Alex Anthopoulos stated his intention to move Purcey as soon as suitable returns are found (if possible), and must be getting quite a few interested callers now that this has been made public. This is all due to the fact that Purcey has been designated for assignment by the Jays but has no options remaining, meaning that if he isn’t dealt within 10 days of the assignment, he must pass through waivers before making his way to the Jays minors.

Alnthopoulos stated the following about Purcey: (more…)

Here’s a run down of what I’ve noticed to this point: (more…)

Since the signing took place, everyone seems to be fine with the dollar value of the deal, but many fans have been wondering why the Jays were unable to sign him to at least a club option to go along with the 1-year. Some are even pondering whether they should have signed him to a 2-year deal from the start, in hopes of having a closer on the cheap for the 2012 season as well as for the 2011 season. Nobody can be blamed for either question, because Alex Anthopolous has proven to be agile in adding those options and setting up the Jays very well by allowing for flexibility in contracts. However, in my opinion, there are some very good reasons for not signing Francisco to a longer term than was necessary. Here they are in no order of importance: (more…)

image courtesy of www.hardballtalk.nbcsports.com

We’ve barely had a chance to digest the Vernon Wells  trade to the Angels and one of the major returns from that deal, 1B/C/DH Mike Napoli, has been dealtas he will join his old AL West rivals in the Texas Rangers. He’ll try to make sure that they beat his old squad, one that he made no qualms about having issues with due to playing time, and will surely do well in their already potent lineup. The Jays, in return for Napoli, will get 31 year old RHP reliever Frank Francisco and an undisclosed amount of cash (reportedly less than $1 million).

I have to admit that I was surprised by this deal when I first heard of it. However, after digesting it a little, I see some of the positives that this creates for the Jays. I was still a huge fan of Napoli’s versus LHP and thought he would complement Adam Lind very well at 1B as a result. Still, his trade value was most likely the highest it will be this off season as most people seem to believe his numbers of 2010 may level off and/or go down in 2011 and beyond. He wasn’t a viable option behind the plate for the Jays who want to see what J. P. Arencibiacan do there along with Jose Molina, and Edwin Encarnacion should provide enough power in sharing time with Lind at 1B and DH. (more…)

• What does it mean when a team is “said to be still considering Manny Ramirez“, as has been reportedby Jon Heyman on Twitter? Does that mean they’ll just answer his agent’s calls, or that if his price comes down low enough they’ll willingly make an offer to him? Either way, it doesn’t sound like the Jays are “chasing” Man Ram. It’s more likely that they’re waiting to see how his market plays out before they close the book on him altogether. (more…)

On April 2nd 2010, I made some bold and “out of the norm” predictions about the upcoming season. Some people may have called them crazy, in fact some did, because I was one of a very few people who predicted that the Jays would finish off the 2010 season with a winning record. To make such a bold prediction after the Jays dealt the best pitcher in franchise history was not easy to do, but I truly saw the potential of the squad at the time. Sure, some of my assessments didn’t pan out, and I don’t have a crystal ball to look into. But, I did make a few calls that turned out just great. Here are the verdicts, with a link to the article itself available here.

1. Blue Jays Record: My overall record projection was 82-80. The actual record was 85-77. I was off by 3 games. (more…)

Here is my updated list, post Cliff Lee signing and post Zack Greinke trade:

1 – Resolve the Jose Bautista contract issue

image courtesy of blog.prorumors.com

The Jays currently have plenty of contract room to make sure that Bautista remains a Jay for 3 years at a minimum, so why not sign him to an extension? With his age, versatility, and surge in power all making him into a veritable superstar, it’s time for the Jays to lock him up for and let him prove that 2010 was no fluke. A 3-year $37 million contract seems like an amount that both fits what Bautista may feel he is worth ($8 million in 2011, $12 million in 2012, $17 million in 2013), and also fits well within the Jays budget. Alex Anthopoulos and the Jays can point to the short performance period in order to get a shorter deal done. If he wants a 4th year, make it a mutual option at the same rate as the 2013 rate.

The only other alternatives at this point would be to go to Arbitration with him, trade him, or sign him to a 1-year contract and let him walk as a Type A FA after that. The first alternative would leave the Jays at the mercy of the Arbitrator and could backfire in that the chances of getting him extended would diminish tremendously. If the jays chose to trade him, there’s very little chance that any team will provide the kind of return that the Jays feel he’s worth. And finally, letting him walk would send a horrible message to Jays fans AND more importantly to Jays players and FAs all over MLB. So, I don’t even see the last alternative as an option at this point. The first two could happen, but the Jays would have to feel that they’d be getting the better value out of those options, and I just can’t see that at this point. (more…)