Blue Jays Rumors

Minor Moves

By Tim Dierkes | March 27, 2009 at 3:57pm CDT

Robert MacLeod of the Globe and Mail has additional Blue Jays moves, beyond their trade of Curtis Thigpen to the A's. MacLeod says pitchers Mike Maroth and Rick Bauer have been released, and Matt Clement agreed to report to Triple A.

Meanwhile, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch says lefty reliever Royce Ring accepted his Triple A assignment.

A’s Acquire Curtis Thigpen

By Tim Dierkes | March 27, 2009 at 2:23pm CDT

According to a press release, the A's acquired catcher Curtis Thigpen from the Blue Jays today for a player to be named later or cash considerations. They also signed catcher Eric Munson to a minor league deal.

Thigpen, 26 in April, hit .222/.267/.310 at Triple A last year. Baseball America describes him as adequate defensively. The Jays designated Thigpen for assignment on February 4th to make room for Brian Burres. Thigpen was the Jays' heir apparent at catcher three years ago, according to John Lott of the National Post. Thigpen took the place of Guillermo Quiroz, the previous "catcher of the future."

Munson, 31, spent time with the Brewers' Triple A club last year but dealt with hip and shoulder injuries. He's shown good pop in the past and was a can't-miss prospect himself a decade ago, when the Tigers picked him third overall and gave him a four-year, $6.75MM deal. Munson can also play a little bit at the infield corners.

Odds & Ends: Clement, Schilling, Strasburg

By Tim Dierkes | March 24, 2009 at 10:50am CDT

Links for Tuesday…

RotoAuthority examines A's starter Trevor Cahill from a fantasy baseball perspective.
Today's chat has been pushed to Wednesday at 2pm CST.
The Blue Jays demoted Matt Clement, according to Richard Griffin of the Toronto Star. Clement is trying to decide whether to accept the assignment. He allowed 11 runs and 12 walks in 10.3 spring innings.
WEEI's Alex Speier looks back at the shockingly low price in prospects the Red Sox paid to acquire Curt Schilling from Arizona. The D'Backs were eyeing players such as Jon Lester, Hanley Ramirez, and Kelly Shoppach, but didn't make any of them a requirement.
Tyler Bleszinski of Athletics Nation has part 2 of his interview with A's GM Billy Beane. Beane notes his great relationship with Scott Boras.
I spoke to Tyler Hissey and Doug Gray of Minor League Notebook Weekly yesterday.
Thomas Boswell of the Washington Post says the Nationals should not draft Stephen Strasburg unless he'll sign in the $9-10MM range of David Price and Mark Prior. ESPN's Rob Neyer explains that many can't-miss pitchers did indeed miss.
Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle talked to Giants lefty Jack Taschner about the possibility of being traded.
Bart Given of Inside the Majors says the Blue Jays should keep Travis Snider at Triple A until May 15th so that they'll control him for the 2015 season.

Rosenthal On White Sox, Pedro, Baker

By Tim Dierkes | March 24, 2009 at 8:35am CDT

The latest from Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports…

The White Sox are still trying to figure out their center field situation, but they are not involved on pricey veterans such as Juan Pierre and Gary Matthews Jr.
Fantasy alert: Rosenthal names David Aardsma as the likely leader for the Mariners closer job, with Chad Cordero and Brandon Morrow lingering.
The Dodgers "continue to balk at Pedro Martinez's $5MM asking price."
Rockies utility man Jeff Baker, who is out of options, is drawing interest from the Phillies, Astros, and Pirates. Rosenthal suggests recently-demoted Kyle Kendrick as a possible target for Colorado, assuming the Phils can move Geoff Jenkins or Matt Stairs to clear a spot. Troy E. Renck of the Denver Post says the Yankees are unlikely to acquire Baker.
The Blue Jays have been scouting shortstops Chin-Lung Hu, Juan Castro, and others in hopes of finding someone they can stash at Triple A for insurance.
Was Willy Taveras a bad move for the Reds? Rosenthal says rival executives think so.

Blue Jays To Sign Shawn Hill

By Tim Dierkes | March 22, 2009 at 9:49am CDT

SUNDAY 10:03am: Richard Griffin of the Toronto Star says the Jays are expecting to sign Shawn Hill as soon as he clears waivers. Griffin has a quote from J.P. Ricciardi:

"'We wouldn't be signing him to come in here and make the major-league staff," Jays GM J.P. Ricciardi said. 'We'd have to get him up to speed, kind of like (former major-leaguer) Wade Miller (currently in minor-league camp). We're just trying to get as many arms as we can in here. We know the young kids are going to struggle. … We're trying to put them in spots they might not be ready for. We get some veteran guys here and they can hold the fort down. … It gives us enough experience where we can just ease them in as opposed to throwing them in.'"

