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« Rockies Not Looking To Trade Brad Hawpe | Main | Odds & Ends: Eyre, Rockies, Red Sox »
Blue Jays Hope To Re-Sign Scutaro, Barajas
The Blue Jays would like to re-sign shortstop Marco Scutaro and catcher Rod Barajas, GM Alex Anthopoulos told Bob Elliott of the Toronto Sun. Anthopoulos also said he will not learn his budget until later this month. Our recent Offseason Outlook suggests the Blue Jays will only have $10MM to spend unless payroll is increased.
Scutaro, 34 later this month, hit .282/.379/.409 in 680 plate appearances this year. His defense was average this year and above average last year, based on UZR/150. Coming off a career year, Scutaro figures to ask for at least $6MM annually. He's a projected Type A free agent, so the Jays will miss out on the chance to add two draft picks if they re-sign him.
Barajas, 34, hit .226/.258/.403 in a career-high 460 PAs this year. Among those with 400 PAs, Barajas' OBP was the worst in baseball. He had a pretty strong season defensively, though not quite on par with his arbitration-eligible teammate Raul Chavez. MLB.com's Jordan Bastian recently explained that the Jays may need to re-sign Barajas because prospects J.P. Arencibia and Brian Jeroloman need more minor league seasoning and Chavez might fit better as a backup. Barajas profiles as a Type B free agent, though it's not certain the Jays will offer him arbitration.
If Scutaro earns $6MM in 2010 and Barajas repeats his $2.5MM salary, the Blue Jays might not have much left to spend if they re-sign both. Anthopoulos could backload Scutaro's contract to create more payroll space in 2010, but going beyond two years on the 34-year-old would be dangerous.
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if they let Scutaro walk, they get a decent draft pick
he had a great year but hes not worth the money he is going to get paid
Posted by: Meniin0d0ri0 | October 19, 2009 at 08:53 AM
A .258 OBP is crazy bad. He's got little power, and has never really hit for a high enough BA for that OBP to even be league average.
You could make the argument Barajas isn't even good enough to be an MLB player right now but if he does get a job, it should be a backup.
Posted by: R y a n | October 19, 2009 at 09:01 AM
What difference are draft picks to the Blue jays, when they don't sign the ones they've already picked?
Posted by: Andy In Sunny Daytona | October 19, 2009 at 09:22 AM
I would let both walk and take the picks. Anthopolous was smart to replace Riccardis scouting staff and it would be nice to see what he could do with a # of high picks.
I would bring Hudson back and move Aaron to SS or 3B. Get rid of Overbay (Move Lind, Snider, Ruiz or Dopirak to 1B)and Encarnacion and bring in a SS via trade (Drew, Hardy) or free agency (Tejada? F. Lopez?)and Sign some reclemation starters like Sheets, Bedard and Webb and a FA DH/LF (Vlad, Damon, Matsui, Delgado) this gives us some added MOTO pop, a re-vamped pitching staff and a top flite infield. All on budget, all realistic.
God Bless McGowan
Posted by: TrueBlue | October 19, 2009 at 09:46 AM
True Blue-
Felipe Lopez can't even play the position he's at right now, so why would he be able to play SS? He's awful defensively, and just plain lazy. The Jays shouldn't get him. Webb won't be a free agent this year. Drew most likely won't be traded. Other than that, I like your plan.
Although, I'd much prefer the Jays to trade Halladay and get some high upside pitching in return. I think that's the right way to go.
Posted by: jdub | October 19, 2009 at 10:33 AM
I think any rebuilding of the Jays involves dealing Halladay. He should merit the kind of return that lets you start anew. I agree that both of these guys need to walk. A complete rebuild is the only way they will be able to compete in the AL East. What where some of the suitors offering for Halladay before? Maybe the Brewers have the right amount of talent. I know that have a highly regarded SS dont know if they are willing to deal.
Posted by: Phillip_Cannon | October 19, 2009 at 10:49 AM
They need to resign Scutaro, simply because there is no other decent option.
Barajas, on the other hand...
Posted by: rpriske | October 19, 2009 at 11:09 AM
Re-signing either of these guys would be a mistake.
A) If you are a mid market team, you don't sign a 34 year old SS coming of a career years and pass up picks. This is a recipe for disaster, when a team with this payroll need to be efficient, especially considering the amount the Wells contract takes up.
b) Barajas just makes way too many outs. I know he gets along with Halladay, but the right choice for this organization would be to trade Halladay, therefore there really is no reason to bring back Barajas at an inflated price.
Posted by: Peter D | October 19, 2009 at 11:15 AM
I'm not sure if I trust a rookie GM to orchestrate what would be the biggest trade in club history
Posted by: TrueBlue | October 19, 2009 at 11:42 AM
So are you suggesting it is better for the team to let him walk for draft picks at the end of the season?
Posted by: Peter D | October 19, 2009 at 11:44 AM
If the Canadian dollar was still at 80 cents US like it was at the end of last year's World Series then the Jays would have $10M to spend without a payroll increase. Since it's actually at 97 cents US, they would have $27M to spend without a payroll increase.
