You forgot about Frank Thomas.    He's the 13th man, so there's no room for anyone else.

Too bad they couldn't get anything for him, but there is obviously not a huge market for a 4th outfielder making 3 plus million dollars a year.  I could see him being a huge asset in the NL given his defensive prowess and the need for late inning subs and pinch-hitters.  Regardless, this seems to open the door for Lind and potentially even Snider by the end of this year.

Good luck Reed.  You were a great Blue Jay while you were here.

Well, I'm a bit saddened by this move.  He's a perfect starter versus LHP and a great defensive replacement for Stairs.  I wonder if this means that Stewart will be more of an everyday player.  Maybe Stairs sees more time at DH.  Maybe Hurt struggles to get his 376 PA.  Otherwise, Reed is a perfect fourth outifielder.  Except for the $3.5m.  I think the Brass was impressed with Buck Coats, too.  We have a lot of potential fourth outfielders in Coats, Matthews, Smith, Patterson, Lind and eventually Snider that this might have made too much sense economically.

No, I'm still confused.

(As an aside) Man I wish they'd drafted Tulowitzki. Shortstop looks like it's going to be a real sinkhole for upcoming years, at a time when it really can't be.

How gross will the outfield look defensively if either Wells or Rios is lost to injury? Stewart-Wells/Rios-Stairs. Ugh. If one of those two go down, I'd strongly consider bringing the much more useful defensive outfielder Buck Coats up so he can atleast play left or right in the late innings. Should Stairs or Stewart be injured, than Adam Lind should be the one to get the call.

Blair mentioned in his latest blogs that it won't be a strict platoon in LF.  If that's the case then it makes a little more sense to go with Stewart who hits righties equally well, and certainly hits them a lot better than Johnson.  There have been rumblings that if Thomas continues to struggle, especially against right-handed pitching, that he might be spelled off.  I wonder if the Jays are preparing themselves for the possibility that Stairs will see time at DH.

Also of interest in Blair's blog was the suggestion that Ricciardi might select his bullpen so that the Jays can "keep everybody".  I can't believe that they'd keep Wells instead of Wolfe just so they don't lose Wells.  They should go with the seven best arms, regardless.  Wolfe is the perfect guy to bring in against tough right-handed hitters (they had a ridiculous .356 OPS against him last year).

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/blogs/baseball

ahhhhhhhh!!!! Scott Rolen fractures finger today.....

Ricciardi: “Early prognosis is it’s not going to be six weeks or something like that, so I don’t even want to throw a schedule out there. I can say this: he won’t be lost for the year.”

I am confused by this quote.  By saying it is not going to be six weeks does this mean it will be less or more?  I presume less but how long is fair to assume?

http://network.nationalpost.com/np/blogs/postedsports/archive/2008/03/23/jays-notebook-rolen-fractures-finger-in-infield-drill.aspx

Welcome to another injury prone year for the Jays.  This sucks and it makes opening night a little less interesting.  Does Lind now get called up? 

“I don’t think it’s going to be a month. I think it’s less than that,” Ricciardi speculated. “It could be a week, two weeks, three weeks. I really don’t want to speculate . . . We’ll know more after (the medical consultation).”

http://www.thestar.com/Sports/Baseball/article/349970

According to Ricciardi, Rolen lost most of the nail in the bloody mishap. What little remains was stitched back onto Rolen’s finger by the Jays training staff.

The skin and bone underneath are painfully exposed. Toronto hopes that the specialist will be able to suggest a way to protect the finger and speed the healing.

Rolen also broke the top knuckle on his right middle finger.

http://www.sportingnews.com/yourturn/viewtopic.php?t=390497

 My instinct is I am preparing for the worst-case scenario but I can say this, he won't be lost for the year," Ricciardi said.

First round of World Baseball Classic to be held in Toronto in 2009.

 http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20080323&content_id=2452760&vkey=news_mlb&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb

• I would assume that there were signs of weakness in Reeder's back.  Gritty players are only gritty because they're durable and can get HBP, dive for balls, and do the things Reed did before he got injured.  Gritty players are only needed when they're durable.
• First Burnett, now Rolen...hopefully this isn't the beginning of another stretch of another snake-bit blue jays team.
  

Check out this interview with Keith Law; especially the last question.

http://www.richarddansky.com/index_2.htm#FFWKL

I don't get this move because, as Mike said, I'd rather have both than the 7th reliever and I'd rather have Johnson than Stewart. If Reed's back was still an issue I'd understand it, but it doesn't seem like that's the case. Reed seems to fit with Stairs better as he can handle lefties and is a better defensive player than Stewart. The writing's been on the wall for Reed since the team signed Stewart, but I'm no closer to understanding what they prefer in Stewart to Reed than his ability to hit righties a bit better, which I still think is outweighed by Reed's versatility and defensive value.

As a huge Reed fanboy I'm disappointed by the move. I've got a ton of great memories of Reed's time here from his leadoff and walkoff homers in the same game to his diving catch in his first game back from his severe back injury. I just wish I had another season to accumulate those memories. 

