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Exactly. I would be inclined to play Molina a little more which would be counter to what they are trying to achieve, but I think you must reward good preformance. There are rumors out their that the Jays are interested in Slowey and Bell. These would be reclaim projects who have lost favour with their current clubs and should be purchased on the cheap, with the aim of at the very least rendering a compensary pick.

Heath Bell ain't coming cheap, Type A free agent after the year, he'd cost at least 2 quality prospects plus another bullpen replacement arm. I see him going to a contending team...I also wouldn't say he's fallen out of favour with SD, he just has priced himself out of what what they're willing to pay a closer. Slowey they've been linked to for a while (back when he was starting), that'd probably allow them to move Villaneuva back to the bullpen. Minnesota wants to move him too.

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Heath Bell ain't coming cheap, Type A free agent after the year, he'd cost at least 2 quality prospects plus another bullpen replacement arm. I see him going to a contending team...I also wouldn't say he's fallen out of favour with SD, he just has priced himself out of what what they're willing to pay a closer. Slowey they've been linked to for a while (back when he was starting), that'd probably allow them to move Villaneuva back to the bullpen. Minnesota wants to move him too.

I don't like Bell's numbers anyway; it would be like getting another closer like we already got. NO CONFIDENCE. I don't pay the price to get him. Slowey was sent to minors yesterday if I recall.

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I don't like Bell's numbers anyway; it would be like getting another closer like we already got. NO CONFIDENCE. I don't pay the price to get him. Slowey was sent to minors yesterday if I recall.

I know Slowey was on a rehab start the other day, not sure when that stint ended though. As for Bell, the Padres said they'd need a lot more than the equivalent of the 2 compensation picks so I think the Jays will be out of those sweepstakes in a hurry.

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Exactly. I would be inclined to play Molina a little more which would be counter to what they are trying to achieve, but I think you must reward good preformance. There are rumors out their that the Jays are interested in Slowey and Bell. These would be reclaim projects who have lost favour with their current clubs and should be purchased on the cheap, with the aim of at the very least rendering a compensary pick.

Apparently you are right about Bells value. I was listening to the Cardinals game and they have the same dilemma as the Blue Jays, that is a reluctance to give up high end talent to get him. I still prefer the Henkes and Wards of the world as closers. Find me somebody that throws + 100 mph and we will work on his stuff.

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Wow, the Jays were really busy today, making two deals that saw half their bullpen leave in the process. The quick summary:

In: CF Colby Rasmus, 3B Mark Teahen (a Canadian), RP Brian Tallet :1vomit:, RP Trever Miller, and RP P.J. Walters

Out: RP Jason Frasor, SP Zach Stewart, OF Corey Patterson, RP Marc Rzepcynski, RP Octavio Dotel, and 3 PTBNL's or cash

I like Rasmus as he can easily replace Davis in CF while allowing Snider to develop where he belongs in left. I'm leery about those 3 PTBNL's though, those are all prospects which makes this an awful lot to give up for a controllable CF...here's hoping they're just a placeholder and that it is cash going the other way. And Tallet's back, argh.

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Wow, the Jays were really busy today, making two deals that saw half their bullpen leave in the process. The quick summary:

In: CF Colby Rasmus, 3B Mark Teahen (a Canadian), RP Brian Tallet :1vomit:, RP Trever Miller, and RP P.J. Walters

Out: RP Jason Frasor, SP Zach Stewart, OF Corey Patterson, RP Marc Rzepcynski, RP Octavio Dotel, and 3 PTBNL's or cash

I think there has to be another deal coming or change of direction. You have added another infielder so I expect maybe McCoy heading back to Triple A. You have now two right handed DH's in EE and Davis. I don't think it is wise to have young talents Thames or Snyder on the bench when you can be grooming them as defensive players. I think we need to think long and hard about where Lawrie fits in. What have you got with Teahen? Can he play second? Will he hit?

