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Blue Jays To Acquire Johnson, Reyes, Buehrle From Marlins

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The Blue Jays have reached agreement on a deal with the Marlins that will send right-hander Josh Johnson, left-hander Mark Buehrle, shortstop Jose Reyes, outfielder Emilio Bonifacio, and catcher John Buck to Toronto for shortstop Yunel Escobar, infielder Adeiny Hechavarria, right-hander Henderson Alvarez, left-hander Justin Nicolino, outfielder Jake Marisnick, catcher Jeff Mathis, and right-hander Anthony DeSclafani.  The deal, which will also call for the Marlins to send $4MM to the Blue Jays, is awaiting MLB approval.

The shocking trade effectively means that the Marlins are hitting the reset button on a team which had a payroll in the range of $100MM on Opening Day last season.  The Marlins brought out the checkbook last winter to draw fans to their brand new stadium, signing Reyes to a six-year, $106MM deal and Buehrle to a four-year, $58MM deal.  Neither player had a no-trade clause as per club policy.  Miami now has roughly $16MM in non-arbitration commitments heading into 2013.

Meanwhile, the blockbuster deal could make the Blue Jays a serious threat in the AL East.   Johnson, the first player first known to be involved in the deal, turned in a solid 2012 season after missing the bulk of 2011 with inflammation in his right shoulder.  The 28-year-old wasn't as quite as sharp as he was in 2009 and '10 but still posted a 3.81 ERA with 7.8 K/9 and 3.1 BB/9.

Reyes, 29, hit .287/.347/.433 with eleven home runs in 716 plate appearances last season.  The batting line wasn't quite as impressive as the .337/.384/.493 he put up in his contract year with New York, but it was promising to see the shortstop appear in 160 games after missing 191 games across the previous three seasons.  Despite the club's disappointing performance last season, Reyes said over the summer that he didn't have any regrets about signing with Miami.  

Buehrle's deal, like Reyes', is heavily backloaded with the hurler set to earn $11MM in 2013, $18MM in 2014, and $19MM in 2015 after making just $6MM in 2012.  The contract also includes a $4MM signing bonus that's deferred without interest.  While considering a number of offers, Buehrle was said to be prioritizing a no-trade clause, something he obviously didn't receive from the Marlins.  The veteran had a 3.74 ERA with 5.6 K/9 and 1.8 BB/9 in 31 starts for Miami last season.  

Bonifacio played just 64 games in an injury-riddled 2011 campaign.  The 27-year-old can fill a number of different roles, having experience at all three outfield positions, second base, shortstop, and third base.  Buck, 32, earned his first All-Star selection in 2010 as a member of the Blue Jays.  His offensive production came back to earth in the two years since, posting a .213/.308/.358 batting line for the Marlins.

While the Marlins gave up a boatload of talent in the trade, they won't be coming away empty handed.  Hechavarria was a highly-regarded prospect in the Blue Jays' organization and his play reportedly had Toronto brass ready to part with Escobar in the right trade.  Of course, this megadeal sends both shortstops out of town.

Escobar struggled at the plate last season, hitting .253/.300/.344 with nine homers in 608 plate appearances.  The infielder does come with a team-friendly contract, however, as he'll earn $5MM in 2013 with team options for the same amount in '14 and '15.  For his career, the 30-year-old has a .282/.353/.390 batting line in six seasons with the Braves and Blue Jays.  Mathis, 29, came to the Blue Jays last season in a trade for Brad Mills that helped ease the Angels' catching glut.  The veteran will earn $3MM across the next two seasons with a club option for 2015 worth $1.5MM.

The Marlins also picked up a quartet of quality youngsters in the trade.  Alvarez, 22, made 31 starts for the Blue Jays last season with a 4.85 ERA and 3.8 K/9 and 2.6 BB/9.  Nicolino, taken in the second-round of the 2010 draft, has received high praise for his aggressive pitching and willingness to pound the strike zone.  The Florida native cruised through Single-A ball last year, posting a 2.46 ERA with 8.6 K/9 and 1.5 BB/9.

Marisnick, 21, was rated as the No. 67 prospect in the country and the No. 3 prospect in the Blue Jays' organization after the 2011 season by Baseball America.  The publication also considered the former third-round pick to have the best defensive skillset and arm of any outfielder in the Toronto farm system.  DeSclafani, taken in the sixth-round of the 2011 draft, posted a 3.37 ERA with 6.7 K/9 and 1.8 BB/9 in his debut season for Single-A Lansing.

The trade was initially reported by Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports with additional details coming from ESPN.com's Buster Olney, Gregor Chisholm of MLB.com, and Juan C. Rodriguez of the Sun Sentinel.