And now the other half of Freed Johnsolanatto exits. Always remember them. The platoon used to perfection.

Any update on Rolen?

And what if Lind breaks through?

He was above average as a fielder last year (if that Dial guy's work is to mean anything!), and if he becomes above average as a hitter then the situation is easier to manage if you don't have all of Stewart, Johnson, and Stairs around to deal with. Then Stairs can turn into a bonafide "give Thomas and Overbay" rest, PH specialist, and Stewart can be the 4th outfielder, PH, and a good pinch running candidate.

I know Lind struggled last year, which attributes to a flaw in his swing, which he apparently corrected this off season through a visit to an old coach. Do you believe it? Is it relevant? I'm betting that Lind turns a corner this year towards becoming a reliable, everyday, starting LF'er.

That's what I'm betting. What i'm hoping is that Lind is our everyday LF by June putting up a line around 290/355/475

As long as it's still Spring Training, let's stay optimistic!

Rolen had surgery on his hand today:

http://www.globesports.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20080324.wpst-rolen-update24/GSStory/GlobeSportsBaseball/home

Gibbons says he'll be out "at least" two weeks.  I also heard Wilner on The Fan 590 at 17:00 Hrs., say that Rolen would likely be out two weeks, missing just the first week of the season.

Well, I'm certainly not an expert but reading "surgery", and "pin was inserted", in the same sentence scares me a little.  I'm going to expect to see Scutaro playing 3B for the first three weeks of the season.

Buck Coats will replace Rolen on the roster. 

Just watching Jays and Cincy on MLB.com and the Red commentators are speculating that something may be going down trade wise with the Jays.  They point to the last minute change to have Carlson (who is lights out this spring) start instead of Marcum.  They go on to say that Marcum will pitch from inning 2 on tonight.  Apparantly there are about 8 front office guys at the game tonight which has fuelled their comments.  It may be nothing but I thought I would pass it along.  Keep your ears open.

Carlson has really impressed  I can see he is a lefty tossing sidewinder aged 27 but does anyone know anything about this guy?

BJ is officially going to start the season on the DL, hopes to be ready my mid-April.

I don't think that's necessarily true.
First, someone is only getting recalled if the injury causes Stairs or Thomas to go on the DL - in the cases of shorter injuries where the depth has to play all games (i.e. no recall), I still say Stewart > Reed.
Second, if Thomas goes on the DL, there is no guarantee the spot is filled with an OF.  With Stewart on the roster, we already have 4 OFers and don't necessarily need the extra bat for the OF.  We could use it on an IF (Thigpen) or perhaps even another reliever / starter (teams have been known to use DL replacements for position players as a chance to skip one turn in the rotation for a starter with a tired arm).  If Reed is the 4th OF, our call-up has to be able to play either DH or LF against RHP - with Stewart, we don't have that restriction and gain that flexibility.  So if Thomas is on the DL, Stewart > Reed.

I strongly disagree. I think any injury to an outfielder or DH would result in Lind being recalled. There's no service time issues with Lind, nor are there any option years issues. He was the first recalled last year when an injury occurred and he's being pushed from behind by Snider at a corner outfield where the Jays other player is basically set in Rios, given the team couldn't trade him this offseason for a good young starter. Snider could end up at 1B or DH, but there's also a strong possibility he'll end up in LF. There's no viable alternative that is likely to provide the production Lind would at Syracuse. Thigpen won't outproduce Lind and a 13th pitcher would be unwise, unless it was a temporary short-term fix because of particular circumstances. Fifteen or more days of a 13th pitcher would be foolish. Given all that, there's no reason not to call up Lind if an outfielder or the DH goes down.

Maybe Stewart is better for the team during an injury of a couple of days that doesn't cause a DL stint, but I'm not convinced of that either and I'm more concerned with who is the better fit over the course of the season, which I still think is Johnson.

Third, if Stairs goes down and we replace him with Lind, we're looking at the same situation we started from.  We haven't changed the role played by Reed or Stewart, so all of the above named scenarios are essentially the same (short-term injury to Lind or long/short-term injury to Thomas being favorable to Stewart; and Wells / Rios short-term and long-term injuries being a wash).  So if Stairs on the DL, I still say Stewart > Johnson.

You referenced that Johnson's only had one year that was clearly better than Stewart's 2007. Well, Stewart's OPS+ in 2005 and 2006 were 87 and 88, respectively. Meanwhile, Johnson's 66 last year occured during a year where he suffered a severe back injury and was working his way back to full health. Granted, he wasn't doing well before he went on the DL, but I don't think last year was a true reflection of his offensive capabilities. Meanwhile, in 2005 and 2006 his OPS+ were 96 and 124, respectively. Granted Stewart was better in 2004, but I think a more relevant way of looking at their offensive capabilities right now might be to look over the past 3 years, rather than at Stewart's 2007 compared to Johnson's career, and in 2 of the past 3 years Johnson has been better. So, I don't think it's as clear cut as you do that Stewart is the superior offensive player. Maybe he is, but Johnson's done better in 2 of the past 3 seasons.

