JP's Parting Gifts

I always knew JP had no vision as to what to do with the Jays. As a result, he barely ever made any deals, and when he did they were usually minor inconsequential trades that were barely noticed league wide. He had 3 big signings (BJ Ryan, AJ Burnett, Frank Thomas) and let those sit on the side and rot until they stuck to high heavens. However, just before leaving the landscape graced by Rogers Centre, JP gave us 2 parting gifts that may have a major impact on the Blue Jays going forward.

Parting Gift #1

When this deal was made, JP was still firmly planted as the team GM and the Jays still had high hopes of winning, even if those hopes were misplaced. He dealt Graham Godfrey and Kristian Bell in return for Marco Scutaro. Both Godfrey and Bell are now fringe at best prospects in AA, and Marco will net the Jays 2 very high picks in next year's draft. Picks that can turn out to be Cecil and Snider type players who can change a team for the long term. Alex and his new scouting army will have a field day with these pick and should they pan out, the picks will impact the Jays for 6-8 years at a minimum once they make the bigs.

Parting Gift #2

Who knows what the Reds thought when they made that deal with JP before the deadline. Maybe they felt bad for him because they knew he was going to get fired, or maybe they had too much to drink and signed the wrong offer. Whatever the case, the fact that the Jays were able to net Edwin Encarnacion, Zach Stewart, and Josh Roenicke for Scott Rolen (who was really supposed to be an injured Troy Glaus) is beyond belief. Edwin could easily go back to hitting 20+ HRs, is younger and cheaper than Rolen, and, should he rediscover his form, could net the Jays more players in the future. Zach Stewart is such a high profile prospect that he could actually be the best Jays prospect in the system now. Rumours are that he'll be used as a starter in AAA, and he could impact the Jays performance in 2010. Josh Roenicke is a very capable, young, and cheap option for the pen that is ready to produce in 2010. All that for a 35 year old injury prone, mind you gold glove and clutch hitting, third baseman. Both Stewart and Roenicke are under control long term and give the Jays some much needed pitching depth, while also allowing the Jays to deal the likes of Jeremy Accardo and rest some rehabbing SP due to their presence.

So, to review:

JP gave up: Graham Godfrey, Kristian Bell, and Scott Rolen (Troy Glaus)

JP got the Jays: 2 years of Marco Scutaro, Zach Stewart, Josh Roenicke, Edwin Encarnacion, 2 top 100 picks in the 2010 draft.

Two very nice gift scenarios that I hope Alex enjoys thoroughly and thank JP for as he takes the road to his next MLB team. Whichever team it is, they may also have to wait 6-8 years for him to make such deals and overspend on FAs in order to sustain "JP's visionless vision."

1B Brian Dopirak doing well in AAA

Lyle Overbay could be traded by the July 31st deadline, and Brian Dopirak could be the benefactor. The 25 year old has had a tremendous season in AA with one ingredient that the Jays could really use: power. He had 19 dingers in his 328 ABs while in AA, and drove in 68 RBIs in the process. His OBP .374, slg .576, and OPS .951, were all very impressive. So, he has since been promoted to AAA when they let Mr.Harper go and although he hasn't hit a HR yet, he is doing well with a .333 average over 33 ABs.

Dopirak hit 29 HRs last season between HiA Dunedin and AA New Hampshire. He was originally drafted by the Cubs in 2002 (56th overall) and was their minor league player of the year in 2004. They let him go in 2008 when the Jays pounced on him and decided to give him a shot. He's already been the player of the week twice this season in AA and was an All-Star last season in HiA. If Lyle is moved, I'm sure Brian will get a very good opportunity to prove himself with the Jays.

Brian Bullington dealing from the pen in AAA

Brian Bullington may prove useful at some point for the Jays and has settled in very nicely in the Las Vegas pen. His last 10 appearance have him dealing 12 innings, striking out 14 and only allowing 2 ER while walking only 3. They have also moved him into the closing role on the squad, with Brian's last 2 appearances being saves, he has 3 overall on the season. With the Jays beginning to look like laggers in the standings, they could decide to make a move or two from their pen and call up guys like Bullington and AA's Daniel Farquhar. Either way, it looks like Bullington's acquisition may have to go into the "good move" column for JP's repertoire.