2007 Fictional Toronto Blue Jays

[ryan008]

July Sensation AL's Best Rookie

August 1st, 2010.

Alonso Martinez proved to be one of the American Leagues preeminent rookies last month, putting up some sensational numbers to take his 3rd American League Rookie of the Month Awards.

In July the RF had a .322 batting average, stroked 28 hits had 4 HR and drove in 11 RBI. He drew 25 BB and had a .479 OBP.

Looking at his 2010 stats the 23 year old has compiled a .284 batting average in 103 games with a .404 OBP with 14 HR and 37 RBI.

[ryan008]

Jacobs Blanks Royals

August 3rd, 2010.

Today at Rogers Center in Toronto SP Christian Jacobs baffled Kansas City batters on 6 hits en route to a 5-0 shutout.

"He was able to keep the ball down which kept the Royals hitters off balance" Jays Manager Tomas Vega said when asked about his pitchers performance.

Jacobs had 12 strikeouts and no walks in teh complete game shutout.

this year Jacobs has posted a 13-5 mark in 22 starts and has a 2.04 ERA.

[ryan008]

Blue Jays Get Shutout Win Over Seattle

August 17th, 2010.

It was a smooth and solid performance by SP Christian Jacobs of the Toronto Blue Jays agains Stattle Today. He crafted a fine 4-hitter in blanking htem 4-0 and he chalked up 9 strikeouts and 1 walk along the way.

"It certainly makes my job easy" said Blue Jays Manager Tomas Vega. "When my pitcher tosses a shutout I can just sit back, watch and enjoy"

This year Jacobs has a 15-5 mark in 24 starts with a 1.87 ERA and he has given up 135 hits in 188 innings, struckout 223 and issued 24 walkes. Opposing hitters are batting a measly .199 against him.

[ryan008]

Jays Have 23.5 Game Lead Magic Number 8!

September 1st, 2010.

The Toronto Blue Jays wrapped up another successful month going 20-8 in August to push their record to 98-37 overall. They currently have a 23.5 game lead over the Baltimore Orioles and a 40 game lead over the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. It is safe to say that the Jays have the American League East Title wrapped up barring an atronomic collapse on their part in September.

Blue Jays Notable Performances in August:

SP Bill Arkell - 5-0 2.21 ERA
SP Christian Jacobs - 5-0 0.89 ERA
MR Carlos Yhuit - 1-1 9 IP 0.00 ERA
RF Alonso Martinez - .311 2 HR 11 RBI
1B Nathan Wilder - .310 4 HR 13 RBI
CF Vitantonio Ardinghi - .305 0 HR 12 RBI
SS Richard Evans - .292 6 HR 30 RBI

*SP Raul Ruiz lost his first game and his record now sits at 17-1.

[ryan008]

AL Announces August's Best Starter

September 1st, 2010.

Christian Jacobs hated to see the August turn into September, and who could blame him? The 30 year old hurler piled up 5 wins and 0 losses for the Blue Jays last month and was rewarded with the American League Pitcher of the Month Award.

He fired 61 strikeouts in 50.1 innings of work to go with 4 walks and a 0.89 ERA in 6 starts.

In the Current seaon Jacobs is 17-5 in 27 starts with 250 strikeouts in 213 innings of work and has a 1.86 ERA.

[ryan008]

AL Picks Rookie of the Month

September 1st, 2010.

Alonso Martinez earned Rookie of the Month honors in the American League for his exemplart performance in August. The 23 year old Toronto Right Fielder racked up 33 hits clubbed 2 HR drove in 11 runs and scored 18 times.

This season Martinez is batting at a .289 clip with 16 HR and 48 RBIs. He has played in 131 games and scored 18 times. This is the 4th time he has won this award and he should be the front runner for the American League Rookie of the Year Award as he leads all American League Rookies in most offensive categories.

[ryan008]

Roster's Expand: Jays Call Up Pair

September 1st, 2010.

