The latest out of the AL East..
- The oblique strain that has Colby Rasmus sidelined will have a serious impact on his 2014 earnings, writes Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet. Nicholson-Smith spoke with five agents and MLB team executives experienced in the arbitration process and learned that while Rasmus hurt his value by missing time on the disabled list, he could still get a pay bump in the range of $2MM.
- Richard Griffin of the Toronto Star looks at what he deems the worst trade of Alex Anthopoulos' tenure as Blue Jays GM, but it's not the trade most would think. Griffin understands the logic behind last offseason's blockbusters with the Marlins and Mets, but he questions the 2012 trade that brought J.A. Happ, Brandon Lyon and David Carpenter to Toronto in exchange for Francisco Cordero, Ben Francisco and prospects Carlos Perez, Asher Wojciechowski, Joe Musgrove, David Rollins and Kevin Comer. As Griffin points out, Lyon, Carpenter, Cordero and Francisco were all expendable pieces, making the trade essentially Happ for five prospects.
- Also in his piece, Griffin talks with Jays hitting coach Chad Mottola about Brett Lawrie's turnaround, an organizational hitting philosophy, how he deals with criticism and the enjoyment he takes in watching his pupils succeed.
Steve Adams contributed to this post.
