2009 OOTP X Real Blue Jays

[ryan008]

After a bit of a break due to work getting really busy and the death of my Fictional Blue Jays (I kepth the game on an external hard drive that decided to get corrupt) I finally have some time to get back into the game and was dying to write another dyansty.

So I chose a real Jays Dynasty starting in April 2009 and we'll see where it takes us. I am using the default rosters that come with the newest patch and have added to it an NCAA Division 1 College feeder league and an 80 team Highschool Feeder League.

All of the other settings are as is or 'out of the box'

So the season starts shortly!

[ryan008]

Blue Jays Fire GM J.P. Riccardi

April 4th, 2009

With the 2009 Regular Season slated to start on April 5th, the Blue Jays made a suprising move announcing that they have fired General Manager J.P. Riccardi and replaced him with 28 year old Ryan Stewart.

The Blue Jays toiled under 7 years of Riccardi's leadership amassing a record of 567-566 and not finishing higher than 2nd in the American League East. The Blue Jays have not made a playoff appearance since 1993 when they captured their second consecutive title. The Blue Jays are coming off another dissapointing finish to the 2008 season where they finished with a record of 86-76 but would end up in 4th place in the American League East.

J.P. Riccardi was a highly regarded talent evaluator preaching the money ball philosophy when he was hired away from the Oakland Athletics. The Jays were suppose to be an organization that developed their talent from within, drafted smart and would become self sustaining. The Blue Jays current farm system is almost completely barren of any high end talent with just 3 players ranking in baseball America's top 100 prospects (J.P. Arencibia #28, LF Travis Snider #42 and David Cooper #61). This has lead to the Jays having the #23rd ranked farm system in all of baseball.

GM Ryan Stewart will really have his hands full in turning around the franchise as the Jays have a number of high money contracts such as CF Vernon Wells who is owed $116,000,000 over the next 6 years and 3B Scott Rolen $11,000,000/year over the next 2 seasons and CL B.J. Ryan who is owed $10,000,000/year for the next 2 seasons.

The Jays new General Manager will have a buget of $92,500,000 to work with and the current player payroll is just over $87 million.

GM Ryan Stewart "This is not going to be an easy task, we are going to rebuild our scouting and development staffs from the ground up. That is our number one priority. If we are going to be successful we have to have a stream of young talent moving its way up through the minors and to supplement those young players with free agent signings"

"We are also going to have to take a look at our current roster and attempt to move some payroll as we have a few large contracts that are going to kick in next season and we will need to be able to accomodate them in our current budget. We do have some trade chips to play with 1B Lyle Overbay, 3B Scott Rolen and SP Roy Halladay who could bring some significant return at some point this season"

All in all 2009 could be a very long season for Jays fans!

[jtb]

Always enjoy your dynasty's!

[ryan008]

Originally Posted by jtb

Always enjoy your dynasty's!

I appreciate that thanks!

I really enjoy writing them, it helps you to get into them more and now that I have some more time I thought I would start up a new one with real players!

This is going to take some fancy GM'ing to get the Jays out of this current mess though, Yikes!

[ryan008]

Trade Rumours Swirling in Toronto - Wells to the Red Sox?

April 5th, 2009

The Jays new General Manager Ryan Stewart has only been the GM for a day and already there are rumours abounding in Toronto about possible moves. By far the biggest rumour surrounds the Jays CF Vernon Wells. It was apparent that Wells was placed on the trade block yesterday (along with 3B Scott Rolen and CL B.J. Ryan) and apparently the Jays have had a few phone calls about the 30 yearold outfielder.

The teams rumoured to be interested in Wells services include the Texas Rangers, Chicago Cubs and Boston Red Sox. Of those 3 teams only the Red Sox have the availiable cap space to accomodate such a large contract. The Red Sox have reportedly dangled LF Jason Bay in front of the Jays as a return on Wells and if it were true it would be a fantastic deal for the Jays. Wells who is owed $115 million over the next 6 seasons vs LF Jason Bay who is in the last year of his contract and is owed just $7,000,000. The 30 yearold Bay hit .288 with 31 HR and 101 RBI split between Pittsburgh and the Red Sox.

GM Ryan Stewart was asked about any specifics on the rumours but declined to comment.

[jtb]

Originally Posted by ryan008

Trade Rumours Swirling in Toronto - Wells to the Red Sox?

April 5th, 2009

The Jays new General Manager Ryan Stewart has only been the GM for a day and already there are rumours abounding in Toronto about possible moves. By far the biggest rumour surrounds the Jays CF Vernon Wells. It was apparent that Wells was placed on the trade block yesterday (along with 3B Scott Rolen and CL B.J. Ryan) and apparently the Jays have had a few phone calls about the 30 yearold outfielder.

The teams rumoured to be interested in Wells services include the Texas Rangers, Chicago Cubs and Boston Red Sox. Of those 3 teams only the Red Sox have the availiable cap space to accomodate such a large contract. The Red Sox have reportedly dangled LF Jason Bay in front of the Jays as a return on Wells and if it were true it would be a fantastic deal for the Jays. Wells who is owed $115 million over the next 6 seasons vs LF Jason Bay who is in the last year of his contract and is owed just $7,000,000. The 30 yearold Bay hit .288 with 31 HR and 101 RBI split between Pittsburgh and the Red Sox.