The rosters across Major League Baseball expanded today and the Toronto Blue Jays called up a pair of players to help out during the month of September. The Jays added CL Sergio Vargas a 22 year old left handed flame thrower and C Lloyd Mathews. The one player who was likely to get a callup 3B Dave Chambers, Toronto's top hitting prospect is out for 8 months with a toen back muscle and won't be back until well into next season.

CL Sergio Vargas - 6-1 39 SV 0.92 ERA (AAA Syracuse)
C Lloyd Matthews - .269 4 HR 19 RBI (AAA Syracuse)

GM Ryan Stewart on the callups "We have a lot of young players int he system who are only 19-21 years old and I don't want to rush them by bringing them up to the majors too soon. Vargas and Matthews are older (Matthews is 25) and we think a little more developed than some of our other prospects in AAA. We would have gotten a good look at 3B Dave Chambers but he went down with the injury. If all goes well and we makes it back to where he is now you may see him in 2011 around this time"

[ryan008]

Jays Finish Season With Best Record in Baseball: Will Take on Rangers in ALDS

October 4th, 2010.

The Toronto Blue Jays finished off the regular season today with a record of 118-44. This is a record for the most wins by the Jays and gives us the best record in Baseball for the second straight season. They accomplished this record with a balance of good hitting and pitching and got breakout seasons from a number of key players. The Blue Jays strength has got to be their pitching staff and this season the Jays boast a pair of 20 game winnersand a rookie CL who wad a spectacular season.

SP Bill Arkell - 22-3 1.92 ERA
SP Raul 'Hawk' Ruiz 22-1 2.25 ERA
CL Steve 'Cookie Monster' Perkins - 3-4 37 SV 1.41 ERA

The Jays also got great hitting performances including an increadiable rookie season from RF Alonso MArtinez.

2B Stan Elliott - .299 29 HR 122 RBI
SS Richard Evans - .296 35 HR 165 RBI
RF Alonso Martinez - .285 16 HR 53 RBI

Richard Evans performance should put him in contetion for the MVP award this season.

The Playoffs are right around the corner and for the second year in a row the Jays will take on the Texas Rangers in the America League Division Series and they will try to avoid their 4th straight 1st round exit. The other series are:

American League:

Texas Rangers (91-71)* Wild Card Winner
Toronto Blue Jays (118-44)

Minnesota Twins (87-75)
Oakland Athletics (95-67)

National League:

Cincinnati Reds (96-65)
Washington Nationals (107-55)

Atlanta Braves (95-67) *Wild Card Winner
Colorado Rockies (102-60)

[ryan008]

Blue Jays Sweep Rangers! Will Face Twins in ALCS

October 10th, 2010.

The Toronto Blue Jays did something that they haven't been able to do in 3 tries; win in the playoffs. the Jays finally got the playoff monkey off their backs and will face the Minnesota Twins in the American League Championship Series.

Game #1

SP Baio Hor (16-12 3.11 ERA)
SP Christian jacobs (19-7 1.89 ERA)

Texas 3 - Toronto 4
W: C. Jacobs (1-0)
L: Enrique Santana (0-1)

Recap:
The Rangers were leading 3-1 heading into the bottom of the 9th inning. SP Baio Hor had gone 8 innings and given up only the single run. Texas brought in their Allstar closer CL Enrique Santana who had 40 saves in the regular season to lead the league. The first batter he faced was C Hugh Edwards who lead off with a double down the left field line. Mario Rivera was next up and singled to center to move Edwards to 3rd. Raul Pagan than singled brining home Edwards and making it a 3-2 game. RF Alonso Martinez was up next and flied out deep to RF allowing Rivera to move to 3rd. CF Vitantonio Ardinghi struck out leaving men on 1st and 3rd with 2 out. 2B Stan Elliott came to the plate next and smashed a 2-1 pitch into right field to tie the game at 3 and move Pagan to 3rd. SS Richard Evans was up next and promptly singled to LF to bring home Pagan and win the game for Toronto. Toronto's SP Christian Jacobs pitched the entire game going 9 innings allowing 3 runs on 4 hits and struck out 10 while walking 2.

