Janssen had a few good starts in 2006, but his protoplasm didn't hold up.  The shoulder injury effectively spells the end of his career, but perhaps he's in denial.  It will be interesting to see how AA handles the situation.

Well, AA thought enough to not non-tender him so there is SOME level of confidence there, though I'm sure he'll have to earn his major league job, they at least wanted to bring him to camp.

Jeremy Accardo (12/08/81) is controlled by the team for the next two years (both Arb).   If you are keeping him for longer, now is the time to negotiate a 3 year deal, with an option year.   One year at $1.25MM - $1.45MM or 3 years at $4.25MM - $4.50MM with option at $2.0MM.   Shaun Marcum (12/14/81) is entering his first year of arbitration.  Any multi-year deal waits for next year. One year at $0.75MM - $0.90MM.   Casey Janssen (09/17/81) is entering his first year of arbitration, multi-year can wait.  One year at $0.60MM - $0.80MM.   Brian Tallet (09/21/77) is controlled by the team for the next two years (both Arb).  Do you offer a 2-year with option year contract at $3.0MM - $3.2MM with option at $1.5MM, or just year to year?  One year at $1.4MM - $1.6 MM.  Jason Frasor (08/09/77) is a free agent after this year.  Do we offer a multi-year deal?  One year at $1.75MM - $1.90MM.   Shawn Camp (11/18/75)  is controlled by the team for the next two years (both Arb).  Is there any reason to go more than year to year with him?  One year at $0.90MM - $1.10MM. 

When you draft College Players, you will have free agency coming for most when they're around 30.   With people having doubts about ages 32 and on, only the best will have of the most value at that time.  Signing 3, 4, 5 year contracts with players having 1, 2, 3 arbitration years left (buying 1, 2, 3 free agent years) is the new standard.  Who you sign will be critical for the success of a team.   It also makes drafting and signing High School picks mandatory to maximise value.

Nice homage by Dirk in the Bullpen Gospels [linked above, merci].  "He is an ideal come to life...His example haunts you."

It's too bad Dirk was only here for one season. Had he been here longer he could have had more material to write the stories of the Legend.

Marcum resigns  before arbitration deadline.

Boston Herald has a Blue Jays report up....with projected lineups and rotation.

I am having difficulty linking it for you, sorry.

John Tomase is the reporter and he is listing Hill as leadoff, and he does not reference who he spoke with to fact-find.

 

For a sec there, I thought he handed out his resignation.

Well, that's a good move. If anyone needs goodwill, it's Marcum.

Links working now:

http://www.bostonherald.com/sports/baseball/other_mlb/view/20100119around_the_al_east_toronto_blue_jays/

http://www.bostonherald.com/sports/baseball/other_mlb/view/20100119blue_jays_strip_down_naked_truth_torontos_not_close/

"If they shift to a more high school-oriented approach, they could be looking at last place for the next 3-5 years."

Lovely.

I'd put Batista up there, he does get on base.  I'd rather not see Wells in the cleanup spot.

Camp avoids arbitration.

Janssen and his agent blink.

Seems the strategy is working.  Checking the provided links...
Marcum: $850k
Janssen: $700k
Camp: $1.15 million

Still to go...
Accardo ($900k last year)
Frasor ($1.45 last year)
Tallet ($1.015 last year)

The Globe article mentions that the Jays have also signed Jeremy Reed (OF) and Steven Register (RHP) to minor-league contracts with invitations to spring training.

I would like to see Steven Register on the same team with Kevin Cash.

Accardo  reaches an agreement. Busy day for the teams front  office.

It's a clean sweep!  AA taking care of "bidness".

From Bastian via twitter:

Done deals: Frasor ($2.65m), Tallet ($2m) and Accardo ($1.08). Jays settle all arb cases. Still no hearings for club since '97.

Jeremy Reed was once a hot prospect, a fine defensive centerfielder with good speed, great control of the strike zone and enough pop to keep pitchers honest.  Like Brett Butler.  Somehow, it didn't work out.  Injuries played a role, but perhaps there was more to it.  Anyways, as 28 year old utility outfielders go, he's one that I am glad is around.  Youneverknow.

Register has some good AAA numbers the last couple of seasons.  Looks like a worthwhile addition. 

Reed doesn't interest me at all.  He had a couple of excellent seasons in the minors at ages 21 and 22 and looked like a hot prospect, as Mike Green says.  Surprisingly, he stopped developing at age 23, which is rare, but it happens sometimes.  Since 2004, when he turned 23, he has basically shown repeatedly that he can hit .300 in the Pacific Coast League (AAA with great hitters' parks), .270 in the International League (AAA with more normal parks) or .240 ish in the big leagues without much power, few walks, and a very poor SB %.  Over the last 4 seasons, he has had over 700 PA in the bigs, with a BA of about .240, an OBP of about .290, 9 HR's, and 4 SB's vs 9 caught stealing.  Basically John McDonald but without the steals (McDonald is 17-7 in the last 4 years) and a few more walks.  They each have 9 HR's over that span, although McDonald has about 200 more PA's.   I would think he will be an OK CF for Las Vegas, but I certainly wouldn't want to see him with the Jays.

