Middle-infield depth:  Kawasaki?  Darwin Barney?  Jonathan Diaz?  Andy Burns?  Or someone new to the organization? 

Crap. Travis might end up being just a faint dream at 2B who was great for a bit to start but never makes it due to injuries. Goins is livable at 2B with that great D, but it'd be nice to have something better for everyday.

Pennington is getting $3.75 over 2 years from the Angels. Kawasaki is always a nice guy for AAA and the odd callup. Barney is much like Goins, solid D, little O, Jays will probably try to get him on a AAA deal. Jonathan Diaz is a free agent too (minor league variety) who is pure D no O.

Guess it's time to trade for Brett Lawrie :)

I guess the silver lining is that it isn't his throwing shoulder. 

John Lott describes the nature of the surgery on twitter.  Apparently the surgery is to fuse two bones that would normally attach in adolescence but did not do so.  The bones are causing pain and ultimately present a risk of rotator cuff impingement.  I have no idea whether the surgery might ultimately affect Travis' hitting mechanics at least insofar as they were early in 2015, but I do worry about that beautiful swing.

Travis might end up being just a faint dream at 2B who was great for a bit to start but never makes it due to injuries.

My pessimistic take exactly. Sure hope it doesn't play out that way.

Shades of Homer Bush? 

Andy Burns might be the answer, but there's limited depth behind him.  He certainly has the versatility and the ability to get on base, and until this season had shown an ability to steal bases.  How good is his D at 2nd?

We talked about AA SS Jorge Flores in the summer - he has a similar offensive profile to Burns but several Bauxites saw him as a AAAA type.  

Before we get too pessimistic about Travis, there's also a much more optimistic version.  It seems quite possible that the doctors have identified the source of the pain that was plaguing him for most of last year.  Here's a tweet by John Lott which explains it in a more positive manner, and seems to suggest that the surgery could solve the main problem that he suffered last year:

#BlueJays source says Travis had “extra bone growth” in shoulder. Was causing pain and limiting range of motion. Needed to be fused.

Not only does Goins offer great defense, but he posted a 108 wRC+ in the second half this year. If he can come anywhere close to that in 2016, he'll be one of the better second baseman in the league.

It's too bad it took the Jays and Travis so long to identify the problem. Presumably he could have had the surgery at least a few months ago. Maybe he wanted to see if he could avoid surgery by going the rehab route.

If you want to sign really good Players to Minor League contracts you need to pay them very well. For example: Pay $50 K per game at MLB level (approx. $$1.5 MM per month); and $5 K per game at MiLB level (approx. $150 K per month). That should increase the caliber of who is signed. The question that should be asked is can Darwin Barney play SS as well as 2B?

Does finishing 2ND (not winning) in Cy Young Voting alter who David Price what to pitch for? Might he still need to prove something in the AL?

Does finishing 2ND (not winning) in Cy Young Voting alter who David Price what to pitch for? Might he still need to prove something in the AL?

It's possible a team or two out there will slightly shift their offers based on the Cy Young voting, hoping his asking price might have gone down a bit. But it won't make a bit of difference to his final contract. I can't see Price "having something to prove" in the AL in particular - he's won a Cy Young and finished 2nd twice. He's proven he's generally healthy, reliably above average, and often one of the best 3-4 starters in the league.

I think the best chance the Jays have of signing him, assuming they would even be serious bidders, is the defense. There were a lot of reaction shot GIFs of Price this year celebrating great plays made on defense behind him. Oh, and the 7 runs scored per start with Toronto might help too if he's trying to break a tie between offers. Otherwise, Price would be dumb not to take the most money he can.

So maybe we shouldn't try to trade Goins afterall. Our starting 2B/SS combo doesn't have the best health track record.

The Jays would be taking massive risks trading Goins. With our 2B/SS combo having injury issues Goins is a very cheap and decent backup to have. Now we need to find a few more decent cheap backups to have in AAA and to back up 2B/SS whenever Tulo or Travis is hurt.

The Jays would be taking massive risks trading Goins. With our 2B/SS combo having injury issues Goins is a very cheap and decent backup to have. Now we need to find a few more decent cheap backups to have in AAA and to back up 2B/SS whenever Tulo or Travis is hurt.

I hear Maicer Izturis is a FA... <runs and ducks>

Ha!  I think we'd do better with Cesar at this point. 

With Goins in the fold, our middle IF depth is fine IMO - unless the Jays brass don't think Burns can provide acceptable D - does anyone have a sense?  I was fine with the idea of using Goins as a trade asset until the Travis injury, but certainly not at this point. 

We've been runnin' kawasaki out there, so I'm sure they don't mind too much ... I do hope we bring him back though, I love his energy and think he's a quality depth IF.  Tolleson seems to have alienated the club somehow, but a Tolleson-type in AAA would be nice, as would Diaz if we bring him back. 

Great news that Dan Scholman will be doing at least 30 games on Sportsnet TV next year.   His play by play and analysis will make the broadcasts so much more 'listenable'.

Possible rumours has Mets 2B/SS Ruben Tejada (26) being non-tendered. Is he worth acquiring as backup infielder?

He's recovering from a fractured leg, but if healthy, for sure. Solid wRC+, good BB%, historically good defensive value. Depends on the recovery, I guess, if he'll lose some of the latter, but I think he'd be a solid Pennington/Izturis replacement.

Here's an interesting article on median/average effects of shoulder injuries on batters.

Rosenthal tweeting that the Jays have shipped Hendriks to the As for Jesse Chavez - hope Mike Green is sitting down!

Odd trade, but I didn't see Liam as a rotation guy. He's done well in the pen, IMO he's not a starter.

I would assume that the the Jays are officially keeping Osuna & Sanchez in the pen.

At this point and time we have Stroman, Estrada, Dickie, Chavez, Hutch.

I could see them going after one more SP and having Hutch start in AAA.

PS Chavez is a FA after next year, Hendricks is controlled for 4 more.

Chavez will make about 5 million in 2016 as well, Hendriks, I believe, would've made less than a million.