Game #2

SP Gary Clark (7-12 6.33 ERA)
SP Kiminobu Hashimoto (16-7 2.95ERA)

Texas 1 - Toronto 8
W: K.Hashimoto(1-0)
L: G. Clark(0-1)

Recap:
The Blue Jays bats came alive in game 2 smashing 12 hits off Texas pitchers. 1B Mario Rivera (filling in for an injured 1B Nathan Wilder who is out with the Flue for 2 weeks) and rookie RF Alonso Martinez homered and drove in 3 RBIs as Toronto scored 7 times in the 5th and 6th innings to walk away with the 8-1 victory. SP Kiminobu Hashimoto went 8.1 innings giving up just 3 hits and striking out 9 while walking 0.

Game #3

SP Bill Arkell (22-3 1.92 ERA)
SP Leon Gonzalez (18-5 2.56 ERA)

Texas 2 - Toronto 10
W: B. Arkell(1-0)
L: L. Gonzalez(0-1)

Recap:
The Blue Jays crushed Rangers Allstar SP Leon Gonzalez scoring 6 runs in 2 innings and chasing him from the game after recording only 4 outs. 3B Byron Webb and 1B Mario Rivera went deep and 2B Stan Elliot was 2-3 with 2 sinles, 2BB 1 RBI scored 4 times and stole 3 bases. Jays SP Bill Arkell was masterful pitching a complete game and allowing 5 hits with 2 ER 2 BB and 4 K. Hte jays needed to use their bullpen for only 2/3 of an inning the entire series as they got gomplete games from Bill Arkell and Christian Jacobs.

[ryan008]

Jays off to World Series! Beat Minnesota in 5

October 18th, 2010.

The Toronto Blue Jays will play for the World Series this year agains the National League Champs the Cincinnati Reds. The Jays Ousted the Minnesota Twins in 5 games taking the series 4-1.

Game #1

SP Octavio Salgado (0-1 7.11 ERA)
SP Raul Ruiz (22-1 2.25 ERA)

Minnesota 0 - Toronto 4
W: R. Ruiz (1-0)
L: O. Salgado (0-2)

Recap:
The Blue Jays got a 2 run pinch hit HR for C Nick Cooper in the 5th inning and CF Vitantonio Ardinghi and 1B Mario Rivera each had an RBI to pace the Blue JAys to victory. SP Raul Ruiz went 8 innings giving up just 2 hits and no runs and struck out 7 and walked 1 in the victory.

Game #2

SP Armando Trinidad (0-0 31.50 ERA)
SP Christian Jacobs (1-0 3.30 ERA)

Minnesota 2 - Toronto 1
W: A. Trinidad(1-0)
L: C. Jacobs (1-1)

Recap:
The Jays managed only 4 hits agains SP Armando Trinidad as he went 7.2 innings and allowed only a single run. Christian Jacobs gave up both runs and 6 hits in 7.1 innings to take the loss for the Jays.

Game #3

SP Kauto Holker (2-0 7.11 ERA)
SP Kiminobu Hashimoto (1-0 1.13 ERA)

Minnesota 2 - Toronto 3
W: K. Hashimoto (2-0)
L: K. holker (2-1)
S: S. Perkins (1)

Recap:
2B Stan Elliott and RF Antonio Martinez hit homeruns and SS Richard Evans drove in the winning run with a single in the 8th as the Jays held on for an 3-2 victory. SP K. Hashimoto went 7 innings and gave up 1 run on 7 hits with 7 K's. Rookie CL Steve Perkins gave up 1 run and struck out 1 in the 9th to preserve the victory.

Game #4

SP Octavio Salgado (0-2 5.65 ERA)
SP Bill Arkell (1-0 2.00 ERA)

Minnesota 0 - Toronto 10
W: B. Arkell (2-0)
L: O. Salgado (0-3)

Recap:
The Jays got Homeruns from 2B Stan Elliott, C Nick Cooper and 1B Mario Rivera and SS Richard Evans had 2 doubles and 2 RBIs as the Jays pounded Minnesota 10-0. SP Bill Arkell went the complete game giving up 6 hits and 1 walk while he struckout 11 enroute to the complete game shutout.

