image courtesy of blog.prorumors.com

As most of us could have guessed from the moment he was acquired by the Blue Jays in the Vernon Wells deal, Juan Rivera does not fit into the long-term plans of the club and the Jays are apparently, according to Ken Rosenthal, trying to deal him elsewhere as a result. With $5.25 million remaining on his contract for the 2011 season, and being a free agent thereafter, it is possible that the Jays may have to take on some of his contract in order to move him. Rosenthal names Scott Podsednik as a better alternative as a 4th outfielder or platoon player to go along with Rajai Davis, something that I, and others, pointed out about a month ago.

The interesting part of this rumor is that Alex Anthopoulos has always played his cards close to his chest and we usually don’t know about pending Jays moves until they are finalized. If the Jays are in fact actively shopping Rivera, and he allows the information to get out, it has to be a deliberate act. So, if Rosenthal is right, what is Anthopoulos trying to accomplish by putting his name out there? (more…)