2007, Today
Thursday, October 05 2006 @ 09:30 AM EDT
Contributed by: Jonny German
Let’s take a look at how the Blue Jays currently stack up for 2007.
The following players are about to become free agents (making the very safe assumption than Ben Molina’s $7.5M option will not be picked up):
Frank Catalanotto
Ted Lilly
Bengie Molina
Justin Speier
Gregg Zaun
Let’s look at the best roster the Jays could put together if the season started tomorrow. This will give us an idea of what parts of the team need to be addressed by J.P. et al via trades and the free agent market.
The 2007 salary figures that appear in blue are my own rough estimates. “~” indicates the player already has a guaranteed contract for 2007, “Arb” indicates a player is arbitration-eligible, and “-“ indicates a pre-arbitration player who has no negotiating leverage and thus will be paid near the minimum. I’ve assumed the Jays will be granted another option year on Dustin McGowan and thus will start him at AAA Syracuse.
|
Player |
2006 |
|
2007 |
| SP |
Roy Halladay |
12.750 |
~ |
12.750 |
| SP |
A.J. Burnett |
7.000 |
~ |
12.000 |
| SP |
Gustavo Chacin |
0.348 |
- |
0.350 |
| SP |
Shaun Marcum |
0.327 |
- |
0.350 |
| SP |
Josh Towers |
2.300 |
~ |
2.900 |
| - |
- |
- |
- |
- |
| Closer |
B.J. Ryan |
8.000 |
~ |
9.000 |
| Setup |
Brandon League |
0.327 |
- |
0.350 |
| LOOGY |
Davis Romero |
0.327 |
- |
0.350 |
| Mid |
Jason Frasor |
0.359 |
Arb |
0.500 |
| Mid |
Brian Tallet |
0.327 |
- |
0.350 |
| Long |
Francisco Rosario |
0.327 |
- |
0.350 |
| Swing |
Scott Downs |
0.705 |
Arb |
1.250 |
| - |
- |
- |
- |
- |
| C |
Jason Phillips |
0.700 |
Arb |
0.750 |
| 1B |
Lyle Overbay |
2.525 |
Arb |
5.000 |
| 2B |
Russ Adams |
0.343 |
- |
0.350 |
| SS |
Aaron Hill |
0.336 |
- |
0.350 |
| 3B |
Troy Glaus |
9.250 |
~ |
10.750 |
| LF |
Reed Johnson |
1.425 |
Arb |
3.000 |
| CF |
Vernon Wells |
4.300 |
~ |
5.600 |
| RF |
Alexis Rios |
0.354 |
Arb |
1.500 |
| DH |
Adam Lind |
0.327 |
- |
0.350 |
| - |
- |
- |
- |
- |
| CI |
John Hattig |
0.327 |
- |
0.350 |
| C |
Curtis Thigpen |
- |
- |
0.350 |
| MI |
John McDonald |
0.500 |
Arb |
0.750 |
| OF |
Kevin Barker |
0.327 |
- |
0.350 |
| - |
- |
- |
- |
- |
|
Total payroll |
|
|
69.950 |
The only part of this team I’d be reasonably confident with as-is is the bullpen, though some would argue it needs more veteran presence. The starting rotation needs another solid option, the lineup needs an everyday catcher and middle infielder, Adam Lind may be better served with more development time in Syracuse rather than DHing in Toronto, and the bench is woeful (though addressing the lineup needs will concurrently improve the bench).
Let’s assume Uncle Ted approves a budget of $90M for 2007. How would you go about improving this team? Keep in mind that you’ll have to pay Josh Towers $2.9M whether you keep him on the 25-man or not, and try to be realistic when guesstimating free agent salaries.
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