STATE OF THE BLUE JAYS

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UPDATE 12/23/09 - 11:55 PM PST
Add the newly-acquired Brandon Morrow to the list of potential aces for Toronto in 2010. The former 1st round pick by Seattle is coming off of an up-and-down year in 2009 in which he began the season as the closer, landed on the DL in early May, lost his closer's job two weeks later, spent two months in AAA, and finished the season in the rotation. The 25-year old has the potential to become a frontline starter or closer and should get every opportunity to earn a spot in the Jays rotation.

The team traded projected setup man Brandon League in the deal for Morrow but they do have some depth with Josh Roenicke, acquired from the Reds in the deal for Scott Rolen, likely ready to step into an important role in the 'pen in 2010.

UPDATE 12/21/09 - 12:17 PM PST
The Blue Jays will likely enter 2010 without a legitimate ace after the trade of Roy Halladay to the Phillies. Lefty Ricky Romero, who had a fine rookie season with 13 wins and a 4.30 ERA in 29 starts, and right-hander Shawn Marcum, who missed all of 2008 recovering from Tommy John surgery, will be the leading contenders to be the #1 starter. The 28 year-old Marcum was 20-11 with a 3.58 ERA and 223 K's in 50 starts in 2007-08. Zach Stewart, acquired in the Scott Rolen deal last season, and Kyle Drabek, acquired in the Halladay deal, both have frontline starter potential but neither is likely to be ready for the majors before mid-2010.

UPDATE 12/14/09 - 8:44 AM PST
The Jays didn't waste anytime settling their catching situation, inking John Buck to a 1 year-, $2M deal one day after he was non-tendered by the Royals. The 29 year-old is a similar offensive player (low .220's BA, 15-20 HR power) to the guy he's replacing, Rod Barajas, but five years younger. While Buck threw out over 30% of attempted base stealers over his first three major league seasons, that percentage has dipped in each of the last three seasons (21% in '07, 17% in '08, 16% in '09).

Raul Chavez, 36, was also re-signed to a minor league deal after being non-tendered by the club. He is the favorite to win the backup job again. He hit .258 with 2 HR's and 15 RBI's in 159 AB's last season while throwing out 38% of attempted base stealers.

UPDATE 12/6/09 - 2:46 PM PST
LINEUP - The current projection has Aaron Hill moving from the #2 spot to the leadoff spot, a move that might not make much sense considering the 27 year-old had 36 HR's and 108 RBI's in 2009. With those numbers, it would probably make more sense to move him into the #3 or 4 spot. However, with the departure of leadoff man Marco Scutaro to free agency, there is no one else on the roster even close to resembling a leadoff man. New shortstop Alex Gonzalez (.279 OBP) is currently penciled into the #2 hole but that's also a case of the Jays not having any other option. Adam Lind (305 BA, 35 HR, 114 RBI), Vernon Wells (.260 BA, 15 HR, 66 RBI, 17 SB), and Lyle Overbay (.265 BA, 16 HR, 64 RBI) make for a solid 3-4-5 and 32 year-old DH Randy Ruiz hit .313 with 10 HR's in just 33 games, making his debut with the team after his contract was purchased from the minors in mid-August. Twenty-one year-old rookie Travis Snider struggled early in the season, earning a demotion to AAA in May, but finished strong after being brought back to the club later in the season (.788 OPS after Aug 18th). He'll likely start the season hitting in the bottom third of the order but he has the potential to end the season much higher. The team is actively shopping for a starting catcher although former 1st round pick J.P. Arencibia (.236 BA, 21 HR, 75 RBI in AAA), a solid defender with some pop, could get a chance to win a job in spring training.

ROTATION - One of the biggest stories of the offseason will be ace Roy Halladay (17-10, 2.79 ERA, 9 CG, in 32 starts) and whether he is traded or not. There is no doubt the Jays are a better team with Halladay but he is a free agent after 2010 and is highly unlikely to return. Look for the team to try and get a package of young prospects for the 32 year-old before the start of the season. While depth is not a question for the Jays, they lack a legitimate #1 starter of the future to take over for Halladay. Lefties Ricky Romero (13-9, 4.30 ERA in 29 starts) and Mark Rzepcynski (2-4, 3.67 ERA in 11 starts) are both good young pitchers who had successful rookie campaigns in '09 and are likely assured of spots in 2010. Shawn Marcum returns after missing all of 2009 recovering from Tommy John surgery. In 64 career starts with the Jays, the 27 year-old is 23-15 with a 3.85 ERA. Left-handers Brett Cecil (7-4, 5.34 ERA in 17 starts) and Brad Mills (2-8, 4.06 ERA in 14 AAA starts) were both top-ranked prospects before '09 and another left-hander, David Purcey (6.19 ERA in 9 starts), will also get strong consideration for the last spot in the rotation. Right-hander Scott Richmond pitched well in the 1st half (6-5, 3.69 ERA) but fell apart after that (2-6, 8.44 ERA in 2nd half). Jesse Litsch (13-9, 3.58 ERA in 2008) will miss the start of the season recovering from Tommy John surgery but could help out in the 2nd half. Dustin McGowan (4.37 ERA in 19 starts in 2008) is another pitcher who will miss the start of the season recovering from shoulder surgery.

BULLPEN - The Jays could once again go with a lefty-righty closer tandem in Scott Downs (3.09 ERA, 9 Sv, 10 holds) and Jason Frasor (7-3, 2.50 ERA, 11 Sv, 4 holds) or they could look to acquire a closer this offseason. Brandon League pitched well in the 2nd half (3.94 ERA, 32 IP, 7 BB, 37 K) and Jeremy Accardo also had a strong season (2.55 ERA in 26 relief appearances). Both could get more chances to pitch in high-pressure situations in 2010. Lefty Jesse Carlson was not close to matching his effectiveness of 2008 (7-2, 2.25 ERA), posting a 4.66 ERA in 72 relief appearances. Shawn Camp (3.50 ERA in 59 relief appearances) pitched well in long relief and Brian Tallet is a versatile pitcher who can start or pitch out of the 'pen.