This move makes a ton of sense, if a tad late (I guess JP had to save face for the marketing department and their "wild card" ads). Now is the time to figure out if Thigpen is enough of a catcher to stick at the position at the MLB level. If he proves not to be good enough defensively but good with the stick, perhaps move him to 2B and move Hill to SS (a move I don't like as he's good at 2B and probably only an above-adequate SS).

Benji Molina's caught stealing %s:

2005 - 31.3% Angels
2006 - 18.1% Jays
2007 - 28.3% Giants

Sure looks like a big part of the problem is with the pitchers.

Both Zaun and Phillips are at 8-9% so Thigpen would have to be just really brutal back there to not be good enough defensively.

I was wondering if Thigpen's arrival in the Show  might  lead to a reverse-domino series of promotions- Diaz to Syracuse, Jeroloman to New Hampshire, Jaspe to Dunedin, Arencibia to Lansing and Collins to Auburn. 

This can only be good news for the Jays.  They either find out they have a quality guy behind the plate in Thigpen, or they realize that he'd be better in the field and make that move quickly. 
I don't think many of us will mourn the loss of Jason Phillips...

Eric Kratz just returned from injury and he is now assigned to AA.  Syracuse now has Diaz and Fasano.  New Hampshire has Kratz, Bormaster and Schneider.  I don't see Jeroloman being promoted yet unless Bormaster or Schneider gets sent down.  If Jeroloman comes up Kratz has to be a AA backup, I am not sure if the Jays want to do that.

Diaz is catching game one of the Syracuse doubleheader today.

 

I like this move. Thigpen did alright in the majors, at least enough to warrant some more playing time, especially behind the plate. Zaun won't last forever and he'll need his time off here and there, so this way, the Jays can see if Thigpen will be an adequate replacement at the position for the future. I also don't really love the idea of moving him to 2B and Hill to SS, and if this happened, I'd definitely want J-Mac on the roster to come off the bench when optimal defense is necessary. But they've got the talent evaluators, and all I can really do is sit here and speculate.

And if another catcher is really needed (e.g., Zaun gets injured), well, Sal's still around.

Good time to see what we have in Thigpen. I would agree that given our positional needs and some scouts views of his defence, he should be given every opportunity to succeed behind the plate. If he can make a decent showing in 100 or more ABs this year, maybe they have a decent 45-game back-up for Zaun in 2008.

He certainly made a nice throw to nab (Tyner?) at second base tonight.