I think we'll see him in Toronto by September, earlier if there's an injury.

Note to Corey Koskie: this is not my fault.

Griffin would have made a lot of sense to promote, so let's think about what the promotion of Hill reveals about the Jays' thinking.

One, the team doesn't expect Koskie back any time soon -- maybe not till August (this will make it five consecutive seasons that Koskie's GP total has dropped: 153-140-131-118-???). Hill's here to stay.

Two, they think that Hill's ready for his close-up right now, Mr. DeMille. They're going to play him virtually every day and see what he's got. They're going to let Brian Butterfield train him and assess his defensive upside.

Three, and I haven't seen any announcement in this regard, but I can't believe Hill is up here primarily to DH. This is his audition, and the Jays need to see everything he's got, especially his glove; if he only DH'es, his evolution as a complete ballplayer will stagnate. If they wanted a straight DH, Griffin was there for the asking.

So that begs the question: where will Hill play? JP just finished saying they were taking the kid gloves off Russ Adams and letting him play shortstop every day. Despite my belief that Hill is eventually bound for second, they're obviously not going to put him there. That leaves only third base, replacing Koskie directly -- which would be strange indeed, because Hill hasn't played there since the Arizona Fall League, and Shea Hillenbrand would fully expect that he'd be first in line to take over at the hot corner.

Now, I've been thinking all along that Hillenbrand would be in Toronto only until the Jays could work him into a trade for a slugger sometime this season, or failing that, flip him to a contender that needs a solid righty stick in return for another John Hattig or Adam Peterson. But now the Jays are down an infield bat (and cleanup hitter), and their best hitting prospect is in The Show ahead of schedule.

At this point, the only scenario that makes any sense to me is that Hill and Hillenbrand will effectively split time at 3B and DH, with Hill getting more and more playing time there as he adjusts to the big leagues and benefits from Butterfield's instructions. By the time Koskie gets back, either Hillenbrand will be gone or they'll just rotate bodies as best they can.

In the off-season, though, the Jays will have Corey Koskie, Aaron Hill, Russ Adams, Orlando Hudson and Eric Hinske available to fill four infield positions. Someone's not going to survive this Musical Chairs, and at this point, I honestly have no idea who'll be the odd man out. It really could be any of them.

So, who won the Eric Crozier-Josh Phelps trade? Right now, it looks like Tampa Bay did, though the prize is far from stellar. Crozier regressed badly from last September and clearly doesn't figure in the team's plans, even as a reserve. A disappointing deal in every respect.

From the Aaron Hill interview, Hill on Butterfield: Absolutely love him. He's one of the best guys I've ever met...You can really understand him - he's easy to listen to. Some guys can tell you what you're doing wrong and it's kind of hard to listen, but he's a wonderful coach and a great guy.

Sounds good.

So, who won the Eric Crozier-Josh Phelps trade? Right now, it looks like Tampa Bay did

That's a neat trick -- winning a trade in which you don't take part. I understand your point anyway. Toronto doesn't have anything to show for it, Cleveland certainly has nothing and the D-Rays are the only ones who currently have one of those players on their 40-man roster.

As I said before, I would have called Griffin up, but I am very excited to see Aaron Hill. He's one of my favourite players from last year's Fisher Cats that I haven't seen yet -- Hattig and Rosario still to come -- and he's crucial to the Blue Jays' future.

Does this say anything about the Jays' thoughts re: Hillenbrand's defense at third? His D at 3B is below average, right? Perhaps they don't like having him there every day for a few months and Hill was the best option. Now that I think about it, that's not a good reason. If all they wanted was a stopgap 3B, Jason Alfaro could fill in.

Yes, just for the record, I did know that. My too-clever-by-half point was that neither Toronto nor Cleveland benefitted.

Rios for Francis? In a split-second. The Rox would never do it, though, unless the Jays also threw in, say, Brandon League and Gus Chacin, and also took on one of their deadweight contracts. Someone suggested Preston Wilson earlier, whom I have no real interest in, but who might help make the deal remotely palatable from Colorado's perspective. Francis is a franchise ace.

Mike, normally I'd agree, and the Jays are suddenly awash in left-handed starters in the majors and minors. But Francis is an extremely rare talent, and he's ready to be a #2 starter behind Doc today and an ace shortly down the road. Moreover, I think it's easier and safer to sign a big-name outfielder in the off-season than a big-name starter. But it's all moot, since this is a trade that's squarely in the realm of fantasy on both sides.

Back when we were having the Hillenbrand-stole-Gross'-playing-time argument, I said that the acquisition of Hillenbrand was a clear sign that the Jays expected Koskie to need time off and/or get hurt at some point. I'd say that this is further proof that they've thought long and hard about what to do with an injured Koskie.

I completely love that this team thinks that far ahead. I mean, they're not just sitting there with their fingers crossed saying "Oh, I hope this year will be the year he plays 162 games!" He was a definite injury risk, but the way they've played it has been really smart. I suppose last year's parade of pain may have had some influence, too.

1) Marketing.
2) Hillenbrand is not a power hitter. Koskie is. But Hillenbrand is a good player who could spell Koskie to try to keep him fresh or replace him with a good level of production if and when the injury came. I'm a fan of Frank Menechino, but I don't want to see him as the Jays' starting third baseman for eight weeks.

The plan was not for Koskie to get injured, obviously. But that wasn't something they could really count on, was it?

You're worried about Aaron Hill's hustle? I thought he was a classic JP guy.

Personally, as long as Roy Halladay the Groundball Machine is on this team, I'd rather have Hudson and his otherworldly defense at second base. At this point, though, Hudson is probably the most tradeable infielder the Jays have.