Game #5

SP Juan Caranza (0-0 7.50 ERA)
SP Raul Ruiz (1-0 0.00 ERA)

Minnesota 2 - Toronto 13
W: R. Ruiz (2-0)
L: J. Caranza (0-1)

Recap:
The Blue Jays bats were alive today as they hammered out 11 hits including homeruns from SS Richard Evans, C Nick Cooper and DH Hugh Edwards. SS Richard Evans had 2 hits and 4 RBI and DH Hugh Edwards had 3 hits and 3 RBIs. SP Raul Ruiz went 6.2 innings allowing 1 ER in 5 hits and walked 1 while striking out 6.

GM Ryan Stewart on the series win "I am really proud of our guys, they played hard and really showd that they are quality ball players. It wasn't easy with the cloud of not making it past the American League Division series the past 3 seasons but they got through it and are playing very good baseball. It is not going to be easy int he World Series as the Reds are a very good team but we will be ready for them"

[ryan008]

Blue Jays Win World Series! Sweep Reds!

October 29th, 2010.

The Toronto Blue Jays capped off and Impressive Post Season Run that saw them defeat the Texas Rangers and Minnesota Twins to get to the World Series and with a victory today they became World Series Champions. The Jays swept the Cincinnati Reds 4 games to 0 and in the process outscored them 25-4.

Game #1

SP Jorge Ramos (0-1 7.56 ERA)
SP Christian jacobs (1-1 2.76ERA)

Cincinnati 0 - Toronto 15
W: C. Jacobs (2-0)
L: J. Ramos (0-1)

Recap:
The Blue Jays bats carried over the momentum gained from big wins in the American League Division Series against Minnesota and pounded out 18 hits against Cincinnati pitchers. DH Nick Cooper lead the way with a 3-4 night with 2 HR and 4 RBI. 3B Mario Rivera was 3-5 with a HR ad 3 RBI and C Nick Edwards was 2-4 with 2 doubles and 4 RBI. Jays SS Richard Evans had a 3-4 night that saw him score 3 runs and drive in a run of his own. There was no one in the Jays lineup that did not get at least 1 hit. SP Christian Jacobs who was been on fire this post season was at it again going 9 innings and allowing only 5 hits, walking 1 and striking out 7.

Game #2

SP Francisco Aguirre (2-0 1.13 ERA)
SP Bill Arkell (2-0 1.00 ERA)

Cincinnati 0 - Toronto 2
W: B. Arkell (2-0)
L: F. Aguire(0-1)

Recap:
In the bottom of the 1st inning RF Alonso Martinez lead off the game with a single and stole second base. CF Vitantonio Ardinghi struck out and 2B Stan Elliott doubled on the first pitch of his at bat to bring home Martinez. That was all of the offence in the game until the bottom of the 7th inning when with no one on and 1 out SS Richard Evans ripped a 3-2 fastball into the left field seats to give Toronto a 2-0 lead. Jays SP Bill Arkell took a no-hitter into the bottom of the 8th when Reds 2B Juan Perez hit a 2 out double off the wall to deep centerfield. It would be the only hit the Reds would get as Arkell was dominant going all 9 innings giving up 1 hit walking nobody and striking out 15.