GM Ryan Stewart was asked about any specifics on the rumours but declined to comment.

I would do the Bay for wells deal in a heartbeat if it is straight up. You could really improve your team-- add someone to the middle of your lineup, and save some cash in the process. Good Luck!

[ryan008]

Blue Jays Ship Wells to Boston for Bay

April 5th, 2009

With the Jays slated to open up the 2009 Regular season schedule tomorrw at home against the Detroit Tigers GM Ryan Stewart made his first move as General Manager trading CF Vernon Wells and MR Casey Janssen to the Boston Red Sox for Canadian outfielder LF Jason Bay.

CF Vernon Wells is in the second year of a 7 year $126,000,000 contract that he signed prior to the 2008 season. The 30 yearold hit .300 with 20 HR and 78 RBI in limited action with the Jays last season. With the team headed towards a rebuild Wells and his massive contract were a huge priority for the new GM and Boston was very interested in making this deal.

Red Sox GM Theo Epstein was looking for a long term replacement for Bay who is an unrestricted free agent at the end of this season and was not looking to sign an extension to stay in Boston. Wells will move to fill the hole in left field left by the departure of Bay as centerfield is already occupied by CF Jacoby Ellsbury.

LF Jason Bay of Trail, Brittish Columbia will be the Jays everyday left fielder and will likely hit in the #3 spot in the Jays lineup. He hit .288 with 31 HR and drove in 101 RBI between the Pittsburgh Pirates and Boston Red Sox. Bay will earn $7,000,000 this year and is an unrestricted free agent at the conclusin of the season. With the addition of Bay and the departure of Wells the Jays will be forced to shuffle their remaining outfielders. RF Alex Rios will take over in center, rookie LF Travis Snider will move over to rightfield and LF Jason Bay will remain in left.

GM Ryan Stewart on the trade "It was a tough decision to move a player like Wells. He is a lifelong Blue Jay who was brought up through the organization. He has tremendous talent but the contract is ver prohibitative to us moving forward. We wish him the best of luck in Boston"

[ryan008]

Blue Jays Ready to Open 2009 Season

April 6th, 2009

The Toronto Blue Jays will host the Detroit Tigers today as the curtain will rise on the Jays 2009 season. So far 2009 has been very eventfull for the Jays as in the span of 3 days the team has fired GM J.P. Riccardi, hired GM Ryan Stewart and traded CF Vernon Wells and MR Casey Janssen to the Boston Red Sox for LF Jason Bay.

LF Jason Bay will be in the lineup today as the Jays will play host to the Tigers at the Rogers Center in Toronto. The Blue Jays will send their Ace to the hill in SP Roy Halladay who will face SP Justin Verlander of the Detroit Tigers.

The Jays 25 man roster is virtually unchanged from last season except for the addition of Bay. There is no gurantee however, that the team that starts the season will look anything like the one that will finish it. GM Ryan Stewart has been very busy working the phones and there are more rumours swirling that the team is in talks with a number of clubs about the possibility of moving more of the Jays pieces.

2009 Toronto Blue Jays 25 Man Roster

Starting Pitchers

SP Roy Halladay
SP Brian Tallet
SP Jesse Litsch
SP Scott Richmond
SP David Purcey

Bullpen

MR Jesse Carlson
MR Brandon League
MR Shawn Camp
MR Scott Downs
MR Jason Frasor
CL B.J. Ryan

Position Players

C Michael Barrett
C Rod Barajas
1B Lyle Overbay
1B Kevin Millar
2B Joe Inglett
2B Aaron Hill
3B Scott Rolen
SS John MacDonald
SS Marco Scutaro
LF Adam Lind
LF Jason Bay
CF Alex Rios
RF Travis Snider
RF Jose Bautista

Blue Jays Opening Day Lineup

SS Marco Scutaro
2B Aaron Hill
LF Jason Bay
CF Alex Rios
RF Travis Snider
3B Scott Rolen
DH Adam Lind
1B Lyle Overbay
C Rod Barajas

SP Roy Halladay

[ryan008]

Jays Drop Home Opener to Tigers 13-5

April 7th, 2009

The Toronto Blue Jays were hammered yesterday by the Detroit Tigers to open the 2009 Regular Season. Nearly 41,000 fans crammed the Rogers Center to see SP Roy Halladay start the 2009 season. Halladay was shelled by the Tigers lasting just 4.1 innings allowing 7 runs on 8 hits with 3 walks and 3 strikeouts. The biggest blow came in the top of the 3rd as the Tigers loaded the bases for LF Marcus Thames who took a 2-0 fastball off of Windows Restaurant in deep senterfield for his first homerun of the season and making it 4-0 Detroit. 1B Miguel Cabrerra would add a 3 run shot in the 4th and that would be it for Halladay as the Tigers would go on to take the game 13-5.

SP Justin Verlander (1-0) was unspectacular for the Tigers lasting just 6.2 innings allowing all 5 runs on 8 hits with 1B Lyle Overbay and CF Alex Rios both launching 2 run homeruns off of him but managed to hang on and with the help of his offence capture his first victory of the season. LF Jason Bay was impressive in his debut North of the boarder going 3-4 with a double, RBI and 2 runs scored.

