The Jays Continue to Build

For those of us crazy enough to care, midnight Eastern Time last night was one of the wildest parts of the year. It was the deadline for 2011 draft picks to sign, and with ten minutes to go until everyone turned to pumpkins, 22 of the 33 first round picks remained unsigned. What transpired over the course of the next few minutes, and with many reports not surfacing until after the clock struck twelve, was nothing short of madness. Once the dust settled, there remained but one unsigned first round pick. Mr. Tyler Beede.

Beede was taken 21st overall by the blue birds, and from the outset he was thought to be a tough sign. The right handed high school hurler out of Massachusetts had sent a letter to every team prior to the draft saying that his commitment to Vanderbilt was firm, and that they shouldn’t even bother drafting him. But Antho and Tinnish decided to go for it anyways. They were aggressive throughout the draft, regularly selecting guys who were known to be in search of big time bonus money, but Beede was the one that exceeded them all.

Jonathan Mayo reported last week that talks had broken down between Beede’s camp and the Jays, but from reports that have surfaced since last night, the negotiations went down to the last minute. Even though he said his commitment to Vandy was firm, Beede decided to name a price anyways. A ridiculous one, but a price nonetheless. $3.5 million. The Tribe gave the 8th overall pick, Francisco Lindor, a $2.9 million bonus.

It looked like AA was not going to move from his $2 million offer to Beede, but with as little as minutes to go until the deadline, word is that he upped it to $2.5 million. But no luck. The Jays went for the fences, but they struck out with their top pick. But despite this perceived failure, many believe that Beede would have simply been the cherry on top of an already impressive draft class. As the deadline neared, the birds were able to come to terms with Daniel Norris, who many ranked as the top lefty prep arm in the class. He got a nice $2 mil from the club.

Despite conflicting reports as the deadline passed, they were also able to lock up Kevin Comer, another prep arm who was asking for big cash. He walked away with $1.65 million scrillion, and is ready to make it rain.

            @kevcomer Kevin Comer
            lets make it rain twitches! #jays
As part of the aforementioned aggressive draft approach, the Jays went after some players later in the draft who were highly rated, but were in search of big time cash money. This is the part when it comes in handy that Rogers is your owner. The vault was opened up, to the tune of at least $11 million.
Among the highlights of the class were John Stilson, a flame throwing arm out of the pen who was hitting 99 on the gun before a shoulder injury ended his season with Texas A & M. In light of the disaster that is the blue birds pen these days, an experienced college arm would be a great thing to move through the ranks quickly. He grabbed a modest $500K, but considering that he was highly ranked coming into this past season, that seems like a bargain despite the red flags.
Then there was Christian Lopes, the prep short stop out of Cali. He was once regarded as a first round talent, but constant swing changes and a lack of improvement to his overall game saw him fall to the 7th round. He knew he could play before he could actually play. But he now has $800K in his wallet, and a switch to second base seems imminent. He does not have the arm needed to be even a minor league short.
Another prep shortstop got inked to big time cash. Matt Dean got $737K, but his 6’3, 190lbs. frame leads many to believe that he will eventually add some bulk and move to the hot corner. He got sandwich money and is seem to be a sandwich talent. He was seen to possibly be a first round pick coming into his senior season, but he struggled in his senior season at The Colony High School under the watchful eye of his coach, his father. Let’s just hope this isn’t another case of Tony Rasmus.
So after all the dust settled, Norris, Comer, Stilson, Lopes and Dean all got nice cash. Jacob Anderson, a prep first basemen signed early and got damn near a mil. Dwight Smith Jr., kin of the former major league baller of the same name, got $800K. Then Joe Musgrove, the first Jay who inked, took BELOW slot cash just days after the draft and took $500K as a supplemental draft pick.
The build continues, and Beede will be hard pressed to get half the cash he asked for when he is eligible for the 2014 draft. The rest of the big name Vandy commits all signed, so lets hope he has fun with a haphazard team.

Holy Rasmus

So there I was listening to radio, ya the radio. It does still exist. Word broke that AA had just pulled off a trade. Then another trade. It was all a bit much to take in, especially considering the veil of secrecy that Mr. Secrecy operates under. While the initial part of the trade, Zach Stewart and Jason Frasor to Chicago for Edwin Jackson, came across the wire first, with the Rasmus for the bullpen deal coming a few minutes later, it was by all intensive purposes a three-team trade.