Game #3

SP Edward Heller (2-0 1.57 ERA)
SP Raul Ruiz (2-1 1.0 ERA)

Cincinnati 2 - Toronto 3
W: R. Ruiz (3-0)
L: Julius Jones (2-1)
S: S. Perkins (2)

Recap:
The series switched to Cincinnati and the Jays looked to continue their winning ways. SS Richard Evans got the Jays on the board first with an RBI single in the top of the first inning with CF Vitantonio Ardinghi on 3RD with 2 out. Evans came up again in the 4th inning with RF Alonso Martinez on first and one out and doubled off the RF wall, Martinez scored from 1st and the Jays had a 2-0 lead. The lead held until the bottom of the 6th when SP Raul Ruiz gave up a walk a hit batter and a single to load the bases with 2 out. Reds 2B Juan Perez came up and doubled to LF to score a pair and tied the game. Ruiz would strikeout the next batter to get out of the inning. The score stood until the top of the 8th inning when the Reds would bring in MR Julius Jones and he gave up back-to-back one out doubles to C Hugh Edwards and 3B Mario Rivera to give the jays a 3-2 lead. SP Raul Ruiz's night was done after 8 innings as he went 8 innings and allowed 2 runs on 6 hits wit 2 BB and 8 K. Rookie CL Steve Perkins came in and tossed a 1-2-3 9th to give the Jays the victory and earn his 2nd save of the playoffs.

Game #4

SP Dennis Pierson (1-1 4.50 ERA)
SP Kiminobu Hashimoto (2-0 2.30 ERA)

Cincinnati 2 - Toronto 5
W: K. Hashimoto (3-0)
L: D. Pierson (1-2)
S: S. Perkins (3)

Recap:
With their backs to the wall the Reds came out swinging and scored runs in the 2nd and 3rd innings to give them a 2-0 lead. Toronto came back in the 4th and 5th and tied the game on solo homeruns by 1B Nathan Wilder and RF Alonso Martinez. The Jays would then score 3 times in the 6th on doubles be CF Vitantonio Ardinghi, 2B Stan Elliott, and 1B Nathan Wilder. 3B Mario Rivera would add a sacrifice fly to bring in the 3rd run of the inning. This would be all of the scoring in the game as SP Kiminobu Hashimoto would go 8 innings and allowed only the 2 runs on 3 hits he walked 2 and struckout 4. CL Steve Perkins came on to pitch the bottom of the 9th and promptly struckout the side to clinch his 3rd save of the post season and give the Jays a series sweep.

[ryan008]

American League Announces Rookie of the Year

November 8th, 2010.

He was a "lean, mean hitting machine" That's the way one SION writer described the Rookie Right Fielder of the Toronto Blue Jays in the article announcing him as the American League Rookie of the Year award recipient. Alonso Martinez came ont he scene this year and quickly established himself as a potent force. He compiled the following stats to capture the AL's Best New Player Award:

161 G .285 BA 639 AB 182 H 112 R 28 2B 12 3B 16 HR 53 RBI 47 SB 123 BB

GM Ryan Stewart on the announcement "Well we as an organization were really suprised at how Alonso developed for us this year. Heading into camp this season he was suppose to be our 4th outfielder and he ended up performing so well in camp we had to start him. He started hitting in the first game of the season and didn't stop. I have to give credit to our Dominican Republic scout Jim King who worked really hard and put in a lot of hours to find this kid. He deserves a lot of credit"

[ryan008]

Jays Cut Ties with MR Millard Carter

November 18th, 2010.

As the deadline to resign free agent passed the Toronto Blue Jays and MR Millard Carter decided to go their seperate ways. MR Millard Carter has been a Blue Jay for the past 3 seasons and has served primarily as a right handed setup man and has filled in as a closer at times. This past season he was 6-5 with 7 saves and had a 3.90 ERA with 35 BB and 102 K in 52 games. It is rumoured that he was requesting upwards of $6,500,000 per year in a 3-4 year deal. GM Ryan Stewart on losing one of his best bullpen arms "Well it is hard to lose such a quality arm, especially a leader like Carter who came in in late inning/close situations last year. We are just too close to our budget to pay a reliever that much money. We also have a number of young arms in AAA that we may consider to take over his spot in bullpen but we are also going to take a look at what is out there in terms of free agents. Idealy we would like a lefthander as we only have one in MR Kenny Baily in the penn right now"

Right now SION is reporting that the leading candidate for the vacant spot is CL Sergio Vargas who pitched for AAA Syracuse last season and racked up 39 saves. The 20 yearold spent September with the Big Club and went 1-0 with 1 save and had a 3.24 ERA in 8 games. Vargas is 5'9" lefthander who has a blazing fastball that topps out at 97-99 MPH.

