LAS VEGAS — Heading up to bed last night at about 3 a.m., we caught wind that C.C. Sabathia had come close to an agreement to pitch for the Yankees. This morning, it’s reportedly a done deal.

So C.C. will be in the East, not great news for the Blue Jays. It’ll also be interesting to see what this 7-year, $160ish million deal will mean for A.J. Burnett’s pending deal. It could potentially drive up his asking price.

Later this afternoon, we’ll be sitting down with Jays manager Cito Gaston to talk shop. It’s still mostly quiet on the Toronto front, with no real updates on what’s already been reported. So, I’ll keep you posted with any updates throughout the day.

~JB

LAS VEGAS — I’m currently sitting in the work room here at the Bellagio in Vegas, where Day 1 of baseball’s annual winter meetings are underway. As Blue Jays rumors and reports surface, I’ll do my best to keep the ol’ blog updated.

I actually landed here on Saturday and took part in the Las Vegas half marathon on Sunday morning (ran the 13.1 miles in 1:41.41 for those who might be interested). This being my first visit to Sin City, that was a great way to experience the Strip for the first time.

But, it’s back to work. Toronto will probably be quiet for the most part this week, maybe looking into some potential trades, if anything. The Jays will probably have a meeting with A.J. Burnett’s rep, who has a growing list of suitors for his client. The latest is that the Cardinals, who pursued Burnett prior to the ’06 season, are the latest team to show interest.

I spoke with Darek Braunecker last night, when Burnett officially rejected Toronto’s arbitration offer — the expected outcome — and the agent said he believes the Jays are still in the running, considering the club hasn’t told him otherwise. No matter where Burnett ends up, Toronto will likely be approached before it’s all said and done.

“They don’t have to sell anything to him. He knows what he’s got in Toronto,” Braunecker said. “They were providing us the luxury and respect to go through the process and kind of circle back with them at the appropriate time. Unless their position has changed, or changes going forward, then by all means we anticipate visiting with them and concluding the process with them involved.”

More as the day unfolds…

~JB

2:40 pm ET — Greg Maddux is currently holding a press conference, announcing his retirement. I remember watching Maddux when I was growing up in Chicago. He was definitely an amazing pitcher, cut from a different cloth style wise. Winning 350+ games in this era is quite a feat. He can start working on his Hall of Fame induction speech.

3:08 pm ET — There’s a brief item in the Newark Star-Ledger, noting that the Blue Jays and Mets have discussed the availability of Toronto closer B.J. Ryan. The Jays reportedly want outfielder Fernando Martinez, but no way New York deals him for Ryan, especially with other closer options on the open market. Ryan is owed $10 million in each of the next two seasons.

5:47 pm ET — A Major League source declined to comment on a report in the Newark Star-Ledger claiming that the Blue Jays and Mets had discussed Ryan’s availability, but hinted that the rumor was unfounded. There have been conflicting online reports about whether or not the two clubs actually met.

8:53 pm ET — A couple things: The Jays did not talk to the Mets about B.J. Ryan and Toronto doesn’t plan on shopping him, says GM J.P. Ricciardi. Also today, Ricciardi sat down with Tom O’Connell, the agent for free-agent pitcher Carl Pavano. O’Connell said the meeting went well and said the Jays have “significant interest.” The agent plans on meeting with roughly 10 teams this week and doesn’t necessarily anticipate Pavano signing before the Meetings here in Vegas end. Ricciardi, meanwhile, said the Jays may have to free up some payroll through trades in order to accomplish some of their goals. Some of Toronto’s relievers could be packaged in a deal and Ricciardi didn’t deny that the club listen to offers for Alex Rios, though he did say they weren’t actively shopping him. Acquiring pitching help is the priority. If the Jays don’t land any arms, Ricciardi foresees a rotation that might include Roy Halladay, Jesse Litsch, David Purcey, Casey Janssen and maybe Scott Downs, Brian Tallet, Brett Cecil or Ricky Romero. More later on bluejays.com…

11:21 pm ET — Heading out to dinner, but before I go… A report on Yahoo! Sports is saying that the Jays might yet be a player for free-agent shortstop Rafael Furcal. Haven’t been able to get this confirmed or denied, but Toronto would have to shift payroll to make it happen, and I don’t see how — given Ricciardi’s comments today — they could top the Oakland offer that Furcal rejected. But, I guess you never know… Eatin’ time.

The Blue Jays are preparing for life without A.J. Burnett. In the wake of news that the Braves have extended a formal offer to the free-agent pitcher, Jays general manager J.P. Ricciardi noted that his club isn’t expecting Burnett to head back to Toronto.

