Despite re-signing veteran shortstop John McDonald to a two-year contract on Wednesday, the Blue Jays are still actively searching for a starter at the position. Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos said McDonald’s role is “undefined” heading into the season.

Toronto has a free agent in shortstop Marco Scutaro, but Anthopoulos noted that talks with him have “stalled more than anything.” If the Jays do retain Scutaro, it would likely have to be with a one-year deal, according to the GM. That one-year deal likely means the Jays are only going to offer Scutaro arbitration.

Since Scutaro is a Type A free agent, the Blue Jays would receive two compensatory picks in the 2010 First-Year Player Draft if the shortstop declines the one-year arbitration offer and signs with a new team. Gaining Draft picks is tempting for a Toronto club that is in transition and looking to strengthen its farm system.

Anthopoulos added that he is still searching for a long-term solution at short, but the 2010 starter at the position will likely be via a short-term signing through free agency. Two options would be Miguel Tejada and Orlando Cabrera, who are both Type A free agents. Cabrera could fill the leadoff role vacated by Scutaro as well.

–JB

The Blue Jays have re-signed John McDonald to a two-year contract worth $3 million. This will keep Johnny Mac in the fold through the 2011 season, giving Toronto some depth around the infield.

This isn’t necessarily a great signing, but it’s not a bad one, either. The Jays are a team in transition, without a stud shortstop in the system, so a short-term solution is the best one right now.

If the Blue Jays grab a shortstop prospect in a possible Roy Halladay trade, McDonald would serve as a valuable mentor. He’s one of the best defensive infielders in the game. If Toronto signs or trades for a starting shortstop, McDonald provides a solid backup.

The Jays also have a free-agent shortstop in Marco Scutaro, but he is a Type A free agent — something Toronto did not anticipate happening when they traded for him a few winters ago. Scutaro will require a multi-year deal and has a suitor in the Red Sox, among others. The Jays might be content with taking the two compensatory Draft picks rather than re-signing him.

Does more McDonald on a regular basis hurt the offense? It might. He’s a career .238 hitter. That being said, the Blue Jays are looking at another fourth place finish in the American League East in 2010. The playoffs are more of a long-term goal at this point, so the Jays need a short-term solution until they find their shortstop of the future.

–JB

In need of help behind the plate, the Blue Jays have inquired about free-agent catcher Yorvit Torrealba multiple times and are expected to make a formal contract offer, according to an industry source.

Torrealba’s agent, Melvin Roman, confirmed on Tuesday that Toronto has reached out to him on more than one occasion to discuss the catcher’s future, but he declined further comment. Beyond the Blue Jays, Torreabla has suitors in the Rockies and Giants, with two or three other teams expressing some level of interest.

“They did call. They have called a few times already,” said Roman, referring to the Blue Jays. “We have spoken about the possibilities with Toronto. They did call and ask about Torrealba.”

Rod Barajas, who served as Toronto’s primary catcher over the last two seasons, is a free agent this winter, leaving a vacancy behind the plate for the Jays. The only catcher with big league experience currently on the Jays’ roster is Raul Chavez, who is eligible for arbitration this winter and is expected to return as the backup.

ELSEWHERE: Ed Price of AOL Fanhouse tweeted Tuesday night that the Jays were close to re-signing shortstop John McDonald for around $1.5 million. Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos and Johnny Mac’s agent could not be immediately reached for comment. Stay tuned…

–JB

An interesting item from MLB.com’s Cubs writer Carrie Muskat today notes that the Blue Jays have contacted the North Siders to discuss a potential Roy Halladay trade. Muskat writes, “One thing the Blue Jays did make clear to the Cubs is they want to move Halladay this offseason.”

Blue Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos has maintained that he would like to keep Halladay, is reluctant to trade the right-hander and that he is not actively shopping any of his players. This latest development seems to indicate more than ever that Anthopoulos is keeping an open mind, to say the least.

