Also, now that we will have covered the latest and greats of the minors transactions over the last 9 months, we will also be updating all Jays minors transactions in our new “Jays Minors Transactions” page, so check back there from time to time if you’re curious about what’s happening in the Jays affiliates and depth chart.

End of July 2010

RHP Bubbie Buzachero – Traded – 5’10″ 180 lbs, 29 years old (more…)

Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos, however, had other ideas.

On a day where, with their 10th overall selection in the draft, former Blue Jays GM J.P. Ricciardi and the New York Mets plucked infielder Brad Emaus away from the Jays, Anthopoulos decided against selecting a player in the Major League round of the draft entirely.

In Gregor Chisholm’s article regarding the Rule 5 Draft on the Blue Jays team site yesterday, he mentioned Anthopoulos’ explanation: (more…)

It’s obvious that the Red Sox have done the most to improve their team for 2011, and it’s also obvious that the Rays will have a lot of question marks surrounding their lost impact players. The Orioles and Jays have made minor moves in comparison, but moves that could impact their respective clubs long term. However, the biggest surprise thus far has been the lack of any moves from the NY Yankees. I’ve never been a Brian Cashman fan – any GM who gives A. J. Burnett that kind of money and dumps Johnny Damon for Nick Johnson when the former was such a perfect part of the team and deals too much talent and youth for an aging Curtis Granderson is just all out wrong – and expect him to keep faltering this off season.

Here are the details of each club’s moves or non moves either just before or during the winter meetings: (more…)

From a position player standpoint, the results have not been pretty as of late. Since I last covered position players in the winter leagues on November 13th, virtually every Jays prospect has either regressed or continued their inability to produce.

I’ll start with the two players who, despite some decline in their statistics, have still been successful during their winter league stints: (more…)

Here’s a look at some of the most notable position players available in this year’s edition of the Rule 5 Draft, with their 2010 MLB parent club in parentheses:

IF/OF Corey Wimberly (Athletics):

Initially taken in the 6th round of the 2005 draft by the Rockies, Wimberly spent the entire 2010 season playing for the AAA Sacramento River Cats in the Pacific Coast League. Wimberly had an impressive season, compiling a .284/.373/.354 line to go along with 3 HR, 57 RBI, and a whopping 56 stolen bases. He also showed patience at the plate, only striking out 64 times in 135 games. (more…)

For anyone that is unsure about the details of the Rule 5 Draft, it is a draft of players who have been left off of their club’s 40-man roster, and the team with the worst regular season record picks first, concluding with the team that had the best regular season record. Each player is only eligible once a certain exemption period has elapsed. Only teams who have available spots on their 40-man roster can take part in the Rule 5 Draft, because any player selected is moved to that team’s 40-man roster immediately. Each player costs $50,000 and must remain on their new club’s Major League roster for the entire season, otherwise they will be sent back to their original club at half price. For a full in depth explanation on the Rule 5 Draft, you can always head here.

There have been notable players taken in the Rule 5 Draft that have had success at the Major League level including Joakim Soria, Dan Uggla, Johan Santana, Josh Hamilton, and Jose Bautista. The Toronto Blue Jays have a rich history with the Rule 5 Draft as well. Notable players that have been claimed by the Jays in the Rule 5 Draft include Willie Upshaw (1977), 1987 AL MVP George Bell (1980), World Series Champions Kelly Gruber (1983) and Manny Lee (1984), and Dewayne Wise (1999). (more…)

Here’s a look at what some of the other notable Jays picks are up to in the Winter Leagues:

CF Darin Mastroianni:

Mastroianni has made a statement in the Venezuelan Winter League so far that’s for sure. He has played the most out of any Jays prospect in winter ball thus far, and through 24 games his numbers are as follows:

.427 AVG, 4 doubles, 2 triples, 1 HR, 14 RBI, .500 OBP, .551 SLG

Not only are those numbers impressive, Mastroianni has drawn 17 walks and been 9-for-12 in stolen base attempts. He’s definitely making a case for a promotion from Double-A New Hampshire, or even a possible look with the Jays in 2011. (more…)

No matter what, Aaron Hill will only cost the Jays $5 million in 2011 and therefore will remain a Jay for that entire season.

Just to break down the following years, here are the 2 choices the Jays have in this case – the key being that the Jays MUST decide on whether to use their all-inclusive option (years 2012 through 2014) before the 2011 season begins:

Option 1 – The “all-inclusive” option. The Jays can use their option to retain Aaron for $8 million in 2012, $8 million in 2013, and $10 million in 2014. This would make Aaron a FA after the 2014 season.

