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.

Alex adds the 1st Real Impact Piece: John Buck, C (29)

I'll let you guys read through his stats here, but in layman's terms - he's as good if not better than Barajas offensively. I say possibly better because he's reaching that peak performance age for catchers. With the addition of Raul Chavez through a minors deal (perhaps to teach JP some things in AAA) our catching position is getting much stronger. The contract is only 1 year, which gives John incentive to play well and allows for JP to take over in 2011, and for a decent $2 million. With Jason Kendall getting 6 million, Ivan Rodriguez getting 6 million, both over 2 years, this makes Alex Anthopolous look like a genius. Not only that, but he did it extremely quickly - before any other teams could grab him. Word had the Rangers and at least 6 other teams looking to pick him up. I'm liking the start to the post tendering a lot more than the winter meetings.

Acquisition Grade: Grade: A+

Non-Tendered Adds for the Jays?

There are some really intriguing names on the list of non-tenders this season. The Jays tendered all of their players except Raul Chavez. Now that they don't have 1 catcher on the 40-man roster, they'll definitely be signing a FA including the possibility of grabbing one who was non-tendered. Here is the list of guys the Jays could grab at the right price in order of the ones I'd most like to see in a Jasy uniform for 2010. For a complete list of non-tendered guys, MLBTR is your source at this link.

• Adam Miller: One finger. That's all that stands in the way of this guy becoming a #2 or even a #1 pitcher. If the doctors look at him and see he could stay healthy, sure, give him a whirl. Otherwise it's just a sad story for a great guy. In 2006, at 21, he pitched AA/AAA at a line of 158 IP, 161 Ks, only 46 BB and a 2.84 ERA. He threw 6 games in 2008 and still held a 1.88 ERA, but had to shut it down and has had 2 surgeries on the finger since. He could be the best option in terms of ceiling / upside  if a "cure" can be found for his ailment. Anyone know a stem cell guy who can grow him a new finger? lol.
• Ryan Church: Not sure he'd want to play in Toronto, but his defense is way better than Lind's and he's more of a full time player than Bautista. If the Jays play him enough for him to increase his value, he may accept. He's not flashy, but then again the Jays don't need flashy, just steady, and Church gives you that with a .275 to .280 average and potential for 10-15 HRs. His OBP is nice and he'd help fill a hole in our OF until help comes along in the form of Yohermyn Chavez or Darrin Mastroianni.
  
• Scott Olsen: Sure, he's been caught for DUI and went downhill in WAS, but wouldn't you? He has some talent, and is only one season removed from throwing 201 innings with 113 Ks and a 4.20 ERA / 1.309 whip. The upside here is real, but the ceiling may be low in the AL East.
  
• Matt Capps: Since the Jays are already going to deal Accardo, and are rumored to want to deal Downs due to his impending FA status after 2010 and high salary, Capps would be the right kind of reclamation project to get into the pen at a decent rate. I'm not sure if he'd be content with a relief role, but it's worth a try.
• Chien-Ming Wang: Everyone is saying he'll end up with the LAD, but if the Jays give him an opportunity to get back at the Yankees for letting him go, maybe they get him at a discount. He'd need to prove he's effective again, but he knows how to pitch and could easily become a #2 again if healthy.
• John Buck and Josh Anderson: Someone should really go into KC and fire their GM for the poor owner who has to live through all of these non-sense moves. Kendall at 2 years and 6 million instead of Buck? Buck's younger and has more pop. As for Anderson, he has lots of speed and makes the perfect replacement for Joe Inglett. He's only going to be 27 next season and is an excellent defensive player. Buck must have more interest for the Jays though. He can pop one out steadily (about 15-18 per season), but he only threw out 16%  of basestealers. 
• Mark Worrell: Great RP, 80 Ks in 58 IP in 2008, but sat out 2009 with injury. Would need to sign 2 years and rehab in the minors a little, but he'd be a great addition to any pen.
• Alfredo Amezaga: Great bench player, can play anywhere and has some speed with ok OBP.
• DJ Carrasco: The Jays can't afford him and chances are he wants to contend, but he's a decent 32 year old pen guy.
• Jack Cust: I don't see him as a Jay since we have Lind as 70% DH, but his pop can't be ignored. He'll land in CHW or another AL team, but doubtful it's TO.