Archive for the 'AL East News' Category

Blue Jays Rumours – May 14, 2013

Published May 14, 2013 AL East News , Jays Rumours Leave a Comment

Just a few various links, stories and rumours from around the web involving the Blue Jays:

-As per MLBTR the Blue Jays are the leaders to sign Venezuelan shortstop Yeltsin Gudino, writes Ben Badler of Baseball America.  Gudino is a well-rounded talent who has also received serious interest from the Rangers and A’s in the past.

-Blue Jays president and CEO Paul Beeston isn’t ready to give up on the team this season, writes Chris Toman of MLB.com.  He also isn’t ready to give up on the coaching staff.  ”We started out at 12-24 and made a managerial change, but we’re not going to do that right now,” Beeston said. “I think you look back at 1989 and just look back at what can be after what was. I think we have a very good team and a better team than our record.“

-Eno Sarris at Fangraphs had a great piece on RA Dickey and his reduced knuckleball velocity.  It contains a bunch of links to different studies.  Worth a read.

-Marc Hulet at Fangraphs wrote about some of the bad luck finding various Blue Jays prospects this season so far.

-MLBTR has a look at the top ten 2014 pending free agents.

At What Point Can We Worry About the 2013 Blue Jays?

Published April 27, 2013 AL East News , Jays Rumours , Jays Talk 9 Comments
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The Blue Jays just dropped another series to an AL East rival and there record now stands at 10-19.  They sit 10.5 full games out of first place and while nobody is suggesting a division title is won in April I think it’s time to acknowledge that they can at the very least be lost with such a disastrous month.

Perhaps 2013 is just not destined to be our season even we all still #lovethisteam.

If things continue this way and we are well out of the playoff hunt before Jose Reyes returns I wouldn’t be surprised (or disappointed) if the Blue Jays were sellers.  If they were to move some pieces to either shed payroll or pick up an interesting prospect or two they would likely have some suitors.

-Josh Johnson needs to show he is healthy if any team were to give up any blue chip prospects.  He also needs to show the looming free agent market that he can throw a full season worth of innings.  If he comes back to his career levels he makes a solid #3 starter and I am sure the team could land one pretty intriguing prospect.

2013 ZIPS (rest of season projection) 126.0 IPs, 123 hits, 40 BB – 105 K, 3.79 ERA, 3.59 FIP.

-Melky Cabrera hasn’t shown he is the same hitter without PEDs.  This is just a fact.  The numbers pre and post the steroid allegations show a completely different player.  I thought he would be more athletic than he is but his play in the left field and on the base paths leave much to be desired.  I think Anthony Gose could play to his level, at least, as well as play high caliber major league defense.  In short, no big loss.

2013 ZIPS (ROS) 551 PAs, 289/335/437, 6.5 BB%, 13.4 K%, 27 2B, 12 HR.

These projections are slanted, plain and simple.  They heavily weight his PED infused 2011/2012 seasons.  I think he would be hard pressed to come anywhere near the projected SLG%.

-Mark Buehrle is exactly who I thought he was coming into this season.  A pitch to contact lefty who’s stuff doesn’t play as well in the AL East.  He can give the Jays 200 innings and a low to mid 5.00 ERA – I don’t see much in the way of improvement at this stage of his career.  He simply gives up too many hits and in a league that can wait out a pitchers best stuff Buehrle is at times a sitting duck.  If Ricky Romero returns to form I don’t see how he couldn’t outperform him.  This should almost be a priority win or lose as Buehrle is overrated and vastly overpaid for a fifth starter.

2013 ZIPS (ROS) 145.0 IPs, 163 hits, 30 BB – 80 K, 4.53 ERA, 4.44 FIP.

-Darren Oliver could be a solid addition for a team looking for a veteran LOOGY.  He would need to improve upon his lacklustre numbers to start this season but if he does, we could likely fetch a ‘C+’ level prospect.