If you have been sitting under a rock for the past few hours, and do not yet know of the move that shook up Jay Nation, then please read carefully. The Jays shipped out the longest serving player on the roster in Frasor, a player who could become an elite setup man in Zepper, a high level pitching prospect in Stewart and then Dotel and Corey Patts. Along with Colby, the blue birds acquired the greatest pitcher in major league history in Brian Tallett. Well maybe not, but at least he is tall, left-handed and has funny hair. They also snagged Canadian utility man Mark Teahan, who will be gone once he contract is up after this season.

But enough about the details. Anthopolous just traded a mid-to-high level prospect, a few relievers and a utility outfielder for a player with the potential to be a five-tool franchise centre fielder. If you didn’t already know that AA was more steal than Bruce Wayne, well you sure do now. Considering the media age that we are currently in where trade prospects are leaked to the media in nearly every case, AA has been able to consistently prevent such leaks and caught the baseball world largely by storm when work broke of the two deals.

Lets talk about Mr. Rasmus. His name really is Colby. He is a 24-year old outfielders was born in Georgia but grew up in Alabama. He played in the LLWS and looks remarkably similar to Tim Riggins. According to word coming out of the Cardinals locker room, he may have an attitude similar to that of Riggins as well. He did not see eye-to-eye with Tony La Russa, and found his way out of town at a point in his career that few such highly touted get their pink slip. Despite being just 24, Colby is in his third full season in the majors. He had a .859 OPS last year and a 1.1 WAR, all the while dealing with uneasiness in the veteran clubhouse and being juggled all over the lineup. He has taken a bit of a step back this year, but this is likely due to the proverbial elephant in the locker room. Same happened with Yunel. Same with Muscles Lawrie. AA will deal with the issue when Colby touches down, but I hope it will be water under the bridge in short order.

He is a power hitting left-handed hitting, slick fielding, mop haired, flat brimed, five-tool franchise centre fielder. Those come along everyday right? Well not quite. AA snuck in there when the Cards were sorely in need of some arms, and stole one of their franchise players right from under their nose. Now the blue birds have another piece of their ever evolving puzzle. Many thought that Anthony Gose was the centre fielder of the future, but as AA said in the post-trade press conference, Gose is still just 20-years old and working on his first full year at AA New Hamp. So he is far from a sure thing, and he was not projected to be on the team for at least a year. Now the outfield of Snider-Rasmus-Thames has a young and powerful look and feel to it, and with Muscles en route from Vegas in the next few weeks, the future seems to be closer than many of us in Jay Nation could have imagined at the start of the season.

Did I mention that Rasmus wears high socks? Swoon.

So what will the lineup look like for the rest of the season? Well lets take a look.

1-Yunel: no reason to take him out of the top spot

2-Eric “The Natural” Thames: as long as he keeps hitting well, he will hold this spot. If not, Colby could take it

3-Joey Bats: he hits the ball hard

4-Lind: has played great behind Joey all season

5-Colby: smooth swinging power bat should fit right into the lineup

6-Hill: doesn’t belong this high in the lineup, but need a righty for balancve

7-Stache: he has a beautiful mustachio, and a smooth swing

8-JPA: he has struggled with the bat for a few months, but three taters in two recent games is promising

9-E5: He has some pop, and hopefully gets out of town soon so Muscles can make his debut

 

The Jays look to the future

This year the Jays are hovering around .500, just as they seem to always do. But they are not in the NL West, where teams can squeak into the playoffs every so often with such a record, but instead are stuck in the AL East with the Bo Sox, Yanks and Rays. Two of the teams that spend the most money in the league, and the Rays who have one of the best systems of young players in the league.

Every year around this time of year, in the lead up to the non-waiver trade deadline, there is a debate raging amongst Blue Jays faithful about what direction the team should go. Do they become buyers and go after someone like Colby Rasmus or chase a closer like Heath Bell? Or do they sell off Jason Frasor and Edwin Encarnacion? Well this year the Jays are clearly sellers, if anything. It is most likely like Anthopolous will stand pat and do nothing as he did last year, and instead focus on developing their own players for the rest of the season.

