Jays closing in on netting shortstop of the future

The Toronto Blue Jays have spent the better part of a decade unsuccessfully trying to find their shortstop of the future. General Manager Alex Anthopoulos has reportedly taken steps to change that, closing in on netting 21 year old Cuban shortstop Adeinis Hechavarria. According to the New York Post the Jays are believed to be offering around $10 million for the 6-foot-1, 170 pound prospect who is said to resemble a young Alfonso Soriano.

The New York Yankees, among others clubs, were interested in signing Hechavarria, but with Derek Jeter likely to receive an extension, the highly touted prospect didn't want to have a roadblock in getting to the majors, instead choosing Toronto. The Jays have been seeking a player of Hechavarria's calibre at the shortstop position for a long time, having used a different shortstop on opening day for the past five seasons.

When Anthopoulos took over the reigns as Toronto G.M. from J.P. Ricciardi, he noted a need for improving organizational scouting and player development programs with a focus on international talent. Inking the Blue Jays potential cornerstone shortstop would be the strongest indication that he's committed to doing just that.

Cito Gaston shouldn't be Jays manager this year

It will seem sacrilegious to suggest that Cito Gaston needs to be relieved of his duties as Jays manager but that's exactly what should happen. If Gaston were to commit to being the bench boss for the long term, then the 2 time World Series champion deserves to remain at his post to try to return the team back to glory; however, he only wants to manage in 2010 and then ride off into the sunset. That's not good enough. The Jays need a strong leader that has a clear vision for the present and future success of the franchise.

The Blue Birds have begun the process of rebuilding by firing the mercurial J.P. Ricciardi as GM and replacing him with fresh faced Alex Anthopoulos, so it makes sense to wipe the slate completely clean and start from scratch. The prospective candidate would have a more thorough understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of the roster and impart his philosophy on the Jays organization. It's counter productive for a club to have a lame duck manager counting down the days to retirement. The Jays need a strong communicator and motivator who is directly tied to the current and future success of the team. Cito Gaston is not that man.

Cecil faces uphill battle to make rotation

After displaying flashes of brilliance in his first tour of duty with the Blue Jays last season, Brett Cecil should have made the Blue Jays rotation coming out of spring training. However, the 23 year old faces longer than expected odds to start the year north of the border because of a freak accident that occurred in his kitchen.

Cecil suffered a cut to his left thumb while preparing food, and as a result, the club decided to take a precautionary stance and delay his start date nearly a week. In his first action of the spring on Wednesday, the '07 draft pick, limited to just throwing fastballs and changeups, struggled with his consistency in his two innings of work. Cecil, who started 17 contests for the Jays last season, struck out four but surrendered three runs on four hits, with the damage coming off the bat of a Cody Ransom three run home run.

With plenty of arms in the running for a starting job, including Shaun Marcum, Ricky Romero, Dustin McGowan, Brandon Morrow, Brian Tallet and Marc Rzepczynski, Cecil will likely find himself ticketed to AAA Las Vegas to begin the campaign. Where he hopes to avoid any more mishaps in the kitchen.

Blue Jays season pass: Buyer Beware

I have purchased the Toronto Star Blue Jays season pass the past two years, believing it to easily be the greatest deal in all of sports. It most certainly still is, but the Blue Jays organization has erred in a BIG way for this upcoming season. In fact, their latest stunt will almost certainly turn off prospective buyers who are unsure about whether to plunk down their cash to see a ball club that's expected to struggle mightily.

When I went to order the season pass online, I was shocked to see a big alteration to the deal. It used to be $114 for all 81 home games in the 500 level seats (did I mention it was the greatest deal in sports?) However, this year, the pass is only valid for 80 games, excluding the home opener! The past couple of seasons the box office was generous enough to not only give you a ticket for the home opener, but an additional ticket for the first game of the campaign as a nice gesture for buying a seasons worth of mediocre baseball. Not so anymore.

Buyer Beware: If you, like me, are used to getting the pass expecting to get tickets for the home opener, you'll be greatly disappointed. Instead, you'll have to purchase additional tickets for the Jays season debut April 12th against the Chicago White Sox. In light of the fact that this is expected to be a major down year with the departure of franchise icon Roy Halladay, this is an extremely curious maneuver by the organization; one that's sure to ruffle some feathers.

