Jays Do Some Spring Cleaning

We’re inching closer to opening day, so the Jays decided it was time to get some things settled in the personnel department. They made the following moves:

• Released RP Casey Fien;
• Optioned 1B Brian Dopirak and 2B Jarrett Hoffpauir to AAA Las Vegas;
• Reassigned C Kyle Phillips, LHP Zach Jackson, and RHP Lance Broadway to Minor League camp; and
• Assigned OF Darin Mastroianni to the Blue Jays.

What does this tell us? Well, it tells us that the Jays have decided to go with Randy Ruiz as their 1B/DH bench guy until Lyle Overbay is traded (or if he is traded), at which time Brian Dopirak could make an appearance. Something that goes unnoticed here, however, is that the Las Vegas team now has to deal with selecting between Brett Wallace and Brian Dopirak to play 1B. If you’re David Cooper, sitting in AA, you’re thinking that there are a ton of barriers to your reaching the big leagues so long as you’re with the Jays! Chances are Brett Wallace will continue to get playing time at 3B so that the Jays can see how well he is really progressing there, and they can always have 1 guy DH and alternate the two. I only hope that if the second option is chosen for the most part, that it doesn’t hurt Brett Wallace’s defensive play at 1B.

I thought that the gesture of bringing Darin Mastroianni in was absolutely great. Here’s a guy who stole 70 bases at 2 levels last year and who could be the perfect 4th outfielder the Jays have been looking for. He had an OBP of .398 last year and has a lot more potential than Joey Gathright. The Jays probably wanted to take a peak at him to realize what they have in the minors. He should be in AAA, in my opinion, and waiting to grab a spot when one becomes available.I really like the fact that they brought him in for a quick look though, great stuff that should motivate him in 2010.

The other moves were depth related moves. I could see Lance Broadway getting the call this season at some point, but the others may be hard pressed to see any playing time. I could be wrong. Maybe the Jays can finally bring out the best in Zach Jackson, who knows?

Other thoughts and news:

• Joe Beimel rumors seem to be going out of control. He’s the #1 pen FA out there right now. Once he signs, the Jays may get more calls about Jason Frasor and company.
• Joe Nathan is trying to find any way possible to pitch in 2010. He’s going to give it a whirl in a few days. If it goes well, his efforts will be stretched out. If not, the Jays have a new trade partner!
• In relation to the Nathan situation, there’s talk that the Twins are showcasing Ben Revere for possible trades. The thought process here is that they needed to sign Dernard Span first for two reasons, to give Joe Mauer another reason to stay and to settle their OF long term, so Ben Revere doesn’t really have a spot to promote to and is feeling heat from below with Aaron Hicks getting closer to his level. In any case, he went 0 for 4 on the day and didn’t raise his value any.