In an ideal world I'd like to see Koskie playing 3rd base most of the time while Glaus DHs--But since JP apparently promised Glaus 3rd base, I'm not sure how this will play out--hopefully Glaus will realize that he's better off himself, by sharing 3rd/DH duties with Koskie or Shea, thereby keeping himself in shape for a full & healthy productive season--Its better for him & for the Jays--he should put his ego aside & do whats best for the team..

The job is Glaus' to lose, likely by injury for at least part of the season, less so by production. With the big salary and trading of two of last year's front line players to bring him in, the optics cannot have Troy Glaus anywhere but 3rd base to open the season. If he DH's or sits behind any of Hillenbrand/Koskie/Hinske, the media will have a feeding frenzy.

Before, I assumed that Glaus was an inferior defensive third baseman. However, there was a guest on the FAN 590 the other day who iirc was the colour guy for Arizona, that actually said despite his shoulder problems, Glaus was fine defensively last year. And I believe that in 2002 he was a Gold Glove candidate. I hope that he can get that glove back in which our defense could still hold very strong:

Center Field-no change
Left Field-no change
Right Field-with Rios, no change
1st base-improvement
2nd base-decreased range, however Overbay should help Hill in Hill's left side
3rd base-no change
catcher-no change
Shortstop-hopeful improvement

Gold Glove candidate? Glaus? No. see here

He had 20 errors and a .950 fielding percentage at 3rd in 2002.

But now that I've seen it mentioned that the Jays should consider using Koskie at SS, how about Glaus? He's errorless in 10 games at the position! He's the next Ozzie Smith, I tell you!

Seriously though, the Jays have to use Koskie at 3rd. He is a Gold Glove candidate. Only by a miracle will Glaus become one.

Koskie is the better defender, but you can neither catch the ball nor hit it on the DL. I'll take the trade off and put Glaus in the field most days and Koskie at DH.

Koskie at 3B because of his superior defense. Koskie is spelled by Glaus against lefties and when he gets hurt. Trade Hinske in a salary dump and Hillenbrand for catching help. Griffin is your DH insurance incase Koskie or Glaus go down, leaving salary room to pick up a player at the deadline.

Glaus, because if it's been promised to him then a promise is a promise, but if Koskie is still here come opening day I would play him at 3rd at least 2 days a week and see what shakes down as the season progresses. Injuries, slumps or roster moves will no doubt change the lineup at some point in time anyway.

I'm with WillRain on this one. Glaus might not be the defender Koskie is, but Koskie's a much better bet to stay healthy if he's not in the field. It's not like Glaus is a TERRIBLE defensive 3B; according to Baseball-Reference.com's numbers he seems to be right around league average.

Parker, BBRef has range factor and fielding percentage, but no form of zone rating. Range factor is of no utility because it simply records plays made without regard for opportunities. Fielding percentage is of limited utility because it measures error rates, and errors are but a small portion of defensive performance.

At first, I was with WillRain and Parker. I thought I'd rather see Glaus at 3rd and Koskie at DH instead of Koskie on the DL and Glaus inserted at 3rd. But now I think it's simply that with Glaus on the field, Hillenbrand is more likely to get at-bats as a DH than he would if Troy was the full-time desingated hitter. And if Shea's gonna hit 30, well, he's gonna need to get himself some at-bats.

I think it depends on the day...

My "regular" lineup would be Glaus at third, Hillenbrand at DH.

Occasionally, though, I might throw Koskie in at third, give Glaus a DH day to keep his back fresh (it might not be hard, but it's still turf), and let Hillenbrand come off the bench.

I think Hinske's got to be the odd man out -- of the three lefties in the five-man mix, Overbay hits southpaws the best, followed by Koskie.

But, if the Jays still plan to make another trade to relieve this five-guys-at-three-spots situation, I think Hillenbrand is the guy who would bring back the most in a trade. Oddly, I think Hinske would follow him, then Koskie.

So, it's not answering the question, but I think I've come to the conclusion that maybe it would be a good idea to trade Hinske for a righty-hitting corner outfielder type with a little pop (Juan Rivera? Where does he fit in the Angels' plans right now?) or more pitching -- because you can never have enough.

Mike Green, point well taken. However, since I don't currently have access to zone rating numbers, maybe someone could tell me if Glaus's zone rating shows him as a poor defender, or if all the talk of his lack of defensive prowess is simply anecdotal.

Never mind that last comment. I found Zone Ratings on ESPN.com and Glaus's career .749 doesn't look very good compared to Koskie's .791 rating.

There are still Koskie to Minnesota rumours floating around
http://www.startribune.com/507/story/155902.html
Only one small paragraph about halfway down but it wouldn't surprise me if something was in the works, why otherwise would JP mention Hilly at the Glaus press conferance but not Koskie? Sounds like a surefire way to make a player unhappy unless JP knows something the rest of us don't ;)

Article says the Jays pick up "a good part" of Koskie's contract. Koskie and $4 mil a year, $12 mil total ( option vests @ 1200 PAs, ) for noone. Sounds fair...

I would have Glaus at third because I would have traded Koskie for an outfielder.

I would play:

C: Zaun
1B: Overbay
2B: Hill
3B: Glaus
SS: Adams
LF: Catalanotto/Johnson
CF: Wells
RF: Not Rios. Whoever we can get for Koskie.
DH: Hillenbrand

If we CAN'T swing a deal, I might start talking to Koskie and Hillenbrand (or even, gulp, Hinske), about trying a switch to the outfield.

I'd like to see Koskie at 3rd only because I'm afraid of Glaus getting injured and having his bat out of the lineup. Glaus is more valuable offensively than Koskie so 'protect him' by letting him DH. I know this won't happen but that's why I want Koskie at 3rd. Shea can fill in if/when Koskie gets hurt.

I think BallGuy has it figured out... Glaus' bat is the one that should be protected - the falloff from Glaus' value to Hillenbrand's in light of an injury is much greater than the dropoff from Koskie to Hillenbrand plus we have the added bonus that if Koskie does stay healthy his defensive value will help.