So with Canada’s team continuing to win as many games as they lose, but this time with a few good young players on the 40-man roster and in the system, the faithful followers of the blue birds are beginning to gain some faith in the squad. It seems as if a solid nucleus is being put together by AA, and there finally might be a real reason to have hope in what may transpire over the next few years for the birds.

Since AA has taken the reigns of the team, he has focused on player development in a way that JP never did. He has stockpiled draft picks and invested new found wealth in Latino amateur players. It takes time for these players to work their way through the minor league ranks, but this is why Jays fans need to look not just one, but two seasons ahead.

With free agency and trades always playing a factor in the roster, it is difficult to hypothesize about a major league roster two years from now, but we can at least take a look at the players in the current system who are on the path towards big league success.

The Jays may have some of the best organizational depth behind the plate of any big league club. JPA has made the jump to the big league club this year, and despite his recent struggles at the plate, he is still on pace for a 27 HR season as a backstop, which will put him amongst the elite offensive backstops in the league.

Then there is Travis d’Arnaud, one of the pieces acquired in the deal for the Doc from the Phillies. He is currently tearing apart the AA Eastern League with a triple slash of .319/.387/.534 with an OPS of .921. Impressive numbers for a backstop to say the least, and he is doing it all as a 22-year old. He has also hit 12 out of the park on the season, and appears to be living up to the hype that made him a 1st round pick in 2007.

Then there is 20-year old backstop Carlos Perez, who some think could be the best of the bunch. While his stats at A ball Lansing have not blown anyone away this year, coming in at .270/.332/.365 through 69 games, the Venezuela native has the tools to excel at the highest level.

Last year many Jays fans were shocked when AA shipped Brett Wallace and his thickness to Houston in exchange for single-A CF Anthony Gose. Considering that Wallace was seen to be the first bagger of the future for the blue birds, and the fact that he was one of the major pieces coming north in the Doc deal, it was a tough pill to swallow for many fans. But AA impressed up once again. Gose has played fairly well at with New Hampshire this year, as the 20-year old has put together .254/.343/.394 triple slash, but he has swiped 46 bags and knocked 9 out of the park. He looks like he has the tools to be the lead off hitter of the future.

Deck McGuire was ranked as one of the top arms in the 2010 Amateur Draft, but he fell to the 11th pick where the Jays scouting director Andrew Tinnish jumped at the opportunity to snag the big righty from Georgia Tech. He did not sign until the deadline last year, so he did not get a chance to toss the ball in his official rookie year. But this year he has been nothing short of impressive while tossing for the high-A Dunedin Blue Jays. A 7-4 record with 102 K’s in 104.2 IP, and tidy 2.75 ERA. He was just recently called up to the Fisher Cats in New Hamp, and will hopefully finish off the season on a high note.

One of the most surprising prospects in the Jays system this season has been the Venezuelan fireballer Henderson Alvarez. After slowly working his way up the ranks since he was a 17-year old, Alvarez has put together such a solid season that he was the Jays lone representative at the MiLB Futures Game this season. With a 6-4 record with a 2.86 ERA, it seems as if the youngster has grown from being a thrower into a pitcher. At this pace, he has an outside shot at the big squad next season, and at the very least could be a September 2012 call up.

When AA made the move last season for Brett “Muscles” Lawrie, there was as usual, some initial skepticism. Heading to Milwaukee was one of the most reliable pitchers on the Jays roster, Shaun Marcum, and in return they got a highly touted player, but he was hampered by several character questions. But with the day of Lawrie’s big league debut nearing, people are beginning to forget about Marcum, and look forward to the next decade of Muscles manning the hot corner. He was on the brink of getting the call a little over a month ago, until he took a pitch on the hand and broke a small bone. Now he is back clubbing the ball in Vegas, and his call up seems imminent. He has put up a ridiculous .356/.414/.668 this year, with 16 taters and 56 batted in. Prepare for the gun show.

