Jays add The Big Hurt?
It’s after midnight and I’m about to hit the sack, but I thought I should at leats post something short on here about the Frank Thomas signing. ESPN.com first reported that the Jays were close to inking the Big Hurt to a multi-deal worth upwards of $30 million. Later, Foxsports.com reported that it was a two-year deal worth $20-23 million with a club option for a third year.
I made a few calls and got in touch with a club source who said the report was more than a simple rumor, but they wouldn’t confirm nor deny that a deal was close to being reached. The Fan590 cited a different source that did confirm the report. Basically, it appears as though Thomas will be Toronto’s DH next summer.
This could signal the end of Frank Catalanotto’s tenure with the Jays. If re-signed, he would’ve had a bulk of the playing time at DH. This also brings to question whether or not Toronto will bring rookie Adam Lind up at the start of next season. With Thomas as the DH, and Reed Johnson in left field, Lind would be on the bench. The Jays might want him to keep getting experience with regular playing time, which could mean he’d start at Triple-A.
I’m sure we’ll all learn more tomorrow. Also, here’s a story I filed after a lenghty conversation with Ted Lilly’s agent, Larry O’Brien. Goodnight, all.
Major League Bastian 
At first I wasnt a big fan of this signing, but sitting back and thinking about it, I can see what J.P. is up too.
This sets the tone for the rest of the offseason. Other free agents see this and take notice of the Blue Jays. This is a team that wants to win. It can influnece players such as Lilly, or other guys not sure where they want to go. If I was a pitcher and saw a lineup of Johnson, Rios, Wells, Thomas, Glaus, Overbay, Hill, C, SS <-fill in with whoever, Id be pretty excited to pitch for that team. One of the most potent offences in the majors just got a whole lot better. Sure its a risk, but anyone can get hurt at anytime doesn’t matter if they are 28 or 38. I know Riccardi has a plan, and come spring training this team will be better than last year.
The signing of Thomas is a risk but it is one worth taking.If he stays healthy,he will produce good numbers that is a given.Going the freeagent way to get a veteran bat is alot smarter than the Tigers trading away prospects for a questionable veteran who may not want to be there.(ie Sheffield)
Frank Thomas has an impressive resume and has hit well at Skydome over the years,but $9 million a year for a gimp DH who adds nothing in the field , on the base path or in the clubhouse makes one wonder how long Riccardi wants to stay in Toronto – with budget constraints and huge holes at shortstop and on the hill, this is a gross misappropriation of funds – teams like the Rangers, over the years ,have had all the “POP” anyone could dream of,but never shows up at ‘The Party’-Riccardi’s vision seems to fall into this category – I do hope that Thomas fails the physical and that JP will get his ‘Mulligan’ early in the winter and get back to his senses and build a fundamental ball club up the middle
I just read an article by Keith Law, former Blue Jays employee, on ESPN.com about the signing of Thomas. http://insider.espn.go.com/espn/blog/index?entryID=2666401&name=law_keith&action=upsell&appRedirect=http%3a%2f%2finsider.espn.go.com%2fespn%2fblog%2findex%3fentryID%3d2666401%26name%3dlaw_keith&skipPrestitial=true
He suggests that the signing was ridiculous because the AL East includes a lot of right-handed pitchers. This seems like one of the dumbest comments I have heard in a long time. Has Thomas not been able to hit right-handed pitching in his career? Are those 487 homers all off lefties? All the pieces I have read by this guy have said something stupid; my question: what the **** is this guy doing writing at ESPN?
He also says something about Lind starting in LF next year. A report ON THEIR WEBSITE said that he would start at Triple-A. Wow. What is this guy doing in journalism, much less baseball.
I don’t think JP would have signed Frank Thomas if it was going to hurt his other objectives. One thought is that now you don’t have to shop for a good bat at shortstop, and McDonald/Hill are as solid defensively, and cheaper than most pairs in the league. Now all we need is 13-15 wins each out of the 3, 4, 5 holes, and 95 wins looks pretty good.