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I think there has to be another deal coming or change of direction. You have added another infielder so I expect maybe McCoy heading back to Triple A. You have now two right handed DH's in EE and Davis. I don't think it is wise to have young talents Thames or Snyder on the bench when you can be grooming them as defensive players. I think we need to think long and hard about where Lawrie fits in. What have you got with Teahen? Can he play second? Will he hit?

I think you can definitely expect more deals by AA before Sunday.

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What have you got with Teahen? Can he play second? Will he hit?

In Teahan, the Jays have themselves a player very similar to Jayson Nix except he makes about 8x as much money. Decent fielder, versatile, can't hit to save his life.

I think you can definitely expect more deals by AA before Sunday.

Aside from maybe moving Encarnacion, I wouldn't expect much. They'll eventually change the look of the bullpen (having all of Ledezma, Miller, and Walters in there is scary) but that may be done come September when the 25-man roster expands and some of the youngsters (someone like Carreno and Farina) get a look.

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In Teahan, the Jays have themselves a player very similar to Jayson Nix except he makes about 8x as much money. Decent fielder, versatile, can't hit to save his life.

Aside from maybe moving Encarnacion, I wouldn't expect much. They'll eventually change the look of the bullpen (having all of Ledezma, Miller, and Walters in there is scary) but that may be done come September when the 25-man roster expands and some of the youngsters (someone like Carreno and Farina) get a look.

I still like the idea of moving Fransico, Raunch and Molina. I think they have to move an outfielder when Bautisa hits the field. I would never have moved Thames out of second slot with the way he is raking. You still have some options, with Loewen and Cooper, Mills, Litsch. To me the direction is as clear as mud.

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I still like the idea of moving Fransico, Raunch and Molina. I think they have to move an outfielder when Bautisa hits the field. I would never have moved Thames out of second slot with the way he is raking. You still have some options, with Loewen and Cooper, Mills, Litsch. To me the direction is as clear as mud.

Don't forget though, those 3 players have Type B status so if they can't that type of equivalent player back, they actually are better off keeping them...maybe not Molina as he'd likely accept arbitration.

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Don't forget though, those 3 players have Type B status so if they can't that type of equivalent player back, they actually are better off keeping them...maybe not Molina as he'd likely accept arbitration.

And before we get high and mighty on the Rasmus deal we need to add the players that we could have got next year for Scrabble, Fraser and Dotel to what we sent the other way.

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And before we get high and mighty on the Rasmus deal we need to add the players that we could have got next year for Scrabble, Fraser and Dotel to what we sent the other way.

The first two had value, Dotel not so much in terms of compensation. Dotel would have taken arbitration in all likelihood so there was no draft pick there. Frasor has a team option that likely would've been picked up so although he held some trade value, there was no pick coming from him there. Rzepcynski had the most value of those three though and that's why most view him and Stewart as the two notable losses in the deal.

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The first trade deadline day is today at 4 EST but the big deals seem to largely already be done. Ubaldo Jiminez to Cleveland was the big one last night, Michael Bourn to Atlanta, Hunter Pence to Philly, amongst other moves in recent days. I suspect there will be a few deals today but I don't think there will be too many ones of note.

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The first trade deadline day is today at 4 EST but the big deals seem to largely already be done. Ubaldo Jiminez to Cleveland was the big one last night, Michael Bourn to Atlanta, Hunter Pence to Philly, amongst other moves in recent days. I suspect there will be a few deals today but I don't think there will be too many ones of note.

Really not happy with route AA took. Paid a premium to get Rasmus and wouldn't accept a premium price for the players he could have moved.

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Really not happy with route AA took. Paid a premium to get Rasmus and wouldn't accept a premium price for the players he could have moved.

How do we know he wouldn't accept a premium price? There were very few rumblings around the current Jays like Francisco and Rauch that could have fetch a half-decent return. If the best they could get was a prospect, they're better off getting one they want with a sandwich pick from the Type B status. I don't think teams were banging down the door for Hill and Molina while the way Encarnacion is playing, they're more likely to pick up his option which would have taken him off the market. I said when the Rasmus deal happened that I figured they were more or less done for now, today doesn't surprise me at all. I don't think the inactivity means that Anthopoulos refused to accept a premium price for his players though. Come August, a guy like Trever Miller will garner some interest so I doubt the Jays are done trade wise this year.

