The question has been raised a few times around the Rogers Centre press room - and quite possibly in many of your homes too. Should the Blue Jays consider trading closer B.J. Ryan?
It's an outlandish thought to some; perfectly reasonable to others.
When Ryan pops that fresh piece of Bazooka into his mouth and bounces through the bullpen gates to the savage sound of "System of a Down", a feeling of closure seems to envelope the stadium.
But Ryan has been shaky lately. Not quite 'Miguel Batista' shaky, but shaky. Still, it is important to remember that no closer is perfect. Mariano Rivera blows saves. So does Francisco Rodriguez, though rarely.
Perhaps the practicality behind the idea of trading Ryan is less about performance and more about availability. Clearly, Ryan has the goods to close for a playoff-caliber team, but this is a club that seems to have pitching by the barrel, and one has to consider whether the $20-million still owed him over the next two years might be better spent on a bat.
There would be no shortage of backfill if he left. Brandon League has the right stuff. He's not as wild as he once was and his velocity is back in the high nineties. If not League, Jeremy Accardo was a worthy replacement in 2007.
One thing has to be considered first: Is there a market? If Ryan were made available, would the Jays find value in return?
What do you think? Please enter your opinion below.
** This wouldn't bother me so much if I didn't have children, but why does Major League Baseball insist on scheduling a World Series game on Halloween? Game 6 is tabbed for Oct. 31. I thought they were bent on attracting a younger audience?
