I don't see a dilemma myself.  Reed is coming back down to earth and unfortuantely for him, solidifying the notion he is not a full time player.  I don't think Reed or Cat have to pop to be a full time LF.  However, a platoon has worked quite well.

It would be ideal, I think, to have Reed, Cat and Lind revolving thru DH and LF, with all three possibly playing at the same time when Wells or Rios are injured or needing a day off.  If you look at as 5 players for 4 positions - it really is the bare minimum.

And having the five players for 4 positions allows each of them ample playing time, while slowing bringing Lind up to speed.  Of course if Cat is signed multi-year, one of them will have to go the following year, as I don't think it will take too long for Lind to adjust.  I think calling Lind "Cat with more power" seems pretty realistic.

The team needs to focus on resigning (or trading) Wells, getting a quality SS, and shoring up the rotation.

    Johnson is still in the top-10 in league batting, he's hit 12 home runs, and he's a defensive wizard too.   Surely he deserves a full-time slot in the lineup next year.

   I'd be concerned about platooning Lind and Cat, if both are available.  Cat is close to the top 10 in batting average (he only needs a few more ABs to qualify) and is a lock to hit .300 every year.  He deserves a lot of playing time.  But Lind's development could be blocked if he is playing only part-time.  He might be much better than a 4th outfielder and back-up DH, if given the chance.

Rios is hard to gauge because he missed time and lost weight during his DL stint. He was walking a lot more before the injury, in addition to the significant power surge. I wouldn't mind trading Rios, but he's not someone I can conclude is over or underachieving. Frankly, I have no idea which is the real Rios.

With Johnson, it's a bit easier to judge. He doesn't have untapped power potential, and he's not much of a walk player, so his worth will be dicated primarily by batting average. The question becomes, is Johnson a .320 hitter? Can he maintain his current .180 ISO? I'd have to say no on both counts. Especially now that he's about to turn 30 and is getting more expensive, he's a perfect candidate to trade at his highest value (Ricciardi never sells high, so this might be a moot point anyway).

Rios will definitely get more in a trade, but I wouldn't trade him over Johnson unless the player(s) the Jays are getting for Rios would be a significant upgrade at a needed position (SP, SS). Right now, Johnson is much more expendable.

Just an FYI, I had a staph infection (shoulder) in 1993 and needed a full 3 months of physio to get back my full range of motion.  And even then, my dreams of a professional waterpolo career ended in high school.

Obviously, Rios' ankle is a less crucial part of his body as a hitter, and he is a pro athlete and therefore may recover more quickly than most human beings (like myself).  But given my personal experience, it is, even now, way too early to subscribe to Ron's theory that Rios will not get back to where he was.

Also note that the ankle injury may well have impacted Rios' defence; I'm curious if his Canseco move around Pesky's Pole would have occurred before June 27.  But we'll never know.

"Obviously, Rios' ankle is a less crucial part of his body as a hitter"

I would probably argue the exact opposite. The legs are the very foundation upon which a swing is built. Even more so than pitchers, a hitter's power is generated by the legs and without a stable/strong base, it is hardly  surprising that said hitter would struggle. No legs, no bat speed, no power. 

Hodgie is absolutely correct.  Any loss of motion (or especially feedback) in Rios's lower leg will have terrible results for his balance and weight transfer, and therefore sap him of power and making it hard for him to hit the ball hard.  A hitter's balance is most crucial; all the power in a swing comes, essentially, out of the ground and through the legs.

Quote from Vernon Wells:

"I have money in the bank and I have money that my kids are going to be able to use, hopefully I can get some more that their kids will be able to use."

In otherwords, with JP sending him an enormous contract to him in the mail, he'd be a fool not to seriously consider it, knowing that injury or market value could fluctuate and he may never see a deal like that again.

I have to agree with Ron entirely:

"He takes weird routes to fly balls and sometimes lets balls get pass him that he should have been able to track/block in the first place."

I have to say (and not because of that terrible play in Boston that will forever haunt our dreams), that Rios' fielding is vastly over-rated. Sure he has the cannon, but he rarely looks comfortable on hard hit balls, under running balls, and taking terrible routes to balls in the corner.

From my vantage point, he totally butchered that first flyball hit off Accardo that started the whole meltdown the other night, running an "L" to get himself to the corner. There's no doubt he's got the potential to be one of the best players in the game, and undoubtably the tools to become a perenial all-star.

But I have to say, much of his game is still a "work in progress" - I wouldn't be the first to pen him as Vernon's cheaper, miracle replacement just yet.

lock up their young players to long-term deals like with Hinske/Wells because its too risky

Funny how times change.  When Hinske and Wells signed it was because it was too risky not to sign them.  Those signings gave the Jays 'cost certainty'.  And in the end the Jays came out ahead with those 2 deals combined.

Signing players early is generally a good idea if it's a top level player, but the Jays don't have anyone worth locking up long term right now.  Rios would be the only consideration in my mind.  No one else is going to perform so well that the Jays would save significant money by signing them now.