[ryan008]

Blue Jays Claim Pair of Players

April 18th, 2009

The Toronto Blue Jays are currently sitting in 1st Place in the American League East with a record of 8-2 leading the Boston Red Sox by 2 games and the Baltimore Orioles by just 1/2 game. The team has been on a hot streak to start the season thanks in large part to the hot starts of 1B Lyle Overbay (.336 4 HR 10 RBI), CF Alex Rios (.445 2 HR 8 RBI), SP Brian Tallet (2-0 1.86 ERA) and SP Jesse Litsch (2-0 2.25 ERA).

GM Ryan Stewart has been very busy looking for ways to improve the club and with the trade talks slowing a bit the Jays have turned to the Waiver Wire to add depth to the team. The Jays made a pair of claims first claiming 23 yearold CL Eduardo Morlan off waivers from the Tampa Bay Rays. Morlan was originally a 3rd round pick 91st overall of the Minnesota Twins in 2004 but was claimed in thh Rule V draft by the Rays. He started the 2009 season in AA Montgomery and was 0-0 with 2 SV and a 3.38 ERA in just 3 games. The righty features a fastball that tops out at 90-92 MPH and a curveball. He was assigned to the Jays AA New Hampshire affiliate.

The Jays also took a flier and claimed SP Brad Penny off waivers from the Boston Red Sox. The 30 yearold Penny had been relegated to the bullpen for the Sox and was 0-0 with a 3.83 ERA in 3 games. He is in the last year of his contract and is owed $5,000,000 for the remainder of the 2009 season. He will replace SP David Purcey as the Jays #5 starter and is an unrestricted free agent at the conclusion of the season.

GM Ryan Stewart explained the pickup of Penny "Penny is a reclaimation project for us. He has very good stuff and is just 30 years old. he is coming off a major injury and was just not getting a chance to pitch in Boston. We saved some money in the Wells deal and we decided to take a chance to bring him in for the remainder of the season. If he performs well we can move him at the deadline or just let him walk at the end of the season. It allows us to keep our young pitchers in AAA a little while longer to give them some more time to develop"

[ryan008]

Blue Jays Still In First But Injuries Taking their Toll

May 4th, 2009

The Blue Jays are still clinging to top spot in the American league East with a record of of 22-12 leading the New York Yankees by 1 game and the Baltimore Orioles by 2.5 games.

The Jays continue to get some steller performances from unexpected places. 1B Lyle Overbay has been on a tear this year hitting .333 with 8 HR and 24 RBI en route to being named the American League Batter of the Month for April. Not to be out done SP Brian Tallet went 5-0 with a 2.05 ERA and edged out teammate SP Jesse Litsch who went 4-0 with a 2.19 ERA to be named the American League Pitcher of the Month for April.

It is extremely unlikely that the Jays will be able to keep up this pace all season long and they are expected to fall back to the pack in the AL East but it is making for some exciting baseball in Toronto.

The news has not all been good for the Jays however, as they have been forced to place 4 different players on the long term injured reserve with serious injuries.

The first to go down was newley aquired LF Jason Bay who suffered a strained hamstring while running the bases. He was hitting .273 with 1 HR and 6 RBI and is expected to miss the next 2 months. He was placed on the 15 Day Disabled list and RF Buck Coates who is hitting .126 with 1 HR and 2 RBI for AAA Las Vegas was recalled.

Next to go down was rookie RF Travis Snider who suffered a torn thumb ligament and is expected to miss the next 3 months. He was hitting just .125 with 1 HR and 3 RBI at the time of the injury and was placed on the 15 Day Disabled list. The Jays recalled RF Jason Lane (.178 1 HR 3 RBI) from AAA Las Vegas to fill his spot on the roster.

The calvacade of injuries contined when C Rod Barajas suffered a strained hamstring and is expected to miss up to 8 weeks. He was hitting .295 with 1 HR and 5 RBI and was placed on the 15 Day Disabled List. The Jays recalled top prospect C J.P. Arencibia who will make his major league debut for the Jays. Arencibia was having a good season in AAA Las Vegas hitting .255 with 5 HR and 16 RBI.

Finally the Jays were forced to place SS Marco Scutaro on the 15 Day Disbaled list as he suffered a bone bruise in his knee. He is expected to miss up to 3 months and was hitting .333 with 0 HR and 9 RBI at the time of the injury. The Jays recalled SS Russ Adams who was hitting .291 with 3 HR and 13 RBI for AAA Las Vegas to fill the roster spot. SS John MacDonald is ecpected to take over as the Jays everyday shortstop.

[ryan008]

Blue Jays Busy With Claims, Signings and a Trade

June 14th, 2009

The Jays have fallen out of top spot in the American League East and now sit in 3rd place with a record of 42-37. They trail the division leading New York Yankees by 3 games and the second place Baltimore Orioles by 2.5 games. Despite the team cooling off both offensively and the pitching GM Ryan Stewart has been very busy over the last few weeks as he attempts to reshape the franchise from top to bottom.

