Does Alex Anthopoulos have a replacement in mind for the departed Edwin Encarnacion at third base?
FIRING UP THE HOT STOVE
The MLB general managers are holding their annual meetings over the next couple of days, at a resort just outside Disney World in Orlando, Florida. They are a precursor, to the more high profile Winter Meetings which will be held just down the road in Lake Buena Vista in the first week of December.
While these first meetings are considered to be a little more low key and less sexy, agents for players looking for new area codes next season, are also taking informal meetings as they try and get as much as they can for their clients, or at least lay some ground work.
And as usual, Commissioner Bud Selig will hold meetings with the owners, bringing them up-to-date on the finances of the game and his wishes to expand the current playoff format from eight to ten teams.
For Blue Jays’ sophomore G.M. Alex Anthopoulos, it’s also a chance to meet with his contemporaries face-to-face as he works on filling the mounting holes on his roster.
Since the end of the 2010 season, seven players have filed for free agency, while two have been plucked away on waivers and another released. The 40-man roster currently sits at 32, meaning that Anthopoulos has flexibility and some work in front of him over the next month.
The waiving of third baseman Edwin Encarnacion, much to the relief of those season ticket holders with seats behind first base, has created a hole at the hot corner.
They currently have one option in Major League home run leader Jose Bautista, who solidly manned the position in 48 games last season and has the range, glove and arm to play Gold Glove-calibre at the position. At present, this appears to be the best option for the club but that would remove one of the top arms from the outfield, a key component to the team defence.
Aaron Hill has also let the team know that he would be amenable to shifting to third, saying he would not be "opposed to moving, if it makes the team better." Just the type of admission you would expect, from a young leader of a team on the rise.
The Jays are starting to stockpile pitching prospects than could help them fill their holes on the trade market.
We should expect that Anthopoulos will be in talks with several teams to improve the club and will not be afraid to deal away players that some fans won’t agree with. But in the big picture, the franchise has finally returned to a place where those trades are possible again.
DOC DOUBLES DOWN
Roy Halladay could not have dreamt up a better first season with the Phillies. He reached 20+ wins for the third time in his career, lead the league in innings, complete games, a perfect game in May and a no-hitter in his post-season debut in October.
The number one ace in the game was rewarded with the National League Cy Young award, joining Gaylord Perry, Roger Clemens, Pedro Martinez and Randy Johnson as the only pitchers to win the award in both leagues.
While his first season with the Phillies ended prematurely, when they lost to the eventual World Champion San Francisco Giants in six games. Halladay finally got a chance to pitch in the playoffs and his drive towards that goal, showed the rest of baseball exactly what Jays fans had been witnessing since his arrival in Toronto.
Rarely does an athlete ask out of a town and not catch some flak from the fans, but that was the case with Halladay and the Jays’ faithful. The three prospects that they received from Philadelphia all figure prominently in Alex Anthopoulos’ plans going forward. And it means that Halladay’s starts get followed on many different media platforms by Canadian baseball fans.