Jason Frasor's name pops up in trade rumours

Jason Frasor's name has been bandied about in potential trade rumours for the past few months, and according to ESPN'S Jerry Crasnick via mlbtraderumors.com the Chicago Cubs have inquired about the availability of the 32 year old reliever. The Cubbies were said to be interested in him a few months back, and after losing Angel Guzman to a season ending shoulder injury, their interest has piqued once again.

So the question remains, should the organization move Frasor in his contract year, arguably at his highest trade value? Or hang on to him? The diminuitive righty is coming off a career year, where he went 7-3, saving 11 games while posting a brilliant 2.50 ERA. However, the Jays signed Kevin Gregg in the off-season to shoulder the load in the later innings, and also have another reliable reliever in Scott Downs in the bullpen.

Ultimately the decision will be made based on the value of the player coming back to Toronto. Frasor qualifies as a type B free agent, meaning if the club lets him walk at the end of the year, they are entitled to a 2nd round draft pick as compensation. I can’t see any team giving the Blue Jays a better prospect than what a 2nd rounder could net, though G.M. Alex Anthopoulos pulled off a heist by trading reliever Brandon League for Brandon Morrow in the off-season. The team might ultimately decide that it would rather have a proven reliever to aid the young pitching staff along with a good draft selection than to trade him away for a low ceiling prospect.

UPDATE: MLB Trade Rumors has reported the Minnesota Twins are also interested in Frasor given that closer Joe Nathan might miss the season with a torn ligament in his elbow. Several Toronto scouts are now appearing at Twins games according to Bob Elliott of the Toronto Sun.

Arencibia knocking on the major league door

Blue Jays catching prospect J.P. Arencibia certainly knows how to make a good impression. He did so coming out of college at Tennessee, prompting the club to select him with the 21st pick in the 2007 draft. The 6' 215 lb. righty also has been showing off his vast potential during the spring, homering in each of his three contests, which has him knocking on the door for a promotion to the big leagues.

It hasn't always been easy for the Jays "catcher of the future." Since birth, Arencibia has had a problematic kidney condition, one that nearly caused him to need it removed last season. It was also discovered that he dealt with vision problems, prompting him to undergo lasik eye surgery. That might explain why the catcher hit just .227 in 97 night games compared to .284 in 19 afternoon contests.

The perception last season in AAA Las Vegas was that he had a down year. While he did have a pedestrian batting average of .236, he clubbed an impressive 21 home runs while driving in 75 runs. Couple that with his scorching hot end to the campaign in which he smacked 6 home runs and plated 15 runs in his final 10 games, and the season can't be characterized as a complete failure. The biggest hurdle Arencibia faced was improving his defense behind the plate, which he worked extremely hard on, gaining recognition for his efforts.

Arencibia is almost certainly ticketed to AAA Las Vegas to begin the season, barring injury to the presumptive starting catcher John Buck or backups Jose Molina and Raul Chavez. If the talented youngster can continue tearing the cover off the baseball and getting better behind the dish, there is optimism he could earn a promotion to Toronto sooner rather than later.

Could Jose Bautista be the next Marco Scutaro?

Admit it. When the Blue Jays broke camp in '09 with Marco Scutaro as the leadoff hitter, you thought from the get go the team was doomed. A strange thing happened, however. Scutaro, the journeyman of 8 big league seasons exceeded expectations, providing a stable force atop the Jays lineup. He signed with Boston in the off season, leaving a serious void in the leadoff spot once again. Enter Jose Bautista. Can he be the next Scutaro?

Consider these numbers from last season. In the final 16 contests, Bautista hit in the top spot of the order 14 times, posting a respectable .289 average and .345 on-base percentage. Taking it a step further, in his final 28 games, Bautista hit .272, smacking 10 home runs while driving in 21 runs. Couple that with his scintillating start in spring training (.636 average with 2 home runs, 5 runs batted in and 3 doubles) and there is hope that Bautista can in fact handle the job.

Spring training statistics are hardly a foolproof way to project success in the regular season, and Bautista sports a rather uninspiring .238 career average and only 14 stolen bases in his 6 year career. However, maybe, just maybe, Bautista will silence the critics and become the Jays 2010 version of Marco Scutaro.