[ryan008]

Jays Orioles Agree to Deal

December 21st, 2010.

The Toronto Blue Jays announced today that they have traded C Lloyd Matthews and RF Nacho Mundz to the Baltimore Orioles in exchange for C Nick Williams.

C Nick 'Vampire' Williams is a 21 year old from Oswego New York and was drafted in the 1st Round 7th overall in the 2009 First Year Player Draft. He spent the entire season with the Orioles Single A team in Freemont and put up a .272 BA with 16 HR and 86 RBI.

The Blue Jays lose 2007 2nd round Pick Lloyd Matthews who spent the majority of the season with AAA Syracuse and hit .269 with 19 HR and 96 RBI. He also spent 2 brief stints with the Blue Jays and did not play very much but did manage to hit .286 with 2 HR and 6 RBI.

The Blue Jays also give up RF Nacho Mundz. Mundz signed as a non-drafted free agent in November out of the Dominican Republic. He is 26 years old and many scouts rate him as a 4 star player. He will likely take over the starters role in RF for the Orioles.

GM Ryan Stewart on the trade "We signed Nacho Mundz to a 2 year contract worth a little over $2,000,000 a season but it oput us over budget by almost $800,000. So we decided to see what we could get for him. Baltimore offered us this deal for him and we pulled the trigger. It is tough to lose Lloyd Matthews as he was a home grown talend that has risen through the system but we get an excellent player in return. C Nick Williams is a much better offensive catcher that should hit for a good averange and contribute with the Homerun aswell, but his biggest strength is his defence. He won the 2010 gold glove award at C for the Carolina league. He will receive an invitation to spring training and will likely start in AA this season"

[ryan008]

Jays Announce Minor League Award Winners

December 21st, 2010.

The Toronto Blue Jays announced today the annual player of the year awards for each level in their minor league system:

AAA Syracuse
LF Felipe Montero
.358 31 HR 128 RBI(with AAA Syracuse)
Signed as a non-drafted free agent from the Dominican Republic in 2008 he worked himself through the entire organization from Rookie League Pulaski all the way to AAA Syracuse. He is more know for his bat than his defence and was the 2010 International League MVP. He will likely get a shot to be the 4th outfielder in Toronto this season.

AA New Hampshire
CL Vincent Evans
4-1 27 SV 2.26 ERA (with AA New Hampshire)
The 23 year old was aquired from the Boston Red Sox in exchange for CL Lorenzo Silva and put up really good numbers for New Hampshire this season. He will get an invitation to Spring Training and will compete for the open spot in the Blue Jays Bullpen.

High A Dunedin
LF Jeff Murphy
8.327 6 HR 45 RBI (with A Dunedin)
The 22 year old was a 7th round pick 208th overall in 2008 out of Gainsville Highschool in Florida. He had moved rather slowly in 2008 and 2009 spending both seasons in Pulaski but broke out in Dunedin in 2010 leading the team in Batting Average. He is still along way from the majors and has a few very good outfielder prospects on the depth charts ahead of him.

Low A Lansing
CF Jerry James
.326 5 HR 56 RBI (with A Lansing)
The 23 year old was a 15th round selection 446th overall in 2009 out of the University of California and I had little expectation for him to be more than a roster fill in in the low minors. He performed very well for Lansing and he will liely be there again to start the 2011 season. I will keep my eye on him and if he continues to ht like he is he could move up to A Dunedin or even AA New Hampshire.

Short Season A - Auburn
CF Harry Wilson
.319 5 HR 39 RBI (with SA Auburn)
A former 5th round pick 148th overall in 2008 the 22 year old is spent his second consecutive seaon in Auburn and performed better than expected this season. He is a very good defensive outfielder and can play all 3 outfield positions. If he continues to develop at this rate he could be a utility outfielder in the majors.

