• I watched a pre-geam interview with Alex Anthopolous last night and got the sense that he has made his prices known and is simply waiting for others to get back to him. Interestingly, Jose Bautista’s agent has stated publicly that Jose loves Toronto and would love to work out a long term deal to remain here. The question is, at what cost Jose, and for how many years? It’s obvious that Alex Anthopolous’s mind is elsewhere right now since the agent also added that no talks have occured to extend Jose’s contract, but I doubt it will happen any more quickly now that his value is as high as it can get. Any GM would be smarter to wait until part of 2011 is in the books in order to see if Jose’s performance regresses at all, which would make signing him to an extension cheaper and possible over fewer years.
• With rumors of the Jays targeting the DBacks Kelly Johnson, Aaron Hill has admitted that although it’s not his top choice, he would be willing to make the move to 3B if necessary. Whoaa Aaron, what about Adeiny Hechevarria? Where would he slot in? I’m all for obtaining a great 2B, but chances are that if the Jays are looking at getting Kelly Johnson, you’re likely to be on the move Aaron, not moving to 3B. Just saying. I do agree that if Adeiny Hechavarria looks better at 2B, then moving Aaron to 3B makes some sense and the power does match the position, so it’s an intriguing proposition. I still doubt the Jays would land Kelly Johnson since it would be a “buy high” proposition that doesn’t seem to fit the AA profile.
• The Phillies have voiced some interest in Jose Bautista, presumably in order to fit in at 3B. With all of the pitching acquisitions they’ve made in the last year, I guess they’re finally looking to polish off their chances with the addition of a bat. The problem is that once the Roy Oswalt deal is announced (if he accepts) and J.A. Happ and prospects (I presume) go to Houston, there won’t be much left for the Jays to pick through in the Phillies system. The biggest trade chip is 6′7″ 20 year old Canadian Phillipe Aumont, who definitely fits the “buy low” profile AA looks for. He has a 6.14 ERA on the year and has been demoted to HiA due to struggles at the AA level. Remember that Roy Halladay once had to go back down to the lowest depths of the minors in order to find himself, so people shouldn’t be too low on Phillipe at his age. Other interesting Phillies prospects include 20 yr old SP Heitor Correa (HiA), 22 yr old RP Justin De Fratus (AA), 18 yr old 1B Jonathan Singleton (LoA), 20 yr old CF Jiwan James (LoA), 19 yr old SS Jonathan Villar (LoA), 19 yr old RHP Brody Colvin (LoA), 20 yr old RHP Jarred Cossart (LoA), 20 yr old RHP Trevor May (LoA), 19 yr old OF Aaron Altherr (SS), 21 yr old Canadian OF Tyson Gillies (AA), and 23 yr old RHP Michael Stutes (AAA). These are just some of the names I could come up with. There are others, but these seem to be the most prominent and sought after names. Of the names listed above, I could see the Jays asking for Aumont, along with Villar, Altherr, and either May or Cossart in return for Bautista. However, this may not be enough on either side and some of these names could already be included in the Oswalt deal, so we’ll see what comes of that first.
• Apparently, the Tigers, White Sox, Braves, and Giants have also been “in” on Jose Bautista this month. Well, I think we can count the Tigers out now that they have acquired Johnny Perralta. As most of you know, I see the White Sox as the likeliest destination for Jose (who would go there along with Jesse Litsch in return of Dan Hudson, Dayan Viciedo, and 3 other prospects – giving the Jays 3 Cubans in the infield once Adeiny Hechavarria comes up). However, the Giants and Braves both have to goods to make excellent offers for Jose, so I’m not counting them out at all. Look for AA to keep asking for pitching in return. I’d be curious to see whether AA could include enough pitching to nab Madison Bumgarner from the Giants…..a guy can dream, can’t he?
• I don’t believe this for 1 minute, but apparently the Jays “demanded” Joba Chamberlain in return for Scott Downs. Sure, it fits the buy low strategy, but I doubt that it’s all the deal included. A 1 for 1 deal of this type didn’t seem to be the right fit for either team. The Yankees are looking to add to the pen, not to trade off or upgrade.
• There have also been rumblings of the Red Sox popiing in and out in talks for Scott Downs. Apparently, the Jays are very open to this idea as they have been scouting 20 yr old Roman Mendez, a Dominican RHP who plays for their Short Season NYPL affiliate. Walks have been his biggest issue in his short minors career and I hope there’s lots more included if Downs does go to Boston, because this guy’s a huge wildcard. Apparently, all rumor here, AA is also asking for Jose Iglesias or Casey Kelly from the Sox. Wow!
• The Jays are also said to be asking for a top prospect in return for Scott Downs from both the Twins and the Mets who have chimed in with interest for the best RP on the market.
• No word yet on the asking prices for Kevin Gregg, Lyle Overbay, John Buck, or Jason Frasor.

