Ken Rosenthal reports that the Blue Jays are nearing a $5MM deal with Bengie Molina. There will be a $7.5MM option for 2007.
I’m just not sure this does much to improve the club. The Jays forced Gregg Zaun to full-time catching duty last season, and he was worth 3.3 wins for his $950,000 salary. Molina, while several years younger, is coming off a season in which he was worth 3.5 wins. Molina will cost $4MM more than Zaun does and should net the team one additional win at most.
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The Jays still have huge question marks in their corner outfield spots. They plan to employ some sort of rotation of Eric Hinske, Reed Johnson, Alex Rios, and Frank Catalanotto. Wouldn’t it make more sense to save this $5MM for a corner outfield trade acquisition?
Besides Carlos Lee, trade candidates include Adam Dunn, Cliff Floyd, Luis Gonzalez, Bobby Abreu, Aubrey Huff, and Austin Kearns. I know players like these come with a hefty price, but if the Jays are to fully execute their "win now" plan they need to upgrade at at least one of the corners.
