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Image courtesy of the Toronto Star

#2: Brett R. Lawrie

Third Baseman / 21 years old / 6′0″ 213 lbs

Born: January 18, 1990 in Langley, British Columbia, Canada

Bats: Right    Throws: Right

High School: Brookswood Secondary School

College: Signed a letter of intent with Arizona State University

Drafted By: The Milwaukee Brewers in the 1st round (16th overall) of the 2008 amateur entry draft

Jersey Number: #13 for the Huntsville Stars

Quick Facts:

• Sister Danielle is a standout softball pitcher for the University of Washington Huskies
• Played on the same BC club team as Tyson Gillies, one prospect sent to the Phillies in the Cliff Lee-to-Seattle trade
• In addition to playing baseball, he enjoys playing basketball and golf (more…)

Image courtesy of The Score

Below are some of Lawrie’s word-for-word responses to a few of the questions he was asked, for those of you that haven’t had a chance to listen to the interview.

When asked about what went through his mind when he first heard he was traded to the Blue Jays:

“My first initial thought was, how cool is that? I get to come back to Canada and represent my country again. It’s been a while since I’ve gotten an opportunity to do that. To be able to do that, hopefully in the Rogers Centre coming up here is going to be pretty cool ” (more…)

The Blue Jays seem to be hoping Lawrie will learn third base and become a Major League third baseman given the hole they currently have there.

The only apparent knock on Lawrie is that his arm range isn’t the best at second base and, in that department, third base would definitely be more difficult.

Lawrie as a second baseman could work for the Jays considering current second baseman Aaron Hill is only under contract for next season. (more…)

• In his trademark style, Drew Stoeten at Drunk Jays Fans addresses the parts of the Jays’ fan base that are annoyed that Rogers isn’t spending big money on players as a result of the colossal Red Sox moves this week.
• Speaking of the Red Sox, Dustin Parkes over at Getting Blanked offers a look into their 2011 team along with quotes from Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos. (more…)

Courtesy of Huntsville Newswire

The players that were involved, however, are what makes this trade perhaps Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos’ boldest move to date.

Shaun Marcum is a great competitor, and was a favorite among teammates and fans. Having met Shaun personally on multiple occasions, I can acknowledge his great personality and fierce competitiveness, and he will surely be missed by the Jays.

That being said, acquiring highly-touted minor leaguer Brett Lawrie at the expense of proven major leaguer Shaun Marcum is precisely the kind of move Anthopoulos was talking about in an interview with Shi Davidi of the Canadian Press about one month ago when he said:

“If we’re going to do what everyone else is going to do in this division, we have no chance of getting better,”

“If it’s the easy decision and everything lines up, the I’s are dotted and T’s are crossed, well everyone is going to look to do it and you’re probably not going to be able to do what you want to do.”

“We’re going to have take chances at times and make moves that may open us for criticism, but we also have to look at the upside of the moves. They may backfire and may not work, but if they hit, we’re going to do really well.”

“And that’s how we’re going to get better.” (more…)

Do your best to ignore the less than stellar reporting in the interview segments, and just watch the clips solely for being curious about Brett Lawrie.

This first clip is an American-based interview, with the interesting points being how Lawrie wants to work as hard as he needs to to get to the big leagues faster and where one of his managers talks about his abilities as a quick learner: (more…)

Courtesy of Bleacher Report

According to the team’s official site, the Blue Jays have acquired right-handed reliever Carlos Villanueva from the Milwaukee Brewers for a player to be named later.

As someone who follows the Brewers in the National League, I have mixed thoughts about this move, after seeing Villanueva struggle many times for the Crew last season. Villanueva had fallen out of favour in Milwaukee, and was surprisingly demoted to Triple-A midway through the season before being recalled when the rosters expanded in September. That being said, although unannounced, it’s very hard to complain about what the Jays had to give up to get him, as usually players to be named later are usually nothing spectacular. Time will tell. (more…)