As for actual deals done, the only one of note was Erik Bedard to Boston to shore up their rotation with Buchholz down. I'm not that familiar with who they gave up but apparently there were some decent prospects moved out.

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I expected you were going to be right about the movement. Reading baseball articles on many boards, I got the impression that AA was only targeting a certian return as I have indicated in previous blogs, that being players close to playing immediately. I believe that there were teams out there still looking for help, but the Jays removed all of their dance partners by dictating this return. Although I don't know directly if any of this is true, if it is, and the deal he did do did not compromise that rational; I think an opportunity to maximize value was missed. Clearly the trade deadline, just passed is the window to get the most for any asset you have.

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I expected you were going to be right about the movement. Reading baseball articles on many boards, I got the impression that AA was only targeting a certian return as I have indicated in previous blogs, that being players close to playing immediately. I believe that there were teams out there still looking for help, but the Jays removed all of their dance partners by dictating this return. Although I don't know directly if any of this is true, if it is, and the deal he did do did not compromise that rational; I think an opportunity to maximize value was missed. Clearly the trade deadline, just passed is the window to get the most for any asset you have.

In most instances, you're right, the best trade value is lost after July 31st. Best value though, not necessarily, depending on how they value the draft picks. I'd also suggest that the depth guys and specialists can fetch more this month believe it or not. If a team loses their LH specialist due to injury, then all of a sudden a guy like Miller has value. Starting catcher goes down on a playoff contending team? Then there's likely more interest in a Molina. Yes, they have to go through waivers but most players pass through allowing them to be dealt. Worst case scenario, you make a move with the claiming team or pull the player back.

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In most instances, you're right, the best trade value is lost after July 31st. Best value though, not necessarily, depending on how they value the draft picks. I'd also suggest that the depth guys and specialists can fetch more this month believe it or not. If a team loses their LH specialist due to injury, then all of a sudden a guy like Miller has value. Starting catcher goes down on a playoff contending team? Then there's likely more interest in a Molina. Yes, they have to go through waivers but most players pass through allowing them to be dealt. Worst case scenario, you make a move with the claiming team or pull the player back.

You make a good point. However, first as you have indicated these deals don't always work. Secondly, even in a couple weeks a teams fate may be determined. There will be less teams that would need an expensive replacement, because they are falling out of race, and more teams to fill that need for the same reason.

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You make a good point. However, first as you have indicated these deals don't always work. Secondly, even in a couple weeks a teams fate may be determined. There will be less teams that would need an expensive replacement, because they are falling out of race, and more teams to fill that need for the same reason.

There may only be a handful of suitors for the depth guys (Miller, Molina, even McDonald to some degree) but before yesterday, it was the same group. The Nationals weren't going to want these guys before the deadline or after. Granted, a couple of teams will fall out of the race and there will be other sellers but what the Jays would have going for them is the reputation of the aforementioned veterans. They all have pretty good track records which should interest teams more than other players on teams who are out of it. It's not as if they'll get a huge return but rather a return which may not have been available yesterday.

In other MLB news, Lyle Overbay was DFA'ed; his numbers took a big dive this season. Derrek Lee will provide a bit more stability at 1st for the Pirates but I'm not sure that will get them back on track and into the NL Central hunt.

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Jays fans are clamouring for a decent closer with next year in mind. I would continue with the normal routes. From the out of the box approach, I see if I can't lay my hands on Burnett who is quickly losing favour with Yankee fans. I think this guy has closer written all over him. Maybe the Yanks will eat part of his salary just to get rid of him! My reclaim project would be David Purcey who for good reason can be had for a song. I set David down and tell him that for all intense purposes his big league hopes are done. You have one last chance. We are going to radically change your delivery. This may work or it may not, but clearly you have run out of options. David meet Mike Eichorn. Yes you change David into a sidewinder. What have you got to lose?