As for the chance that Halladay ends up in Cubbie blue? Muskat writes that the Cubs can’t afford to take on the $15.75 million salary Halladay is due to make in 2010 and adds that Toronto was asking for some of Chicago’s top prospects. That combination makes a possible deal with the Jays unlikely at this point.

When reached on Friday night, Anthopoulos declined to comment on the report.

The leading contenders to land Halladay appear to be the Yankees, Red Sox, Dodgers and Phillies.

~JB

There are a few items to address here on the blog today. First off, congrats are in order for Aaron Hill and Adam Lind, who were well-deserving recipients of Silver Slugger Awards on Thursday night.

As a duo, Hill and Lind became only the second Jays teammates in team history to finish with at least 35 homers, 35 doubles and 100 RBIs in the same season. The 222 combined RBIs for the pair were the most in a season by a Toronto duo since ’03.

It marked only the third time in Blue Jays history that two players from Toronto received Silver Sluggers in the same season. Other winners from the AL included Yankees first baseman Mark Teixeira, Rays third baseman Evan Longoria, Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter, Twins catcher Joe Mauer and outfielders Torii Hunter of the Angels, Ichiro Suzuki of the Mariners and Jason Bay of the Red Sox.

“It felt pretty cool to finally win something after being up for a couple things,” Lind said. “It felt great and I’m really excited to get the trophy with everybody’s name on it. I’m more excited about their names than my name.”

QUOTABLE:

“Great. It’s one of those things — whatever. It’s out of our hands. We like all the guys that are there and they feel — Alex and I guess everybody else — feels that this is the best way to go about it. We’re behind them. Our job is to go play.” — Hill, asked about the changed to the coaching staff

“A great thing about Murph is he lets you be who you are and he works with that. He doesn’t try to necessarily change who you are or change what you do. He just lets you be yourself and become as good as you can at what you do. So that’ll be good, and the fact that I have a pretty long relationship and a decent personal relationship and things like that. It’ll be fun to go down there and hear his comments every day in the batting cage.” — Lind, asked about Dwayne Murphy being named the new hitting coach

FROM THE GM:

“Our young starters, I think almost every GM has asked about them. Understandbly so. We’d like to keep all of them, but that being said, as I’ve told every other GM, if they have trade ideas and thoughts I’d like to hear them. I feel like any dialogue that we have, the more dialogue that we do have, an idea may come from it. That being said, we’re very happy with our young starters. We’d like to keep them, but we certainly have to be open minded.” — Anthopoulos, on trading young pitchers

“If you look at the B.J. Ryan contract, that was something that ownership allowed us to walk away from. I think it really comes down to, ‘What does it get us in return? What is the opportunity for the club?’ If we were to pay money on a contract, of course, at all costs you try to avoid it, but if that means that you’re getting a player that the net value with having to pay some of the contract makes it a better move for the organization and strengthens the club, I think you have to be open to it.” — Anthopoulos, on being willing to swallow part of a big contract in a trade

“What I feel very good about is, so far in the offseason, every player that has been talked about in a transaction, every trade that has been made, I’ve been aware of that player being available. In certain respects, I’ve been involved in some of those trade talks. I think that’s really imperative for me going forward.” — Anthopoulos

UNDER THE KNIFE

Center fielder Vernon Wells underwent surgery to repair cartilage damage inhis left wrist on Thursday in Scottsdale, Ariz., where Dr. Donald Sheridan performed the operation. A team official said the procedure went as planned and Wells is expected to be recovered and ready for Spring Training.

ARBITRATION

Here is the list of Blue Jays’ players who are eligible for arbitration with service time and 2009 salary in parentheses: RHP Jeremy Accardo (3.171/$900K), INF/OF Jose Bautista (4.165/$2.4 million), RHP Shawn Camp (4.170/$750K), C Raul Chavez (5.074/$500K), RHP Jason Frasor (5.134/$1.45 million), RHP Casey Janssen (3.063/$413,900), RHP Brandon League (3.145/$640K), RHP Shaun Marcum (3.128/$405,200), RHP Dustin McGowan (3.113/$419,400), LHP Brian Tallet (4.146/$1.015 million).

