The final arbitration case is done - Donaldson lost so the Jays pay him $4.3 instead of $5.75 mil which is a big relief to the bean counters I'm sure.  Estimated payroll for 2015 is now at $127.3 million, pending any other signings (via BR)

The Toronto Blue Jays had a chance to complete a four-game sweep and put another nail in the coffin of the Seattle Mariners playoff hopes on a late Thursday afternoon at The Dome. The game featured a couple of promising performances by a pair of newcomers who will be counted upon in 2015.


Lefty Daniel Norris was given his first major league start in front of the hometown faithful.

The draft order and budgets are now set with Shields signing out in San Diego.  It doesn't look good for the Jays and might explain why they are planning to blow the budget on international free agents.

The Box was there.

The Blue Jays swapped left-handed pitchers with Colorado on Wednesday, sending Tyler Ybarra to the Rockies organization in exchange for Jayson Aquino.


Newest Blue Jays acquisition Jayson Aquino pitched for the Tri-City Dust Devils at Nat Bailey Stadium in Vancouver in 2013.

Quite days right now as spring approaches and groundhogs become popular for a day.  4 Jays made the MLB Top 100 Prospect list.  2 Ex-Jays did as well.

It's January, it's probably cold out, let's talk some baseball...

2015 will be my twelfth year of minor league coverage for Batters Box. 2004, when it all started, seems like a long time ago, and in many ways it was. I remember the trip that got it all started. In the summer of 2004 Robert Dudek and I headed to Buffalo to see the Syracuse Chiefs play. We interviewed several players on that trip, names from the past. We talked to Stubby Clapp, Russ Adams, Gabe Gross, and Jason Kerschner.

Athletics Acquire Ben Zobrist, Yunel Escobar, meanwhile the Rays Sign Juan Francisco.  Phew, one less team to worry about in the AL East...hopefully.

The Toronto Blue Jays finished with 83 wins in 2014. Here's a look back at victory #83 which came against Baltimore at the Dome on Saturday, September 27.

J.A. Happ got the call on the mound for what turned out to be his final appearance as a Jay.

The Toronto Blue Jays guaranteed 2014 would not go down in the books as a losing season on the evening of Wednesday, September 24 as they continued their four-game series against the Seattle Mariners.

Mark Buehrle was on the hill looking to add to his 194 innings pitched on the season.

Nothing too exciting right now.  This is more a thread to clear out some minor stuff and start a new thread now that the 'current news' one is over 300 posts.

Sorry to be late with our annual tradition. Some of us are more hungover than others! ;D Please feel free to list your baseball-related loot here!

It's the most... wonderful time... of the year...

Well, not really.

The Blue Jays have announced their minor league coaching staffs for 2015. There are no changes for the Buffalo Bisons while the New Hampshire Fisher Cats, the Dunedin Blue Jays, the Vancouver Canadians and the Bluefield Blue Jays will have the same managers again for 2015. There will be new men at the helm for Lansing as well as the Gulf Coast League and Dominican Summer League affiliates.


Jeff Ware has been promoted to Lansing to be the pitching coach for the Lugnuts in 2015. The former Jays hurler was the pitching coach in Vancouver in 2014.