Will Alex Give Towers a Call?

            When the majority of you saw this you either thought: Who’s Towers,or that this is just another article about how the Blue Jays should acquire Justin Upton. Well, I hate to break it to you, but those are both wrong. I'm talking about Kevin Towers, GM of the Arizona Diamondbacks

            Although Justin Upton would be a superb acquisition by Alex Anthopoulos, he’s not the first name I’d ask about if I was Alex—it’d be Trevor Bauer. Arizona’s front office and Bauer’s relationship has said to be thinning with Bauer’s unwillingness to change his routines. Does this sound familiar to you? Maybe Yunel Escobar and Colby Rasmus’ names will help you remember that this situation Arizona is in fits right into Alex’s trading niche. Anthopoulos loves to buy low on players that have had problems elsewhere and bring them into, what seems like, a very player friendly atmosphere in Toronto.

            So why exactly would Alex be interested in an unproven pitcher that put up a ERA of 6.06 in 4 major league starts last year, when there are proven pitchers on the free agent market that wouldn’t cost current players or prospects? Because this is Trevor Bauer and he could end up being a front-line starter, some could even push for “ace” potential. He has done nothing but succeed in the minors in 2012, even in the PCL where he put up an ERA of 2.85 and a K/9 ratio of 10.6 in 14 starts, now that’s promise. And let us not forget that he is still only 21 years of age.

            I feel that Bauer could most likely step into a 2013 middle-to-back-end rotation spot, so there is no question that an acquisition of Bauer would fill a hole. It would cost Alex, but wouldn’t create any new holes needed to be filled later because of what Arizona needs. A trade involving Trevor Bauer would cost nothing less than a major league short stop and a promising pitcher going back in return. The Blue Jays have depth in both positions, so it’s possible but may be a stretch. After all, not many pitchers of his caliber get traded so young. I’m really not saying that Bauer is on the block, but if a good enough offer comes around, I see the D-Backs going for it.

            Maybe the Jays and D-Backs talk about Bauer and realize something like this: Maybe not Bauer, but Patrick Corbin also fits nicely into the Jays plans, as does Adeiny Hechavarria with Arizona. A cheap way for both teams to fill holes!

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4 Bold Predictions for the Offseason

1. R.A. Dickey will become a Boston Red Sox. (Sock?)

For the Red Sox, this will go down as an absolutely dreadful trade. Shortstop prospect Xander Bogaerts, and pitching prospect Matt Barnes will be sent the Mets way. I think that Dickey will take a large step back in 2013, with American League hitters figuring him out rather quickly. His ground ball rate will take a huge hit, facing the lineups in the AL east, which will make him prone to the long-ball. On the other side of the trade, the Mets receive 2 All-Stars. Xander Bogaerts will perennially hit 20-25 Home Runs, hitting over .300, with an OPS around .900. Matt Barnes will make a very nice number 3 starter behind Matt Harvey and Zach Wheeler. Barnes' fastball hits 97 mph on the gun, and its movement makes it very hard for hitters to square up. He can throw his change-up in any count, which is possibly his best weapon. 

This deal will eventually turn the Mets into contenders, in my opinion. As for the Red Sox, could it be the curse of the Dickey? 

2. Justin Upton becomes a Pittsburgh Pirate, Travis Snider becomes an Arizona Diamondback. 

Also going to the Diamondbacks in this deal are Canadian Jameson Taillon, and Starling Marte. This one will be the biggest blockbuster of the entire offseason. Upton is a star, but he hasn't reached his full potential just yet. Justin could become someone who will hit 40+ home runs, 110+ RBI, and .290+ batting average. He will be the best player in the deal, and there's no debate. However, I cannot say that the Pirates would win this deal. They are getting 3 players whose ceilings are through the roof! (No pun intended) Taillon is possibly a top 5 prospect in all of baseball. He's a freak of nature, at 6-6, 220 pounds. He has hit 100 on many radar guns, to go along with a filthy curveball. Starling Marte is one of the best pure athletes in all of professional baseball, as we witnessed this season in his brief debut with the Pirates. He steals bases, plays good defence in the outfield, and he hits for power and average. He could blossom into a true 5-tool player. As Jays fans, we all know about Travis Snider. Many Jays fans were heartbroken when he was traded, I was not. No matter how many times we were told he was fixed, he was never patient enough at the plate. He would swing at breaking pitches down and away, and if a fastball was anywhere above the letters, he'd take a whiff at it as well. His defence isn't stellar by any means. He really doesn't have a plus tool. Overall, if this trade were to happen, I'd say it'd be a tie. 