Posted by: Torgen | October 19, 2009 at 01:06 PM
A .258 OBP is crazy bad. He's got little power, and has never really hit for a high enough BA for that OBP to even be league average.
You could make the argument Barajas isn't even good enough to be an MLB player right now but if he does get a job, it should be a backup.
Posted by: StandByMe | October 19, 2009 at 09:01 AM
The problem with your thinking is you're not comparing him to other catchers. Most catchers in the bigs can hardly sustain a .700 OPS. This is why he will be a class B free agent.
Posted by: Kinsm | October 19, 2009 at 01:47 PM
So because he is a catcher, his .258 OBP is acceptable? His OPS pretty off from .700 at only .661. Position shouldn't make a difference on where you should be produtctive, and a .258 OBP really can't get 400 PAs in a lineup that wants to start scoring more runs (The Blue Jays!!).
Posted by: R y a n | October 19, 2009 at 01:51 PM
"The problem with your thinking is you're not comparing him to other catchers. Most catchers in the bigs can hardly sustain a .700 OPS. This is why he will be a class B free agent."
Uhh no.
Of the 29 catchers who posted over 300 plate appearances in 2009, Barajas finished second-to-last in wOBA, his .282 mark was only better than Dioner Navarro's horrid .258 mark.
If Barajas continues to hit in 2010 like he did in 2009, then he hardly deserves an MLB roster spot any more.
Posted by: scribbletone | October 19, 2009 at 02:04 PM
While posting a .258 is still unacceptable, a players productivity is based on his position. If you disagree then you are dumb. Otherwise you would be demanding that every 2b and catcher hit 25-30+ HR. You would have some fat guy that could swing a stick playing every position. You have to take the position a player plays into account when judging their offensive prowess.
Posted by: Phillip_Cannon | October 19, 2009 at 02:30 PM
I'm not sure that I believe the comments and I think it's just posturing, much easier to let scutaro and barajas walk when you state you want them back and then get outbid for both.
Rebuilding is really the only way to go for this team.
Take the picks you get from Scutaro and Barajas, Trade Halladay to the brew crew for a deal centering around Lawrie, Hardy, and Scarpetta, resign Chavez for a mill, give the back up catching duties to phillips for a half season until Arencibia is ready
Posted by: The_Bunk | October 19, 2009 at 02:32 PM
"
While posting a .258 is still unacceptable, a players productivity is based on his position. If you disagree then you are dumb. Otherwise you would be demanding that every 2b and catcher hit 25-30+ HR. You would have some fat guy that could swing a stick playing every position. You have to take the position a player plays into account when judging their offensive prowess."
Uhh, I was comparing Barajas' numbers to those of other catchers, so I have no idea what the point of this comment was.
Obviously you expect less offensive productions from the up-the-middle positions, where defense is a significantly higher priority.
But that doesn't mean that you can just throw an absolutely inept hitter out there for 500+ PA every year, just because he's a plus defensively.
Barajas wasn't just one of the worst hitters in baseball when compared to the entire league, he was still the second-worst hitting catcher in the game.
You're absolutely flatout wrong if you believe that Barajas' defensive value makes up for that joke of a wOBA.
An wOBA around .310-.320 is at least tolerable for a plus defensive catcher playing everyday, but a .282 mark is just unacceptable for a guy that's posting 500 PA, even if he is a catcher.
Posted by: scribbletone | October 19, 2009 at 02:39 PM
Sorry scribble I meant to comment on standbyme. Also, I wasnt trying to defend Barajas so much as point out that you do have to judge someones offense on their position. I suppose I should have been more clear.
Posted by: Phillip_Cannon | October 19, 2009 at 04:06 PM
I was just confused because you referenced Navarro's .258 wOBA in your post, which was a reference to my post, and not standbyme's post.
Posted by: scribbletone | October 19, 2009 at 04:18 PM
its not guaranteed the Jays get a high draft pick for Scutaro. they were set to get a high draft pick for Burnett last offseason and didnt.
you offer him arbitration which is obvious incase he does walk and hope he accepts that.
are other teams going to be offering Scutaro a multi year contract for the numbers he put up this past season? Scutaroo is going to be like Orlando Cabrera last offseason, other teams arnt going to want to sign him.
Arencibia isnt ready yet, so the Jays do need another catcher.. but i think they can do better than Barajas. the number one thing i would be looking for out of the catcher spot is defense and someone that can help with the young pitchers.
Posted by: SpecialFNK | October 19, 2009 at 05:57 PM
Have a feeling that if Scuttaro is offered arbitration, that all offers for him will dry up anyway and Scuttaro will probably realize it and just accept. Not a bad thing for Toronto really anyway, he did play pretty well for them.
Can't see Boston giving up a 1st round pick for a 34YO SS, especially not when they can just get Gonzo back and he wants to stay anyway.
Posted by: johns | October 19, 2009 at 08:56 PM
In the offseason, Jay should try to trade Hallady to LA Dodgers. Dodgers is in desparate to get an ace like Doc and need a post season pitcher. In return, Jay should get Chad Billigsly/Kershew, George Sherryl(give Scott Down), James Looney(give Overbay), one good middle releiver, and other two top prospects.
Posted by: jaynesan | October 20, 2009 at 09:19 AM