“It looks like we’re going to lose Burnett,” Blue Jays general manager J.P. Ricciardi told the Canadian Press. “We don’t know where Burnett is going to go, but we’ve got to assume Burnett’s going to be gone.”

Given Toronto’s current financial situation — sponsorship is down, the Canadian dollar has weakened, and the team experienced layoffs within the organization this week — the Jays aren’t likely to be big players with any other free agents. Ricciardi noted that the club will continue to explore trades for pitching help.

“I don’t really see us being that active unless it’s via the trade route right now,” Ricciardi was quoted as saying. “I think we’ll listen and we’ll try to create some things. But really, at the end of the day, I don’t see us being that active.”

–JB

Speaking to reporters in Toronto on Thursday afternoon, Blue Jays interim president and CEO Paul Beeston reiterated that the club isn’t likely to go on any type of spending spree this winter. Beeston said the Jays remained focused on re-signing A.J. Burnett, but there’s not much happening beyond that at the moment.

If the Jays can’t retain Burnett, the club might be more inclined to keep the money planned for his contract, rather than use it to reel in any other free agents. Growing concerns about the economy and the decline of the Canadian dollar have Toronto re-evaluating the direction it wants to go. Beeston said the team’s ticket sales are consistent with previous year, but sponsorship is down.

“The biggest decision we have to make is what direction we’re going to go with the team,” Beeston said. “We can spend $100 million, but if it doesn’t make sense, why do it?”

Beeston added that the Blue Jays have a list of about 35-40 candidates — roughly half being “household names” — for the permanent president and CEO position. Beeston said he believes Toronto will have a replacement for outgoing president Paul Godfrey prior to the beginning of Spring Training.

–JB

Earlier this week, Blue Jays general manager J.P. Ricciardi told MLB.com that his club isn’t targeting any big power bats on the free-agent market at the moment. Due to financial constraints, Toronto would prefer to solve its need for offence via trade.

Even so, various reports continue to toss the Blue Jays in as a potential player for free-agent slugger Manny Ramirez. Ricciardi once again attempted to put those rumors to rest in an interview with ESPN.com’s Jayson Stark.

“We won’t be involved with Manny,” Ricciardi said. “That keeps coming up, but it’s not true. I think one reason is that Manny has always liked it in Toronto. He’s hit more home runs here than anybody. And he likes the city, because he can fly under the radar here.

“So he may be asking his agent to try to find a way to put him here. He’s a great hitter, so it’s tempting. But being tempted and being realistic are two separate things.”

–JB 

For now, that appears to be the Blue Jays’ take on the free-agent market. Sure, they plan on making a run at re-signing A.J. Burnett. But beyond that? Toronto might not be much of a player on the open market.

If the Jays don’t retain Burnett, Jays general manager J.P. Ricciardi told MLB.com that he doesn’t think “there’s anybody else out there that, for what you’d probably have to get involved with from a money standpoint, that we would feel comfortable getting involved with. I think we’d probably stay in-house.”

As for Toronto’s search for more offense, Ricciardi denied that the Jays are targeting free-agent slugger Jason Giambi, or that free-agent Milton Bradley is a top priority. If anything, Ricciardi said that the Blue Jays hope to find what they’re seeking through the trade market and not through free agency.

“We’re still going to keep listening and seeing what’s available to us,” Ricciardi said. “But right now, I don’t see us getting involved with anybody. Something is going to have to really make sense for us and the best way would be via trade.”

That includes a possible search for a shortstop, too. Ricciardi said the Jays don’t plan on getting involved with any shortstops through free agency, nixing the rumors that have pegged Toronto as a suitor for Rafael Furcal.

The Jays don’t have an excess of spending money this winter, though Ricciardi didn’t rule out using trades to possibly free up some more payroll.

“We’ll be open to anything,” Ricciardi said. “We’re not in a slash payroll mode, but we’re in a situation where if we can make ourselves better via trade we’ll look that way. But, if we can’t, this is the team we have and we’ll just be creative with what we’ve got here and try to plug in our holes internally.”

–JB

The Toronto Blue Jays are in a holding pattern when it comes to negotiations with free-agent pitcher A.J. Burnett. The club still hasn’t made a formal offer to Burnett, preferring to wait to see what type of contracts it’s up against.

It’s believed that the Blue Jays are prepared to offer a four-year, $54 million deal for Burnett, but that’s a deal that would easily be topped by the likes of the Yankees — one of the pitcher’s suitors.

“We’re going to let him go out and see what’s out there,” Blue Jays general manager J.P. Ricciardi was quoted as saying in Tuesday’s Toronto Star. “That’s what he wants to do – see what teams are interested, see what’s available and, at that point, come back to us and see if we’re even going to be in the ballpark.”