GM Ryan Stewart's first move was to ink injured SP Ben Sheets to a minor league contract. The 30 yearold righty is currently injured and is expected to miss 2 more months with a torn triceps muscle. He was 13-9 with a 3.09 ERA for the Milwaukee Brewers last season. GM Ryan Stewart on the signing "We are treating this like a tryout for Sheets. He has very good stuff and could be an asset in our rotation if he can show that he is healthy. He will be ready in early August and will get a shot in the rotation, if he proves to us he can still pitch and is fully recovered from his injuries we could look into signing him long term. If not it really didn't cost us anything"

The Jays next move was to claim MR Jason Hammel off waivers from the Colorado Rockies. Hammel is a 26 yearold righty with a fastball in the 89-90 MPH range and a slider. He was 1-0 with a 3.66 ERA with 6 BB and 19 K's in 14 appearances for the Rockies. He gives the Jays some depth in the bullpen and to make room for him on the roster the Jays sent MR Shawn Camp down to AAA Las Vegas.

Finally GM Ryan Stewart was approached by the Mets GM Omar Minaya about the possibility of dealing SP Brian Tallet. The Mets have been hit with a rash of injuries to their starting pitching with SP Johan Santana and SP John Maine both on the disabled list. Tallet has been very good for the Jays this season posting an 8-3 record with a 2.80 ERA. The Mets dangled 20 yearold outfield prospect LF Fernando Martinez infront of the Jays and the deal was done.

Martinez a 20 yearold native of the Dominican Republic was hitting .273 with 5 HR and 22 RBI for AAA Buffalo. He may not project to be a superstar but should be at least an everyday outfielder for the Jays down the road. He was assigned to AAA Las Vegas. GM Ryan Stewart "Tallet's value was at its peak with the way he was pitching this year and he was arbitration eligiable at the end of the season and likely due a significant pay increase with his performance this year. We get a good looking young outfielder in return that can hopefully help us down the road"

[ryan008]

Blue Jays Select University of Texas Star with 19th Overall Pick

June 15th, 2009

The 2009 First Year Player Draft was held today and it would mark the first draft for the Jays new General Manager. The 2009 draft is considered to be very top heavy with the first few picks having high potential but the quality seems to drop off considerably after the top 10. The class is lead by 20 yearold SP Stephen Strasburg a hard throwing righty who was the consencus #1 ranked player and was selected 1st overall by the Washington Nationals.

The Jays would have to wait until the 19th overall selection and they would use it to select 22 yearold righty SP Juan Martinez out of the University of Texas in the NCAA. Martinez was the Longhorn's #1 starter in his senior year and racked up an impressive record of 5-2 with a 2.69 ERA with just 18 BB and 73 K's. He was selected to the NCAA America Eastern Team for the Allstar Game and lead the Longhorns in wins, strikeouts, ERA and complete games with 3. He is a big strong kid standing 6'5" and 215 lbs with a fastball in the 94-96 MPH range, he throws a fastball, slider and changeup and has very good control He scouts as a #2 or 3 starter at the big league level but the Jays are hoping that with some with with their minor league development staff he could be a future #1.

Some of the Jays other selections included:

SP Manny Saldana (2nd Round 49th Overall) - A 19 yearold hard throwing lefty out of tPittsburgh Highschool in the USHSBA. He was 2-2 with a 3.40 ERA with just 3 BB and 51 K's in 10 starts. He scouts as a back end of the rotation starter with a plus fastball and good curve and changeup.

SP Teobaldo Schenyzer (3rd Round 79th Overall) - The 22 yearold native of Sao Paulo Brazil attended the UCF in the NCAA and was 5-2 with a 1.90 ERA with 21 BB and 77 K's. for the Knights. He was an NCAA West Allstar and lead the team in wins, ERA and strikeouts. He has one of the best fastballs in the draft topping out in the 96-98 MPH range but is very erratic with it. He scouts as middle of the rotation starter.

GM Ryan Stewart was asked about his teams draft class "We think there is some potential here. Our need in the system right now is definately pitching and we went pitching heavy with our first few picks. Our general strategy is to take the best availiable player regardless of position. With the state of the farm system right now we just need to get some talent in it and I think our head scout Jon Lalonde did a great job of doing that, there may not be any potential superstars in there right now but only time will tell. It will be good to have a year to prepare for the 2010 draft as this one we did not have a lot of time together to get ourselves prepared"

[ryan008]

2009 Regular Season Comes to a Close

October 2nd, 2009

The 2009 season has come to an end as the last 3 months of the season passed and were largely uneventful for the Jays and their new GM Ryan Stewart. Many people were expecting that Toronto would be very active at the Trade Deadline attempting to move players like SP Roy Halladay, SP Brad Penny, CL B.J. Ryan, LF Jason Bay, 1B Lyle Overbay and 3B Scott Rolen but nothing would materialize as there just weren't that many deals to be had.

The Jays would finish the year with a record of 88-74 but would finish in 4th place in the American League East Division 6 games back of the New York Yankees, Tampa Bay Rays and Baltimore Orioles.

The Jays did have some encouraging signs as DH Adam Lind (.326 28 HR 109 RBI) and LF Travis Snider (.282 19 HR 50 RBI) had breakout seasons and they got a pair of their starters back after missing most of the 2009 season with injuries. SP Shaun Marcum would go 1-1 with a 4.38 ERA for the Jays in 4 starts in September and SP Dustin McGowan was 2-1 with a 1.71 ERA. Both pitchers will likely figure into the Jays rotation for next season.

Now that the 2009 season has concluded for the Jays the real work begins for new GM Ryan Stewart. He is charged with reshaping a franchise that is in desperate need of an overhaul and will get the change to do so with a full offseason under his belt. It is expected that the Jays wil see major changes in their scouting, player development and minor league staffs this offseason, which could be a very busy one for GM Ryan Stewart.

