Two Months of Moves Under Alex "The Great" Anthopolous

*List Updated as of 23 Dec 09

Alex Anthopolous took over at the helm for the Jays a mere 2 months ago, and already his impact can be felt throughout the organization. A Summary of his transactions in this short period of time are as follows:

Late October (pen addition)

• Claimed RP Sean Henn (28 yrs old) off waivers from the Orioles

November (fixed the infield, protected the right players, and added depth + speed)

• Signed SS John MacDonald (35 yrs old) to a $3,000,000 2-year deal
• Signed SS Alex Gonzalez (32 yrs old) to a $2,750,000 1 yr deal with option for 2011
• Protected both 1B Brian Dopirak and SP Reidier Gonzalez by placing them on 40-man roster
• Claimed INF Mike McCoy (28 yrs old) (who stole 40 bases in AAA in 09) off waivers from Colorado
• Claimed INF Jarrett Hoffpauir (26 yrs old) off waivers from the Cardinals

December

• Claimed RP Zechry Zinicola (24 yrs old) as rule 5 from the Washington Nationals
• Signed C John Buck (29 yrs old) as a FA from the KC Royals (quickly) for $2,000,000
• Signed C Raul Chavez (37 yrs old) to a minor league contract, which gives the Jays flexibility to have him in AAA and depth at C
• Signed OF Joey Gathright (28 yrs old) to a minor league contract as OF depth
• Resigned 3B/OF Jose Bautista to a $2,400,000 1 yr deal, avoiding arbitration
• Signed SP/RP Lance Broadway (26 yrs old) as a FA
• Traded SP Roy Halladay (32 yrs old)  and $6,000,000 to the Phillies in return for OF Michael Taylor (25 yrs old), SP Kyle Drabek (22 yrs old), C Travis d'Arnaud (20 yrs old)
• Traded OF Michael Taylor (25 yrs old) to OAK in return for 1B/3B Brett Wallace (23 yrs old)
• Signed FA C Ramon Castro (33 yrs old) to split time with John Buck
• Traded RP Brandon League (26 yrs old) and OF Yohermyn Chavez (21 yrs old) to Seattle in return for SP/RP Brandon Morrow (24 yrs old)

Alex is also responsible for letting Marco Scutaro and Rod Barajas walk, instead of resigning them, which has or will net the Jays the 33rd, 45th, and 68th overall picks in the 2010 draft.

As related to 2010, when you add up the money sent to the Phillies, and the signings of Buck (2m), Gonzalez (2.75m), MacDonald (1.5m), and Bautista (2.4m), and subtract it from the salary they save from dealing Doc (9.75m), the Jays end up with $1,150,000 less in salary even with the addition of a starting SS and C.

When Alex took over, the Jays were weakest at SS, C, and in being held up by a potential Doc deal. In 2 months, he's taken care of all of those things, has added young and projectable players that fulfill exactly what the Jays needed this offseason. He's not done yet, obviously, but as we head into the Christmas break, we can rest assured that the Jays are finally headed into a new direction. Once filled with youth, excitement, and the potential to grown into something magical in the very near future.

The Jays Nab Morrow from M's

I wrote an article at Jays Journal about the trade, and am certain every blogger out there will have an opinion on the trade. You have to believe it was dreamed up during the Doc dealings, where the Jays most likely voiced their preference of Morrow in a deal, and you can't blame them. He's young, cheap, under control through 2013, and has potential as a starter. While some wonder if the Jays will start Morrow or place him in relief, I think the fact that they're willing to deal both Brandon League and a prospect for him tells us he's going to get a chance to start and was priced accordingly in a deal.

League, meanwhile, gives the Mariners a nice 1-2 punch in the pen and provides some insurance for Aardsma, should he falter in 2010.

It was a very trade by Alex "The Great", and he's definitely living up to his name thus far. I love the deal and do hope they give Morrow a chance to start. Nothing says a change of speed in the rotation like a guy who can hit 100 MPH with his fastball!