Much has been written over the last few years about Vernon Wells' immovable contract, but besides that significant commitment to their center fielder, the Blue Jays have a very manageable payroll situation. The only other player on their roster who will earn more than $4.75MM this season is Lyle Overbay ($7MM).
Unlike Wells, who has rediscovered the power stroke that earned him that monster contract in the first place, Overbay is struggling. Hitless in his last 14 at-bats, the 33-year-old has seen his 2010 slash line slip to .200/.281/.337 and has been the target of Rogers Centre boo-birds for most of the season. Manager Cito Gaston finally dropped Overbay in the batting order tonight, slotting him seventh rather than his usual fifth.
Although it's still unclear whether Toronto will be a buyer or a seller this summer, parting ways with Overbay could benefit both the present and future of the club. Top prospect Brett Wallace is hitting .289/.346/.537 with 11 homers in Triple A Las Vegas and not only represents a significant piece of the team's rebuilding plan, but could provide an instant offensive upgrade over Overbay. The Jays are likely postponing a roster decision at least until they can be sure Wallace will avoid becoming a super two player, but that time is fast approaching.
The last time we looked at Overbay's future, we still thought he may have some trade value. Now it seems unlikely that the first baseman, who has approximately $4.9MM remaining on his contract, would attract any interest. Is it best for Toronto to emulate what the Rays did with Pat Burrell and just cut their losses, or can Overbay turn things around? Is the 23-year-old Wallace ready to be an everyday player for a team technically still in contention? How should the Jays handle this situation?
Overbay for Garrett Atkins straight up.
dont cut him
if the jays are looking for a top prospect in return for either Scott downs or Jason Frasor, package him in to get that prospect
Adding Overbay with Downs or Frasor would almost certainly negate whatever trade value they have. Anthopolous should just cut ties with Overbay once Wallace has no chance in becoming a Super Two candidate and move on.
DFA in August ALA Matty Stairs
Matt Stairs was traded for Fabio Castro.
After he was DFA’d: link to bit.ly
Yeah, because that’s the only way to trade guys after the trade deadline.
the jays are surely just waiting to make sure that wallace has no chance of being a super 2, and in the mean time when snider is off the dl i would play batista at 1st.
I hope the Jays call up Wallace once there is no chance of him being a super two. I doubt Wallace would do any worse than Overbay and I always enjoy seeing the young guys getting a chance.
I would guess the Jays would have to release Overbay, despite the large number of idiotic GM’s in baseball I’m sure none would be willing to trade for him.
I know that Wallace is raking, but Alex said the plan was to keep him in AAA the whole time. I wonder if he’ll stick to the plan.
Jays have bigger problem coming up with Synder almost ready. What to do with E.E and baustia(my spelling is brutal). Synder needs to play so who sits? I think you have to play baustia at 1st and put synder in the field. Lyle is down in the lineup and almost out the door.
I would rather see them move Encarnacion to first. Bautista is a much better fielder at third, and I think Encarnacion actually played a little first base in Cinci.
I agree, Bautista is way better at 3rd. But I do fear E.E’s defense, and he will have considerable more action at 1st.
E.E. is actually not that bad on defence. If you look st it statistically, most of his errors are throwing ones. He actually has a pretty good glove, its just throwing
Releasing Overbay would be a mistake. Thins are going very right for the Jays right now and that would create a negative atmosphere in the clubhouse.
Trade him, even if it means picking up his entire contract and only getting a Grade D prospect (which it would). It might just FEEL different to the team.
Overbay has an .800+ OPS after his horrible 2 week stint to open April. I don’t think releasing him would benefit the Jays offense at all.