There’s no doubt that Alex Anthopoulos is actively looking for help for the pitching staff. But, when his moves include adding veterans like Jamie Moyer, Chris Jakubauskas, and the ever fragile Shawn Hill, you know that he is simply not finding what he’s looking for on any front, whether it’s the trade front or the promotion candidates. The former are likely too pricey or not under control for a long enough period to be worthwhile, and the latter don’t seem ready for the challenge.

I’ll attempt to sift through the multitude of options the Jays are facing when it comes to adding depth and talent to a rotation that has faced a lot of adversity of late. Of course, this list will only apply if the Jays deem themselves to be buyers. The list of 5 I’ve come up with will be in no certain order. Some of these will be long shots, while others will be viable. You be the judge!

(all salary info below obtained from Cot’s Baseball Contracts)

1. Jason Vargas, LHP-SEA, 29 years old (more…)

Cupid’s arrow may have missed the mark thus far in getting a deal done between the Jays and Jose Bautista, whether short term or long term, but there’s no telling who the arrow will land closest to during today’s arbitration hearing. Ken Fidlin of the Toronto Sun seems to believe that not signing Jose Bautista to a long term deal is a major mistake by the Jays, while I’m sort of in the middle of things. I don’t mind a 2-3 year investment, but I also don’t believe Bautista would settle for that. Fidlin makes a good case for signing him, but I also think that he forgot the potential benefits of Bautista as a trade piece mid-season if he continues to mash.

The argument for signing Jose Bautista to a 1-year deal and trading him mid-season: (more…)