~JB 

 

I have a feeling this is going to be a recurring post here at MLBastian throughout this offseason. With a weak pitching market, and the Jays in a transition period, ace Roy Halladay will have plenty of suitors.

Monday marked Day 1 of the GM Meetings in Chicago — the Winter Meetings’ little brother. There is no shortage of rumors and reports and a handful out right now deal with Doc.

You probably won’t be seeing many quotes from rookie GM Alex Anthopoulos. He’s trying to keep quiet when it comes to rumors and reports — a different approach than former Jays GM J.P. Ricciardi. That won’t stop the speculation, or halt other sources from offering up some information.

Here is a roundup of all the Doc talk this morning:

Toronto Star’s Morgan Campbell says the Jays GM won’t talk about Doc Halladay

Toronto Sun’s Bob Elliott writes that trading Halladay will be easy

Jim Bray at the National Post breaks down some potential suitors

New York Post’s Joel Sherman says Halladay is a hot topic at the Meetings

Jim Salisbury of the Philadelphia Inquirer writes that the Phillies still have interest

Rob Bradford of WEEI in Boston notes the Red Sox are on Halladay’s trade list

OTHER RUMORS:

Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports.com hears that Bradley is linked to Jays in 3-way deal

Elliott doesn’t see Toronto giving Bradley “a fifth or sixth or whatever chance”

Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune hears that Jays want nothing to do with Bradley

~JB

First off, congratulations to the New York Yankees on becoming the 2009 World Series champions (and for making me look smart by coming through on my prediction of them earning baseball’s biggest crown in six games).

That was a great Fall Classic. Cliff Lee’s mastery in Game 1. Chase Utley’s power surge, tying Reggie Jackson’s 1977 mark of five World Series homers. Johnny Damon pulling off a solo double steal to ignite a late rally and help the Yankees take a critical Game 4. Godzilla going off for six RBIs in the clincher in the Bronx.

Now, it’s officially the offseason. With the baseball season in the books, it’s time to look ahead. In 15 days, teams can begin offering contracts to any free agent they choose. Until then, teams have an exclusive negotiating window with their own free agents.

For your Toronto Blue Jays, they list of free agents include catcher Rod Barajas, shortstop Marco Scutaro, shortstop John McDonald, first baseman Kevin Millar and catcher Michael Barrett. Millar will not be back in 2010 and it’s a safe assumption that Barrett will also follow him to the open market.

Jays general manager Alex Anthopoulos has maintained that the team has interest in retaining Barajas, Scutaro and McDonald. Will Toronto bring all three back? My educated guess is no. A lot depends on what direction the Jays take this year, and Anthopoulos will likely shed light on that this weekend.

Scutaro is coming off a career year and is eligible as a Type A free agent — something the Jays did not count on. That means Toronto would receive a pair of compensation picks if he signs with another club. Barajas is a Type B free agent, meaning the Jays would receive one sandwich compensation pick if he signs elsewhere.

As for McDonald, he rarely saw action in 2009 until the end of the year, when Scutaro was sidelined with a foot issue. It made sense to keep McDonald on the bench — given the season’s turned in by Scutaro and second baseman Aaron Hill — but he might want to see if there is a team out there willing to offer more playing time.

There are a number of other issues still unsettled — the future of ace Roy Halladay being front and center in the direction of the Blue Jays. Toronto will also likely be looking to upgrade its offense this winter and some rotation and bullpen help might not be a bad idea, either. It all depends on how much cash the Jays decide to spend.

Stay tuned…

~JB

I’ve been told that the Blue Jays will have eyes on veteran lefty John Halama for his next start for Aguilas Cibaenas in the Dominican Republic winter league.

Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos could not be reached for comment.

Halama, 37, spent last season with Triple-A Gwinnett in the Braves’ system, going 4-7 with a 4.48 ERA in 16 games (13 starts). Halama has not pitched in the Majors since 2006 and split his time as a starter and a reliever over nine big-league seasons.