FRIDAY 4:49pm: According to Jeff Blair of The Globe and Mail, the Blue Jays are negotiating with just-released starter Shawn Hill. Hill is a great fit for the Jays so hopefully they'll get it done. His elbow has never been in good shape, but there's still upside.

Odds And Ends: Gonzalez, Hill, Koskie

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | March 21, 2009 at 11:31am CDT

Links for Saturday…

According to MLB.com's Bryan Hoch, the Yankees demoted righty Phil Hughes. He had a nice spring and figures to be the first in line when the team needs another starter.
Tracy Ringolsby of Inside the Rockies reports that Diamondbacks CEO Derrick Hall spoke with Luis Gonzalez about re-joining the D'Backs once he retires as a player.
Dave Perkin of Baseball America highlights some amateur players worth keeping an eye on.
Check out Tim's Interview over at 6 Pound 8 Ounce Baby Joba.
Cameron Smith of the Washington Post thinks Shawn Hill and the Blue Jays should work out a deal because it would benefit both sides.
Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune reports that Corey Koskie's baseball future could be in jeopardy. Koskie felt light-headed after diving for a ball yesterday in Spring Training.
ESPN.com's Peter Gammons spoke with Matt Holliday about his home-road splits and his new Oakland teammates. Like Buster Olney, Gammons suggests the Red Sox, Yankees and Angels are possible fits for Holliday after the season.

Offseason In Review: Toronto Blue Jays

By Tim Dierkes | March 20, 2009 at 4:54pm CDT

Next up in our Offseason In Review series, the Blue Jays. Here's what we wrote about the team on October 3rd. Changes for 2009:

Additions: Matt Clement, Mike Maroth, Ken Takahashi, Michael Barrett, Raul Chavez, Brandon Fahey, Kevin Millar, Jason Lane, Dirk Hayhurst, Adam Loewen, Rod Barajas (option exercised). Midseason: Jose Bautista

Subtractions: A.J. Burnett, Gregg Zaun, Brad Wilkerson. Midseason: Matt Stairs, David Eckstein, Shannon Stewart, Kevin Mench, Frank Thomas

It was a quiet offseason for the Blue Jays, a team that won 86 games last year and might've had the talent to win 93. Can the in-house talent push them into contention in 2009?

Let's start with the offense. The Jays ranked 11th in the AL last year with 4.41 runs per game. Better health should lead to some changes for '09; this year's offense projects to score 4.63 runs per game. That, unfortunately, still would've ranked 11th in the AL. I upgraded Snider's projection by using his PECOTA numbers and that brought us to 4.76 runs per game.

Did you know the Blue Jays led the AL last year with 610 runs allowed? If they could score 770 runs and duplicate last year's run prevention, they'd project as a 98 win team! I don't know how to statistically account for the Jays' high quality of competition, however.

How did Toronto manage to allow only 610 runs in 2008? The league's best pitching and second-best defense blended to produce this result. The defense was particularly stellar at third base and right field, and Scott Rolen and Alex Rios haven't gone anywhere. More Marco Scutaro and less Eckstein shouldn't hurt. And Hill seems healthy. So maybe the Jays can repeat on defense.

The rotation is once again fronted by Roy Halladay. But after that Burnett is gone, Jesse Litsch will regress, Dustin McGowan may not contribute, and Shaun Marcum is out for the season. Non-Halladay Blue Jays starters had a 4.00 ERA in 2008. It's hard to see David Purcey, Casey Janssen, Scott Richmond, Brad Mills, and Clement pulling that off, even if there is some promise in the group. The bullpen returns the same key players, so that should be a strength again. Had Scott Downs' elbow not started barking it might've made sense to try him in the rotation.

It would've been perfect to sign Jason Giambi to DH, as he would've been an improvement over Lind and wouldn't have upset the team's excellent defense. Instead the Blue Jays' hopes rest on excellent performances in the rotation behind Halladay. Even at a still-solid 715 runs allowed this club would win 86 games and miss the playoffs.