[ryan008]

Milwaukee Brewers are World Champions!

October 26th, 2009

The Milwaukee Brewers took home the 2009 World Series title with a 7-1 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays in Game #6 of the World Series. The Brewers had a 3-0 series lead before the Rays battled back to force a game 6 but could not overcome the early deficit. SP Manny Parra was the story for the Brewers as he was 2-0 with a 0.98 ERA in the World Series and tossed a 4 hitter in the deciding game to clinch it for the Brewers.

Blue Jays News

GM Ryan Stewart announced that the team has come to terms on a new 2 year deal for SS Marco Scutaro. The 34 yearold Scutaro hit .266 with 0 HR and 19 RBI in limited action as he missed nearly 4 months with an injury. The native of Venezuela will earn $3.3 mllion over the next 2 seasons with a yearly contract of $1,650,000 a year.

The Jays also announced that they have offered arbitration 3 of their pending unrestricted free agents: LF Jason Bay, SP Brad Penny and SP Ben Sheets who are all considered Type A Free Agents.

The Jays would ahve liked to bring all 3 back for the 2010 season but the price tag was just too high for Toronto. LF Jason Bay hit .303 with 11 HR and 59 RBI and was looking for a contract in the area of 7 years and $141,890,000. SP Brad Penny saw a resurgance with the Jays posting a record of 14-5 with a 3.42 ERA and was looking for a big extension and raise from his 2009 salary of $5 million. He was rumoured to be asking for a contract in the neighbourhood of 4 years and $74,000,000. Finally SP Ben Sheets who was signed as a minor league free agent and pitched for a month and a half for the Jays was 4-4 with a 3.84 ERA and was looking for a contract in the area of 5 years $62.5 million.

The only good news for GM Ryan Stewart and the Jays is that all 3 players are considered Type A Free Agents and would bring a 1st round draft choice and a supplemental 1st round pick between the first and second rounds as compensation should they decline arbitration and sign with another team. The Jays could have 7 selections in the first and supplemental 1st round in the 2010 First Year Player Draft.

The Jays also announced the Manager Cito Gaston and Hitting Coach Gene Tenace are retireing and that they will be actively seeking replacements over the winter.

[ryan008]

Blue Jays 2009 Offseason a Very Busy One

March 27th, 2010

2010 Spring Training is right around the corner and new Blue Jays GM Ryan Stewart had a very busy offseason, his first as the General manager of the Jays.

The offseason started off with Rogers Communications Inc. announcing that the teams buget for the 2010 season would be $95,000,000, which is up nearly $3 million from the season before. GM Ryan Stewart immediately invested that money in the teams scouting buget which was $1,250,000 and was one of the lowest in the league. The new buget for scouting has been increased to $4.5 million and rivals teams like the Yankees ($5 million) the Dodgers ($4.75 million) and the Angels ($4.5 million). GM Ryan Stewart "We aren't going to be able to just go out and add a bunch of expensive free agents we need to be able to bring talent up through the system on our own and develop our own players. We are going to dramatically increase our Amature Scouting for the First Year Player Draft and the International Scouting Depatments"

Blue Jays Salary Arbitration Cases and Free Agents

The Jays had a number of players eligiable for salary arbitration at the conclusion of the 2009 season. The biggest names were RF Jason Bay, SP Brad Penny and SP Ben Sheets. All 3 players are considered Type A Free Agents and will bring the Jays a pair of compensation draft picks in the 2010 First Year Player Draft should they sign elsewhere. GM Ryan Stewart was in negotiation with all 3 players but there demands were just outside of their bugetary constraints. Bay was rumoured to be looking for a contract in the area of 7 years and $141,000,000, Penny a 4 year $74,000,000 and Sheets a 5 year $65,000,000 extension.

All three would garner significant interest and would end up siging contracts with other clubs during the offseason.

RF Jason Bay - 6 years $128,900,000 with the Yankees
SP Ben Sheets - 5 year $49,000,000 with the Boston Red Sox
SP Brad Penny - 4 year $63,000,000 with the Mariners

When the dust settled the Jays would end up with the 18th (Mariners), 21st (From Boston) and the 28th (From New York) selections as well as the 14th, 15th and 16th selections in the Supplemental 1st Round of the 2010 First Year Player Draft.

GM Ryan Stewart did announce one signing before the Salary Arbitration hearings as SS Marco Scutaro would sign a 2 year $3.3 million contract extension. The 34 yearold Venezuelan hit .266 with 0 HR and 19 RBI in 2009 but battled injuries that limited him to just 79 games. He will earn $1,650,000/year over the life of the contract.

The rest of the Jays Arbitration cases went as follows:

MR Shaun Camp - $675,000
MR Jason Frasor - $3,176,000
SP Shaun Marcum - $6,000,000
SP Dustin McGowan - $5,500,000
MR Jason Hammel - $600,000
MR Brandon League - $600,000
SS Russ Adams - $600,000

Management & Personnel Moves

The Jays were also very busy with their off the field personnel moves as GM Ryan Stewart brought in new people at nearly every level. The changes started with the big club as the manager Cito Gaston and hitting coach Gene Tenace both announced their retirement and the Jays had to search for a new manager and hitting coach in the offseason.