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Jays fans are clamouring for a decent closer with next year in mind. I would continue with the normal routes. From the out of the box approach, I see if I can't lay my hands on Burnett who is quickly losing favour with Yankee fans. I think this guy has closer written all over him. Maybe the Yanks will eat part of his salary just to get rid of him! My reclaim project would be David Purcey who for good reason can be had for a song. I set David down and tell him that for all intense purposes his big league hopes are done. You have one last chance. We are going to radically change your delivery. This may work or it may not, but clearly you have run out of options. David meet Mike Eichorn. Yes you change David into a sidewinder. What have you got to lose?

After how things ended with Burnett, I think he's the last guy I'd look to bring back. Yes, he throws hard and fits the general closer mold but his mental fragility as a starter is shaky. Put him in high leverage situations and he'll implode. The Yanks would nearly have to eat all his salary to maybe find someone willing to take him on. Purcey could literally be had for free, he was released by Detroit last week (after Oakland got rid of him in a hurry after trading for him). I'd take a flyer on a minor league deal but nothing guaranteed. There are plenty of relievers on the free agent market, surely someone will want a shot at closing and will fit the short-term contract guideline that the Jays use for their bullpen arms.

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After how things ended with Burnett, I think he's the last guy I'd look to bring back. Yes, he throws hard and fits the general closer mold but his mental fragility as a starter is shaky. Put him in high leverage situations and he'll implode. The Yanks would nearly have to eat all his salary to maybe find someone willing to take him on. Purcey could literally be had for free, he was released by Detroit last week (after Oakland got rid of him in a hurry after trading for him). I'd take a flyer on a minor league deal but nothing guaranteed. There are plenty of relievers on the free agent market, surely someone will want a shot at closing and will fit the short-term contract guideline that the Jays use for their bullpen arms.

Purcey definitely minor league contract with no risk. He has always had the stuff, he just can't throw strikes when he needs. That's why you move him right out of what he is accustom to. Burnett can be brilliant in short bursts . He has only a one inning window to worry about. That acrimony that he left in will be the same reason he comes in cheap. I think it is worth a try. I didn't mean to suggest Purcey for a closer, perhaps just a late inning eater. I think he is just got too good of an arm, not to try something drastic before you cut bait.

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The Giants have now hit 20 straight solo homers, breaking the previous record set back in 1914. That many straight solo shots, you'd think somewhere in there someone would've walked or got a hit beforehand. Wow.

Also, the deadline for signing draft picks is on Monday. With the Jays being known to go overslot on a lot of guys, I expect there to be a flurry of signings come Monday night. (It won't just be the Jays either, lots of overslot signings will be coming soon.)

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  • 2 weeks later...

The Jays made an interesting deal yesterday, swapping under-productive 2nd basemen (Aaron Hill for Kelly Johnson) with Arizona (while losing John McDonald as well). Toronto gets a first hand look at a player they would have gone after in free agency which is nice. Also nice is the fact he'll qualify for compensation draft picks should the Jays offer arbitration and he declines. Hill is hitting a little better this year while McDonald should give the D-Backs some solid defence in the late innings as they hunt down the pennant.

What's fascinating is that this trade literally rebuilds the entire infield from Toronto in mid-2007 in Arizona now. Here's what I mean: http://www.mlb.sbnation.com/2011/8/24/2382409/starting-infields-then-and-now

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What could the number 347 represent in baseball? League record for most home runs in a season by one team? Is it the leading batting average in the league? Number of wins for a future Hall of Fame pitcher? No, no, and not in this instance. What 347 represents is the number of fans who attended a Florida-Cincinnati game yesterday afternoon. Earlier in this thread, I lambasted Jeffrey Loria's brilliant vision to tarp the upper deck to create a better ambiance...wonder what that ambiance was like when you could've crowded the entire ballpark into one single section?

http://www.businessi...tendance-2011-8

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