There’s no way to tell why people keep placing Adam Dunn ahead of Jose on the trade market. As I showed in my Adam Dunn vs Jose Bautista post yesterday, Jose Bautista’s value is higher than Adam’s and should give the Jays substantial returns that they cannot overlook regardless of the fact that they do love Jose and his makeup. The truth is that the chances he’ll continue this pace and performance in 2011 are just too risky to bet on when you’re trying to build a team that will win many championships in the next 2-10 years.

So in this market, with astronomical prices being set for both Prince Fielder and Adam Dunn, what will Alex Anthopolous extract from other GMs in return for the MLB HR leader who has 30 HRs to his credit before August? My guess – a ton! I’m not going to say that it’s Doc Halladay huge, but two top 100 prospects is not out of the question and would be better than anything the DBacks got in return for Dan Haren.

The guys on XM MLB Radio have been mentioning a key fact that affects Jose Bautista and other hitters. If a team can’t land a top pitcher, or at least a really effective one, during a playoff push, they’re much better off getting themselves a better bat that can help drive in more runs instead. So, when it becomes evident that arms such as Roy Oswalt are just unattainable, I expect more teams to come knocking on the Jays door looking for a bat like Jose’s to add to their chances this year.

Just over 4 days left, and I can’t wait for Alex Anthopolous to show us what presents he gets this Christmas in July!

Here’s a short list of the 10 highest picks that have yet to sign with the Jays followed the draft, or what you could call our 10 most wanted list:

1 – RHP William McGuire, 6′6″ 220 lbs, 1st rd pick, 11th overall

2 – LHP Griffin Murphy, 6′3″ 200 lbs, 2nd rd pick, 61th overall

3 – LHP Justin Nicolino, 6′3″ 160 lbs, 2nd rd pick, 80th overall

4 – RHP Samuel Dyson, 6′1″ 175 lbs, 4th rd pick, 126th overall

5 – SS Richard Thon, 6′1″ 185 lbs, 5th rd pick, 156th overall

6 – LHP Mitchell Taylor, 6′0″ 155 lbs, 7th rd pick, 216th overall

7 – LHP Logan Ehlers, 6′1″ 190 lbs, 8th rd pick, 246th overall

8 – 2B Brandon Mims, 5′11″ 180 lbs, 9th rd pick, 276th overall

9 – RHP Tyler Shreve, 6′4″ 215 lbs, 10th rd pick, 306th overall

10 – SS Shane Opitz, 6′1″ 180 lbs, 11th rd pick, 336th overall (reports do say an agreement has been reached, not official)

What’s impressive with this list is who is not on it. What do I mean? Well, the Jays top 10 most wanted list above includes 10 players drafted in the top 11 rounds of the draft, so it’s pretty much as if they had yet to sign a single player in the top 10 rounds. But, this is not the case. They have, in fact, signed 7 players in the top 10 thus far, making the list above just as meaningful in that if the Jays were to be successful in getting them all signed, they would sign 18 players from the top 11 rounds of the 2010 draft, an impressive feat.

The Jays do have a lot of LHP youngsters to sign in the list above, and none more important than Griffin Murphy because of his ceiling. It’ll be interesting to see how the list progresses from now to the deadline, but I do expect a rash of signings to take place after the trade deadline passes.