GM Ryan Stewart settled on Mike Welsh a 39 yearold with 7 years of baseball experience from Saskatoon, Sasketchewan to be the teams new manager. He works very well with rookies and young players and is likely going to be looked to, to develop a lot of the Jays younger players. The team also hired Gianni Schenkevelt,a 54 yearold native of the Netherlands to be the teams new hitting coach. He also is highly regarded when it comes to working with young players and has over 15 years of baseball experience.

Player Trades

The Jays would make a pair of offseason transactions in 2009/10 as GM Ryan Stewart continued to reshape his team. The Jays first deal came during the Winter Meetings as they were approached about the availiability of RF Jose Bautista by the Oakland Athletics. The Blue Jays would end up sending Bautista and a pair of minor leaguers in SP Dirk Hayhurst and MR Ryan Koch to the A's for 24 yearold SP Gio Gonzalez.

29 yearold Bautista had an above average season as the 4th outfielder for the Jays in 2009 hitting just .222 but did manage to hit 17 HR and drive in 81 RBI. He was making just over $2,000,000 and was going to be arbitration eligiable after the 2010 season.

SP Dirk Hayhurst a 28 yearold lefty was 4-7 with a 6.93 ERA for AA New Hampshire in 2009. MR Ryan Koch, the brother of former Jay CL Billy Koch was 1-0 with a 1.8- ERA in67 games for Low Class A Lansing in 2009.

SP Gio Gonzalez is a 24 yearold lefty with a fastball in the 90-92 MPH range, he split time between AAA Sacremento and the A's in 2009 posting a record of 10-9 with a 5.40 ERA walking 62 and striking out 143. He scouts as a back end of the rotation starter and will get a shot at being the teams #4 starter coming out of traiing camp.

GM Ryan Stewart's second move of the offseason was to make a deal with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim sending 1B Lyle Overbay and SP David Purcey to the Angels in exchange for SP Jared Weaver.

The Angels, Indians, Red Sox and Mariners all expressed interest when 1B Lyle Overbay was placed ont he block as the 32 yearold left had a very strong season in 2010 hitting .344 with 27 HR and driving in 85 RBI. He was in the last year of his contract and was making $7,000,000 a season. The Jays also send SP David Purcey, a 27 yearold former first round selection of the Jays who just could not seem to get it together and live up to his potential. Purcey was 4-6 with a 7.45 ERA with 31 BB and 42 K's for the Jays in 2009.

Moving to the Jays is 27 yearold SP Jared Weaver. Weaver was the Angels #4 starter in 2009 and posted a record of 12-5 with a 3.32 ERA walking 33 and striking out 118. He is making $5,113,000 and is arbitration eligiable at the conclusion of the 2010 season. He will be invited to Spring Training and is the early favorite to be the teams #2 starter behind SP Roy Halladay.

Jays add Trio via Free Agency

GM Ryan Stewat didn't have the money to go out and in any big name free agents but he did add some players to fill out the roster heading into Spring Training.

First to sign was SS Khalil Greene who signed a 1 year $800,000 contract and will be the teams utility infielder for the 2010 season. The 30 yearold hit .237 with 18 HR and 50 RBI for the St. Louis Cardinals in 2009.

The Jays next targets were a pair of outfielders as they inked RF Xavier Nady to a 1 year $2,700,000 contract. The 31 yearold hit .256 with 12 HR and 63 RBI for the Yankees in 2009.

Finally the Jays signed CF Rocco Baldelli to a 1 year $1,700,000 contract. The former Ray hit .276 with 10 HR and 37 RBI for the Red Sox in 2009. Both Nady and Baldelli will get a regular shot in the starting lineup as they will platoon in right field, a position vacated when Jason Bay signed with the Yankees.

[ryan008]

2010 Spring Training

April 1st, 2010

RM Ryan Stewart was very busy in the offseason as he and the Jays prepared for their first Spring Training. The Jays are coming off of a season in which they suprised a little posting a record of 88-74 but still finished in 4th place in the American League East. The Jays lost some big names over the offseason as LF Jason Bay, SP Brad Penny and SP Ben Sheets all signed with other teams, SS John MacDonald retired and the team traded RF Jose Bautista and 1B Lyle Overbay.

The Jays brought in a pair of young pitchers to help fill out the roster in SP Jared Weaver and SP Geo Gonzalez and signed a trio of postition players in RF Xavier Nady, CF Rocco Baldelli and SS Khalil Greene. The Jays also selected MR Daigoro Rendon in the Rule V draft from Cincinatti and the 23 yearold will make his debut with the Jays this season.

There are not many open spots on the Jays roster for 2010 but there are a number of fresh faces in camp looking to impress and earn a spot with the Jays. Former 1st Round Pick 1B David Cooper is a favorite to land the starting first baseman's job after the trade of 1B Lyle Overbay to the Angels, and top pitching prospect SP Brett Cecil is looking to earn a spot in the Jays rotation . The rotation is going to be very hard to crack as there are 8 players (Marcum, McGowan, Halladay, Litsch, Richmond, Weaver, Gonzalez and Cecil) competing for just 5 roster spots.

