Jays Acquire LHP Dana Eveland from Oakland

Did anyone announce a pitching famine that the remainder of us are unaware of? If there is one, Alex Anthopoulos must have heard it first, because he’s adding arms like there’s no tomorrow. The newest addition to the arsenal is LHP Dana Eveland, 26, who last played for the Oakland Athletics and Arizona Diamondbacks. He stands in at 6’1″ 220 lbs and will only be 27 in October. Here are his stats over the last 2 seasons:

• 2008: 29 GS, 168 IP, 118 Ks, 77 BB, 1 complete game, 4.34 ERA, 1.482 whip
• 2009 in MLB: 9 GS, 44 IP, 22 Ks, 26 BB, 70 hits allowed, a whopping 7.16 ERA and 2.182 whip
• 2009 in AAA: 21 GS, 124 IP, 92 Ks, 51 BB, 133 hits allowed, 4.94 ERA, 1.484 whip

Maybe the Jays know something we don’t know and believe there’s some value to be developed in Eveland, but I haven’t been able to find anything or anyone that can point to his turn around. If anything, he may be hiding an injury due to his progressively worsening play in 2009. We’ll see what the cost ends up being later on and whether he improves in AAA, where I’m guessing he will begin 2010 if he remains with the Jays that long!