Then there are the kids manning the outfield today. The Stache made a trip back to Vegas for a few weeks this summer to work on his stance at the plate. He has come back up and his duster has hit a solid .292 since his return, and his move to centre field has yielded remarkably impressive results. While his defence is being compared to Rajai and Corey Patt, it has nonetheless been a welcome sight to see at the dome.

Now for arguably the biggest surprise of the season. Eric Thames. He has been so impressive that his pointy sideburns have made him The Natural. This is also an ode to Mr. Pat Tabler who insists on reminding us every time that Thames hits the ball of his “natural talents and strength”, and behind this thinly veiled racism, Thames has truly been clubbing the ball all over the field since he has earned a full time job in the two hole. A .308/.351/.517, despite in just a 38 game sample size, is impressive for a rookie who came into the season pretty much under the radar. He has hit 4 out of the park, and acted as a great set up piece for Joey Bats and Lind.

New drafting approach from Anthopolous

The Jays used to be the most predictable team in the MLB Draft. They consistently went for singable college arms, and have developed a solid stockpile of talent as a result. But something changed this year in the approach by Director of Amateur Scouting, Andrew Tinnish, and the big man in charge, AA.

The first round and the supplemental round of the draft were held last night, with the Jays picking 5 times in the first sixty picks thanks to a number of Type B free agents walking away in the offseason. But those picks were not all seasoned college players, but rather the complete opposite. They are all high school players, most of them with firm college commitments, and several of them rumoured to be demanding big-time signing bonuses in order to commit to a big league squad.

Last year Anthopolous and co. went for four straight arms with on Day 1 of the draft, two out of high school, and two out of college. This year it was 3 high school arms and 2 high school position players.

So here is a look at the first five players drafted by the Blue Jays in 2011.

Tyler Beede, 21st overall

Word is that the dominant prep arm from Massachusetts is looking for top-five money. The 6’4, 200 lbs. right hander is also committed to Vanderbilt, a school notorious for their firm commits. He can touch 95 on the gun, and has a projectable build.

The Jays will have to show Beede the bank, but this pick is so unlike the teams typical drafting philosophy that it is assumed that management is committed to continue their trend of big time spending through scouting and drafting.

Jacob Anderson, 35th overall

Anderson is a hybrid 1B/OF at this point in his career, so it is tough to say where he will end up. He was seen as a top-end high school first bagger, but only a middle of the pack outfielder. He also has a great build, coming in at 6’4, 190 lbs., and figures to be able to work some muscle onto that frame.

Scouts have raved about his power potential, and marvel at his consistency at the plate. But here is where is gets tricky again. Anderson is committed to Pepperdine, and is also thought to be demanding a fat check it order to forego his college career. He has an approach at the plate similar to Ryan Braun, and he might become the corner outfielder that Snider has never been able to be.

Joe Musgrove, 46th overall

Time for another high school arm. Musgrove, out of Grassmost HS in California, is another big prep arm who is committed to a solid college. The only difference with this one is that he is rumoured to be anxious to get his pro career under way. Despite his verbal to San Diego St., he has been quoted as saying he was excited to be drafted by the Blue Jays and is looking forward to starting his pro career.

He stands 6’5, 230 lbs. and can get into the mid-90′s with his heat. He has a heavy sinker, and plays similar to Aaron Harang. Expect him to sign within the next few weeks and start a good number of games in rookie ball this year.

http://mlb.mlb.com/video/play.jsp?content_id=15623701

Dwight Smith Jr., 53rd overall

Junior brings an approach to the plate that makes it evident that he grew up around the game. His father played in the bigs, and the youngster brings a tight compact lefty swing that highlights the bloodlines. He has is four-tool at this point, with questions still remaning about his power potential.

He is committed to Georgia Tech to play his college ball, but one would assume that he will seek overslot money, and forego his commitment. It could be a Dickie Thon Jr. situation from last year, so expect it to go to the wire. Smith stands 5’11 and weighs in at 190 while patrolling the outfield. It is unclear at this point if his speed will develop to the point where he can play centre long term, so he may have to move to a corner outfield spot.

