While plenty of teams are ready to throw big money at free agents like A.J. Burnett, the Jays are right to play it financially responsible.
I'm guessing that the glacial pace of the free agent market this off-season is a direct reflection of the global economic meltdown that we are in the midst of.
To date, only six players/pitchers have been signed of the 171 available and none of them are "difference makers." The brightest free agent stars -- CC Sabathia, Mark Teixeira, Manny Ramirez, A.J. Burnett and Derek Lowe -- are still out there as baseball's general managers start heading to Las Vegas for the start of the annual signing and trade-fest, AKA, the Winter Meetings.
While Sabathia has received only two concrete offers from the Milwaukee Brewers and New York Yankees, Ramirez one from the L.A. Dodgers, Lowe one from the Yankees and Teixeira nothing from anyone, ex-Toronto Blue Jay Burnett has been getting the most attention from the deep-pocket teams.
Let's face it, the perfect fit for Burnett is the Atlanta Braves despite their trade this week with the Chicago White Sox which saw them land Javier Vazquez, another top of the order starter. With former aces John Smoltz, Tom Glavine and Tim Hudson all a ways away from pitching due to various surgeries, the Braves have a nice comfortable chair -- make that throne -- waiting for Burnett. They have reportedly tabled a five-year deal to bring the oft-injured Burnett, fresh off the best season of his 10-year major league career, to Atlanta and become their ace. The Braves had a scout in attendance at most of Burnett's starts over the last half of 2008 when he strung together the best few starts in his career. They now know exactly what he is capable of when driven and healthy, two things that haven't happened simultaneously many times during his mercurial career. If not the Braves, then the Yankees, Boston Red Sox, Baltimore Orioles and St. Louis Cardinals are all said to be willing to gamble four years on Burnett, with the sticking point being that fifth. This, of course, could all change very quickly once everyone gets under the same roof.
The Blue Jays, despite all their lip service on this subject, will be left on the outside looking in thanks to the fall of the Canadian dollar. They simply will not have the funds needed to bring back Burnett. Indications are, from interim club president Paul Beeston, that the $24 million saved by Burnett opting out will not be thrown back into the pot to bring in replacements, and that the team payroll will likely be rolled back. That's understandable given the current economic recession and the fact that all Rogers companies -- including the Blue Jays and Sportsnet -- have begun the unenviable task of laying off employees.
It appears certain, based upon the Jays offering salary arbitration to Burnett, that all that will be left of his three uneven seasons in Toronto is a pair of high picks in next June's amateur draft. Whether that amounts to anything is anyone's guess based upon J.P. Ricciardi's middle-of-the-pack draft record in his seven years at the helm. Sure he's used first-round picks to land Aaron Hill and Travis Snider, and unearthed some useable parts in the later rounds in Shaun Marcum, Adam Lind, Casey Janssen and Jesse Litsch. But he's also missed out on the likes of Scott Kazmir, Cole Hamels, Joe Blanton, Troy Tulowitzki, Jay Bruce and Clay Buchholz while selecting Russ Adams (2002) and Ricky Romero (2005) in the first round.
The last time the Jays had a pair of first-round/sandwich picks -- in 2004 after the Los Angeles Angels signed away Kelvim Escobar -- they chose a pair of left-handers. One, David Purcey, is slowly getting his feet wet in the majors with the Jays and is in line to fill one of the team's massive holes left in their rotation caused by the defection of Burnett and the Tommy John surgery performed on Shaun Marcum which will keep him out for the entire 2009 season. The other was Zach Jackson, who spent just one full season in the Jays' minor league system before being traded to the Brewers in December 2005 in the Lyle Overbay deal, and now throws the ball in anger for the Cleveland Indians.
I realize, based upon the mountain of e-mails that have been sent my way, that Blue Jays fans are becoming increasingly frustrated by the lack of action this off-season, following a year that the team finished in fourth place. Trust me, I share your sentiments but I'm also trying to keep a level head. Times are tough all over and with the team not being close to contending, despite the rhetoric coming out of the general manager, the time may be right to take a look at prospects, instead of foolishly throwing around money on B- and C-type free agents.
I know that's not what most you want to hear but, in the long-term, it might be the best for this once-proud franchise.
Interesting read
I don't normally give props to other web sites, but there's an excellent blog on espn.com by Buster Olney regarding Vernon Wells' latest off-season training regimen and how he is viewed by others outside of the Blue Jays front office. Some interesting points were brought up in the piece about Wells' lack of focus from game to game, even at-bat to at-bat, something that has been discussed many times by those of us in the broadcast booth. It's an interesting read and I urge all Jays fans to check it out ... before returning to sportsnet.ca.