There is no need to completely wipe out the roster and I don’t see any reason to move Jose Reyes, Jose Bautista, Edwin Encarnacion, R.A. Dickey, Brett Lawrie and a few of our top bullpen arms unless the deal was just insanely in our favour – think Jurickson Profar insane.

The players listed above could be replaced if Rogers continues to show a willingness to spend money and trades are always an option for the Blue Jays brass.  However at this time I wouldn’t doubt Alex Anthopoulos is a tad gun shy as none of his recent highly touted moves have paid any dividends yet.  Luckily Travis d’Arnaud took a ball off his foot and won’t be getting called up anytime soon (thanks Wes).

OTHER BLUE JAYS LINKS:

Blue Jays Stats Pack – April 2013 – Hitters (how much do the Jays miss Jose Reyes?)

Brett Lawrie – Blue Jays New Second Basemen?

Published April 14, 2013 AL East News , American League Rumours , Jays Rumours , Jays Talk , Opinion 5 Comments
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Coming to a theatre near you Brett Lawrie starting second basemen for your Toronto Blue Jays?

Currently on a minor league rehab assignment for a rib cage strain our incumbent third basemen Brett Lawrie is taking his reps at second base with the intent of joining the big league club at the position.  Alex Anthopoulos stated that if Lawrie looks good at second then when he returns to the bigs Jose Bautista will remain at third base and Lawrie will take over at the keystone corner.

While we still aren’t sure what type of batter Brett Lawrie will be with more than 1400 careers innings at third base in the major league one thing we are fairly certain – Lawrie plays a mean hot corner.  A career 9.4 UZR in 1452.1 innings at third base is impressive especially considering he essentially began his time at third base position at the major league level.

While I love the idea of Brett Lawrie playing second base for the good of the team (and lineup) I doubt this will be a longer term fix.  Coming through the ranks not many scouts questioned the offensive abilities of Lawrie but sticking at second base was seemingly a pipe dream.

Here are a few observations and scouting reports when Lawrie was still in the Milwaukee Brewers farm system:

According to John Manuel of Baseball America, many scouts compare him to Marlins second baseman Dan Uggla.  Convinced he would hit as a pro, one scout said “real thing to remember is that Lawrie’s best position is in the batter’s box—a lot like Uggla.”  Some scouts also see him as a Jeff Kent type without the defense.

Lawrie spent last season in AA at only 19 years of age.  By midseason he led the Southern League in hits (102), extra-base hits (39), triples (11) and total bases (164).  Lawrie’s biggest weakness is his defense and scouts have noted that his throwing arm has regressed; projecting him as an outfielder should he prove to be liability in the infield.  He led all second basemen in errors, with one badly misplayed ball ending up breaking his nose.

Keith Law said in 2010:

Lawrie hit well in the Midwest League for a 19-year-old, and if he had a clear position he might have spent the second half in high-A. The Brewers did move him up two levels in mid-August, after which he scuffled. Lawrie has a good swing, almost a classic left-handed swing but from the right side, with tremendous rotation and raw power. I’ve seen him over stride in BP, but he quiets down a little in games, still taking all-out swings but with such a good swing path that he covers the plate and struggles only with changing speeds. He’s an intense, aggressive, “one-speed” player who might benefit from dialing it down a notch every now and then, and the lack of finesse in his game is part of what holds him back as an infielder. He played all over as an amateur but settled on second in part because he thought he had a faster path to the majors there. There’s still a realistic chance he’ll have to move to first or an outfield corner, limiting his projected value.

I don’t think he’ll ever be above-average defensively at second, and he’s pretty maxed-out physically, but his bat looks like it’s going to play just about anywhere in the big leagues, and his offensive downside is very limited.

Another downside could be the already fragile Brett Lawrie would be moving to a much more physically demanding position.  Second basemen have to range much further to both sides, regularly laying out to make plays and being on the receiving end of hard slides at the bag on double-play opportunities.

This has to be one concern for the Blue Jays brass, and perhaps a major one.  Can this team really deal with another injury considering its already fragile psyche (and fan base)?  Lawrie has proven himself to be very capable (if not spectacular) fielding third basemen but is there any guarantee he can even play second effectively at the big league level?

