Jays Avoid Arbitration with 5, Add 2 More

Alex Anthopolous got through his first Arbitration period without the need to use the process, another check in the box for the new GM. Here is the comparison between 09-10 for the players who were arbitration eligible.

1. Brian Tallet, 2009 $1,015,000 – 2010 $2,000 ,000 (+985,000)
2. Casey Janssen, 2009 $413,900 – 2010 $700,000 (+286,100)
3. Jason Frasor, 2009 $1,450,000 – 2010 $2,650,000 (+1,200,000)
4. Jeremy Accardo, 2009 $900,000 – 2010 $1,080,000 (+180,000)
5. Shawn Camp, 2009 $750,000 – 2010 $1,150,000 (+400,000

It seems fitting that both Jason Frasor and Brian Tallet got the biggest raises after performing very well in 2009. The fact that Jeremy Accardo agreed to a deal after voicing his displeasure with the Jays after 2009 tells me that Anthopolous really got the message across to Jeremy that he will be given a full chance to perform in 2010. Camp and Janssen both got minor raises which are pretty inconsequential.

Now that the Jays and other teams know how much Jason Frasor and Brian Tallet will cost them, will them become trade bait along with Scott Downs who has a $4,000,000 salary in 2010? All 3 will be FAs after 2010 and could bring in some decent talent.  With Dick Hayhurst, Josh Roenicke, and Jeremy Accardo all waiting to get their chance full time in the pen. Add the fact that Zechry Zinicola presumably becoming a full time member after the rule 5 draft and the pen is getting pretty crowded. It may wait until spring training is under way, but I fully expect that AA will trade 1 or 2 more relievers.

The Jays also signed 2 players, RHP Steven Register and OF Jeremy Reed, to minor league contracts and invited them to spring training. Register adds yet another decent reliever to the ton of competition present in the Jays pen. He’s 26 years old, split time between Philadelphia and Colorado last season and has saved 66 games in the minors between 2007 and 2009. Jeremy Reed last played for the Mets in 2008, is 29 years old, and can play all OF positions. He joins Joey Gathright and Jose Bautista in competing for an OF backup job. MLBastien mentions that they are competing with Travis Snider as well, as had been confirmed by AA. Uhhummm, let me clear my throat. Mark my words, if Jeremy Reed or Joey Gathright make the club and Travis Snider is sent down to AAA I will begin a Facebook page dedicated to ending Cito‘s tenure in Toronto immediately. You can’t make a claim that you’re going towards youth and then place Reed on the club who has a total of 11 HRs in 1222 big league ABs and a .255 average over 6 seasons. I’m all for creating competition, but let’s not lose our minds, eh guys? And how is it that Reed and Gathright, both of whom proved they have little to offer MLB teams, get looks in spring training while Darin Mastroianni – who offers more speed and more upside, doesn’t get one? Invite him to spring training at a minimum so that you can see the difference between the three, that’s all I’m saying.

It scares me that he said this because it tells me that “competition” in the Jays may limit young player’s chances of playing with the club full time and that Travis Snider may still be batting 9th, of all places. I for one do not agree with this backwards theory of batting young players at the bottom of the lineup for many reasons. First, it makes the player get fewer ABs which hurts their development and makes it hard for them to keep their heads in the game. It’s hard to watch 8 others get ABs while you’re sitting on the bench and are full of piss and vinegar at 21 years old. A lot of the time, he doesn’t get an AB until the 3rd inning with nobody on base because the 7-8 guys are John Buck and Alex Gonzalez….yeah, nice “learning” opportunity. Cito should bat Snider 6th or 7th in the lineup in order to give him the most opportunity to perform as possible. If they don’t put him there and allow him to become a clutch hitter and to drive runs in, he’ll continue to under-develop, get bored, and will get sent back down to AAA. The Jays can’t allow themselves to waste a talent like Snider by hitting him 9th, they just can’t. Besides, judging by the way they bring up youngsters, isn’t that the likely starting spot for Brett Wallace? lol.