The Winter Meetings begin next week and sportswriters are already complaining about free accomodations. Anyway, the Jays shouldn't be expected to make any bold moves, but youneverknow.
"Our approach will be a little different in the sense that we're not going there sitting on a free agent or waiting on a free agent, but we are going there trying to be as aggressive as we can," Ricciardi said in an interview this week. "What this will allow us to do is really sit back and ask clubs point blank, 'What are you trying to do? Would you do this for this?' It gives us a chance to put as many plates in the air as possible."
This article mentions that LoDuca might be on the Jays radar.
I wouldn't be against LoDuca if Thigpen isn't in the plans (which I think
he should be, but no one asks me). LoDuca has more often than not been
better in the first half of the year than the second. So I'd tend to
believe that he wears down over the course of a season. Zaun's been
better in the 1st half as well over the last 3 years.
If the Jays had a 50/50 split between Zaun and LoDuca next season (or
maybe shifting a little more to Zaun 60/40) I think they'd be in decent
shape at the position. Both should be fairly fresh and if one gets
injured you're not crippled if the other has to play full time for a
period.
To end up on the Jays I think LoDuca would need to see there's no full
time starting options and no multi-year deals out there for him. (And
I don't know if that'd be the case). A one year deal at $3 million
(essentially Torrealba money) would be reasonable in my mind.
It sounds like the Padres will be offering Michael Barrett arbitration so that would effectively take him off of the Jays radar.
https://www.battersbox.ca/article.php?story=20071130122418272