The Blue Jays need his bat to be productive above almost anything else.  I worry that his offensive development could be jeopardized if he struggles with the transition to a brand new (and more demanding) position.  Again this might only be a temporary solution, and a sensible one considering our injury situation but trying Brett Lawrie at second base is far from a sure thing.

However given his impressive athleticism and tireless work ethic if anybody could make a concerted effort at this transition it is probably the crazy Canadian Brett Lawrie.  It’s obviously worth a shot at this point.

 

Blue Jays Lose Jose Reyes Indefinitely

Published April 13, 2013 AL East News , Jays Talk 1 Comment
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Is there a full moon wreaking havoc on the sports world recently?  Zack Greinke buzzes Carlos Quentin, gets charged and breaks his collar bone.  Tiger Woods was nearly disqualified from the Masters for an illegal drop on hole 15 (after hitting the flag stick and rolling into the water).  Kobe Bryant’s career could be in jeopardy after tearing his Achilles tendon in a game last night.

So thinking that the 2013 Toronto Blue Jays would be spared was probably wishful thinking.  Last night the Jays were on the brink of a possible breakout victory against the Kansas City Royals when in the top of the sixth inning Jose Reyes suffered a devastating ankle injury.

Jose Reyes hit a huge two-run single which put the Blue Jays ahead for good and after a great jump on a stolen base attempt the momentum of an awkward late slide into second base caused his ankle to roll underneath his body.

Reyes was writhing in pain and eventually came to tears when trainers were inspecting the ankle.  He had to be carted off the field and a collective groan could be heard around Canada from the Blue Jays faithful.

Early reports state the star shortstop could be lost for up to three months.  Fox Sports baseball analyst Ken Rosenthal tweeted that worst-case scenario Reyes will be back by the All-Star break.  In the meantime Alex Anthopoulos has the unenviable task of replacing probably the most irreplaceable player on the roster.

It appears Maicer Izturis will take over the everyday duties at shortstop when he himself becomes totally healthy.  Brett Lawrie’s return is now a huge priority for the Blue Jays and the return to form of Jose Bautista, Edwin Encarnacion and the entire starting pitching staff will be the difference between a team that rallies around an injured teammate and a team that completely falls out of contention.

One can only hope this injury doesn’t have longer lasting implications for the speed reliant Jose Reyes.  A permanent impairment can never be ruled out with such a freakish injury and hopefully the footage of the injury doesn’t speak for the severity.

The Blue Jays are heavily invested in Reyes and if this affects his overall speed and athleticism going forward it would be a huge blow.  I’m sure I speak for the entire Blue Jays fan base when I wish Jose Reyes a speedy recovery.

Dave Cameron Ranks Top 10 Offseason Moves

Published February 9, 2013 AL East News , Jays Talk , Opinion 2 Comments

Dave Cameron released his annual top ten transactions from the MLB offseason and the Blue Jays made the list three times (well four actually).

It is an interesting read, here are some of the highlights:

10. The Blue Jays acquire R.A. Dickey, Josh Thole, and Mike Nickeas from New York.

The Blue Jays last big move gets the last spot on this list, mainly because the cost to acquire Dickey was pretty substantial. Having to surrender two highly regarded prospects to get Dickey from the Mets makes this less of a steal and more of an aggressive upgrade, but it’s an aggressive upgrade that has a real chance to pay off. Dickey makes the Blue Jays a top notch AL East contender, and because they were able to sign him to a below market extension, it’s not simply a one year rental. Much is going to be made of his age and the fact that he only has had one elite season, but the idea of Dickey as a one year wonder is a total myth, and even the 2010-2011 version of Dickey would be a nice acquisition for the Blue Jays. Toss in the chance that he might have another ace like season left in his belt, and the acquisition of Dickey may have been the biggest upgrade any team made all winter.

