As Mat pointed out in his article on here after the Jays claimed Ledezma off waivers from the Pirates, the Jays are familiar with him, as they signed him to a Minor League contract in 2009.

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AAA Las Vegas – Lost 7-3

• Lance Broadway‘s line: 5.1 IP, 6 hits, 5 walks, 4 ER, 4 strike outs, and now has a 3.48 ERA on the season.
• Zach Jackson didn’t give up a run in relief, but he did give up 3 walks and 2 hits over his 2 IP.
• 3B Christian Colonel went 3 for 4 with a double and now has a .381 average on the year.
• LF Chris Lubanski is the other other player to have a big impact offensively, as eh hit his 2nd HR of the year.

AA New Hampshire – Lost 7-6

• Zach Stewart is having a hard time in AA. He only lasted 4.1 IP, gave up 9 hits, 7 ER, 4 walks and got 4 Ks. His season’s ERA now stands at 7.71 – not what the Jays had in mind when they sent him to AA to build up his repertoire and confidence.
• Trystan Magnuson was strong in relief, going 1.2 IP with 4 Ks and 1 hit and no walks allowed.
• Zach Dials and Daniel Farquhar followed that up with 3 shut out innings only allowing 1 walk.
• 3B Brad Emaus (.375) was the catalyst offensively speaking, going 3 for 3 with a SB.
• CF Darin Mastroianni and LF Eric Thames both got 2 hits, one of which was a double for Darin.

HiA Dunedin – Lost 3-2

• Charles Huggins was outstanding in his start, lasting 7 innings, getting 2 hits, and striking out 4. He allowed no ER but still ended up with a no-decision. He now has a 2.13 ERA on the year and should be looking at a promotion at some point in 2010.
• Matt Daly blew the save, allowing 2 ER over 3 hits in the 9th inning.
• Brian Van Kirk (3 for 4) and Welinton Ramirez (1 for 4) both hit a double to lead NH offensively.

LoA Lansing – Lost 6-4

• Dave Sever had a mediocre day, lasting 5 innings, allowing 6 hits, 4 ER, 2 walks and getting 2 Ks.
• Nestor Molina took the loss after allowing 2 runs, 1 earned, over his inning of work.
• Aaron Loup was outstanding again in relief, allowing only 1 walk over his 2 shut out innings. He now hasn’t allowed a run in 6.2 innings and has 9 Ks over this period. He’ll be headed to HiA at some point in the very near future after these performances.
• Ryan Goins was 3 for 4 while Bradley Glenn hit his 2nd HR in 3 days in the losing cause.

1. Jan 7th 2010 – They claimed SS Brian Bocock off waivers from the Giants, but subsequently lost him in waivers to the Phillies the 26th of Jan, so this is inconsequential;
2. Jan 7th 2010 – Signed OF Jorge Padilla to a minor league contract, he will compete for a bench spot or AAA spot;
3. Jan 9th 2010 – Acquired LHP Zach Jackson from the Indians for a PTBNL. He’ll compete for a AAA spot and could eventually make an impact in 2010.
4. Jan 13th 2010 – Signed LHP Willie Collazo and SS Jesus Merchan to minor league contracts and invited both to ST.
5. Jan 19th 2010 – Signed OF Jeremy Reed and RHP Steven Register to minor league deals.
6. Jan 20th 2010 – Acquired RP Merkin Valdez from the Giants in return for cash considerations.
7. Jan 22nd 2010 – Signed SP Shawn Hill to a minor league contract.
8. Feb 5th 2010 – Signed RP Kevin Gregg to a 1 year 2.75 million contract with 2 options.
9. Feb 6th 2010 – Acquired SP Dana Eveland from OAK in return for Cash Considerations or a PTBNL.

So to review, Alex added 1 short stop, 2 outfielders, 4 relievers, and 2 starters to the Jays depth chart, and all it cost him was 1 PTBNL and the possible addition of another and cash considerations – as well as the money paid to sign each player. The money paid to players is minimal in all cases except in Kevin Gregg‘s case. Speaking of Gregg, that’s another things he did – he took one of the better relievers remaining on the market off, forcing other teams to consider asking about Jason Frasor and Scott Downs in trade talks.

All-in-all that’s a very good first month of 2010 which could end up helping the Jays out in 2010 and beyond. I’m not a huge fan of any player listed above, perhaps more of a Valdez fan than any of the others because of his potential, but I do appreciate the need for depth in baseball. Injuries can leave a lasting impression on a team, as JP Ricciardi will be more than willing to tell you all about I’m sure. Had he looked after the depth the Jays had during his first years as Jasy GM, maybe their luck would have been just that much better and they could have made the playoffs one year during his tenure. Instead, JP consistently short-changed the bench, in my opinion, and missed many opportunities to improve the bench to an adequate level.

That’s why I can appreciate what Alex is doing here more than I would otherwise have done if I just glanced at that list of players. He’s sitting in his office mining for something, and if out of those guys he finds 2-3 nuggets that helps the Jays out in 2010 and beyond, it was a very productive month. If not, well, at least he tried and did the best he could as the Jays GM. Hopefully he gets the chance to complete the RP transactions I’m guessing he’s looking to make, but chances are he’s letting the market settle itself out first. Will Ohman just signed with the Orioles, so the Cubs and others looking for RP could be calling Alex very soon! I know there will likely be fewer transactions made in the couple of upcoming months, but I certainly hope February and March are just as productive as January and the beginning of February were nonetheless!

1. Lance Broadway RHP
2. Willie Collazo LHP
3. Kyle Drabek RHP
4. Zach Jackson LHP
5. Chad Jenkins RHP
6. Rommie Lewis LHP
7. JP Arencibia C
8. Travis d’Arnaud C
9. Raul Chavez C
10. Brian Jeroloman C
11. Kyle Phillips C
12. Jesus Merchan SS
13. Brett Wallace 1B/3B
14. Joey Gathright OF
15. Adam Loewen OF
16. Chris Lubanski OF
17. Jorge Padilla OF

The question now becomes, should anyone else be invited? And if so, why?

My answer to that, in my humble opinion, is yes, 2 more names should be added to the list. They are:

1. Darin Mastroianni, OF: Mainly because he’s the best OF prospect that is close enough to the majors to have an impact in 2010. Giving him a taste of big league pitching would go a long way to setting his expectations and areas of improvement in 2010.
2. Daniel Farquhar, RP: If any minor league pitcher deserves a look it’s Daniel. Not only is he possibly our closer of the future, but he has the best chance of making a real big impact into the pen in 2010/2011. He could learn a lot from Scott Downs and Jason Frasor before either of them are traded away.

Am I missing anyone? Let me know in the comments.

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Alex Anthopoulos is one busy guy. Just coming back from his honeymoon 24 hours ago and going through the Aroldis Chapman sweepstakes, the Jays GM completed a deal for Zach Jackson, who was originally drafted by the Jays in the 1st round of 2004 (32nd overall). The deal is for a player to be named later, but it shouldn’t amount to much since the Jays are taking Jackson on to see if they can revamp his approach and get real value out of him. He’ll reportedly being the year in AAA, taking the spot that had been taken up by Mike Maroth in 2009 as the possible plug-in starter when injuries occur.

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