AL East Links: Ibanez, Orioles, Blue Jays, Red Sox

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Four years ago today, the Yankees traded a package headlined by Wilson Betemit to the White Sox for Nick Swisher. After helping New York to the 2009 World Series and three other playoff appearances, Swisher is now in line for a big multiyear contract as a free agent this winter. Here's the latest from the AL East…

Arbitration Eligibles: Toronto Blue Jays

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The Blue Jays are next in our 2013 Arbitration Eligibles series. Matt Swartz's salary projections are below.

The Blue Jays have a relatively small arbitration class that includes two of the players who project as key contributors in 2013.

One of those players, Rasmus, seemed like an emerging extension candidate when, midway through the season, he had 17 home runs and an .821 OPS. Rasmus' numbers dropped off substantially in the second half and while his season totals of 23 home runs and 75 RBI will lead to a substantial raise in arbitration, the center fielder no longer seems like an definite candidate for a long-term deal. He’ll do reasonably well as a second time eligible player, with a projected salary of $4.5MM.

Happ recovered from a slow start in Toronto to finish in impressive fashion. In six late-season starts he limited walks and home runs while striking out more than a batter per inning. Small sample size warnings apply, but those six starts were a definite positive for a Toronto team in serious need of starting pitching. Though Happ looked like a borderline non-tender candidate immediately after arriving in Toronto, he's now expected to be tendered a contract — expect a salary in the $3.8MM range.

Neither one of the team’s other arbitration eligible players has played as much as one inning for the Blue Jays. GM Alex Anthopoulos claimed Wade and Wilson off of waivers last month and so far they’ve held onto their 40-man roster spots. Wade allowed eight home runs in 39 innings this past season despite a strong strikeout to walk ratio and appears to be a non-tender candidate. Wilson provides the Blue Jays with depth, but it's hard to see a role for him if both J.P. Arencibia and Jeff Mathis are healthy members of the organization at the end of Spring Training. If the Blue Jays need 40-man roster space this month, Wilson’s spot could be threatened. Otherwise, he provides the team with affordable, low-risk depth at a key position.

For a while it appeared this class would be bigger. The Blue Jays lost David Herndon on waivers to the Yankees; Jesse Litsch would have been arbitration eligible again, but he lost his 40-man roster spot; Rajai Davis and the Blue Jays recently agreed to terms on a deal for 2013.

If the Blue Jays tender contracts to all four eligible players, they're looking at an estimated total just shy of $10MM.

Matt Swartz's arbitration projections are available exclusively at MLB Trade Rumors. To read more about his projection model, check out this series of posts.

AL East Notes: Blue Jays, Sanchez, Villanueva, Red Sox

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The latest out of the AL East..

  • Free agent Anibal Sanchez is reportedly seeking $90MM over six years and that may still fit the Blue Jays' budget.  GM Alex Anthopoulos says that the club could accommodate that kind of average annual value, according to Shi Davidi of Sportsnet (via Twitter).  The club hasn't talked about going beyond their current five-year limit on contracts, but Anthopoulos said that things can always change (Twitter link).
  • Meanwhile, Anthopoulos says that he can promise free agent pitcher Carlos Villanueva the 30 starts that he is seeking, Davidi tweets.  The GM said that the club has never doubted Villanueva's abilities, but has raised concerns about his durability in the past.
  • Anthopoulos went on to say that the club is taking a wait-and-see approach with their left field approach while being a little more aggressive in terms of the rotation, tweets Davidi.
  • After wrapping up his six-year, $52MM deal with the Red Sox, agent Scott Boras tells Brian MacPherson of The Providence Journal that Daisuke Matsuzaka figures to have a number of suitors now that he comes with a lower price tag.
  • The Yankees would like to find an upgrade for Jayson Nix which means finding someone who can play 100 games between shortstop and third base, tweets Ken Davidoff of the New York Post.

Blue Jays Sign Justin Germano

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The Blue Jays announced that they have signed right-hander Justin Germano to a minor league contract.  The deal comes with an invitation to major league spring training next year.

Germano elected free agency from the Cubs in late October after being outrighted to Triple-A Iowa.  The 30-year-old had a a 6.75 ERA with 6.3 K/9 and 2.7 BB/9 in twelve starts and one relief appearance for the Cubs in 2012.  Prior to that, Germano was with the Red Sox's Triple-A affiliate where he posted a 2.40 ERA with 6.2 K/9 and 1.1 BB/9.

Quick Hits: Giambi, Cano, Arencibia, Phillies, Angels

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Jason Giambi was a surprise candidate to become the Rockies' next manager, but now that the job has gone to Walt Weiss, the team has offered Giambi the job of hitting coach, reports Troy Renck of the Denver Post.  Giambi had said he would continue playing if he wasn't hired as manager, though he's taking a few days to consider Colorado's offer.  If he turns it down and wants to keep playing, agent Joel Wolfe tells ESPN's Jerry Crasnick that "several teams" have shown interest in his client, who will be 42 years old on Opening Day.