5. The Mets acquire Travis D’Arnaud, Noah Syndergaard, John Buck, andWulimer Becerra from Toronto.

As I said above, I like this deal for Toronto, and I think there was a case to be made for the Mets keeping Dickey signing him to an extension themselves. But, in D’Arnaud and Syndergaard, they were able to get a couple of pieces in return that could have much more long term value to the Mets, and D’Arnaud is close enough to the Majors that they could start seeing a return on the move this season. Because Dickey was willing to take a discount on an extension, the Mets were able to pry a premium return from Toronto, and having these two guys around is probably better for their future than having Dickey under contract through his age 40 season. This wasn’t the Mets only option, but when you see what they were able to command in exchange for the reigning Cy Young winner, it makes the decision to trade him more understandable.

3. The Blue Jays acquire Jose Reyes, Josh Johnson, Mark Buehrle, Emilio Bonifacio, and John Buck from Miami.

While most of the attention surrounding this trade was scorn aimed at the Marlins for blowing up their team again, kudos to Alex Anthopolous and his crew for having the stones to make such a big trade. The four players Toronto acquired in this deal could easily add +10 WAR to the Blue Jays just by themselves, and this is the kind of monstrous step forward that the Jays needed to make in order to put themselves in position to make a big run this year. They took on a decent amount of money and gave up some real prospects to make the trade happen, but this was a game-changing trade for a franchise that needed to stop treading water. The Jays saw an opportunity to take the AL East and reenergize their fan base, and they took advantage of the best chance they had to make 2013 a winning season. Good for them.

2. The Blue Jays sign Melky Cabrera for 2/$16M.

It’s easy to draw a firm connection between Cabrera’s monster 2012 season and the fact that he failed a drug test, admitting that he used PEDs during the season. It’s easy to assume that a drug free Cabrera won’t be anything close to the player he was in San Francisco. But at $8 million a year, the Blue Jays aren’t paying Cabrera to be anything close to the player he was last year. They’re paying him to be a roughly average outfielder, and anything he does above that is gravy. This is a guy who was a +4 win player without failing a drug test in 2011. A guy who got to the Major Leagues as a 20-year-old, and was an average player for the Yankees at age 21. A guy headed into his age-28 season. You have to believe that PEDs are the sole reason that Cabrera has been an effective hitter the last two seasons to think that he can’t be an average player for the Blue Jays the next two seasons, and if he any of his improvement wasn’t PED related, then the Jays are going to get a massive bargain.

For those too lazy to click the link Dave Cameron felt the best offseason move was a bit of a surprise to me but definitely a quality move.

1. The Nationals acquire Denard Span from Minnesota.

Denard Span is a +3 win player, maybe even a bit better than that if you put more weight on his offensive resurgence after recovering from concussion-related issues. He’s under team control for his age 29-31 seasons for a grand total of $21 million. And, yet, the Nationals were still able to acquire him for the cost of one A-Ball pitching prospect who may or may not be able to stick in the rotation long term. When you look at what other +3 win outfielders were signing for this winter, or what other above average players with multiple years of team control were commanding in trades, Span looks like an outright theft by the Nationals.

 

Blue Jays Offseason Update – January 27, 2013

Published January 26, 2013 AL East News , American League Rumours , Jays Rumours , Jays Talk 2 Comments

It is bitterly cold in Southwestern Ontario but the thought of pitchers and catchers reporting in less than twenty days is certainly helping.  Sorry for the lack of activity lately but it’s been pretty slow in the world of the Blue Jays and baseball in general.  Getting ready for the season though and we will be back up to full strength and posting frequently again! 

Be on the lookout for the 2013 Top 15 Blue Jays prospect piece!!

Here are some updates:

-The Blue Jays avoided arbitration with center fielder Colby Rasmus, agreeing to a one-year, $4.675MM deal, MLB.com’s Gregor Chisholm reports (on Twitter). 

QUICK TAKE: This is probably the last stand for Rasmus as a Blue Jay.  I am not overly optimistic that he will ever reach the lofty predictions of success when he first entered the league but he comes at a reasonable price.  If he slips or struggles the team has youngster Anthony Gose waiting in the wings.

