2K24: Toronto Blue Jays

[Sour Masher]

Lol. It appears the rumors of Joey Bats asking for 150 mil for 5 years was false. He actually wants more!

[Don Quixote]

Years ago, I did the taxes for a AAA player who had a few cups of coffee during the season with Atlanta. Canadian taxes weren't involved, thankfully (interleague play hadn't started, and he wasn't with the Braves when they went to Montreal), but it was still a major pain (and a major bill for him). You're SUPPOSED to have withholding and file a return with each state in which you played or were with the major league team, and if the city in which you play has local taxes, that is also withheld. Between AAA and the majors, he had withholding from something like 15 states and 6-8 cities, the latter including Philadelphia, NYC, Pittsburgh, and Cincinnati. He was an Ohio resident, and we wound up filing returns with about 8 states; the rest just weren't worth bothering with unless they came to him later asking for a return.

I also did the returns for a Reds front office guy for about a decade until a few years ago. In addition to Cincinnati and Kentucky withholding (he lived just across the Ohio River, in Covington, KY), he also had local and state withholding all over the place for when he accompanied the team on road trips. Technically, we should have filed returns with Massachusetts, New York, Pennsylvania, DC, Michigan, Illinois, Wisconsin, Missouri, Colorado, Georgia, Arizona, and California, even Ohio (for when the Reds went to Cleveland each year), among others, but it really wasn't worth the bother again unless they asked. Of course, for players, the states will ask considering the money involved. We just took the other states/cities' withholding as an itemized deduction and said, "If they ask, we'll file."

Now in most states, if you pay another state for income earned there and file a return with that state, you get a full or partial credit for the tax paid in those "foreign" states. How it would tie into Canadian tax, I don't know. And if you play a few games in a high-tax state while your home games are in a low- or no-tax state, you're screwed. The Florida/Texas/Washington "no income tax" thing isn't as clear-cut as it seems, although of course you do come out ahead living/playing there vs. states like New York and California.

Residency is another issue. Players often say they live in Florida, Texas, or Nevada, just to avoid state taxes on some of their income. Things can get very testy in this area; I recall Derek Jeter getting in a big kerfuffle a few years back when he claimed Florida residency and the NY tax folks said otherwise (IIRC he lost the argument).

[TranaGreg]

This may not be a big deal for everyone else but for those of us who have been watching the Jays infielders play on the carpet forever, this is a welcome site.



In case you don' recall what it looked like before here's a before & after (actually an after & before ... not 100% accurate but who cares) ...

[revo]

Tulo having X-Rays after getting hit on the knuckle with a pitch. Toronto collectively holds their breath.....

[joncarlos]

Tulo having X-Rays after getting hit on the knuckle with a pitch. Toronto collectively holds their breath.....

His parents definitely didn't give him enough milk when he was growing up.

[TranaGreg]

xrays were negative, bone bruise, day to day.

[revo]

Jays pick up Jesus Montero off waivers.

[Hodor]

Arron Sanchez named fifth starter

[Ryno84MVP]

Jays pick up Jesus Montero off waivers.

How the mighty have fallen...a good reminder about over-hyped prospects...

“In terms of hitting ability, Montero can be a Manny Ramirez or a Miguel Cabrera,” [New York Yankees general manager Brian] Cashman told ESPN New York’s Ian O’Connor. “As a catcher, he’s got a cannon for an arm. As far as everything and what I want him to be, I want him to be Jorge Posada.” Cashman added, “He has a chance to bat third or fourth. He has the potential to be a beast in the middle of our lineup.”

[joncarlos]

Jays pick up Jesus Montero off waivers.

Always knew that Smoak/Montero platoon would be part of a championship team.

[mjl]

His numbers last year were very similar to his 2014 minor league numbers plus 75 points of BABIP. Not sure how much to read into that, though.

[Ryno84MVP]

Anyone check out Montero's minor league numbers from last year? Holy cow. I get that he's an anecdote now for failed prospects but hard to not still see some of that huge potential in his bat. He's still only 25, too.

I keep holding out hope for him as well, but some guys are just AAAA players and cannot take that next step

[Erik]

On another board some have compared him to Chris Davis, who looked like an AAAA player until he broke out at age 26. And Montero is... 26.

[TranaGreg]

home opener tonight ... and the unveiling of the new infield ... woot!!!

[revo]

Josh Donaldson has 3 RBIs this month.

Get him out of the 2 hole!!!!!