Scott Podsednik Signs with the Phillies (more…)

Simultaneously, the 51s activated OF Danny Perales off the 7-day DL, making it a swap of the two on the roster.

There could be a few reasons for this move. First, there could be a clause in his contract stating that at a certain point, if he isn’t with the big club, he can opt out and become a FA. Second, his foot injury could have returned and made it too agonizing for him to continue on this season. Finally, it could be that he simply didn’t want to be with the Jays any longer and that he saw the writing on the wall with Corey Patterson and Juan Rivera being on the big club while Travis Snider should be joining Rajai Davis and Jose Bautista in the OF. Add in Eric Thames and his hot bat, and the chances of Pods getting any playing time in Toronto were pretty much slim to nil. (more…)

image courtesy fo Daylife.com

There is yet another Cuban whose free agency lies on the horizon in Leonys Martin (sometimes spelled Leon’ys Martin). He’s a 22 year old who won a silver medal with the Cuban baseball team in the 2009 WBC. With the Jays being so aggressive on the international market, we’re forced to take a look at how this new talented player could fit into the Jays plans. So, having done some digging, here is the majority of what you need to know about Leonys Martin:

Leonys Martin Tapanes

Born: March 6th 1988, in Corralillo, Villa Clara Cuba

Height/Weight: 6’1″ 180 lbs      Bats: Left   Throws: Right

Quick Facts:

• Played for Cuba in the 2006 World Junior Championship.
• Played for Cuba as a 4th outfielder in the 2009 World Baseball Classic and went 2 for 7 with 3 runs scored. Listed as an important member of the Villa Clara squad in this article precluding the 2008-2009 season. Well, his performance wound up getting Villa Clara to the Championship finals where they eventually lost to La Habana. Martin was noted to be a catalyst in getting Villa Clara past the best team that season, Ciego de Avila, in this game recap. He made the all-star team that season as a utility player. (more…)

• J. P. Arencibia apparently added 9 lbs of muscle this off season (power anyone?) and has been the beacon of the team in terms of earning respect through the highest of work ethics. He’s one of the first ones to show up, and one of the last to leave each and every day. To say that he’s taking nothing for granted would be accurate as can be at this point, and he’s showing exactly the kind of focus that a lot of scouts said he was missing at some points in his minors career. If results can present themselves on the field and at the plate, we should expect a great year from our catching duo in 2011. Gregor Chisholm provides us with some very nice insight into why we should all believe in Arencibia’s abilities and in how hard he’s working so far in spring training. Great read. (more…)

image courtesy of cardboardconnection.com

I’ve considered a few pre-season Jays targets that may make more sense than others based on current circumstances. The current circumstances include the Jays reportedly looking to deal Juan Rivera if possible, some players being out of options and new players possibly taking their spots on the roster (Scott Podsednik), the returning health of others (Dustin McGowan), and the depth of the pen and starting pitching overall.

With these things in mind, I have decided to run a short series of articles that will be “Assessing Potential Jays Trade Targets”. These are not probable deals, simply options that I thought should be examined because they have some legitimacy and sense to them. The first player I see as a potential target and the reasoning is as follows:

Yonder Alonso - 1B CIN (more…)

Image courtesy of MLB.com

Podsednik is expected to report to Dunedin on Friday, and he’ll be in line for a $1 million salary if he makes the Major League roster, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (via Twitter).

I remember thinking when the Justin Upton rumors were swirling back in November that Podsednik would have been a good low-cost pickup for the Jays, considering he declined to exercise a $2 million mutual option with the Los Angeles Dodgers on November 4th in order to test the free-agent market. When the Jays uneventfully signed Corey Patterson to a minor league contract right before Christmas though, I figured that ship had sailed.

It’s interesting how since then, even though Podsednik’s last two seasons were respectable and above his career numbers, GM Alex Anthopoulos was able to sign him to just a minor league contract.

Here’s why the Podsednik signing is good for the Blue Jays:

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• As I expected, the Jays are apparently looking to add another outfielder to the mix despite Jose Bautista‘s wishes to remain in RF. Another OF addition would pretty well solidify the fact that Jose will play at 3B in 2011. The rumor comes after Ken Rosenthal indicated that his sources say Johnny Damon and Scott Podsednik are of interest to the Jays. Jays fans are very familiar with what Damon can do as he has been a big part of the (more…)