2010 Spring Training Invitees

Starting Pitchers
*(2009 Stats)

SP Geo Gonzalez (7-7 5.50 ERA with Oakland)
SP Reider Gonzalez (5-16 5.77 ERA AA New Hampshire)
SP Roy Halladay (14-8 3.78 ERA)
SP Jesse Litsch (12-17 5.17 ERA)
SP Shaun Marcum - (1-1 4.38 ERA)
SP Dustin McGowan -(2-1 1.71 ERA)
SP Robert Ray - (7-12 5.43 ERA AAA Las Vegas)
SP Scott Richmond - (6-13 1 SV 6.89 ERA)
SP Rickey Romero - (5-17 7.11 ERA AAA Las Vegas)
SP Jared Weaver - (12-5 3.32 ERA Los Angeles Angels)

Bullpen

MR Jeremy Accardo - (4-5 5.45 ERA) AAA Las Vegas
MR Shawn Camp - (4-2 2 SV 3.04 ERA)
MR Jesse Carlson - (7-3 1 SV 3.05 ERA)
MR Fabio Castro - (6-7 17 SV 6.69 ERA AA New Hampshire)
MR Scott Downs - (0-3 6 SV 3.26 ERA)
MR Jason Frasor - (7-1 6 SV 3.15 ERA)
MR Jason Hammel - (0-0 7.00 ERA)
MR Brandon League - (2-5 1 SV 8.17 ERA AAA Las Vegas)
MR Daigoro Rendon - (4-1 3.23 ERA)
MR Pedrp Strop - (0-0 1.93 ERA AAA Las Vegas)
CL Eduardo Morlan - (4-5 17 SV 3.93 ERA AAA Las Vegas)
CL B.J. Ryan - (7-5 34 SV 2.94 ERA)

Position Players

C Rod Barajas - (.237 13 HR 70 RBI)
C J.P. Arencibia - (.229 13 HR 59 RBI AAA Las Vegas)

1B David Cooper - (.289 15 HR 63 RBI AAA Las Vegas)
1B Randy Ruiz - (.285 19 HR 63 RBI AAA Las Vegas)

2B Joe Inglett - (.302 3 HR 10 RBI)
2B Aaron Hill - (.252 12 HR 76 RBI)

3B Scott Rolen - (.264 19 HR 73 RBI)

SS Russ Adams - (.265 7 HR 24 RBI AAA Las Vegas)
SS Marco Scutaro - (.266 0 HR 19 RBI)
SS Khalil Greene - (.237 18 HR 50 RBI with St. Louis)

LF Travis Snider - (.282 19 HR 50 RBI)
LF Adam Lind - (.326 28 HR 109 RBI)

CF Rocco Baldelli - (.276 10 HR 37 RBI with Boston)
CF Alex Rios - (.354 13 HR 56 RBI)

RF Xavier Nady - (.278 20 HR 72 RBI with New York Yankees)
RF Buck Coates - (.260 7 HR 26 RBI AAA Las Vegas)

[ryan008]

2010 Blue Jays Roster Set

April 2nd, 2010

The Toronto Blue Jays have begun the treck north to the friendly confines of the Rogers Center in Toronto where they will open up the 2010 season at home with a 3 game series against the Detroit Tigers. The Jays will send their ace and longest serving member SP Roy Halladay to the hill to faceoff against SP Justin Verlander and the high powered Tigers offence.

Halladay will lead a very young staff that includes 24 yearold SP Geo Gonzalez who was aquired from the A's in an offseason deal as well as SP Dustin McGowan who is returning after missing nearly the entire 2009 season recovering from surgery, SP Jesse Litsch and SP Jared Weaver who came over in a trade with the Angels. The Jays also have their top prospect in rookie SP Brett Cecil who just missed out on a spot in the rotation after posting a record of 3-1 with a 2.98 ERA in the Spring, he was assigned to AAA Las Vegas and will most likely see time with the Jays at some point this season. Joining Cecil in AAA is veteran right hander SP Shaun Marcum. Marcum also missed the majority of the 2009 season after undergoing arm surgery and had a rough spring posting a record of 0-2 with a 8.67 ERA. He will start the season in AAA to get some innings in and should be back with the Jays this season.

The Jays bullpen remains largely intact from the 2009 season despite the rumours that CL B.J. Ryan, MR Jason Frasor and MR Scott Downs would be traded during the offseason. The trio of veterans will be joined by MR Jason Hammel, MR Jesse Carlson and rookie MR Daigoro Rondon who was selected by the Jays in the Rule V draft in December. The Jays bullpen is their biggest asset and it ranked 5th in the Majors in ERA in 2009. They will likely get a lot of work this year with such a young staff.

The Blue Jays have a pretty solid core group of position players that the team and GM Ryan Stewart plan to build around for the future. This group is lead by DH Adam Lind, LF Travis Snider, 1B David Cooper and C J.P. Arencibia. These 4 players demonstrate the importance of good drafting as all 4 were high picks by the Jays. Combining the youth with veterans like CF Alex Rios who has returned to the form that made him an Allstar in 2008, and 3B Scott Rolen and RF Xavier Nady the Jays have a good mix of veterans and youth. They may not be conisdered a playoff threat at the moment but the foundation has been laid.