Option 2 – Decline the option. The Jays would still have the options to keep Aaron Hill around in 2012 and 2013 at the $8 million dollar rate, but he becomes eligible for FA after the 2013 season. (more…)

First Base

To me, this is the biggest hole in the entire lineup. Not only have the Jays lacked power from the 1B position since Carlos Delgado left the franchise, but they’ve also lacked any sort of run driving production, something you can’t afford to have at such a key offensive position. Thankfully, the Jays and Alex Anthopolous have 3 major routes to go through to fix this ailment with a ton of options in each category – internally, through trade, or through Free Agency (FA).

Internal Options

The internal options are the most interesting ones if the Jays are looking to keep costs to a minimum.

1 – Adam Lind is the most talked about option at 1B heading into 2011. He had a miserable 1st half of the season, hitting a lowly .214 with a .271 OBP, but did pick it up a little in the 2nd half after making some adjustments at the plate, hitting a more respectable .267 with a .309 OBP. In either case, that kind of production is unsatisfactory for a 1B. Will it be different in 2011? Who knows, but whatever the case the Jays can’t afford to have that kind of production at 1B or DH if they want to make the playoffs in 2011 or beyond. The fact that Adam Lind recently signed a contract to remain with the club through 2016 at an affordable rate (if all options are used, 2014 if not) makes it likely that he’ll remain with the club.

However, it wouldn’t surprise me one bit if he were traded should he begin the year off slowly once again. I foresee the possibility of Adam becoming trade bait at some point this off season or in 2011, as he could easily be afforded by most teams in MLB and does have the power and hitting ability some may seek in a package for a player that they can’t afford to keep (Adrian Gonzalez and Prince Fielder come to mind, but we’ll get back to that later). The Jays could very well play the waiting game in this case, hope Adam returns to form or heightens his trade value, and then pull the trigger or simply keep him at DH or 1B. There are a lot of questions surrounding Adam Lind from this point forward, all due to his lackluster 2010 season, but he did at least show us that he can handle 1B if need be.

2 – Re-signing Lyle Overbay is the most obvious of the bunch, and would maintain a familiarity within the group of players the Jays have on board as well as some stellar D, but it doesn’t fix the offensive woes the Jays have experienced from the position. This would be relatively expensive when compared to internal options from the minors, but it may also allow these other options to get the seasoning they need to be prepared for the jump. (more…)

You may wonder why I point him out of the crowd. Well, here’s how I break it down.

Jose Bautista had a career year, no question, but is already hitting his 30s and undergoing surgery, which means that his production may go down some. His underproduction from 2010 levels should be covered by what I hope is a resurgence of Aaron Hill and Adam Lind. Their 2010 performances did not do their talents justice and I fully expect them to hit at a much higher level in 2011. Aaron will be playing for a contract since his 2012-14 contracts are club options, while Adam has no contract issues to worry about. All 3 players will undoubtedly amount to a good level of production that should match or even surpass their collaborative output from 2010, which bodes well for the core of the lineup.

I think that we can all agree that Vernon Wells proved that his wrist issues really were the issue in 2009. His 2010 numbers bounced back to expectations, and there is no reason to believe that his production should falter in 2011. The Jays seem to be settled behind the plate, with Alex Anthopolous putting all of his support behind J.P. Arencibia and it being very likely that the Jays will pick up Jose Molina‘s $1 million club option. What better teacher for J.P. behind the plate than the crafty defensive specialist?

That leaves Yunel Escobar, Edwin Encarnacion and Fred Lewis as the only regulars not named Snider to be covered here. Yunel will undoubtedly have his ups and downs in 2011, but overall I expect he will do his job and get on base often with a .280 or above average and 15+ HRs. Edwin may not be back and will most likely be replaced by either a FA, such as Adrian Beltre, or through trade. The Jays do have internal options at 3B in Brad Emaus and Shawn Bowman who both played in AAA and AA respectively last season, but I think we can all agree neither will be the starting 3B in 2011. As for Fred Lewis, unless he’ll accept a lesser role – which is doubtful – he will most likely be non-tendered and become a FA. With Darin Mastroianni, Anthony Gose, and Eric Thames making noise in the minors as outfielders, the Jays do not need to spend much money on someone like Lewis to be successful.

That leaves us with one big question mark in the lineup, or namely, will 2011 be Travis Snider’s big coming out year?

My answer is a big fat yes, and here’s why. (more…)