Ricciardi add that, if the Jays fall short in their quest to re-sign Burnett, the team might not be in the mix for any other free-agent starters. Toronto had been rumored to have interest in Brad Penny, Ryan Dempster and Derek Lowe.

“No, I don’t think there’s anything out there that we can get involved in at this point that makes any sense for us,” Ricciardi told the Star.

–JB

Anyone notice that Blue Jays starter A.J. Burnett still hasn’t filed for free agency? That’s not a mistake, but all it means s Burnett’s contract situation is a tad different than that of other free agents. When Burnett informed Toronto that he was opting out last week, he put in motion a process that will terminate his current contract on Thursday.

“It’s a little different situation,” explained Darek Braunecker, Burnett’s agent. “It’s an actual termination of contract, is what it is. He becomes eligible for free agency via termination of contract, so it’s a little different filing process. We had to notify the club, both verbally and in writing, and then it’s passed on to the Commissioner’s Office.”

So, on Friday, Burnett can begin listening to new contract offers from other clubs. The Blue Jays are still interesting in retaining Burnett, as unlikely a scenario as that is beginning to seem, but the club will likely have competition for the pitcher in the Yankees, Orioles and possibly the Braves, among others.

As the free-agent period opens, the Jays are also in the mix for a power bat, a shortstop and possibly a backup catcher — the latter an issue Toronto may be content with solving internally. As for the bat, Toronto has some interest in Manny Ramirez, though the club probably can’t afford him, while Jason Giambi, Milton Bradley and Raul Ibanez might also be targets. At short, the Jays have been rumored to have interest in Rafael Furcal and also talked to the Padres about a possible trade for Khalil Greene.

In the pitching department, if the Blue Jays insist that they can’t get into a bidding war to keep Burnett, it seems unlikely that the club will be able to make a push for the top available arms. Even so, it’s been reported that Toronto is believed to have already approached the representatives for Ryan Dempster, Derek Lowe and maybe even Ben Sheets. The Jays are rumored to have interest in Brad Penny as well.

–JB

TORONTO — Free-agent catcher Gregg Zaun vented some frustration with the Blue Jays in an article that appeared in the National Post on Monday. In July, Zaun admitted to being open to a trade out of Toronto, but general manager J.P. Ricciardi countered by saying there were no interested parties. Zaun told the newspaper that the Jays “had a trade in place” and backed out.

“It sure wasn’t easy to take when J.P. in the papers was telling everybody in the baseball world that nobody wanted me, when I knew that that was in fact not the truth,” Zaun told the newspaper. “To say that nobody was interested in me was inaccurate and embarrassing and it really made me look bad. I wasn’t happy with that.”

Zaun also expressed some frustration about an apparent lack of communication from the Blue Jays, who handed the starting catching job to Rod Barajas after Zaun returned from a stint on the disabled list midway through the season. Earlier this offseason, the Jays picked up Barajas’ $2.5 million club option to bring him back in 2009.

The 37-year-old Zaun, who made $3.75 million last year, finished the 2008 season hitting .237 with six homers and 30 RBIs in 245 at-bats — the fewest trips to the plate in his five-year tour with Toronto. Zaun and Ricciardi ruled out a return to Toronto and the catcher said he hopes to land a backup job with a contender or a regular role on a team with a young pitching staff.

“That would be a fun job for me,” Zaun said. “It’s what I did when I started with the Blue Jays. I was a part of the maturing process of all those young pitchers.”

~JB

Reports out of Seattle are that the Blue Jays have shown a willingness to trade first baseman Lyle Overbay — a native of Centralia, Wash. — to the Mariners. According to the Seattle Times, Toronto is even willing to pick up some of the $14 million Overbay is owed through 2010.

The Tacoma News-Tribune has reported that the Blue Jays have been met with a “decided lack of enthusiasm” from Seattle. It’s been rumored that Overbay was part of the package that Toronto tried to use to acquire outfielder Raul Ibanez prior to the July 31 Trade Deadline this past season. Ibanez is a free agent this winter.

The Blue Jays are trying to upgrade their offense this winter and first base is an area that the club can address. Since having his right hand broken by a pitch midway through the 2007 season, Overbay’s offensive numbers, especially his power production, have declined. Toronto acquired Overbay in a five-player trade with the Brewers prior to the ’06 season.

The Blue Jays have also been rumored to be in on possible trade talks with the Padres for shortstop Khalil Greene. Without an excess of cash to spend this winter, Jays GM J.P. Ricciardi has made it known that the club does plan on exploring the trade market in an attempt to meet some of its offseason goals.

–JB