-The Blue Jays announced that they signed infielder Mark DeRosa to a one-year, $750K contract for 2013. The deal with the CSE client includes a $750K club option for 2014.

Blue Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos has said he’d like to add a versatile right-handed hitting player to round out the club’s active roster. DeRosa, who turns 38 next month, bats from the right side and has experience at a variety of positions.

QUICK TAKE: I like this signing.  Our bench was almost useless last season and we wasted hundreds of ABs on less than stellar options.  This low cost move made sense.

-Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports examined the six worst teams in the American League in 2012 and looked at what steps they’ve taken to improve in the New Year.  The Blue Jays have obviously done a great deal to reverse their fortunes, but Morosi does have some concern about how the stars will mesh with one another.

QUICK TAKE: Again, it’s a long offseason and I guess this is something to write about.  I think the whole ‘chemistry’ thing in baseball is extremely overrated.  The Blue Jays aren’t guaranteed success because that is the nature of baseball but it won’t be due to chemistry, it will have to do with performance or bad luck statistically.

-The Blue Jays announced that they avoided arbitration with Emilio Bonifacio by agreeing to a one-year, $2.6MM deal. The Blue Jays also announced that they avoided arbitration with J.A. Happ, agreeing to a one-year, $3.7MM deal for 2013.

-Anthopoulos hopes the rotation provides enough innings that the team doesn’t need to seriously consider an eight-man bullpen. The Blue Jays have a pretty full bullpen, so it doesn’t appear as though free agent right-hander Brandon Lyon will return. “I don’t want to ever close the door on him, since he did a great job for us,” Anthopoulos said.

The GM stressed the importance of starting pitching depth and explained that players such as Justin Germano, Brad Lincoln and J.A. Happ provide the club with options.

-Good news on the bullpen front as Darren Oliver is returning for the upcoming season.  The left handed specialist had a superb season and adds further depth to what is shaping up to be a stellar bullpen.  Oliver posted a 2.06 ERA with 8.3 K/9 and 2.4 BB/9 in 56 2/3 innings this past season.  Despite his advanced age, Oliver has made more than 60 relief appearances in each of the past four seasons.

-The Blue Jays signed 18-year-old right-hander Denis Villatoro to a five-year contract, Saúl Carranza of the Honduran newspaper Diez reported over the weekend (translation via MLBTR’s Nick Collias). It’s a five-year deal, according to La Tribuna. Bob Elliott of the Toronto Sun notes that it’s worth $20K (Twitter link). Villatoro, who worked out for the Blue Jays before signing, said he’s “very happy” to have agreed to terms with Toronto, Carranza reports. His fastball reaches 93 mph, and he also drew interest from the Orioles, Yankees, Mets, Astros, Giants and Pirates.

 

Blue Jays Possibly Paying Steep Price for Dickey

Published December 15, 2012 AL East News , American League Rumours , Jays Rumours , Jays Talk 1 Comment

The actual deal won’t be released or finalized until at least Sunday but the current rumours have the Toronto Blue Jays trading top prospects Travis d’Arnaud and Noah Syndergaard along with veteran backstop John Buck and another prospect to the New York Mets for reigning 2012 Cy Young winner R.A. Dickey, catcher Josh Thole and another prospect.

Overrating prospects is easy to do, especially ones you follow from draft day but at first glance this looks awfully steep.  We are potentially giving up a lot of controllable years on two of our top prospects.  We have plenty of interesting arms to replace Noah Syndergaard but losing Travis d’Arnaud would be especially tough given the lack of offensive prospects close to being major league ready. 

My first thought was Dickey makes our team markedly better for the next two to three seasons and right now isn’t that all that really matters?  Perhaps Alex Anthopoulos is actually selling high on TDA and Syndergaard but a part of me is nervous about this trade. 

