Fasano is a modest talent but with a great attitude.  Whether he's in Toronto or in Syracuse, I will be rooting for him. 

Speaking of which, did Tom Wilson retire last year?  He is now 36, and I hope that he finds a job in baseball after his playing days are over.

Fasano is a nice little insurance move, something JP is getting to be very adept at.

Promoting Phillips this year only helps his credibility there, too.

Importantly, this means they don't have to rush Thigpen at all. If he is clubbing the minors to the point where stagnation could set in, bring him up. If he's not, just use Fasano if a C goes down.

For David Wells, I question how useful he'd be. I like the idea of gaining another SP candidate as much as the next Bauxite, but he's no answer.

Fasano is a modest talent but with a great attitude.

What Fasano does have is a great power bat for a catcher.  His ability to make contact is so iffy that he's not a good hitter, but he does have good power.

Blair puts Boomer rumors to rest.

I'm not sure where to put this, but there's an item on Adam Lind at www.minorleagueball.com followed by a prospect retro on Jimmy Key.  I found it interesting that Sickels predicted Lind would challenge Gordon and and Delmon Young for the ROY award.

Fasano had a hard time keeping the ball in front of him when with the Os. We called him Passed Ball Sal. The scorer seemed to be in love with him though -- often charged the pitcher with a wild pitch instead of immobile Sal with the PB.

I doubt they were just being kind to Sal - I've always found the scorers in Camden Yards to favor the fielders.

I love these low risk insurance moves. There's very little to lose and what with injuries and if in this case Phillips doesn't play worth a darn at least theres a fallback position.

Another thing I like about Fasano is that he's actually been a respectable hitter against lefties over the last three years (.271/.346/.542 in an admittedly small sample size of 96 AB. The stats are from ESPN.com, which provides three-year splits. Anyone know where to find career splits?).

On paper, this team is stacked against opposing lefty pitchers.

You can get career splits off Baseball Reference now. Fasano has hit  .228/.305/.449 against left-handed pitching over his career (272 ABs).

The Jays claimed Ray Olmedo on waivers earlier today from the Reds.

Good depth move. It looks like JP is going to give a lot of players a chance at getting the starting SS role this spring, just like with the 4th/5th starters.  He had a  .717 OPS in AAA last year, not bad. If he posted that in the majors, he'd be far better than both McDonald and Clayton. He also sounds like a better defensive player than either of them. A platoon with Clayton agaisnt lefties (he hits them relatively well), and Olmedo agaisnt righties might not be bad. This move could pay off, you never know.

BTW, this is another move that shows the doubt the Jays have in Russ Adams.

Do you have a link for the Olmedo move? Thanks.

The Jays should let Russ play the year out at second in AAA, and let him tear it up and work on his defence from the Port side of second.  If he defends well by the end of the year, and continues to rip up AAA pitching as he has in the past, they'll either have some useful trade bait or can pencil him at second and Hill at short in 2008.

I also expect Santos to rebound somewhat at AAA this year.  Maybe a BA in the neighbourhood of .275.  If he can mix in some walks, his development could get back on track.  He's still young.

You can get career splits off Baseball Reference now. Fasano has hit  .228/.305/.449 against left-handed pitching over his career (272 ABs).

Ouch. That's not quite as good. Still good power, though--as others have already noted.

Thanks for the stats source.