[Daletiel]

It's time to shift the attention to the position players, where I'm feeling we're in a much better position to make another run at the title.

Catchers
#6, Carlos Delgado (L, 21 y/o) - .303/.430/.524 with 25 HR and 102 RBI in 140 games with AA Knoxville. He'll still need to develop his other tools, but his eye and power are both major league ready, and he grades out as average to slightly above average as a catcher, with some ability at first base and left field as well. Cito has him penciled in as the starter, but we'll have to see how he handles his first prolonged taste of major league action. He's making the league minimum and isn't arbitration eligible.

#10, Pat Borders (R, 30 y/o) - .254/.285/.371 with 9 HR and 55 RBI in 138 games and an OPS+ of 76. The 1992 World Series MVP came back down to earth in '93. He's solid enough as a backup, and probably be tolerable enough as the starter if he needs to step in for Delgado. He's under contract for $212k and is a free agent at the end of the season.

Infielders
#19, 1B Paul Molitor (R, 37 y/o) - .332/.402/.509 with 22 HR and 111 RBI in 160 games and an OPS+ of 145. Molitor kept up the same torrid pace he had with Milwaukee in his first season north, leading the league in hits and being runner up to his teammate Olerud in a number of other offensive categories. He's 508 hits away from 3000, and will likely hit that milestone sometime in 1996 barring anything unforeseen if he can keep up the pace. Cito intends to give him every opportunity, slotting him in at #3 in the batting order. He's earning $4.84M through end of the year, and has a vesting option for 1995 if he hits 550 PA.

#9, 1B John Olerud (L, 25 y/o) - .363/.473/.599 with 24 HR and 107 RBI in 158 games and an OPS+ of 189. He lit up the league with a breakout season, and though he likely won't repeat those numbers somewhere between them and the numbers of his previous few seasons will be more than sufficient to keep his bat in the heart of the order. He's earning $1.24M and is arbitration eligible.

#12, 2B Roberto Alomar (S, 26 y/o) - .326/.408/.492 with 17 HR and 93 RBI in 153 games and an OPS+ of 143. The final piece of Toronto's 3-headed batting monster, he's been getting steadily better and provides highlight reel defense at the keystone base. Unfortunately, he's made it clear that he doesn't want to sign an extension as long as Cito is manager, which will be a tricky situation to deal with considering he's a free agent at the end of the season. He's earning $1.7M.

#14, SS Dick Schofield (R, 31 y/o) - .191/.294/.236 in 36 games. Your proto-typical glove-first middle infielder. At least he and Alomar will make a formidable double play combination, but it will definitely be an area to target for improvement. He makes $340k and is a free agent at the end of the year.

#11, 3B Darnell Coles (R, 31 y/o) - .253/.319/.371 in 64 games. He's being pressed into a starting role this year, as Cito has him ahead of fellow third-bagger Sprague. He definitely isn't a long-term solution. He earns $340k and is a free agent at the end of the year.

#33, 3B Ed Sprague (R, 26 y/o) - .260/.310/.386 in 150 games and an OPS+ of 88. I'm not sure why Cito has him on the bench behind Coles, but he'll be ready to step in if Coles falters. He's earning $135k and is arbitration eligible.

#46, 2B Ray Giannelli (L, 28 y/o) - .253/.316/.397 with 11 HR and 42 RBI in 127 games with AAA Syracuse. He's got poor hitting skills, but a solid eye for working a count and will provide good defensive flexibility at 2B, 1B and LF. He's earning league minimum.


Outfielders
#26, LF Mike Huff (R, 30 y/o) – split time between AAA and the majors with the White Sox organization. He looks to be around replacement level, and should be a decent stopgap for the time being. He's making $195k and is arbitration eligible.

#25, CF Devon White (S, 31 y/o) - .273/.341/.438 with 15 HR and 52 RBI in 146 games and an OPS+ of 110. With 5 of the past 6 Gold Gloves under his belt, Devo is arguably the top defensive center fielder in the league, and solidly average-to-above average with the bat to boot. He's making $4.8M and is a free agent at the end of the season.

#29, RF Joe Carter (R, 34 y/o) - .254/.312/.489 with 33 HR and 121 RBI in 155 games, an OPS+ of 114 and the single biggest sporting moment in Toronto sports history since the Maple Leafs last won the Stanley Cup in 1967. He remains an offensive force in the middle of the Blue Jays lineup, but he also isn't getting any younger and is locked up through 1997, when he'll be 37 years old. He's earning $5M this year, which drops to $4.4M for the following two years and $3.6M in the final year. Certainly more palatable, but still cringe inducing long-term.

#15, OF Shawn Green (L, 21 y/o) - .283/.339/.367 in 99 games with AA Knoxville. He's still green, but in lieu of better options he'll start the year as the fourth outfielder. If a better option comes up on the waiver wire or through free agency, I'll hop on it to send him down to AAA for more seasoning. Barring that, we'll give him a good long look. He's ranked the 32nd prospect overall, so we'll probably give him a bit of leash. He's making league minimum.


Evaluations Summary
Overall, I'm reasonably satisfied with the 25-man roster as constructed, but there are definitely some areas for improvement. The bullpen can use an impact arm or two, and though the offense will likely be pretty potent, the left side of the infield concerns me somewhat. With not much in the way of reinforcements coming from within, I'll have to look without for some of those solutions.