Blue Jays Team Report

INSIDE PITCH

The drums have started to beat in the trade rumors surrounding Roy Halladay(notes).

They haven’t reached the loudness that accompanied the Blue Jays and Halladay last July in the weeks leading up to the trade deadline, but it’s early.

With the winter meetings on the horizon beginning Dec. 7 in Indianapolis, the racket surrounding Halladay and the Blue Jays soon will become ear-splitting.

While new general manager Alex Anthopoulos is determined not to go public with any information regarding Halladay—“I won’t comment on any trade discussions, rumors or speculation,” he said recently—reports of the Blue Jays talking with other clubs regarding the former Cy Young winner have surfaced.

In Los Angeles, the Dodgers and the Angels are said to be interested, the Angels a little more than their National League rivals.

On the East Coast, the usual suspects are said to be lining up in the form of the Red Sox, Yankees and Phillies.

Fueling the discussion are the recent comments from Paul Beeston, who has taken over the full-time president and CEO duties with the Blue Jays.

Beeston loves Halladay and would like nothing better than to have him sign another contract extension, but he knows that’s not possible because Halladay’s wants and the status of the present-day Blue Jays provide a gap that can’t be bridged.

Halladay wants to play for a winner, and the Blue Jays are in a youth, rebuilding kick.

As Beeston recently said: “We would like to sign him, he is an original Blue Jay and we have never had a pitcher as good as him. But he is not inclined to sign with us.”

Given that, it’s hard to believe that Halladay will be a Blue Jay for much longer. By the end of the winter meetings, he should be gone.

NOTES, QUOTES

—Free agent SS John McDonald(notes) and the Blue Jays agreed to terms on a two-year, $3 million contract. McDonald, who is gifted defensively but a weak hitter, received little playing time in 2009 due to the career season put in by SS Marco Scutaro(notes), who is also a free agent. McDonald, 35, a fan favorite, can also play second base, third base and in a pinch, left field. He will be a backup infielder in 2010. In parts of 73 games last season, McDonald hit .258 with four home runs and 13 RBIs.

• Dec. 7 will be an interesting date for the Blue Jays, as besides being the opening day of the winter meetings in Indianapolis, it is the final day for a club to offer salary arbitration to its players. It will interesting to see if the Blue Jays offer arbitration to two of their top free agents, SS Marco Scutaro and C Rod Barajas(notes). An arbitration offer to Scutaro likely would kill interest in him from a number of prospective clubs as they may not be inclined to lose a top draft pick—Scutaro is a Type A free agent—to sign a 34-year-old player coming off a career season. Scutaro’s agent has said that arbitration with the Blue Jays is one of the options they would be interested in. Barajas is a Type B free agent.

• One of the players the Blue Jays seem interested in moving is 1B Lyle Overbay(notes), who has reportedly been shopped to a number of teams. Overbay has not been the same hitter since he suffered a right hand injury in June 2007 when he was hit by a pitch. In 2006, Overbay hit .312 with 46 doubles, 22 home runs and 92 RBIs. In 2008, his numbers were .270, 32, 15, 69 in 158 games. In 2009, they were .265, 38, 16, 65 in 132 games. If the Blue Jays move Overbay and his $7 million contract, OF/DH Adam Lind(notes) would shift to first.

• 2B Aaron Hill(notes) and OF/2B Adam Lind both received votes in balloting for the American League’s Most Valuable Player. While the MVP award was won in overwhelming fashion by Twins C Joe Mauer(notes), Hill finished 12th in the voting with 23 points, with Lind finishing 15th with 14 points. Earlier in November, both Hill and Lind received Silver Slugger awards.

• RHP Rob Ray appears to have mended from a shoulder injury that caused him to miss most of the 2009 season. Ray, who was 1-2 with a 4.44 ERA in four starts with the Blue Jays, went 2-1 with a 4.81 ERA in seven starts with the Phoenix Desert Dogs of the Arizona Fall League. Ray will be a candidate for a spot in the Blue Jays rotation.