Kevin Comer, 57th overal

Another high school arm, this time from Seneca HS in Jersey. The 6’4, 210 right handed hurler can hit 95 on the gun, but that is where the good news stops. He is another Vanderbilt commit and will demand a serious payday in order to step away from the college game.

http://baseballbeginnings.com/2011/05/12/kevin-comer-video

So where do the Jays go from here? Anthopolous and Tinnish have likely already begun preliminary negotiations with each one of these players, and it will be interesting to see how many players they will be able to lock up. It is clear that the Jays are firmly committed to paying for the best available amateur talent, and this year could be the cherry on top of an already stacked system.

No one has ever questioned the number of quality Jays arms, and now they are simply adding more to the mix. If they can sign three or four out of these first five picks, then it should be considered mission accomplished. If all five sign on, then the blue birds system could resemble that of the KC Royals in a few seasons.

There a few big money guys still available in the draft, and it will be interesting to see if the Jays snatch any of them up with the 74th or 78th overall selection in the 2nd round today. Matt Purke, who was once rumoured to go first overall, is still on the board. Josh Bell, despite his solid commitment to Texas, is an exceptional talent. John Stilson and Andrew Susac are two other elite players on the board, and they could soon call Toronto home.

Travis Snider is the Blue Jays

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Word was released after the Jays victory over the Rangers today that Travis Snider has been optioned down to the Las Vegas 51′s. This is a shocking move to many, as Snider was supposed to take the next step forward this year as he was finally being granted full time playing in the outfield. 

But he has hit just .181/.277/.265 with a .542 OPS through 24 games this year. Many thought that his struggles last year were associated with his relationship with Cito, and him being stuck so deep in the lineup for most of the season. But Farrell walked in this year and Snid has got to his all over the order, with no success at any point. 
Anyone that has watched the Jays extensively this year know what Snider’s main problem has been. Off speed pitches. He has been fanning at the breaking stuff all season, and not even coming close. He has never struggled catching up to the heat, and he has K’d almost once a game. 
Snider was highly regarded after being drafted out of high school in 2006 with the 14th overall selection by JP. He raked his way through the minors, and made his big league debut in 2008. But despite flashes of brilliance, he has never been able to become a cog in the lineup for the Jays.
There were rumours this past summer that Snider was being dangled as part of a package to acquire either Justin Upton or Zach Grienke, but the inclusion of Drabek in the offer made AA walk away. But maybe it would have been wise to get rid of Snider while we could have. He is still very young, and has solid tools, but his value is falling off a cliff. 
So where does AA go from here? There is expected to be a few moves made tomorrow, as Chris Woodward was also outrighted back to Vegas. Rajai Davis is coming off the DL and will get back atop the order in short course. So who else will get the call? 
It just might be time for Brett Lawrie. he has little left to prove on the farm despite having played just 19 games for the 51′s. He is hitting .407/.455/.679 with a 1.134 OPS, and has hit 4 HR’s, 12 RBI’s and swiped 5 bags. 
As the player that was widely thought to be the future of the franchise goes back to the farm, it might be time to see the new future come up. 

Highlight of the Home Opener

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This deserves its own post. 

At the Jays home opener on Friday, in front of 47,000 people at the Rogers Centre, Toronto Mayor Rob Ford popped up on the jumbotron at some point in the game. 
In most cities, this would be met by a chorus of cheers, as most cities in the world the size of Toronto have well respected mayors and are generally well liked within their cities. But Toronto is different. 
When we saw Ford’s mug on the screen, it was everyones initial reaction to reign down boo’s on the man. He is generally unpopular within the city, and got most of his votes from the suburbs or the city. 
I would love to know what Mr. Ford thought of his reaction, as he claims to be a man of the people. 
To top it all off, watching Prime Time Sports today, Mr. Bob McCown discussed his interaction with the Mayor at the opener. Surprisingly it was not amazing. McCown was in a suite meeting with some fans when the mayor himself waddled through the door and was met by a round of applause. Well the last part isn’t true. 
Ford walked in, and instead of doing the normal thing that politicians do by working the room, shaking hands and kissing babies, our lovely Mayor handed out business cards to all those in attendance. Business cards. As if we were unaware of what he did for a living. He did not shake hands, he simply handed out his digits on a little piece of paper. 
Does he wonder why he is unpopular? How disconnected can you be when attending your first Jays home opener as mayor of Toronto? 
Thankfully McCown was not having any of it, and apparently turned his back to the honorable Mayor. 
There was also some baseball played in the opener, but that was not nearly as entertaining as Mr. Rob Ford. 
His next move will likely involve asking if he gets to drop the puck at a Toronto FC game.