The Jays opening day lineup will look like this for their tilt against the Detroit Tigers

CF Alex Rios
RF Xavier Nady
LF Travis Snider
DH Adam Lind
3B Scott Rolen
1B David Cooper
SS Khalil Greene
2B Aaron Hill
C J.P. Arencibia

SP Roy Halladay

Bench

C Rod Barajas
INF Marco Scutaro
INF Joe Inglett
OF Rocco Baldelli

[ryan008]

Blue Jays Off to .500 Start to the 2010 Season

May 1st, 2010

The 2010 Toronto Blue Jays got off to a very hot start sweeping the Detroit Tigers in the season opening series but were unable to maintain that momentum posting a record of just 6-9 after the sweep. The Jays would finish the month of April with a record of 9-9 which places them in 4th in American League East trailing the Baltimore Orioles by 2 games and the New York Yankees and Tampa Bay Rays by 1 game. Only the Boston Red Sox (6-12) have a worse record than the Jays in the American League East.

Overall it was a pretty slow month for the Jays. GM Ryan Stewart was pretty active working the phones but nothing would come to fruition as the club was more intent on preparing for the 2010 First Year Player Draft. A draft in which the Jays hold 7 selections in the First and Supplemental 1st Rounds. GM Ryan Stewart "This years draft is going to be a very important one for us, we have a chance to really restock our minors with some top notch talent and we have out scouts working very hard to get looks at the best players availiable. With the NCAA and USHSBA seasons in full swing our Director of Scouting Jon Lalonde and his staff have been very busy"

The Jays did make one minor move during the month of April claiming 22 yearold lefty MR Felix Doubrount off waivers from their division rivals the Boston Red Sox. Doubrount was 5-2 with 10 saves and a 3.88 ERA for AA Portlant and was assigned to AAA Las Vegas by the Jays.

April's Hot Players

SP Roy Halladay - 4-0 1.76 ERA
SP Geo Gonzalez - 3-0 2.73 ERA
C J.P. Arencibia - .308 2 HR 11 RBI
1B David Cooper - .329 1 HR 7 RBI
LF Travis Snider - .467 5 HR 13 RBI
RF Alex Rios - .342 6 HR 15 RBI
SS Marco Scutaro - .415 0 HR 3 RBI

April's Cold Players

SP Jesse Litsch - 0-3 5.48 ERA
C Rod Barajas - .048 0 HR 1 RBI
SS Khalil Greene - .222 2 HR 11 RBI

April News & Transactions

Injuries

April was agood month for the Jays as they would have only a single player go down with an injury that would require a stint on the disabled list. MR Jesse Carlson suffered a torn back muscle that will see him miss the next 4-5 months. He was 0-1 with a 6.00 ERA for the Jays this season and was placed on the 60 Day Disabled list. It is not known if he will pitch for the Jays again this season. The Blue Jays purchased the contract of CL Eduardo Morlan who was 1-0 with 3 SV and a 3.86 ERA for AAA Las Vegas and he will fill Carlson's spot in the bullpen.

[ryan008]

Blue Jays Climb Above .500 for First Time - Still in Last in the American League East

June 1st, 2010

The Toronot Blue Jays have managed to claw their way above the .500 mark for the first time this season as they posted a record of 17-15 in May and have improved their overall record to 26-24. Despite being over .500 the Jays are still mired in last place in a very competative American League East Division where just 5 games seperate the frist place Rays and last llace Jays. The New York Yankees sit in second place and hold the American league Wild Card and the Boston Red Sox and Baltimore Orioles are in a tie for 3rd in the division just 3 games out.

The story of the season to date has been the supurb pitching of SP Roy Halladay, the 33 yearold went 4-0 with a 2.19 ERA in the month of May and was named the American Pitcher of the Month for May. He is 8-0 with a 2.09 ERA in 11 starts this season. He has been a hot commodity and is drawing a ton of interest from other teams as the Jays fall further and further back in the playoff race. GM Ryan Stewart "Halladay is easily one of the top 3 pitchers in the game and is garnering a ton of interest around the league. He still has 1 more season on his contract and is open to signing an extension with us, but should the right deal come along we will definately listen. FOr now he isn't going anywhere"

May's Hot Players

SP Jesse Litsch - 5-1 2.53 ERA
SP Roy Halladay - 4-0 2.19 ERA
CL Eduardo Morlan - 1-0 1.84 ERA
RF Alex Rios - .364 5 HR 20 RBI
LF Travis Snider - .362 1 HR 14 RBI
SS Marco Scutaro - .313 3 HR 13 RBI
3B Scott Rolen - .308 1 HR 10 RBI
C J.P. Arencebia - .308 2 HR 7 RBI

May's Cold Players

SP Jared Weaver - 1-4 5.97 ERA
MR Daigoro Rondon - 0-0 1 SV 9.82 ERA
MR Jason Hammel - 0-0 8.36 ERA
C Rod Barajas - .180 1 HR 2 RBI
CF Rocco Baldelli - .205 2 HR 13 RBI

May's News & Transactions

Injuries

The were very healthy over the month of May as only back up infielder 2B Joe Inglett suffered an injury that would require a stay on the disabled list. Inglett who is hitting just .222 with 0 HR and 1 RBI is expected to miss the next 6 weeks with a bicept strain. He was placed on the 15 day disabled list and 2B John Tolisano had his contract purchased from AAA Las Vegas. The 24 yearold Tolisano was hitting .289 with 2 HR and 10 RBI for the 51's and will be making his Major League debut with the Jays.