Beyond the Jays, Halama’s agent, Joe Rosario, indicated that the Cubs, Brewers and Braves have all talked to him about the pitcher.

It’s not clear what level of interest Toronto has right now, but I’m assuming it would be more for bullpen depth at the Minor League level than anything else. So far this winter in the Dominican, Halama has been sharp, posting a 2.00 ERA over three starts with a 0.89 WHIP across 18 innings of work.

A bit of trivia: Halama was a part of the blockbuster trade that sent lefty Randy Johnson from the Seattle Martiners to the Houston Astros in 1998.

~JB

According to Toronto Sun’s Bob Elliott, the Cubs and Blue Jays have discussed a possible trade that would send Vernon Wells to Chicago and bring Milton Bradley north of the border.

“It’s early on, but we think this one has some legs,” one Cubs official told Elliott. “But they aren’t the only team we are talking with.”

The Cubs are in a situation where they are under pressure to find a way to get someone to take Bradley off their hands. The Jays are in a situation where Wells’ contract is looking more and more the albatross as his performance has dropped.

For Toronto, such a swap would make sense in one way and one way only. It’d free up a huge chunk of salary (Wells is owed $107 million through 2014) and would bring in a short-term solution in Bradley (two years, $21 million left on his deal).

If such a trade did take place, it would be the second time Toronto was bailed out of a huge contract in a matter of months. In August, the White Sox agreed to assume everything Alex Rios was owed through 2015 after claiming him off waivers. If the Cubs were willing to take Wells’ entire contract, it might be tempting to pull off the swap.

But for Bradley?

To me, this wouldn’t fall in line with the much-emphasized philosophy of new Jays general manager Alex Anthopoulos. Since taking over for J.P. Ricciardi, Anthopoulos has stressed the importance of building an organization with high-quality employees on and off the field. Given his history, Bradley does not fit that category.

Bringing Bradley to Toronto would seem to contradict all that talk. Beyond that, the Cubs  would suddenly have two of the most untradeable contracts (Wells and Alfonso Soriano) in the game if they pulled the trigger on this. So, given the size of Wells’ deal and Bradley’s history, I’m not sure this deal would happen.

It’s an interesting rumor, though.

~JB

UPDATE: Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune shoots down Elliott’s report. Sullivan has a Cubs source who says the deal has “no legs at all.” His source goes as far as saying the teams have not even discussed such a trade.

As you’ve probably heard by now, Cito Gaston has decided to retire from managing after the 2010 campaign with the Blue Jays. He has agreed to a four-year consulting agreement with the club beginning the following season.

For his final year on the bench, Cito’s staff will be as follows: Nick Leyva, bench coach; Bruce Walton, pitching coach; Dwayne Murphy, hitting coach; Brian Butterfield, third base coach; Omar Malave, first base coach; and Rick Langford, bullpen coach.

Former Jays pitching coach Brad Arnsberg — a Texas native — will be the new pitching coach of the Astros, who recently hired his good friend Brad Mills to be their new manager. Former Jays hitting coach Gene Tenace has elected to retire.

On Saturday morning, Gaston held a conference call with reporters to discuss his new role and the changes to his field staff. Here are some highlights of the discussion with Cito:

ON CONSULTING ROLE:

“It’s something that I certainly wanted to do. I always want to be a part of this organization, so it gives me the chance to do that. Also, I live in Florida and I have a place in Toronto, so it gives me a chance to not only be down here for Spring Training, but also be up that way during the season and look at the club and perhaps help evaluate it a little bit.”

“I just wanted to step back and take a look and see if I wanted to continue on managing and I just thought, ‘Well, I think maybe I can probably help the organization as far as being an advisor also, as well as managing, too. It’s something that I want to do in my life. Just step back and maybe do something different besides manage.”

ON WALTON REPLACING ARNSBERG:

“Bruce has done a good job down there and Bruce is a good guy. He’s a good baseball man and he’s very loyal to the organization and certainly to myself. I’m glad to have him aboard, so it’s good for him. I know he’s been waiting for the opportunity to get a chance to become a big league pitching coach.”

