It’s a strange time to be bringing up trade chatter, but there are some moves that will soon have to be made by Alex Anthopoulos, and other GMs, that could shake up the depth of teams across MLB. The A’s recently acquired Scott Sizemore from the Detroit Tigers in return for ex-Jays reliever David Purcey, which got me considering what Oakland’s next move may be. Why? Well, if you look at their depth, they have Mark Ellis playing 2B, Kevin Kouzmanoff playing 3B, and both Adam Rosales and Scott Sizemore soon to join or replace them (one from the D.L., and one who is the heir apparent at 3B). Add Cliff Pennington who has taken hold as the SS the A’s needed, and Grant Green who isn’t far away in AA, and you’ve got a fairly clogged infield for the A’s overall. Aside from 1B, that is. (more…)

Cupid’s arrow may have missed the mark thus far in getting a deal done between the Jays and Jose Bautista, whether short term or long term, but there’s no telling who the arrow will land closest to during today’s arbitration hearing. Ken Fidlin of the Toronto Sun seems to believe that not signing Jose Bautista to a long term deal is a major mistake by the Jays, while I’m sort of in the middle of things. I don’t mind a 2-3 year investment, but I also don’t believe Bautista would settle for that. Fidlin makes a good case for signing him, but I also think that he forgot the potential benefits of Bautista as a trade piece mid-season if he continues to mash.

The argument for signing Jose Bautista to a 1-year deal and trading him mid-season: (more…)