Overbay to the Diamondbacks for a catcher?

[jwmorrice]

http://www.thestar.com/sports/baseb...-for-desert-in-swap-for-a-catcher-report?bn=1

Why aren't the Jays trying to resign Rod Barajas? I thought he did a pretty decent job.

jwm

 

[mandrill]

Basically a salary dump to get rid of another chronic underachiever is my guess. Overbay is not a keeper with his current lack of production.

 

[BottomsUp]

This sure illustrates the difference between successful and unsuccessful teams. The Yankees and others go out and get whoever they need to win. The Jays can't even try to keep Barajas, who is a very solid catcher and I believe works well with the pitchers. Baltimore have some excellent hitting talent. Look for them to finish ahead of the Jays next year, who are destined for the cellar.
Jays, Leafs, Argos, Raptors...what can you say.

 

[Brownie69]

Barajas is 31 years old and will command a good price tag in this year's free agent market.

Snyder is 23, not known as a offensive guy but has pop in his bat has a higher OBP than Barajas and is a defensive catcher good at managing a staff.

Its a trade off for sure, but they are diffeent players at different stages of their career. It depends on what the Jays plan on diong at other positions. If you trade Overbay, let Barajas go and then get some in free agency to fill a need with the money saved then its not that bad. We can't be like the Yankees and have no weaknesses in the team. If that what you're looking for then it'll be a long time before that happens for the Jays.

 

[shack]

Snyder is 23, not known as a offensive guy but has pop in his bat has a higher OBP than Barajas and is a defensive catcher good at managing a staff.

Not that I'm against the trade, since lately Lyle's biggest offensive contribution is when he does not GIDP, but Snyder is 28 and recovering from surgery.

 

[mandrill]

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.

 

[maurice93]

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.

 

[Rockslinger]

Where does Chevez figure in this scenario? He's a catcher.

 

[maurice93]

Where does Chevez figure in this scenario? He's a catcher.

If they retain Barajas its back to Syracuse.

My best guess is they let go of Barajas, offer arbitration to Chavez, and he gets between 600 and 850K.

They may also choose not to offer arbitration to Chavez, which would then make him a free agent who cannot sign with Toronto until may 1 (so he would not come back( and save 300,000 or so on a cheaper backup who will earn the minimum.

 

[mandrill]

I think that Ruiz is a large ?. He did fine in AAA, but has faced little ML pitching. He came up relatively fresh in Sept and did well, but that does not mean that ML pitchers would not figure him out and tear him apart by mid May of a full season.

BJ's need BAD a decent DH. I assume 30-something ex of's and 1b's will be around this winter for picking up in the $1-3 mill range. I would like to see something developed along those lines.

Of course, the hilite of the winter will be the ceremonial humiliation of the BJ franchise involved in dealing Doc for whatever they can get back. And that might solve a bunch if issues.

 

[Toke]

I think it's great that they're getting rid of OVerbay. Not because he isn't a good player but, as many here have said and I have stated in the past, for THIS Jays team he does not provide enough offense relative to his position. However, I'm not sure that Catcher is the position that they should trade him for; in hopes that Barajas returns.

(Now I'll put my 'Couch-GM' hat on)

If I'm the Jays I look to move Overbay and another player (this would be a good time to have Alex Rios, but one of the young starters would do just fine) for a player that swings a bigger bat and plays Rightfield (The Nationals may have bitten for Dunn now that JP is gone). This opens Leftfield for Snider. I would definitely try Lind at First, as I think he's too young to not be able to learn a new position. Ruiz gets an opportunity to DH as of now, but I'd be trolling for a cheap upgrade or insurance player. Second is set. Try to get Scutaro back for a year or two, if not keep McDonald and loose the offense for 'gold-glove' defense. Third could be a problem as the incumbent is below average defensively and enigmatic with the bat; I'd keep anyway. Wells stays in Center, and the rest of us cross our fingers hoping he does something (actually anything) to earn his contract. The team is somewhat 'rich in pitching' so I wouldn't do much there except trade if the offer would improve other weak positions.