Again we are adding a Cy Young award winner in R.A. Dickey who has been an extremely underrated pitcher over the past three years.  Teams look to contend will routinely trade away their best prospects and this is no different.  Maybe I am just unaccustomed to seeing a team from Toronto actually trying to make a splash.

R.A. Dickey is a damn good pitcher and don’t dare call him a one year wonder as that is way off base.

Here is what Dave Cameron of Fangraphs recently wrote:

Apparently, there’s this idea that pre-2012 R.A. Dickey was a worthless nothing, and after his fluke season, he’s headed right back to being a trick pitch sideshow. That idea is just hilariously wrong.

61 pitchers threw at least 350 innings between 2010 and 2011. During those two years, Dickey posted an ERA- of 81, meaning that he prevented runs at a rate 19 percent better than the league average. We’re using ERA- for Dickey because knuckleballers have a long exhibited history of being an exception to FIP, by the way. That put him squarely between Matt Cain and Tim Lincecum, and ahead of guys like Hiroki Kuroda, Dan Haren, Chris Carpenter, and Mat Latos. Not bad company.

If I had to guess at what Alex Anthopoulos was thinking (is that even allowed?) or what his strategy was it would have to be R.A. Dickey wasn’t necessarily the only pitcher targeted he just happened to be the best one available right now.  Free agent hurler Edwin Jackson is probably looking for an arm and a leg or has already informed the Blue Jays he wouldn’t sign here. 

When the top guns of the Blue Jays farm system became available I wouldn’t doubt that AA was contacted by different teams offering various arms but with most of the best young arms off the market (Mat Latos, Gio Gonzalez) and other options too risky (Matt Garza) or divisional rivals (David Price) this R.A. Dickey thing just made the most sense.

I am just struggling with the fact that we essentially just traded our two best prospects for a 38-year old pitcher, albeit a very effective one.  This is certainly an “all-in” moment for the Blue Jays front office as our farm system has been stripped to the bones.  On the other hand our current regime has consistently shown the ability to build and restock the minor league ranks.

Check back when this deal is actually finalized one way or another.  I know some Blue Jays fans actually hope this deal falls apart.  This does feel very UN-Alex Anthopoulos given the way it has played out in the media and it feels very Yu Darvish like. 

Stay tuned.  John Farrell couldn’t be contacted for comment.

Blue Jays On Verge of Landing R.A. Dickey?

Published December 14, 2012 AL East News , American League Rumours 6 Comments
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According to various reports it appears the Toronto Blue Jays are in advanced talks with the New York Mets about 2012 NL Cy Young award winner R.A. Dickey. 

According to MLBTR:

All signs point to the Mets trading R.A. Dickey, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reports (on Twitter). The sides aren’t progressing toward an extension, and Dickey’s one-year, $5MM salary seems quite appealing to teams seeking pitching. Here are today’s Dickey rumors, with the most recent items up top…

  • The Mets may be landing d’Arnaud in the deal, Heyman tweets.
  • Travis d’Arnaud was a “must have” during the winter meetings for a deal with the Blue Jays to happen, sources tell Andy Martino of the Daily News (via Twitter).
  • Two sources involved in the talks say not to expect any resolution with Dickey tonight, tweets Anthony DiComo of MLB.com.

There was a lot of talk after the winter meetings finished that the two sides had discussed different scenerios in which RA Dickey would head to Toronto but it has seemingly become a lot closer to being finalized.  I would have to assume that if the Blue Jays are pondering moving our top prospect (two years running) in catcher Travis d’Arnaud that the deal would possibly bring back more than just R.A. Dickey.

Would I like to add another starter?  Absolutely.  Would I mind adding R.A. Dickey?  Not at all.  Would I like to see the Blue Jays depleted system take another serious hit for one 38-year old knuckleballer?  Absolutely not.  Let’s reserve judgment until if and when this deal might come to fruition.

Besides, isn’t the very fact we are even discussing this mean there is no chance Alex Anthopoulos is actually going to pull it off?

What are your thoughts?