View from the 500′s


franchise.jpgThe Jays have just wrapped up their first set of the season, and they took two of three from the Twinkies at Rogers Centre. It was highlighted by an opening day sold-out crowd, and ended with the blue birds falling just short in a ninth inning rally in the final game today. 
There were some highlights, including Hoe-Zay being awarded his Silver Slugger Award before the opener and Robbie Alomar and Pat Gillick being honoured for their induction into the Hall of Fame. The first game was a blowout, but most of the action was in the stands with more than 47,000 members of Jay Nation creating quite the atmosphere within the confines of Skydome Rogers. 
The view from the 500′s was somewhat obstructed, but when you sit up there you don’t do so with the intention of watching every detail of the game. There were several occasions when the Jays would score a pair of runs without anyone in our section noticing. The excitement was all around us with fights breaking out every few minutes and cans of $10 beer flying down into the 200′s with alarming regularity. 
But apparently there was a game going on, and there was some highlights in the opener, and over the course of the whole weekend. Mr. Silver Slugger cranked out a few of his token smashes to left field. He can still turn on the inside heat like no other, and it looks like he hasn’t missed a beat. 
Aaron Cibia looked like opening day was his first career game all over again. He hit one out to deep centre, and one down the line to right. He seemed to catch a good game as well, but i forgot my telescope so I couldn’t quite tell how he was doing. It appears as if Farrell is sticking with his plan of having Mr. Cibia catch only three out of the five starters, and allowing Molina to catch the other two. This seems way too much like Cito for anyone’s comfort, so lets just hope that ends soon. 
T-Snid struggled in the opener, and was relegated to bench duty in the second game. The lefty-lefty matchup was thought to be the reason for the benching, but he came in to pinch hit in the FIFTH and drove a two run double in and celebrated by stroking his creeper ‘stache. With the latest decision to keep Hoe-Zay in right, E5 at third and Rivera as the designated man created some confusion around Snid at the end of the spring, but lets hope he gets his stroke going. 
The highlight of the weekend was the pitching performance by one Mr. Kyle Drabek in the second game of the series. The centrepiece of the deal that saw Doc leave down finally picked up his first career win, and in impressive fashion. He went seven strong, gave up one hit, and only allowed TWO balls out of the infield. TWO. Against a lineup featuring some fairly impressive bats, the outing gave all members of Jay Nation hope that he could turn into the sorely needed ace. Sure it is early, as he as all of one career win now, but the performance did little to make anyone think that he cannot carry the load. 
Cece struggled today in the finale, and it appears as if this talk about his losing some velocity is legit. This is disappointing as it looks like he might be down to fourth on the totem pole once Morrow gets healthy. The arms race is going to really pick up next year when the top prospects come knocking, and Cece needs a solid season to guarantee himself a spot in the rotation down the road. 
It was overall a solid opening set, and lets hope that Farrell stops messing with the lineup too much, Rajai get get his toe/ankle healthy, and that E5 tears his knee as soon as possible so Lawrie can get the call in the next six weeks. 
The lineup looks dangerous one through nine this year, and with Lawrie in place of Rivera/E5, it looks solid for years to come. 

Antopolous for Mayor

In a move that shocked the baseball world, the Toronto Blue Jays pulled off a massive trade last night with the California Anaheim Los Angeles Angels. For those who have been under a rock for the past day, the Jays dealt long time centre fielder Vernon Wells to the Angels in exchange for versatile Mike Napoli and corner outfielder Juan Rivera. 

