Jays targeting Borowski?
According to the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, 35-year-old reliever Joe Borowski has garnered interest from the Blue Jays, along with the Indians, Giants and Red Sox. Borowski had a career-best 36 saves last year and prefers closing, but he reportedly is open to a late-inning setup role.
That’s where the Jays could come in. RHP Justin Speier is getting a lot of interest and could get a deal worth $10-15 million. That would probably take Toronto out of the running to re-sign him. On the other hand, Borowski signed for the league minimum ($327,000) with the Marlins last year and made just over $1 million with bonuses. It’d likely take more than that to sign him, considering the market for relievers, but he could be a solid replacement for Speier. Toronto isn’t ruling out using a youngster like Brandon League in the role, either.
Major League Bastian 
Could be a good replacement or backup plan to League if he is cheaper than Speier. I still feel good about having a veteran in the bullpen, it looks rather young and inconsistent right now.
If Alex Gonzalez wants 4 years to whatever inflated amount, forget that. I rather have Johnnie Mac for this year. Then maybe JP can swing a deal later or Russ Adams would miraculously gain an accurate arm.
Barajas might be a good signing. Offensively he looks solid but in a crazy hitter’s ballpark. Haven’t heard much about his defense and gamecalling skills. For that reason, Zaun should be brought back although I see only decline in production from Zaun now. 3 years might be risky on Zaun, although he has been nothing but great as a Blue Jay.
Mulder and Gagne on incentive-laden contracts might be risks JP will have to take. I would not mind either, both are risk worthy.
Halladay, Burnett, Wolf/Meche, Chacin, Mulder? Lefties are always good in the AL East. McGowan or Marcum in long relief with Downs. Frasor, League, Accardo, lefty specialist, setup, Ryan.
Looks pretty good potentially…
If Borowski is too much, JP should just overpay for Speier. Speier has been nothing but solid as a Blue Jay pitching in the AL East. I doubt he’ll give a ‘hometown’ discount but $5-6 million for him sounds about right in this market.
Or what about Kei Igawa? Could be a #5 starter or lefty specialist… But he’s being posted, and for some reason I see reluctance by JP to spend money on posting. Would be nice to have an Asian player in Toronto, increased attendance and fan interest for sure. JP should think about taking the Bryan Colanego approach and internationalize the team.
It is as simple as this folks. We need to sign Zaun who as a catcher, puts out real good offense statistics and looks good behind the plate. That should save 3+ million to push toward a pitcher. If Lilly is going to command 8-10 million for 4 years, take that extra money from signing Zaun and go afer Barry Zito for 11 mill. The team would be sitting with a top 3 #1 starter; the top #2 and the top #3 in the entire league. The offense is now fine so if anything is left over…hit up relief pitching. Thanks for reading.