Tampa Bay Deals Away James Shields & Wade Davis

Published December 9, 2012 AL East News , American League Rumours 3 Comments

In huge news for the AL East the “on paper” favourite for the division title has weakened there rotation but picked up one heck of a prospect, as per MLB trade rumours:

The Royals have bolstered their starting rotation for 2013 thanks to the addition of two quality pitchers. Kansas City has agreed to acquire James Shields and Wade Davis from Tampa Bay in exchange for Wil Myers and a series of prospects, reports Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times (via Twitter). The deal may not be complete as additional players could end up in the final exchange between the two teams, suggests Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.com (Twitter link).

Big loss to the rotation for the 2013 season with the loss of James Shields, which is all that Blue Jays nation cares about at this time but Wil Myers has the chance to be a game changer in the outfield.  He is coming off one of the better minor league seasons in 2012 cracking 37 HRs and slashing 314/387/600. 

Stay tuned for the full details of the trade as they are released.

UPDATE: 11:23pm – Tampa Bay trades James Shields and Wade Davis to Kansas City for Wil Myers, Jake Odorizzi, Mike Montgomery and Patrick Leonard.

Honestly, this is quite a haul for Tampa Bay and this could look very lopsided in 2-3 years.  Some respected pundits are already calling this an idiotic trade for Kansas City (Rob Neyer for one).  This was probably a tad too much to give up for one starting pitcher and the price of poker (for any other half decent starter) definitely just went up.

Ken Rosenthal Poses Hypothetical RA Dickey Blue Jays Trade Offer

Published December 9, 2012 AL East News , American League Rumours , Jays Rumours 5 Comments
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The New York Mets have not yet resigned veteran knuckleball pitcher R.A. Dickey to a contract extension and there have been rumors that the Toronto Blue Jays are interested in acquiring the 2012 NL Cy Young award winner.  Ken Rosenthal wrote a piece today and came up with a hypothetical trade offer between the New York Mets and Toronto Blue Jays.

The Mets are far apart on a two-year extension with Dickey, major league sources say. And teams interested in trading for Dickey say the Mets’ asking price is high.

Obviously, the Mets would have moved Dickey by now if they had received a suitable offer. But Dickey’s trade value is indeed subject to debate.

“Hard guy to evaluate,” one rival GM said Saturday.

Dickey is 38. He throws a knuckleball, which many baseball officials dismiss as a “trick pitch.” And while his salary in 2013 is an absurdly modest $5 million, he is eligible for free agency at the end of the season.

So, what is his true value in a trade?

What does Rosenthal feel the offer could look like?

Possibility No. 2: Dickey for Blue Jays catcher J.P. Arencibia and center fielder Anthony Gose.

The Jays definitely would say “no” to this. They would be trading a combined 10 years of control over Arencibia and Gose — both of whom play premium up-the-middle positions — for one year of Dickey.

Arencibia, the veteran in the package, still is a year away from arbitration, and under club control through ’16. Travis D’Arnaud, a top prospect, eventually will surpass him. But catcher is another position of scarcity — and rising salaries — increasing Arencibia’s value.

Here, perhaps, is a better idea: Dickey for Arencibia, straight up. The Jays obviously are trying to win; otherwise, they would not have made their blockbuster with the Marlins. And while Arencibia has averaged 21.5 homers the past two seasons, his career on-base percentage, in nearly 900 plate appearances, is .275.

Any takers?

AL Eastbound On Twitter!

  • Wow if any of the Jays pitchers have balls Yunel must be plunked tomorrow. #hotdog 7 hours ago
  • Ha Colby establishes dominance in outfield on that seventh inning catch in front of Gose! #rook 7 hours ago
  • That .400 babip in May sure hasn't hurt Melky's resurgence! #bluejays 8 hours ago
  • As bad as Brett Lawrie was in April (609 OPS) he's been even worse in May (595 OPS). Only 121 PAs this season but still... #bluejays 8 hours ago
  • Nick Diaz is applying for his promoters license? First show in Stockton, CA? Over/under on murders that night - 5,6? #ufc 8 hours ago

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