starting pitching is through the roof, and to get a guy like Dickey at team friendly dollars has a lot of value.

Did you expect the Mets to get nothing for the reigning Cy Young winner?  Sure it was too much.  The Mets did well.  I still approve.  It is going to be quite the pitching staff.

The Deal was done http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/18/sports/baseball/unable-to-lock-up-dickey-mets-capitalize-on-value.html?ref=sports&_r=0 on Thursday, but it was Saturday when MLB granted 72 hour negotiating window.   Wow, no wonder leaks developed, with two people in the know, then 10, then 100, then 1000 or more.   A.A. picked up undervalued players for a very equitable price.  He got a CY Young award winner, a Super-Two Catcher, the only other guy to catch a Knuckleball and completely moved $6.0 MM in salary at little cost.   I fully believe the trade was Value for Value.

Roberto Osuna will be 18 and likely in A+ or even AA by season's end.  Chances are good he will be better than the broken up "Lansing 3".  As promising as he might be, the 18 year-old Outfielder Wuimer Becarra isn't that significant a loss.

This is a big takeaway from this offseason, no matter what promising and uncertain futures the young men traded away may have. Nothing is certain, not for the players of this year's roster or for the players the Jays traded away. I understand the expected price of Dickey was to be lower than what the Jays paid. And much of that value can hinge on just how special is Dickey? How much did other teams want him? What will he do at the Dome? Can he amaze even more, post-Mets?

The Blue Jays have made a big push here, acquiring tested and high-calibre people that know how to play and warrant much excitement for the coming season. My thought is: can you imagine being a Pirate fan for the last 20 years? A long, long string of consecutive losing seasons. Granted the hope there can be said to be brighter now than it has been in any of the past 20 years, but if you want some perspective at how fortunate Jays fans should feel I say take a look there. It can be really difficult to know what you have without taking yourself outside the walls of your own understanding. Pretend to be a Pittsburghian for a moment. 20 losing seasons. A long history of failed prospects. Fortune and opportunity must be seized when the opportunity arises, lest 20 losing seasons pass you by.

Hooray for Conquistador Alex. Be forever bold.

I feel the same way as Mike Green about the outbound players, but after hearing AA's interview on 590 yesterday, my ultimate verdict is "yeah."

I think AA is sincere about the "window of contention" analysis regarding Bautista, Edwin, Buehrle, etc.  In the past, he's often justified not making splashy acquisitions because it "wasn't timed right" to contend.  I always thought (and reasonably so, frankly) that this was an excuse to cover up budgetary restraints.  But it appears to be something about which he is dead serious.

Reading between the lines of the interview, I think AA has concluded that there is very little chance that the team can keep Josh Johnson, and this is why I support the Dickey acquisition.  If Johnson has a good season, he'll seek and obtain a nine-figure deal and no-trade clause, and not from the Jays; the team is right at the very top of its payroll limits and Buck's salary for 2013 had to come off the books to make the Dickey acquisition work.  Dickey, given his age and primary pitch and the Mets' uncompetitive team, was the one chance for the Jays to obtain a front-of-the-rotation starter for 2014 and 2015 (who was actually available) without having to shell out for a contract like that.  (Maybe a playoff run and 3 million in attendance will change the willingness to pay ace-level contract, but that's not assured.)  Even if Syndergaard does turn into a #1 or #2, it won't be soon enough for the Jays' window.

Somewhat counter-intuitively, if the Jays extend Josh Johnson, it makes the Dickey trade seem a lot worse to me.  But I think the Jays need Dickey, or someone of that calibre, to anchor the rotation that will probably feature Drabek or Hutchison instead of Johnson starting in 2014.  So that's why I'm a "yeah."

I think not re-signing Johnson would make these moves seem a little worse, as the Jays clear years of contention are 2013-2015. So letting him walk and taking the draft pick hurts that plan significantly. Although at this point I am kind of expecting the Jays to contend for the division all season, which should bring a significat uptick in revenue (attendance and TV ratings). Playoffs would bring anymore. So I'm not too worried about Anthopoulos saying that about $20 million dollar pitchers now, with the budget as is. If things go right tha budget should continue to go up a bit. It's not like there would be a slew of other guys to sign too, Johnson is about the only one.

That is good question, "Is this the best starting rotation the Blue Jays have ever started?"

1992 had a staff of Steib, Morris, Key, Guzman and Stottlemyre.  Steib was a shell of himself.  I also want to not that Cone came later that year, and Wells, Leiter and Hentgen were in the bullpen. 

I think the 1991 staff was comparable to this year with Candiotti, Guzman, Stottlemyre, Wells and Key.

shame Josh Phelps is retired, he'd have fit that slot perfectly

I don't know that there's room in the game for this type of player any more. The no-defense RHB is too much of a luxury to carry on the short modern day 4-man bench. Any RH halves of DH platoons are going to be able to need to do something else. Rajai Davis can pinch-run and play the outfield (albeit not very well). I think he's Lind's platoon partner even if you'd really prefer a little more than his 290/349/417 career numbers vs LHP.