The trade came as a shock to everyone, as Anthopolous operated in his typical mysterious ways, and there were no rumours of the deal existing before it was completed. This is a testament to the type of operation that the Jays young GM has been running since he took over in Toronto. In today’s day and age of instant information and anonymous sources revealing information to reporters, it is very rare that such a large deal is completed without any word leaking out prior to its completion. 
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Wells was the Jays first round pick in 1997, and he played his first games for the team in 1999. The longest serving member of the team has been manning centre field in Toronto, winning gold gloves and providing a powerful bat in the middle of the order. He hit over 30 HR’s on three occasions and the Louisiana native will be missed in the Jays order. 
From an outsiders point of view, Jays fans must have clearly been upset that their young GM shipped off one of their best players in return for a somewhat powerful catcher/first basemen and a backup outfielder. But that is not the case, and it is all due to the contract that Vernon signed just before Christmas in 2006. 7 year, $126 million were the terms, and even at the time the number seemed inflated. 
Vernon was always an excellent player, but he simply did not deserve the type of money that he earned, and few players do. So the fact that the Angels agreed to take on $86 million remaining on his contract came as a shock to most of the baseball community. But as many have written already, the Angels have struck out with every free agent this off-season, they had money to spend. They went after Carl Crawford and Adrian Beltre, but couldn’t convince either of them to don the halo, so instead they essentially signed Wells to a bloated 4 year contract. There is no harm in doing so in baseball, as there is no salary cap. If you have the money, you might as well spend it. 
So how about these players that Anthopolous got in return? Mike Napoli can play behind the plate, first and the big right handed bat can DH of course. The 29-year old has a huge bat, and hit 26 out of the park last year. He does not hit for the best numbers, with a .238/.316/.468 triple slash line, but he has hit 20 or more out of the park in the past three years, so his bat will be much appreciated in the dome. 
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Juan Rivera will also be joining the Jays, and should be able to provide some corner outfield insurance for an outfield that is suddenly barren. He has some pop in his bat and plays respectable D, so he should be able to play in the six or seven hole and ease some of the pressure on the kids in the lineup. It looks as if newly acquired speedster Rajai Davis will take over in centre, Travis “The Franshise” Snider will likely man left, and Rivera could be the everyday man in right. However Farrell will likely move Bautista between third and right, depending on how the battle at third goes. 
Prior to the deal, it was believed that rookie JP Arrencibia would be the everyday man behind the plate, and while he will still likely get the majority of the reps back there, Napoli would be able to relieve him of some duties a few days a week. He will also be able to teach JP the ropes back there, as well as give Lind some help at first. There was much concern about how well Lind and Encarnacion would do at first, and Napoli will be able to help them with some of his veteran experience. 
Spring Training is sure to be interesting this year, with so many battles for positions raging. This is exactly what Farrell and Anthopolous want. Very few jobs are safe, and every player will have to earn their starting job. Napoli and Rivera will likely only be on the team for a year, and then the full youth movement will set in with Lawrie, Drabek, Hechevarria and the rest of the kids taking over the squad. 
Anthopolous no longer has the excuse of being burdened by the contracts that he inherited, so whatever happens from here on out is on him. Let’s hope he brings the kids along at a reasonable rate and the Jays can compete in a few years. 

The Closing Race

Anthopolous is up to his old tricks. After he signed Octavio Dotel a few weeks ago to a one-year contract with an option for an extra year, he went out and signed one of the largest men to even play professional baseball. Jon Rauch inked a one-year deal as well with an option as well, and the 6’11, 290 lbs. behemoth of a man will be competing with Dotel and other for the closing job this spring. 

