I don't see why BJ's cannot have both Snider and BArajas. The issue is filling Overbay's spot. If you use Lind, there is a hole in the outfield.
Overbay is simply not productive enough at a production-driven position.
I agree with Overbay not being productive enough at 1B... last year was his best year in his last three years by far, and his OPS+ of 120 was still slightly below average for a first baseman.... the best predictor based on the last three years and his age, is that he will go down next season.
While Randy Ruiz will be 32, he had a hell of a season in the PCL and 10 HR's in 115 Big League At-Bats.
Over the course of a full season, Ruiz can probably produce similar to Overbay at first base.
The 2007/2008 version ofSnyder was better then the 2009 version of Barajas... but now its a question mark. While Barajas had decent "Glamour" stats of 19 HR's and 71 RBI, his on base percentage of .258 significantly derails the RBI productivity of the three hitters batting behind him.
While one would hope that this trade would give the Jays two competent cathcers by retaining Barajas I assume that is not the case.
Furthermore, I doubt they are taking the money saved of $5M by signing anybody. Its a pure cost cut.
Instead the deal now means they have a cheaper catcher at Snyder, a cheaper first baseman in Ruiz. They might have similar contributions to Barajas and Overbay, but expect poor backups.
Overall, I like the deal for the Jays - Ruiz should be able to replay Overbay at the major league minimum. It would be better if they used there savings to sign a FA, but I would be stunned if the Jays spent more then $1.5M annually on any FA this offseason.