• C Sal Fasano(notes), who hit .236 in 61 games for the Rockies’ Class AAA Colorado Springs affiliate this year, retired from his playing career and accepted a job as manager of the Blue Jays’ Class A Lansing affiliate. Fasano, 38, played in parts of 11 big-league seasons for Kansas City, Oakland, Colorado, Anaheim, Baltimore, Philadelphia, the New York Yankees, Toronto and Cleveland.

By The Numbers:   $58 million—The combined salary the Blue Jays have committed to the seven players they have under contract for the 2010 season, topped by the $21 million owed to CF Vernon Wells(notes) (a $12.5 million salary plus an $8.5 million bonus). The Blue Jays are on the hook for an additional $10 million to former closer LHP B.J. Ryan(notes). Toronto’s payroll budget for 2010 is an estimated $80 million, the same as in 2009.

Quote To Note:   “We would like to sign him, he is an original Blue Jay and we have never had a pitcher as good as him. But he is not inclined to sign with us.”—Blue Jays president and CEO Paul Beeston, on the prospect of signing RHP Roy Halladay to a contract extension.

ROSTER REPORT

The Blue Jays began the offseason with plenty of change. Paul Beeston removed “interim” from his title to become team president and CEO. General manager J.P. Ricciardi was replaced by his former assistant, Alex Anthopoulos, 32. As far as the roster goes, the biggest decision will revolve around star RHP Roy Halladay and whether to keep him for the 2010 season or trade him in the offseason for much needed talent.

Biggest Needs:   The Jays have to figure out what they will do with RHP Roy Halladay—keep him or trade him. They also might have to scramble to fill the holes at shortstop and catcher if free agents Marco Scutaro and Rod Barajas sign elsewhere. They do not have ready replacements in their system for either player.

Arrivals:   LHP Sean Henn(notes) (claimed off waivers from Orioles), INF Jarrett Hoffpauir(notes) (claimed off waivers from Cardinals), INF Mike McCoy(notes) (claimed off waivers from Rockies).

Free Agents:   SS Marco Scutaro, C Rod Barajas, SS John McDonald, DH/INF Kevin Millar(notes).

The Jays would like to bring back Scutaro and will try and re-sign him. They will probably not pursue Barajas because they think that J.P. Arencibia may be ready to be promoted next season following the All-Star break. They might be willing to go with backup Raul Chavez(notes) and a cheaper alternative than Barajas. They have zero interest in Millar.

Arbitration-eligible:   RHP Jeremy Accardo(notes), OF Jose Bautista(notes), RHP Shawn Camp(notes), C Raul Chavez, RHP Jason Frasor(notes), RHP Casey Janssen(notes), RHP Brandon League(notes), RHP Shaun Marcum(notes), RHP Dustin McGowan(notes), LHP Brian Tallet(notes).

Frasor is the most valuable asset on the list and could be the Jays’ closer in 2010, having taken on the role after LHP B.J. Ryan was released. They have interest in bringing back the others with perhaps lukewarm interest in Jeremy Accardo, a reliever who spent most of the season at Class AAA Las Vegas.

In Limbo:   With the exception of 2B Aaron Hill and LF/DH Adam Lind, the rest of the players on the Jays’ roster can all be had for the right package, including RHP Roy Halladay. Although they’d like more production out of 1B Lyle Overbay, they can live with his $7 million salary for 2010, the final year of his contract.

Medical Watch:  

RHP Jesse Litsch(notes) (Tommy John elbow surgery in June 2009) will be at spring training but is not expected to be ready by the start of the 2010 season.

RHP Shaun Marcum (Tommy John elbow surgery in September 2008) will be at spring training and could be ready at the beginning of the 2010 season.

RHP Dustin McGowan (right shoulder surgery in July 2008, right knee surgery in July 2009) will be at spring training but is not expected to be ready by the start of the 2010 season.

RHP Rob Ray (right shoulder strain) will be ready for the start of spring training.

CF Vernon Wells (arthroscopic left wrist surgery in November 2009) is expected to be fully recovered before spring training.

3B Edwin Encarnacion(notes) (left wrist surgery in October 2009) is expected to be ready for spring training.