This move is typical of AA, as Dotel and Rauch will likely split the closing duties in some capacity this season, then both will have their options declined, and the Jays will get at least one compensatory draft pick when all is said and done. 
This signing also reflects another trend that many fans will fail to realize. It is clear that the Jays are attempting to stockpile the best tattoos in the majors, and Rauch brings some of the best to the table. With Brett Lawrie’s ink having been well documented, prepare yourself for the latest from the Blue Jays potential closer. 
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Rauch is just 32, while the 37 year old Dotel has been around quite a bit longer and his production is slipping significantly as of late. After Joe Nathan went down last year, Rauch stepped into the closing role for the Minnesota Twins, and did a rather amicable job. In 59 appearances, he had 21 saves and a respectable ERA of 3.12. On top of it all, he had a 1.5 WAR, so his ERA is not playing tricks on you. 
Predictably, Rauch relies on his enormous frame to throw fire at hitters. He is also has sharp breaking off-speed stuff that can be effective due to the downward plane that he creates when working out of the windup. The big man has never truly been an everyday closer, and that is likely to remain the same this season. How Farrell deals with the two flamethrowers is yet to be seen, but he will likely go with whoever is hot at the time, as matchups will likely be six of one or a half dozen of the other when it comes to these eerily similar players.
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When the Dotel signing was announced, many members of Jay Nation were hoping that Anthopolous was not done making moves, and as usual he did not disappoint. The 37-year old clearly does not have the arm anymore to survive an entire season closing games, so bringing in Rauch is the perfect cure for the closing conundrum. 
Word is that the Jays were also in the running for southpaw closer Brian Fuentes, but he ended up signing with the A’s. Fuentes has always been quite an odd closer, as he brings it in at a three quarter arm slot and produces limited velocity, but he managed to nab himself a a 2 year deal worth $10.5 million. It is clear that AA was not going to commit to two year for a closer with so many arms in the system, and he let Bille Beane and co. take the risk of signing Fuentes. 
After the Jays went pitcher heavy in last years draft, and with the likes of Zach Stewart already knocking on the closer’s door, it is clear that long term contracts were not going to be handed out at the back end of the bullpen. This is likely the reason that Gregg sought greener pastures in Baltimore, where he convinced owner Peter Angelos that he had incriminating pictures of him the management that he is worth a contract similar to Fuentes; 2 year and $10 million. 
By next season, one of Zach Stewart or 2010 draft pick Asher Wojciechowski will be ready to take the closing job, and the Jays will once again benefit from their average relief pitchers signing elsewhere by nabbing another pick in return. It has come to be a tried and tested practice under the new regime, and with the success of last years draft, it is clear why is has continued. 
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They say closers are a little crazy

Musical Chairs

Kevin Gregg and Jeremy Accardo signed with the Baltimore Orioles.

Scott Downs signed with the Los Angelas Angels.
Brian Tallett signed with the St. Louis Cardinals. 
So where does that leave the Blue Jays bullpen? Well they lose their closer. Their main southpaw setup man. Two mid relief guys that have been with the Jays for years. 
So what approach did Anthopolous take to revamping last years effective pen? Well so far he is going after aged veterans to join Frasor, Camp, Janssen and Carlson. 
Octavio Dotel was signed to a two year deal, and the 37-year old journeyman looks like he is in line to take over the closer’s role. The Jays are Dotel’s eleventh major league team, and he has struggled in recent years with his control and is far from a sure thing going forward. Last year he went 3-4 with a 4.08 ERA and 22 saves across three different teams. His WAR was 0.4, so that leaves much to be desired. He has been guaranteed $3.5 million and involves an option for 2012 that is highly unlikely to be exercised. 
Chad Cordero, the former dominant closer for the Washington Nationals, has also been brought in on a minor-league deal. It is quite remarkable how quickly closer’s can fall from grace, and Cordero is a perfect example. He has a 2.0+ WAR from 2004-2006 and racked up 47 saves in 2005. But his fall from grace was quick after he tore his labrum in 2008. He missed the entire 2009 season recovering from the injury and then sparingly for the Mariners last year. 

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The man with the flat brim will hopefully be able to impress during Spring Training and just might be able to fit in as a set-up man in the pen. 
Carlos Villanueva was acquired from the Brewers earlier in the off-season in exchange for a player to be named later. It was a move that received little publicity, but it could prove to be one of the most effective moves that Anthopolous made this offseason. Villanueva is just 27 years old and he mowed down 11.45 batters per 9. While his ERA was nothing impressive, using that stat as a benchmark for relievers is often misleading. 
Wilfredo Ledezma was claimed off waivers from just days ago from the Bucs of Pittsburgh. He too is a middle reliever that has done little to impress lately, but could provide some innings out of the pen. He looks like he will take over Tallet’s long relief role, and quite simply cannot be worse than The ‘Stache. 
These new Blue Jays will do their best to make up for a pen that was rather impressive last year. Gregg racked up a huge amount of saves despite giving up some taters. Downs was one of the most dominant lefty set-up men in the majors. Tallet and Accardo, well all members of Jay Nation wish them the best. 
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