Bottom line: The Blue Jays could have been a sleeper with the addition of a decent starter and a bat, but they chose to stand pat this winter.

Odds & Ends: Wade, Baker, Catalanotto

By Tim Dierkes | March 20, 2009 at 12:03pm CDT

Links for Friday…

RotoAuthority advises how to manage information during your fantasy draft.
Something's not right with Corey Koskie, and the Chicago Tribune's Paul Sullivan says he'll decide about his future by Saturday.
Former Blue Jays assistant GM Bart Given has a blog, and it's pretty good from what I've read (hat tip: Drunk Jays Fans).
Sidearmer Mark Worrell, acquired by the Padres for Khalil Greene, needs Tommy John surgery according to Bill Center of the San Diego Union Tribune.
Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune says the White Sox "traded infielder Sergio Santos to San Francisco for future considerations." Santos was picked 27th overall by the D'Backs in the 2002 draft.
Chico Harlan of the Washington Post wonders whether $5MM first baseman Dmitri Young will be willing to accept an assignment to Triple A.
MLB.com's Alyson Footer says Astros GM Ed Wade never lied to her and doesn't owe her an apology about Ivan Rodriguez. Wade just changed his mind after talking to Footer.
Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune doesn't see the Cubs releasing $4MM reliever Luis Vizcaino.
Tracy Ringolsby of Inside The Rockies believes Jeff Baker is the team's most likely infielder to be dealt. ESPN's Jayson Stark mentioned Baker yesterday as a trade candidate, and the Denver Post's Troy E. Renck has wondered if he'd fit for the Yankees or Astros.
MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan says the Rangers have discussed Frank Catalanotto with other clubs but found no takers. Catalanotto has $6MM coming to him.
Rany Jazayerli discusses the Royals' signing of Sidney Ponson and release of Jimmy Gobble.

Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Bucs, Jays, Pedro, Pudge, Phils, Twins

By Cork Gaines | March 20, 2009 at 8:26am CDT

On this date 72 years ago, in what may have been the biggest trade in Negro League history, Josh Gibson and Judy Johnson were traded from the Pittsburgh Crawfords to the Homestead Grays for $25K and two players. Earlier this week, Pudge Rodriguez, one of the greatest catchers of this generation, became the latest big-name free agent to find a home. Let's take a look at what is being written in the Blogosphere…

Pirate Revolution takes a look at some players that could become available for the Pirates in the next two weeks as teams trim their rosters, including Jeff Niemann.
The 2012 payroll commitments in the AL East do not sit well with Drunk Jays Fans.
MLB Notebook attempts to calculate exactly how much teams should be willing to give Pedro Martinez.
Jorge Says No! says the Astros and Pedro are a good match and the recent signing of Pudge is an indication that the Astros are going for it this season.
The Ghost of Moonlight Graham says Pudge "fooled" the Astros into giving him $1.5MM.
The Fightins try to dispel the myth that Raul Ibanez was a poor defensive addition to the Phillies.
Twins Geek takes a look at the Twins incredible shrinking payroll.
Fire Brand of the American League says the release of Josh Bard has much bigger implications for the Red Sox than might be evident on the surface.
Sully Baseball takes a look at the Cleveland Indians all-time homegrown team versus their all-time acquired team.

Cork Gaines writes for RaysIndex.com. If you have a suggestion for this feature, Cork can be reached here.

Stark On Cameron, Ohman, Jenkins

By Tim Dierkes | March 19, 2009 at 3:44pm CDT

ESPN's Jayson Stark has a new blog post up.

The Astros plan to give Chris Johnson a chance to win the third base job, but Stark says Juan Uribe, Jose Bautista, and Jeff Baker "could still show up on their shopping list in the next two weeks."
Stark heard "rumblings the Yankees are poking around again on Mike Cameron's availability." Back in December, the Yanks and Brewers were pretty close on a deal.
Eric Milton is looking decent and appears to be the frontrunner for the Dodgers' fifth starter job (given Pedro Martinez's asking price).
Will Ohman seeks a one-year, $1.75MM deal with easily-reachable incentives for another million. He also prefers the West Coast, and Stark believes the Padres and Giants are more likely than the Dodgers. Like the Dodgers, the Phillies and Marlins have interest at a lesser price. Stark has also heard the Phils connected to Giants lefty Jack Taschner.
Shawn Camp, Geoff Geary, John Buck, and Geoff Jenkins are currently available. The Phillies would eat almost all of the $8MM owed to Jenkins.

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