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Blue Jays Notes: Lawrie, Super Two, Escobar

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Shaun Marcum has been Milwaukee's best starter this year, but Brett Lawrie is doing his best to make Blue Jays fans forget about the pitcher he was traded for. The 21-year-old infield prospect has a .343/.403/.632 line at Triple-A with 12 home runs. GM Alex Anthopoulos and Jeff Blair of Sportsnet Radio FAN 590 discussed Lawrie's hot start and a number of other issues pertaining to the Blue Jays this morning. Here are the details:

  • Lawrie has improved his strikeout to walk ratio in Triple-A this month, a development that’s encouraging for the Jays’ front office.
  • Super two status is a moving target at the best of times and Anthopoulos points out that over 80% of players who become eligible for arbitration are optioned to the minor leagues at some point. Players like Travis Snider and Brett Cecil don’t have continuous Major League service, which means projecting whether minor leaguers are on track for super two status is mostly futile.
  • The Blue Jays have a record of not manipulating service according to Anthopoulos. He points to J.P. Arencibia and Kyle Drabek, both of whom got the call late last year.
  • Anthopoulos has been on the phone with a few GMs, but he doesn’t expect trades to kick into high gear until after the draft, which starts June 6th.
  • Anthopoulos saw the rumor linking Jose Reyes to the Blue Jays and though the GM declined to comment on another team’s player, he praised the Jays’ current shortstop, Yunel Escobar. “He’s young, he’s everything we want,” Anthopoulos said of Escobar, who is under team control through 2013. “Shortstop is not an area we need to improve. We think it’s a strength.”

Rosenthal’s Full Count: Zambrano, Angels, Brewers

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Ken Rosenthal of FoxSports.com has a new Full Count video up, so let's dive in…

  • The fact that Carlos Zambrano is a 29-year-old pitcher still capable of winning 12-15 games a year should be enough to allow the Cubs to trade him, but of course the team will have to a eat a large chunk of the $45MM left on his deal. Rosenthal reminds us that the Cubbies came ahead financially when they moved Milton Bradley this winter.
  • The Angels still want to add a first baseman, and Adam Dunn is on their list of potential targets. If they do make a move for Dunn or perhaps Adam LaRoche, incumbent first baseman Mike Napoli could become trade bait. 
  • The Nationals have yet to get serious in any discussions about a contract extension with Dunn. 
  • The Brewers are still searching for pitching, and the Blue Jays could be a potential match. Toronto likes Double-A infielder (and Canadian) Brett Lawrie, but the Brewers would be reluctant to trade him. They would have to consider it if he could land them someone like Brett Cecil or Shaun Marcum, though.
  • Arizona will probably not want to keep both Dan Haren and Edwin Jackson since they combine to make over $20MM next year, but Haren's value isn't what it once was. One baseball person told Rosenthal that "[Haren]'s not at the top of anyone's list, he's just another name."

Rios For Cain Or Lincecum?

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UPDATE, 12-5-07 at 6:16pm: Jeff Blair says the Jays’ offer on the table is Rios for Lincecum, straight up.

UPDATE, 12-5-07 at 12:34pm: Brian Sabean wants more than just Rios for Lincecum (yes, the Jays prefer Lincecum based on service time).  The Giants want an improved proposal from the Jays, and Toronto could add Robinzon Diaz, Curtis Thigpen, or Brett Cecil.  Cecil would have to be a player to be named later since he was drafted in 2007.  He signed on June 22nd, so he can’t even be named as a PTBNL until December 22nd. 

UPDATE, 12-5-07 at 10:56am: Peter Gammons via Amy Nelson is saying it’s Lincecum for Rios currently rather than Cain.

UPDATE, 12-5-07 at 10:10am: Ken Rosenthal has some more details on these talks.  He says the Jays won’t add pitching to their side of the deal.  Additionally, they don’t want to move A.J. Burnett.  The Jays have a potentially elite rotation for 2008 if they can get Lincecum for Rios. 

FROM 12-4-07 at 10:46pm:

The San Francisco Chronicle’s John Shea verifies that the interesting proposal Brian Sabean referred to involved the Jays’ Alex Rios.  The Jays want to swap him for Matt Cain. The Jays prefer Cain to Tim Lincecum, as they worry Lincecum might have durability issues.

It almost sounds like Lincecum alone wouldn’t get the Giants Rios, which is surprising.  Jays GM J.P. Ricciardi is serious about trading Rios; he laid out to reporters what the Jays’ outfield would look like without him.  By the way, the Giants have no interest in taking Troy Glaus in a deal.  For their third base vacancy, the Giants are looking at Brandon Inge.

Meanwhile MLB.com’s Chris Haft believes the Jays want Lincecum for Rios.  John, Chris – just talk to each other and sort this thing out.

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