Rogers Acquiring Rogers?

The Blue Jays have acquired hard throwing right hander Esmil Rogers for Mike Aviles and Yan Gomes; so in essence they traded John Farrell, David Carpenter, and Yan Gomes for a versatile righty. Doesn't sound so bad now, does it? This trade leaves me with a couple questions that happen to lead me to more questions.

1) Does Alex like Rogers as a depth starter?

            After seeing his success as a reliever in the American League last year, posting a WHIP of 1.11 and K/9 just over 9, I’d prefer to see him stay in the bullpen. This leads to my second question:

2) Does AA believe Darren Oliver is leaning towards retirement?

            With the uncertainty of Oliver’s future AA could have acquired Rogers in case Oliver decides to retire. Personally I don’t think Alex goes out and trades for a relief pitcher if he doesn’t have too. So maybe Oliver is leaning towards retirement? (Let’s hope not)

3) Was Aviles ever the answer at Second?

            I don’t think so. He would have been a brilliant bench guy, but for a team that wants to contend, he’s not a starter. Which leads to:

4) Is AA comfortable with a middle infield of Yunel and Adeiny after this trade?

            He shouldn’t be. AA hasn’t done anything to impress the “average” Jays fan of late, but I think the acquisition of Marco Scutaro could change that. Not only is he a fan favourite for all Jays fans, but he can still play the game and get to the World Series. After a huge trade or the acquisition of a franchise player, I think this is #2 on most Jays fan’s wish list.

The trade itself:

            This trade does nothing but good. It adds versatile depth at the starting and relieving positions, which the Jays could have desperately used last year (Learning the hard way!) It opens a new door for second base options, and opens up space on the 40-man by ridding themselves of Yan Gomes, who just couldn’t find his bat all year. Plus, when Brandon Lyon and Jason Frasor walk in Free AGency in the next couple of months, Rogers will fill one of their spots in the bullpen.

Conclusion:

            No true Jays fan will be disappointed in this trade because there is really nothing bad about it. 

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Settle Down, Jays Fans

Aviles could be a great
utility man if used wisely.

This past week, many Jays fans were furious. Most of them were happy with getting rid of mediocre manager John Farrell, but were unhappy with the player we got as compensation in return (Mike Aviles), and how it was handled by the Red Sox, Blue Jays, and the media. I'm here to look at the bright side on this one, because honestly, it wasn't a bad turn of events at all. I'd even venture to say it was a great move by AA and the Jays Front Office staff.

The news broke yesterday from Buster Olney that the compensation that the Blue Jays would receive came down to Mike Aviles, or relief pitcher Andrew Bailey. One thing that AA achieved this season through a few mid-season trades was a good, young bullpen. So, the Blue Jays are no longer in need of relief arms, especially ones with as many question marks as Bailey.. He was injured in 2012, and has an injury prone past, which may come as a red flag for the Blue Jays.He also hasn't been the same pitcher since his 1st two years in the MLB, especially this past season, when his numbers were horrible, albeit in a small sample size. There would be no place to put him, as he has no experience in middle relief, and the back end of the bullpen is solidified pretty well with the emergence of Casey Janssen. Both utility infielder, and second baseman were unoccupied positions for 2013, so it was almost a no brainer for Anthopolous.

I noticed the general expectation for compensation was much too high. People were hoping for Dustin Pedroia, Jon Lester, or Clay Buchholz. There is never a time when a manager is worth anything close to that caliber of a player. Not even Connie Mack! As a matter of fact, I would say that of all the managerial trades of all time, (all 5!) the Blue Jays made the 2nd best trade, only behind the Randy Winn for Lou Pinella deal. If the Blue Jays use Aviles as a utility player next year, playing 1 game(3 in total) a week filling in for Brett Lawrie at third, Yunel Escobar/Adeiny Hechavarria at short, and mystery man at second, he could even be an above average offensive and defensive contributor.So please be happy, Blue Jays fans.

Another positive from this trade, is that the Blue Jays get to find a new manager. The general consensus around the Blue Jays was that John Farrell didn't cut it as a manager.From his horrible bullpen management, to his wacky base running styles, Farrell cost us some winnable games the past 2 seasons. Now, there are many options to choose from. It's easy to speculate who that manager will be, names like Sandy Alomar Jr, Tim Wallach, Brad Ausmus, and Brian Butterfield are names that have appeared. But, the truth is, that it could be anybody, and to be completely honest, I would be happy with anybody who I have previously mentioned. None of them have managing experience, so we don't actually know who would be better. But, for a position that makes such a minimal impact on the outcomes of games, a name mentioned above might be just as good as an experienced manager such as Manny Acta or Ozzie Guillen.

The final positive from the deal is a little bit of excitement. I think Blue Jays fans will flood the dome next year when the Blue Jays take on the Red Sox, and boo John Farrell out of town. He is a traitor, and for 2 years as our manager, he wanted to be on another team. This could spark a rivalry from the 2 teams, making games as exciting as ever!

Let's show Farrell what a real "first class organization" looks like! 

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Source: Red Sox Hire Farrell

Missed me Boston?

According to Sean McAdam (@Sean_McAdam) of Comcast Sports Net, the Boston Red Sox have hired John Farrell as their manager.More to come!

Update #1:It is a 4 year deal for Farrell to the Sox.

Update #2: Scratch that. 3 year deal until 2015 for Farrell. Compensation being announced in the next couple of days. Jays likely to announce new manager soon(1 week or two).

Update #3: Jon Morosi tweets via a source that a player will be moving from both teams in this trade, which likely means somebody with some value is going to be coming to Toronto! Also according to Morosi, the player going to the Jays was a Major Leaguer in 2012.

Update #4: Morosi is trolling hard right now. He now tweets that the player the Jays are getting is an infielder. Pedro Ciriaco? Jose Iglesias? David Ortiz? Dustin Pedroia(not happening)?

Update #5:The Jays are getting Mike Aviles from the Red Sox. This likely allows AA to trade one of Yunel or Hech. He might also just be a bench player, or he might even be traded. Bob Elliot of the Toronto Sun tweeted that Adam Lind might be going to the Red Sox in return.

Overall, the Jays came out on top on this deal, no matter how you spin it. How often are you able to trade your manager for an MLB player? Anthopolous saw an opportunity, and he took advantage of it. We might not have gotten so much out of to, but if used in a utility role, Aviles could be great for the Blue Jays in 2013. He could replace Omar Vizquel, and play 1 game a week at 3B,2B, and SS. When is the last time the Jays had a great bat off the bench? But, then the Jays throw in Adam Lind in the deal. Even more of a win! Lind would be owed at least $7 million this year, and with his arrival in Boston, it likely means David Ortiz won't be re-signing with the Red Sox. If Ortiz is a free agent, there is a very good chance he would sign with Toronto. Big Papi's best friend is Jose Bautista, and he and Edwin Encarnacion also get along. Can you imagine a 3-4-5 of Jose,EE,and Papi? Pitchers are scared.

Alex Anthopolous isn't stupid. He coaxed a major league player from a team for a manager, who most say isn't very good. But, in addition to that, he also(maybe) cleared $7 million that can go to a starter or one of the other needs the Blue Jays have this off-season, including a DH named David Ortiz, who won't return to Boston if Lind indeed goes there.

Update #6 8:00 AM Sunday:Gordon Edes of ESPN Boston is now reporting that Adam Lind is not part of the deal...So much for that.

Update #7: Multiple sources are telling WEEI Radio that David Carpenter is the player going to the Red Sox in the trade.


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