Not listed are former Jays Miguel Batista and David Wells -- who needs to revisit old pathways?  Among others not listed are Roger Clemens (another ex-Jay) and Barry Zito -- they're not coming, sorry -- and a few others who didn't crack the "Top Nine" listed.

I voted "None of the Above".  I like Gustavo Chacin and Shaun Marcum better than any of the listed pitchers.  Wrong Weaver.

None of the Above -- I'd prefer to see them upgrade their rotation via the trade route rather than dipping into this motley group.

Did... the... person... who... voted... for... Steve... Trachsel... want... to... make... me... hate... living... again?

 

 

When I look at this list, it just emphasizes the importance of acquiring pitching via trade.  While I wouldn't mind Suppan in the rotation, I certainly wouldn't be offering a contract like the one that Batista is getting from Seattle.

BTW, anyone who questions setting a deadline for signing Vernon need only look at this list of remaining free agents.  With Vernon unsigned, it will be next to impossible to create any kind of valid trade market for anyone other than him.  You think anyone's going to offer a decent starter (Brad Penny?) and not demand Wells in return?  JP rightly needs to have a firm committment one way or the other.  The rotation problem won't be solved until the Wells situation is solved.

.....just throwing this out there, but if the Vernon contract starts entering the $20 million per year range and Mr Rogers is willing to offer up the money, should a Vernon Wells for Alex Rodriguez trade be considered? 

I'd take a flyer on Chan Ho Park.

The guy has had some real injury problems, in fact since he signed the Contract in Texas, there hasn't been one season that he has really been healthy.  He is getting up there in age, but watching the guy pitch, you realize his stuff still has some disturbingly good movement. 

I think he could be a low risk high reward signing... if you pay him the right amount of money.

Still, I voted for Ohka.

I would also choose Chanho Park because he is Korean. You see, I live in Korea and if he were on the Jays I would get to see every fifth game on TV as opposed to watching it on small computer screen. So, please JP, sign Chanho Park!!

Theres another angle being overlooked in this search for a 3rd starter...

Innings pitched. 

Without looking Im pretty sure Lilly was the only pitcher to throw over 200 innings last season and although he was not the flashiest guy on the mound this was a valuable (and much underrated) contribution to our season's success. We need to not only find a good pitcher to take the spot. but also to replace those innings. Our ace had a checkered last few years and our No 2 is less than reliable so we simply cannot be signing an injury prone no 3. I would take a slightly less good no 3 that had a clean history over a injury risk with a better arm...   Jeez, the name Zito pops out at me here, surely Rogers has a spare 15mill lying around somewhere ?  ;)

So for those punting we should grab guys with a history of recent injuries... I would suggest this a very high risk strategy.

should a Vernon Wells for Alex Rodriguez trade be considered?

YES.

Chen, Ohka, and Armas all have some upside, and might be worth exploring if they were willing to take $2-3 million plus some incentive clauses. (although I don't know about Chen - something must be wrong with that guy) And Suppan would be a decent addition if he cost $5 million, but not if he's going to cost $8-10 million (which I suspect he will).
 
 But I don't think anyone will go that cheap, so I'm leaning towards "none of the above." I'd rather give the chance to Marcum, Towers, McGowan, or Janssen than tie up a lot of money or years in one of these guys.

Without looking Im pretty sure Lilly was the only pitcher to throw over 200 innings last season and although he was not the flashiest guy on the mound this was a valuable (and much underrated) contribution to our season's success.

The only pitcher to throw 200+ inning was actually Halladay (220IP), he only missed 3 starts because of injury. Lilly throw 181 2/3 Innings last year, which is a number that will certainly be missed.

I will much rather take a flyer on our prospects to step up than rely on the likes of Steve Trachsel to pitch meaningful innings for us. Seriously, if the Jays sign Steve Trachsel, and I have to watch him for another summer, I might just have to quit watching baseball. The last time he was with the Jays already permanently damaged my psyche, I don't EVER EVER need to see him pitch again in a Blue Jays uniform.

Rickley - where do you live in Korea? What city?

Good poll question. It's a dodgy group, for sure. My top choices would be Suppan (durable, and decent the last few years, albeit in the NL), Ohka (tolerable last year--also in the NL), and Weaver (OK in 2004 and 2005). None is worth a hefty contract.

Having a 3/4/5 of Chacin, Marcum, McGowan/Towers/Janssen/X will be painful to watch. We might float above .500, but we'll likely watch other teams pull ahead, gradually but inexorably. A lot of 9-6 losses, that kind of thing. We watched it happen last year.

I voted 'none of the above' because I'd like to see them go after Zito. Sydney or the bush!

I would love to see Batista back with the Jays. he would be a great fit as a # 3 or 4 pitcher.

I voted "none of the above" because I think that Brandon League should be the 3rd started (as discussed at THT this week)

Rumour has it that guys like Mark Hendrickson and Joel Pineiro might be non-tendered. Perhaps we can find a 4-5 guy among these folks. Hendrickson at least seems good for 180 competitive innings and would add a second left-hander.

Since it looks like the remaining FA agent pool isn't too suited to the Jays at this time, what specific options are people thinking are available?  I remember the recent speculation about a Jason Jennings trade, but that seems to have died down.

I just feel like the Jays should go with what they have or go with a trade.  The FA market seems to be destiend to pull people down by anchors they don't want.  I don't think it would be wise to sign, say, Jeff Suppan, for $32 mil for years, or more, especially for duty in the AL. 

I say we should try to swing a trade with the Reds.  Krivsky seems to have an itchy trigger finger all the time and I think we should try for Aaron Harang.  Crazy, yes, why would they give him up.  But, he has been hanging around since 2002 and his pricetag will only be going up.  Maybe this is the place to send Vernon?  Like, Harang + Dunn + Someone Else for Vernon and a negotiable-levle of prospect? They are going to need a true CF soon and if Ryan Freel keeps getting in trouble with the law, his ML career might be shortened.

As for the non-tenders, I am not personally crazy about having Mark Hendrickson come around for round two.  His whole career -- with the exception of the stretch last year -- took place in the AL East and he has a lifetime ERA+ of 91.  And he will be turning 33 next year, so it doesn't look like he is going to break out of the ceiling he has hit so far.

BTW, what day does all the non-tendering occur?

Non-tender deadline is today.  We should have the lists by tomorrow morning.

Harang + Dunn + Someone Else for Vernon and a ... prospect

And Moffatt still wants a unicorn!

Good call, Leigh. 

But I was under the impression that the Reds wanted to move Dunn due to the prohibitive cost of resigning him.  If they could trade for Wells, they could turn around and flip him to either the Dodgers or the Mets and get what they really need -- cheap, young pitching that is better than what they have.

Looking at Cot's Baseball Contracts, it looks like Dunn will cost $10.5 MIL next year and if they choose to select his option, $13 MIL in '08.  That's a lot of money on a $60 MIL payroll, when it has been suggested that he is playing out of his eventual position (1B) and his skills are declining (I am not sure I agree with this part).  So, that is why I thought it could be a potential go for the Reds.

Plus, their GM strikes me as trigger-happy, so he might make a crazy move without thinking it through.

Vernon is only 11 months older than Dunn and he may not have reached his ceiling yet.  He is among the best in the game at CF, a premium defensive position, and he can be had for less than $6 MIL next year.  This is a major bonus to a team signing him to a long term agreement as the overall average payment per year over the life of the contract will be less than what he is 'worth' according to the market. 

I didn't mean to make it sound like this is a deal that would be an easy or obvious one to make, but, I think it could be a feasible one -- not necessarily a probable one, though.