It's early yet, but I have a difficult time imagining Hechavarria's bat carrying him anywhere other than shortstop. As it is now, it's not clear that his bat will even carry him there.

Fangraphs recently had readers grade the TV crews for each team.  The Jays crew of Buck and Tabler didn't fare too well in that survey.

Now fangraphs has moved on to radio crews.  Here is the link to opine on the Jays radio team.

That was Gerry and it was an astute point, particularly given the rumours about Escobar's attitude in Atlanta. He hasn't shown any signs of attitude issues here in Toronto, to my knowledge and recollection, but if he is the type of personality to react poorly to a perceived demotion, it is something that the Jays management team should, and I'm sure will, consider.

Yunel Escobar (29) had three very good years (not great) with Atlanta.  His first off-year he is treated like a pariah, and traded as fast as they could do it.   LUCKY US.  

At the time of his signing (all glove, no hit), Adeiny Hechavarria rejected the New York Yankees offer to accept Toronto's offer.   LUCKY US.

Yunel Escobar's trade year was a good deal for him, playing in a city that appreciates him.   He improved that year, following if with a very good (not great) year, just last year.   With his being under contract for the next four years, any decision on the Shortstop position need not be rushed.   LUCKY US.

Adeiny Hechavarria may have figured hitting out while still in AA, but he surprised most with his abilities at AAA.   He'll learn to play 2nd Base this year, to be the answer at 2B and SS in case of longer term injury at said position(s).   He might also become our long term answer at 2B for 3-4 years, if not more.   LUCKY US.

How many teams have Shortstop problems, finding that one good shortstop?   We have TWO, and some braindead armchair GMs want to trade one!   This Team has problems, just not this one.

A few points:

1) Adeiny Hechavarria will be in AAA, this season, baring injuries to Kelly Johnson or Yunel Escobar.  

2) Adeiny at age 23 (15 April 1989), as compared to Yunel at age 29 (02 November 1982), is far more likely to learn how to play 2B - well.   It is my belief he will be a very good 2B, but a much better SS.   

3) Yunel Escobar is of more value to us playing SS, than we would receive in a trade, despite his friendly contract through 2015.

4) If Adeiny is not needed for injury relief, chances are good he's called up in September.

5) If he can hit, (even a little bit), it's possible he could be our Starting 2B in 2013, at least until 2015.

Hechavarria lived up to expectations today with a hit and a couple of great plays n the field. From Sportsnet.ca:

Fans in attendance at Florida Auto Exchange Stadium on Wednesday got to see what all the fuss is about with Adeiny Hechavarria.

Anthony Gose impressed everyone with a catch today. Arden Zwelling devotes a whole story to it.

“Off the bat, I’m thinking that’s a double,” said Frasor after the game. “No doubt about it.” But Frasor hadn’t seen Gose yet.

“When you watch that from the mound, you follow the ball. Then all of a sudden you see the player,” Frasor said with his hands up in front of him, index fingers extended, before slowly moving them towards each other until they touched right in front of his nose. “And they meet—they come to a point.” That point was on the warning track in right centre where Gose laid out horizontally, leading with his glove reached out long in front of him. He bruised the ground with his midsection, small brown pellets spraying around him. He slid head first and came to a stop just before the Jet’s Pizza advertisement tattooed on the wall.

There is much more of a poetic nature in the link.

From mlb.com, John Farrell on Travis d'Arnaud:

"There's still some work to do on the receiving end," Farrell said. "He's a good offensive player right now. His consistency of blocking balls, of receiving -- those are areas that can look outstanding at times, and yet there are occasional lapses. We're doing all we can to tighten that up. That doesn't mean that he's a below-average catcher, by any means. But as he matures and gets accustomed to handling pitchers over the long haul, then he can anticipate a little more just by familiarity."

In the Boxcast I talked about whether Escobar would be willing to move to second to make room for Hechavarria. Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe adds his two cents to the issue today:

Yunel Escobar, SS, Blue Jays - What needs to happen - maybe not immediately, but perhaps by next season - is that Escobar must move to second base to make room for Cuban shortstop Adeiny Hechavarria. Escobar loves being a shortstop, so there is a bit of trepidation among some in the organization as to how he will accept this. Escobar is a very good shortstop who could start for many teams, but the Jays have their version of Jose Iglesias; they think Hechavarria is going to be pretty special.

I assume that by 2013 Hechavarria will be the better shortstop (he is already) but that Escobar will be the better hitter. The Jays may have to decide whether to keep the high offense, marginal defense SS, or the great defense, marginal offense SS.