Pulaski - Rookie League
MR Weldon Lawson
0-3 14 SV 2.70 ERA(Pulaski (R))
A 15th round Pick 450th overall out of Ypuntville Highschool in California in 2010 he was not expected to be the CL in Pulaski but took over the job and was almost lights out. He is only 19 and could spend another year in Pulaski before being moved up to Short Season Auburn or being sent to Lansing.

[24Rocks]

You finally won good job. Do you think that your team could repet next year?

[jtb]

Congrats on the World Series victory!

[ryan008]

Thanks Guys,

I am not sure what will happen next season. I went from doing absolutely nothing in the playoffs the past 3 seasons to winning it all. My roster is basically intact except for a few players who you'll find out about shortly. Alot of my young players lie SP Raul Ruiz, CL Steve Perkins and RF Alonso Martinez are a year older and more mature and could have even better years than last. Whatever happens it is sure to be exciting!

Thanks for Reading

Ryan

[ryan008]

Jays Trade Pagan to Cubs for Prospect
March 3rd, 2011.

Blue Jays GM Ryan Stewart announced today that they have traded RF Raul Pagan to the Chicago Cubs for LF prospect Juan Guerrero. 25 year old Raul Pagan has spent his entire career (3 seasons) with the Blue Jays and in 2010 hit .199 with 24 HR and 76 RBI in 121 games. He has seen his playing time diminish with the emergence of Rookie of the Year RF Alonso Martinez was being puched by group of talented young outfielders in AAA Syracuse. The Jays are also very close to their $103,500,000 budget and will save just over $2,000,000 per season for the next two years.

The Jays get 20 year old LF Juan Guerrero in return. In 2010 Guerrero hit .298 with 0 HR and 17 RBI for Chicago's Short Season A team the Boize Hawkes. He was the Cubs 6th round selection 151st overall in the 2009 First Year Player Draft.

GM Ryan Stewart on the transaction "It was tough to see Raul go. He was a great guy to have around but we want to try and get a little more production out of the back up outfield positions and hitting .199 just doesn't cut it. We also save some money which is very important and it gives one of our kids on the farm a chance to earn a roster spot"

[ryan008]

Spring Training Starts! Regular Season Around the Corner

March 3rd, 2010.

The Toronto Blue Jays flocked to their Dunedin Spring Training complex today as the Jays begin preparations for their defence of their World Series title won a few short months ago. Two familiar faces will not be making the trip to Dunedin witht he Jays this season MR Millard Carter who left as a free agent still has not been signed and RF Raul Pagan was traded to the Chicago Cubs in the offseason. Their departure opens up 2 roster spots and gives a number of the Jays youngsters a chance to earn a roster spot with the Blue Jays ths season. GM Ryan Stewart on the start of camp "it is always an exciting time of year, everyone is fresh and ready to go and you get a clean slate. Everyone has a chance to win the world series in Spring Training" He also commented on the likely players to fill the spots left by Pagan and Carter "Well right now we don't know for sure. We have a bunch of young players who have a very good chance but it will depend on how they erform in the spring. Like last year we have every intention of brining the best team to Toronto so righ now it is anyones guess"

There are a number of young jays players who received an invitation to spring traning this season and have legitimate shots at making the big club this year. They include:

3B Dave Chambers (Toronto's 1st round pick in 2007)
1B Bill Darby (Signed as a Non-drafted FA from Canada in 2008)
SP Anthony Simmons (Aquired from Chicago (A) in 2009)
SP Antonio Perez (Toronto's 3rd Round Pick in 2007)
MR Julius Perez (Aquired from Boston in an Offseason Trade)
LF Felipe Monteau (Signed as a Non-drafted FA from the Dominican Republic in 2008)
CF Rick Bjork (Toronto's first round pick 21st OA in 2008)
RF Jesus Alterez (Signed as a Non-drafted FA from the Mexico in 2008)