My $.02

 

[maurice93]

Fair point on Ruiz. He would be a good bench guy for the time being, getting most starts against lefties. But I truly think the Jays are going to try have a bench full of league minimum guys. It won't be pretty.

 

[mandrill]

Taking the bull by the horns: Any guesses on a likely Halladay scenario?

 

[canbreathethroughearsmale]

They Jays have Cooper down in the minors too, maybe they figure to give him a shot, or move Lind to 1st and sign an OF? Who knows. This is sometimes the fun part of the season to see what teams do.

 

[Toke]

Fair point on Ruiz. He would be a good bench guy for the time being, getting most starts against lefties. But I truly think the Jays are going to try have a bench full of league minimum guys. It won't be pretty.

I like Ruiz, but there is a reason that he has never stuck with a team. I'd prefer a platoon.

Taking the bull by the horns: Any guesses on a likely Halladay scenario?

Sorry to say but he's gone. His value is higher now than in July and I doubt that the Jays will roll the dice and hope to compete. They may get more offers now, as teams will be looking at their chances through 'rose coloured glasses' so AA may be able to take advantage of at least one team.

 

[mandrill]

Sorry to say but he's gone. His value is higher now than in July and I doubt that the Jays will roll the dice and hope to compete. They may get more offers now, as teams will be looking at their chances through 'rose coloured glasses' so AA may be able to take advantage of at least one team.

We all assume he's gone-o!

The ? is: what do you think might be a likely deal for him?

 

[maurice93]

We all assume he's gone-o!

The ? is: what do you think might be a likely deal for him?

Roy Halladay, Vernon Wells, and 30 million dollars to the New York Yankees for Brett Gardner and a few B level pitching prospects.

Roy Halladay for One top 25 in MLB prospect, one other organizational top 5 propsect, and a couple of other prospects ranked between 10-25 in the organization.

 

[Toke]

We all assume he's gone-o!

The ? is: what do you think might be a likely deal for him?

It's tough. Since the Jays feel that they are deep in pitching, I doubt that a pitcher coming back is pinnacle. I expect to see 3-4 prospects (1 pitcher and 2-3 position players) that won't be ready in 2010, but likely 2011. However, AA will not have to be 'moved' the way JP wanted to. That was JP's error. While evryone wants to exploit another GM when possible, why JP felt the need to remind everyone of it I'll never know.

 

[The Oracle]

It's tough. Since the Jays feel that they are deep in pitching, I doubt that a pitcher coming back is pinnacle..

If all their pitchers were healthy and never had the severe injuries that they had then I would agree that they were deep in pitching. However how do they know that Marcum, Mcgowan, Jansen, Litsch etc will return to the promiss they once had. If these guys don't return to form the Jays will be downright ugly for a long time.

 

[Kilgore Trout]

If all their pitchers were healthy and never had the severe injuries that they had then I would agree that they were deep in pitching. However how do they know that Marcum, Mcgowan, Jansen, Litsch etc will return to the promiss they once had. If these guys don't return to form the Jays will be downright ugly for a long time.

Janssen and McGowan are coming back from labrum problems and those are extremely difficult injuries for pitchers to successfully come back from.

Marcum and Litsch however are coming back from Tommy John surgeries and probability of a full rehab from that, especially for a young pitcher who has good mechanics, is pretty good.

As for Overbay, deal for Snyder looks dead. AA may be looking to create an opportunity for Las Vegas 1st baseman Brian Dopirak to compete for a job in spring training. Dopirak is a dark horse with intriguing potential and he's an unrestricted minor league free agent this year. He has some real pop in his bat which you like to see for corner infielder.
http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?pos=&sid=t400&t=p_pbp&pid=460590
David Cooper is nowhere near ready to compete for a major league job. Low batting average and low power numbers.
http://www.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?pos=&sid=milb&t=p_pbp&pid=476036

Think AA is hoping that Scutaro and Barajas both leave in free agency because he can get some really good compensation picks in the June draft for losing these players. For a rebuilding team the more spaghetti you can throw against the wall the better. Hopefully some of these draft picks pan out.