The Jays bullpen is now ready for business in the always-dangerous American League East.
You have to give Alex Anthopoulos this: When he sets his target on a player, he'll do whatever it takes to bring him into the fold.
His trading of Mike Napoli to the defending American League Champs, the Texas Rangers, for hard throwing right-handed reliever Frank Francisco was, as usual, stealthy. As was the original trade that brought Napoli and Juan Rivera from the Angels for Vernon Wells. Is there a general manager, in any sport, that can go about his business of trading and signing without any leaks in the media better than Anthopoulos? I think not.
The arrival of Francisco now gives the Blue Jays reworked bullpen not one, not two, but three options at closer. It also gives the Jays depth in the bullpen, something that is imperative to compete in a division where the likes of Evan Longoria, Alex Rodriguez and Carl Crawford come to the plate with the game on the line many times a season.
Francisco is the best closing option currently on the roster. His mid-90's fastball, coupled with an above-average splitter, makes him very tough to hit, especially against left-handers who have hit just .214 against him over a six-season Major League career. But the fact that Francisco is also a strikeout pitcher, something that has been sorely lacked going all the way back into the Henke/Ward glory days. It was certainly lacked a year ago where as well as the Jays bullpen pitched, they did end the year with the 10th-ranked ERA (4.07), had 16 blown saves, and tended to nibble at the corners. Francisco can bring it, as his career 10.0 strikeouts per nine innings represents. And his power arm will settle down the stomachs of the ticket buyers who were very squeamish last season when Kevin Gregg came in and didn't have many three up, three down saves.
As Anthopoulos stated yesterday on Sportsnet Radio Fan 590 in Toronto, the Jays will need more than just the seven or eight arms in the bullpen that will break camp to start the season. Injuries and ineffectiveness will probably mean that, at least, a half dozen more relievers will see action with the team next summer. Anthopoulos also knows that when the season starts, acquiring quality arms is almost impossible unless you are willing to give up prospects, something that the Jays' sophomore GM is loath to do after stockpiling some quality youngsters. In the end, the depth and quality of the pitching staff will prove to be a big plus moving forward, especially with a young starting rotation that is good, but will struggle at times during the season due to inexperience.
Classy until the end
Vernon Wells had many detractors during his 13+ years with the Blue Jays after they selected him with the fifth-pick overall in the June 1997 draft. When healthy he was one of the best players to ever play baseball in Toronto: three Gold Gloves, three appearances in the all-star game and 223 career home runs, good for second all-time in franchise history behind Carlos Delgado (336). Unfortunately, a spate of injuries over his Toronto career rarely allowed Wells to perform at 100 percent, causing grumbling and boos to rain down on the centerfielder, especially over his final four seasons with the team. Sure, we all know that he had trouble laying off off-speed pitches low and away, and he wasn't exactly a dependable clutch hitter with runners in scoring position, certainly not fitting with his salary. Wells played through more injuries than he let on, never begged out of the line-up and, in the end, spoke quite fondly of his Blue Jays years, even choking up when thanking the fans for his time in Toronto. The old saying is you don't know what you've got 'til it's gone. This may well be the case with Wells and the Blue Jays. Although we can all agree, the fans and the team won't miss that contract.
Farm system bearing fruit
The release of the Top 50 prospects on MLB.com revealed three present and future Blue Jays on the list with right-handed pitcher Kyle Drabek (No. 12), infielder Brett Lawrie (No. 28) and catcher J.P. Arencibia (No. 48). Also of note, catcher Travis d'Arnaud was ranked as the ninth-best catcher among prospects while Cuban shortstop Adeiny Hechavarria was ranked seventh among minor league shortstops. This is a very good sign and a feather in the cap for Anthopoulos who has significantly beefed up the farm system in just 16 months as general manager. Even the glass-is-half-empty portion of the fan base has to admit that the future of this franchise, after listing terribly during the Ricciardi era, is looking very bright.