Here are some more items from a very busy day around baseball…

Justin Upton Rumors: Thursday

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With the Diamondbacks in "active discussions" about Justin Upton, there has been no shortage of trade buzz about the former No. 1 overall draft pick.  While the Braves and Yankees are reportedly not interested in Upton, teams as the Red Sox, Rangers and Rays are, though the Rays ironically can't make a serious push until Justin's brother B.J. rejects Tampa Bay's qualifying offer, though he is expected to do so by tomorrow.

Here's the latest about Upton from around the league, with the newest items at the top of the page…

  • With input from rival executives, Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic lists the Rangers, Rays, Red Sox, Tigers and Braves as the top five possible suitors for Upton, with the Pirates and Royals as darkhorse candidates.
  • D'Backs GM Kevin Towers told reporters (including Nick Piecoro) that despite some rumors to the contrary, he has had "zero issues" with Upton from a character standpoint.  Towers is in "no rush" to make a deal for Upton and said that a potential trade won't prevent him from making other offseason moves.  With starting pitching at such a premium in the game, Towers doubted the Snakes would be able to obtain a top pitcher "even in an Upton deal." (All links are to Piecoro's Twitter account.)
  • The Rangers aren't willing to include either Elvis Andrus or Jurickson Profar in a deal for Upton, reports Jon Heyman of CBS Sports (Twitter link), which will likely end trade talks between Texas and Arizona.
  • The Red Sox are currently on Upton's four-team no-trade list, though he is willing to waive that protection in Boston's case, reports Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald (Twitter links).
  • The D'Backs would take a "good young starter" as the "centerpiece" of an Upton trade, tweets David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
  • The Tigers are doing background work on Upton, tweets Nick Piecoro, though the Tigers may not have yet "talked specifics" with the D'Backs.
  • "Don't expect" the Blue Jays to acquire Upton, tweets Bob Elliott of the Toronto Sun.

Blue Jays Designate Scott Maine For Assignment

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The Blue Jays have designated Scott Maine for assignment, the team announced. The move clears room on the 40-man roster for the recently-acquired Jeremy Jeffress.

Toronto claimed Maine off waivers from the Indians late last month. The 27-year-old made 30 relief appearances this year, posting a 6.08 ERA with 10.8 K/9 and 5.1 BB/9 in 26 2/3 innings. Cleveland claimed him from the Cubs in August.

Blue Jays Sign Maicer Izturis

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12:49pm: The Blue Jays have announced the signing (on Twitter). It's a three-year, $9MM contract with a $3MM club option for 2016. 

12:05pm: The Blue Jays have agreed to sign Maicer Izturis to a three-year, $10MM contract according to Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com (Twitter links). The deal includes a club option for a fourth year. Izturis is represented by Peter E. Greenberg & Associates.

Uspw_6498750As Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca points out (on Twitter), this is the largest contract GM Alex Anthopoulos has given to a free agent. The one-year deals worth $4.5MM given to Darren Oliver and Francisco Cordero last offseason were the previous record holders. Our Transaction Tracker has the breakdown of Anthopoulos' free agent signings.

Izturis, 32, hit .256/.320/.315 in 319 plate appearances for the Angels this year, his worst full season as a big leaguer. He won't hit for any power, but Izturis makes a lot of contact from both sides of the plate and is a capable defender at all three non-first base infield positions. He's also a threat to steal double digit bases. Izturis has hit .264/.327/.360 in 1,051 plate appearances across the last three years overall.

The Blue Jays figured to target infield depth this winter since Kelly Johnson is a free agent and Yunel Escobar is a trade candidate. They briefly had Mike Aviles after acquiring him from the Red Sox for manager John Farrell, but he's since been flipped to the Indians. Izturis did not rank among Tim Dierkes' Top 50 Free Agents.

Photo courtesy of US Presswire.

Blue Jays Acquire Jeremy Jeffress

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The Blue Jays have acquired Jeremy Jeffress from the Royals for cash considerations according to his agent, report Danny Knobler and Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com (Twitter links). Jeffress is represented by Double Diamond Sports Management.

Kansas City designated Jeffress for assignment late last week. They originally acquired him from the Brewers in the Zack Greinke deal, but he's spent most of the last two years in Triple-A. The 25-year-old Jeffress owns a 4.89 ERA in 38 2/3 big league innings spread out over the last three years. He owns a 5.60 ERA with 9.3 K/9 and 4.7 BB/9 in 82 career Triple-A innings.

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