ON CHANGING BENCH COACHES:

“Nick and I have been around each other a long time. We’re just a little bit more on board with each other and I know Nick a little bit better than I know Butterfield. Butter does a good job there. … He works hard. I just thought it would be better for myself if Nick was my bench coach. He knows me a little bit bettter than Butterfield.”

ON POSSIBLY RETIRING THIS YEAR:

“No. I signed for two years. When you sign something, you should stick to it unless they don’t want you to stick to it, but it wasn’t that way. So, I felt like I signed for that year and I should live up to my contract and do what they asked me to do here. No, I never considered leaving for next year and taking the consulting role.”

ON YEAR-END CONTROVERSY PLAYING A ROLE IN CHANGES:

“I don’t think it had anything to do with that. I just believe Geno’s talked about leaving, as much as I have, to me. He talked about staying until next year and then decided not to. I don’t think that had anything to do with it, as far as him leaving or as far as Arnsberg not being here or myself not being here after 2010.”

“As I’ve said before, I still believe that — 50 percent of the players — that’s hard for me to believe, because you’re around people. If they dislike you that much, you’re going to feel it. I don’t feel like there’s 50 percent of the people in that clubhouse who feel that way about me, because I don’t treat them in that way. I try to treat people in the way that I want to be treated.”

ON TALKING TO GM ABOUT PLAYERS’ FEEDBACK:

“We will sit own and talk about those things. Hey, listen, I’m all for making things better. If there’s some way I need to lean to make it better then I will do that. If there’s something that I need to step up and say, ‘Well, I don’t think that’s a good idea,’ I’ll step up and do that, too.”

ON RELATIONSHIP WITH ARNSBERG:

“It was good, but a lot of times I didn’t have much [communication] with him as far as I had with the other pitching coaches. Brad was always, he’d pretty much sit down and talk with Doc most of the time. He did his job. He worked hard. He probably sees that he probably was going to be here one more year — he’s looking for more than that. He’s close to home and I’m pretty sure he’ll do a good job down there in Houston for those guys.”

ON CHANGES BEING NECESSARY:

“It could’ve stayed the same, but we’re always trying to improve the organization and do things better. That’s why the changes were made.”

ON COACHES COMING TO HIM WITH PLAYER ISSUES:

“As a coach myself, I never really felt like I wanted to be a coach to run back and tell the manager things that are going on out there are far as players. It’s almost like going back and telling on players. I don’t expect my coaches to do that, especially when my door is always open. You can come in and talk to me. I still feel that way. These guys can come in. If you’ve got a complaint, come in and sit down and talk to me about it and I’ll listen and we’ll try to work it out and make sure we get the right thing done.”

“I always felt like I was treating everybody properly. Sometimes, everybody’s not going to feel like you are, but if you sit down and you think about it and you can come up with anybody on that team that I didn’t treat properly, then I’ll listen. To me, I feel like guys got to play, I didn’t misuse anybody, especially my pitching staff. At the end of the season, a lot of guys didn’t pitch for a lot of days, but there’s reasons behind those things, too.”

ON EMPHASIZING OPEN-DOOR POLICY:

“I’m going to have that meeting — that’s for sure. I’m going to tell them, ‘Hey, come in and talk to me. Don’t be afraid to come in and talk to me.’ I’ve had guys come in and talk to me, but mostly it’s about personal things. No one’s come in complaining about their playing time or anything like that. I will encourage them to do that.”

ON HALLADAY:

“My gut is that I think Doc wants to be on a winning team — whether he comes back here next year or is going to be gone the next year. I’m pretty sure that’s what he’s probably going to do, because he’s probably sitting there looking at A.J. out there pitching, knowing that that’s where he’d like to be. It’s not about money with Doc. It’s about him being on a winning team. I can’t speak for Doc, but my gut feeling is if he’s here next year with us, then he’ll probably leave after next year. Hopefully, if that’s the case, then we can get something for him before he leaves.”

~JB