Basically John McDonald but without the steals

As unimpressive as Reed has been (career OPS+ 80), I think you are underestimating just how historically woeful an offensive player that McDonald has been (OPS+ 57).

I wouldn't worry too much about that quote, it looks like the guy spent all of five minutes researching the article.

Well, I was comparing the last 4 years, during which Reed's OPS+ is 70, which is not a whole lot better than McDonald's.  And what's this about an "article"?  I'm just giving my quick opinion about a player.  Yah, 5 minutes is about it.  Maybe 7.

Noah Coslov of MLB.com hears word out of Puerto Rico that the Blue Jays have signed first baseman Carlos Delgado.

I hope it's true.

Delgado rumour denied by AA.

I guess that will teach me for getting excited about the first thing I read while refreshing rotoworld on iphone while I'm at work.

Honestly, the only way I'd be happy if the Jay's were to sign Carlos is if the signing was immediately followed by '...who then took the opportunity to announce his retirement."

I love what Delgado did for the Blue Jay's in years past, but I don't think he can do anything more for the 2009-2010 rebuilding club except block the young guys.

AA was on the FAN and explained why he put the deadline in for the arbitration eligible players and it actually makes quite a bit of sense.  He said a lot of work and cost (legal fees) goes into preparing for arbitration (a booklet is prepared for each player) and then the club and player agree at the last minute making all that work a waste of time.  By setting the deadline early enough he avoids having to prepare for arbitration on the players that agree and thus team resources can be used more efficiently. 

AA was on the FAN and explained why he put the deadline in for the arbitration eligible players and it actually makes quite a bit of sense. He said a lot of work and cost (legal fees) goes into preparing for arbitration (a booklet is prepared for each player) and then the club and player agree at the last minute making all that work a waste of time.

I don't really think that's an entirely satisfactory explanation, with all due respect to AA. While there is admittedly a cost to preparing an arbitration booklet, I can't think the expense is anything significant for a major league baseball club. The club deals with million dollar contracts and hundreds of expenses. The $10,000 (or whatever the cost is) cost to prepare a booklet arguing that Shawn Camp should be paid X instead of Y is a drop in the bucket compared to other expenses.

Also, it doesn't really make sense to set a deadline, in any case. If Camp came to the Jays and offered to settle for the difference between the two figures minus the arbitration-preparation costs, was AA going to turn him down because he didn't meet some arbitrary deadline? If so, he would have been running a risk that could have cost the team a couple hundred thousand dollars.

The deadline was a good idea for both sides really - why wait until the arbitration hearing, at which point both sides have spent thousands on lawyers, when you can come to an agreement before then?

Also, that $10k per booklet (lets say) for 6 guys = $60k which is enough to hire another scout or two.  Which has more value to the Jays?  Yes, the Vernon contract eats up more than anything else, but I see it as being much like filling up at the cheap gas station that you are close to right now rather than waiting 10 minutes and filling up at the more expensive one.  It might save you only 50 cents but you'd do it I'm sure (fyi: that works out to about a penny a litre).

I don't work in downtown TO, but I am guessing that legal fees for arbitration prep are quite a bit more than 10K (i.e. 15-20 hours work at prevailing downtown rates according to what I read).  It wouldn't shock me if it was 20-25K or more.  Some clubs may use non-lawyers and save a fair bit of coin that way perhaps.

I guess AA figures that he's more humane than Shakespeare, cutting out the lawyers rather than killing them.

It wasn't so much the cost but the manpower assigned to preparing the arbitration briefs that AA was talking about.  The reports were quite extensive (40+ pages) and ate up a lot of staff time (he indicated his first such job was to prepare for arbitration with John MacDonald).  He felt that staff time could be put to better use by essentially moving the whole arbitration process forward.

AA did mention paying lawyers $400/hour but it sounded like staff members were doing most of the work.

Jon Heyman speculates that arbitration costs each side $50,000 to $100,000

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/writers/jon_heyman/01/20/heyman.lincecum.arbitration/index.html

If the costs are in line with what Heyman estimates and it is taxing a front office that has other priorities, then AA's explanation makes more sense. I just wasn't sure why he needed to impose a deadline as opposed to negotiating with the five players and just telling them quietly that he'd like to settle by Tuesday or else he'd see the process through.

It seemed like something JP would have done and it appears AA has been trying to make his own mark on the team and the way things are done. Generally successfully, I might add.