New year, old reality

TORONTO - The passing of 2011 into 2012 went by quietly for Jason Frasor.

"I walked across the street last night for a couple of beers and a pizza, and that was the extent of my New Year's," explained the right-handed reliever.

All of his excitement arrived unexpectedly Sunday afternoon, when he was blindsided by word that he was traded back to the Toronto Blue Jays from the Chicago White Sox for minor-league pitchers Myles Jaye and Daniel Webb.

The restraint in his merrymaking came in handy as he tried to piece together what was happening after he received a surprise text from Alex Anthopoulos asking if he had some time to chat.

A subsequent note from Blue Jays communications head Jay Stenhouse inquiring about the possibility of a conference call only further muddied the picture, all while the White Sox were unable to reach Frasor.

So even without any lingering aftereffects from the previous night's good time, he still had some fuzzy moments New Year's Day.

"I had no idea what was going on, and then my agent called and he said, 'Can you believe what's going on man? Hard to believe,'" Frasor recalled on a conference call. "I said, 'What are you talking about?' I still had no idea what was going on, and he was like, 'Yeah, you've been traded back to Toronto.' …

"It's hard to believe I'm going back to Toronto. My wife (a native of the city) is thrilled, it's great, we're excited, Chicago was great, I would have been happy to go back there, great teammates, great people. … But I can't wait to put on those new uniforms."

Frasor was traded to the White Sox back on July 27 as part of the three-team deal that brought centre-fielder Colby Rasmus to Toronto, and admitted that when he left the Blue Jays clubhouse for the last time that day, "I felt like that was it. It felt like I was never coming back."

Even with White Sox GM Kenny Williams stripping down his club - the Blue Jays already acquired closer Sergio Santos from the Southsiders for prospect Nestor Molina last month, and on Saturday shipped outfielder Carlos Quentin to San Diego for a couple of farmhands - Frasor had no suspicions when Anthopoulos messaged him Sunday.

"I thought he might want to talk. He likes to talk. He's a talker," said Frasor. "I didn't know, I was a little confused, and I was more confused when I got the text message from Jay Stenhouse. The ball started rolling from there."

Once the picture became filled in - he was traded for Jaye, a 17th round pick in 2010, and Webb, an 18th-rounder in 2009 - the return to his old reality sunk in for Frasor.

The 34-year-old rejoins a reshaped bullpen with Santos, once his shortstop in the Blue Jays system and his teammate with the White Sox last summer, and left-hander Darren Oliver, the free agent who is close to finalizing a contract with the club.

Along with incumbent Casey Janssen, manager John Farrell may find himself with more reliable options to finish out games next season.

"(Anthopoulos) basically said with Santos, Oliver, Casey and me, that he's comfortable with the back end and so am I. I like that foursome," said Frasor. "I think there are four guys right there you can rely on."

As for the addition of Santos, Frasor added: "I can't believe Alex pulled him away from Chicago."

The additions set up an interesting competition for the final three spots in the bullpen during spring training, with the likes of returnees Jesse Litsch, Carlos Villanueva, Joel Carreno and Luis Perez plus non-roster invitees like Aaron Laffey, Garrett Mock, Robert Coello and Jerry Gil also in camp.

Prospects such as Deck McGuire, Drew Hutchison and Chad Jenkins may also force themselves into the mix, while Dustin McGowan remains a wildcard for both the rotation and bullpen as he continues his comeback from two shoulder surgeries.

Anthopoulos continues to look for a frontline starter and perhaps another bat to bolster the lineup, but at least it seems he can cross off the bullpen from his to-do list.

Frasor's New Year's surprise may have taken care of that.

"Been a crazy day," said Frasor. "But good news. It's just hard to believe."

Shi Davidi is the MLB Insider for sportsnet.ca. Come back to read his insight and opinion regularly.