3. Alex Rodriguez remains a New York Yankee

I think that this would happen, because it wouldn't be logical to the Yankees. If they were to somehow get rid of A-Rod, they would have to pay about 15 million of his contract each year. Now, the Yankees would have to find a 3rd baseman to replace A-Rod. Let's say they'd pay this new player 10 million dollars a year. A 3rd baseman who is making that kind of money, would probably have very similar stats to A-Rod as it stands right now. So, now you end up paying around the same money, (maybe more) for a 3rd baseman who isn't significantly better than Alex Rodriguez. There's also the odd chance that A-Rod finds his swing again, and we all know that he's a very talented player, and could still be an elite hitter. 

4. David Ortiz signs a 2 year contract with the Toronto Blue Jays

The Blue Jays can't afford to have Adam Lind as a DH next year, if they really want to contend. David Ortiz has said that he wasn't very happy in Boston, indicating (in the middle of this year) that the clubhouse is completely depleted. Not only was his team terrible this year, but it might be terrible for years to come. If Papi wants any shot at winning the World Series, coming to the up-and-coming Blue Jays would make a lot of sense. He would be lethal behind Jose Bautista and Edwin Encarnacion, creating possibly the best 1-2-3 punch in all of baseball. A 2 year contract worth 20 million dollars would make sense, although he wants in the neighbourhood of 2/28, so AA might have to go over a bit.

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Where Does Ricky Belong?

At the start of the 2013 regular season, where does Ricky Romero end up? Do the Blue Jays seem content with Ricky in the starting rotation next year? Is another team interested in swapping struggling pitchers? Could he be packaged along with others to fill needs? Or—if he maintains his poor performance throughout the spring—do the Blue Jays go back on their word, and send him to the minors, to regain confidence and work on the simple things, in an attempt to return himself to his pre-2012 form?

Try to find a reason that validates Ricky Romero starting next season in the Jays starting rotation, besides his performance prior to last year. Can’t do it? Didn’t think so. Did he start to improve as the season closed down, to show some sense of encouragement? No, in each of his last 10 starts of the year he finished the game with an ERA over 5.38. No sense of encouragement there. I really do wish that we could all just say he had an off season. But we can’t, as of now. A season with a WHIP of 1.67, and an ERA close to 6 is not just an “off season.” And if he was any other pitcher on this Toronto Bluejays team, he would’ve been in the minors without hesitation.

Whenever the conversation of “swapping struggling pitchers” comes up, people initially think of Jon Lester. This would be an outstanding idea, if he wasn’t in the same division. I mean, I love the idea—along with many others—but General Managers generally tend to shy away from trades within the division. Also, I’m not sure if Boston would entertain the idea of a straight up trade. I think they see Lester having higher value, therefore I think it would take more than just Ricky, maybe even as much as adding an arm like Matt Smoral. Tim Lincecum’s name also arises during this conversation. But, to get a deal with Timmy involved would be more like a hybrid of the possible trade opportunities, because it would take a lot more than just Ricky to land Timmy. This idea just doesn’t seem logical because I, along with others, don’t think Timmy will ever be the same, because of his work load. He could possibly even end up as a closer.

 If any teams are interested in entertaining the idea of taking Ricky along with others in exchange for a premium outfielder, they’d be Arizona and Colorado. Both have enough quality outfielders to spare one. Both have needs that Toronto could fill. Arizona could put Justin Upton (maybe along with Corbin) on the table, if Romero, Adeiny Hechavarria/ Yunel Escobar, Noah Syndergaard, Moises Sierra, and Santiago Nessy are offered in return. My guess would be Colorado would love to work a deal with the Jays for the likes of Romero, Anthony Gose, and other young Blue Jays pitchers. Colorado would probably be interested in both a long term project like Daniel Norris, and someone with less ceiling and a sooner ETA like Sean Nolin. But those four players would probably cost the Rockies Carlos Gonzalez.

This last scenario seems quite simple… to me. By the time spring training comes around, if Ricky is still a part of the Toronto Blue Jays Organization (which I suspect he will be), and he has a well below average Spring Training,does he really deserve a spot in the starting rotation? It does depend on his attitude and the severity of his struggles, but if it seems like he’s just fighting everything, I say he should be sent down. There is no sense in keeping someone incapable of pitching to a league average standard in the MLB.

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