You might point out that Johnson's had a platoon advantage that Stewart hasn't in those years. But, so what? If Johnson's going to be used in a platoon role in 2008 it doesn't matter if he's had a platoon advantage in the past because he'll have the same advantage going forward. Johnson may get a few starts against righties, but the majority would go to Stairs, or in the case of injury, Lind (as explained earlier, I think Lind is the first to be called up if any of Stairs, Wells, Rios or Thomas go down). As I said, it won't be a strict platoon, but I would think their respective performance against left-handed pitching is more relevant than it is against right-handed pitching.

Someone might counter that Johnson's had a platoon advantage that Stewart hasn't, so Stewart's stats look worse than Johnson's do. But that's not true, as the last year Stewart hit lefties better than righties was in 2003. He's hit righties better every year since 2004. His highest OPS against lefties over the past 3 seasons has been .700. Meanwhile, Johnson's had a higher OPS against lefties every year of his career with a career-low of .753 in 2005. Stewart's 2003 was the last time he hit lefties better than Johnson's career low mark. Stairs has hit lefties worse every year since 2000 (and then I stopped checking, as the conclusion was clear). Stairs has actually hit lefties better than Stewart in 2 of the past 4 seasons. Also, Reed is obviously the superior defensive player. His versatility helps us out in cases of short-term injury and, more importantly, he can serve as a late-inning defensive substitute in a way that Stewart can't. I think that is worth more consideration than you give it.

To conclude, the Jays released the player who is the better defender, has been better offensively in 2 of the past 3 seasons and who has consistently hit left-handers better in favour of the player who is the worse defender, who was better offensively last season but not in the two previous season and who consistently hits left-handers worse than right-handers. And they were battling for the right-handed part of an outfield platoon.

In 2005, Russ Adams still looked like he might be the long-term solution at short, and Orlando Hudson was at second. Plus, the Jays had Aaron Hill coming up behind them; at the time, he was still playing short. You can't really blame J.P. for taking a pitcher over a middle infielder in that draft.

Wow. Really Dave? This would be a 'agree to disagree' moment, I guess. I think well by that time all the cautionary expectations of Adams were being met, going back to when he was drafted both offensively and defensively. I think it looked cleary to anyone who didn't have something emotionally involved (Ricciardi), that Toronto had three second baseman realistically, and considering Hudson was always likely to be pushed out by Ricciardi, that left Hill as the best second baseman for future Jays clubs. Obviously, the majority of the Blue Jays brass had no faith in Adams as a MLB shortstop for a contending club, because they were prepared to draft a college SS with a #1 pick for the 3rd time in four years. To me this clearly reads as an instance where some one in a major position of power had lost his objectivity, and was making decisions based perhaps more on ego than pragmatism. I'm not trying to be harsh, but.

The reliable Jeff Blair is reporting that Rolen will be out for at least the first 2 or 3 weeks of the year and B.J. Ryan will be out until at least mid-April. 

http://www.globesports.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20080324.wsptblair24/GSStory/GlobeSportsBaseball/home

It was interesting to read Blair openly comment about trying to keep Thomas from reaching 376 plate appearances.  When Rolen returns, if Thomas is still struggling, I'm convinced Stewart will start a lot of games in LF with Stairs at DH against right-handers.  That could be part of the reasoning for keeping Stewart over Johnson (Stewart hits righties).

The good news is the possible Rios deal.  Wow.  I expected a deal that might eat up one or two years of free agency, but four years is fantastic.  If Snider continues to develop as expected the Jays will have an awesome outfield for at least the next 6 years.  There may be room for Adam Lind yet, if the Jays can keep Thomas from reaching 376 plate appearances he could take over at DH for the Jays in 2009.  Here's hoping.  And now I wait to hear about Hill's deal.

Major League Baseball unveiled on Monday from Tokyo its plans for the opening round of next year's Classic, to be staged beginning March 5, 2009, in Japan, Puerto Rico, Canada and Mexico. The U.S. is in Pool C and will play its opening-round games at Rogers Centre in Toronto.

I don't know but Street just blew the save.

An analysis of BJ Ryan's delivery. This person predicts that BJ will have to deal with arm problems for the rest of his career.

http://www.chrisoleary.com/projects/Baseball/Pitching/ProfessionalPitcherAnalyses/BJRyan.html

There is speculation that A.J. (fingernail) and Mr. Marcum (offseason knee surgery) may be left in Florida to get some extra innings in when the team heads north to start the season. Has anyone heard anything to this effect from the contingent of Toronto scribes/bloggers/radio personalities? What would this do to the first turn through the rotation... Halladay, McGowan, Litch... Jansen, Chacin, Zambrano, Okha??? er, wait. So much for pitching depth. Until I see it from one of the more 'traditional' sources I wont spend too much time worrying about it. Although JP's history of revealing - and by revealing i obviously mean obstructing, lying, and hiding - injuries, gives me enough reason to be just a little concerned.