OK, I understand that the last thing any of you readers want to hear about is how us poor reporters are shivering here at Spring Training, but man, it has been chilly.

I think the problem is that, when you head to Florida, you have this built-in expectation of how the weather is going to be: "It’s going to be hot and I’m going to need sunblock." Well, when you’re forced to wear a sweatshirt and pants,  you purposely leave your sunglasses in the car, and you actually wonder for a moment why you didn’t pack your winter hat, then I’m afraid it’s cold. But if this were the temperature right now in Toronto, I’d be outside in shorts and a t-shirt. It’s all relative. At one point today, my teeth were actually chattering while I stood outside.

Back to baseball, though. The Blue Jays’ pitchers and catchers reported to Dunedin today. Tomorrow, they will all have their mandatory morning physicals and the first official workout is tentatively slated for 12:30 p.m. There were some more fresh faces at camp today — most notably, A.J. Burnett has arrived. We spoke with Burnett, but I’ll save the bulk of it for a feature I’m putting together for this weekend. He’s worked out indoors this winter and recently moved to Maryland. Today was the first time he’s thrown outside since last season, but he’s healthy and ready to go.

Two pitchers not at the Bobby Mattick Training Center — and who won’t be until next week — were Tomo Ohka and Victor Zambrano. Both had visa issues and are still in Japan and Venezuela, respetively. Toronto GM J.P. Ricciardi said he believes the pitchers will be in camp by Tuesday or Wednesday.

Some highlights of our sit-downs with Ricciardi and Jays manager John Gibbons today:

— Gibbons isn’t sure how the lineup will shape up. He said the biggest question is where he’ll fit Lyle Overbay and Alex Rios into the lineup. When working on arranging the lineup, Gibbons said he’ll be focussing on NOT sandwiching slower players in between or behind hitters who don’t run as well. Gibbons wasn’t as concerned about the lack of left-handers in the lineup. He said he’s even thought about possibly trying Vernon Wells as the No. 2 hitter and having Overbay bat third.

— Ricciardi said that Spring Training will determine if Gustavo Chacin is really going to be Toronto’s No. 2 starter. As of right now, that’s where Chacin slots in, but things could change this spring. Ricciardi said he’d like to see Chacin improve on maximizing his pitch count. Consider that last season, Chacin averaged nearly an inning less per start than he did in 2005 (his elbow injury probably played a role in that stat, too).

— Ricciardi also said that he doesn’t think Scott Downs is currently a backup plan for the back end of the rotation. Chacin, Ohka, John Thomson, Josh Towers, Shaun Marcum, Casey Janssen and Dustin McGowan would all be tried before Downs. So Downs will remain in the bullpen — maybe partly as Toronto’s left-handed specialist.

— Ricciardi again mentioned that Zambrano appears to be ahead of schedule. Zambrano has reconstructive elbow surgery in May and could be ready as early as May or June for the Jays. He’s already thrown off a mound this winter. Ricciardi said that Toronto might consider using Zambrano as a reliever if the rotation is locked in place when he’s finally healthy.

— On Thursday, Gibbons said he planned on using closer B.J. Ryan in fewer multi-inning save situations. One day later, Ricciardi emphasized that point, saying: "I think we’re going to keep him to one inning. I think that’s the right thing to do. Most guys like that definition that they’re going to pitch that one inning. Although, he’s a guy who will do whatever you want him to do. But in the long haul, we’re better off just having him pitch one inning."

That’s all for now. I’m going to keep warm in my condo down here until I have to brave the cold in order to go get some dinner later (I know, I wouldn’t feel bad for me either). I’ll blog more after the first workout tomorrow.

Until then, what are your suggestions for this season’s lineup? Here’s a list of players most likely to fit in at the different spots (the first names listed making up what I would deem as the projected lineup right now):

1. Reed Johnson, Alex Rios
2. Alex Rios, Lyle Overbay, Aaron Hill, Gregg Zaun, Vernon Wells
3. Vernon Wells, Lyle Overbay
4. Frank Thomas, Troy Glaus, Vernon Wells
5. Troy Glaus, Frank Thomas, Lyle Overbay
6. Lyle Overbay, Alex Rios, Troy Glaus
7. Gregg Zaun, Alex Rios
8. Aaron Hill, Gregg Zaun
9. Royce Clayton, John McDonald

Give me your lineups…

It was relatively quiet at the Jays’ Spring Training complex today. Well, aside from the popping of gloves and the crack of the bat. Pitchers and catchers aren’t required to actually be at the Bobby Matttick Training Center until Saturday, when the first workout is scheduled. A lot of pitchers and position players were already in camp, though.

Today was more of a "Hey, how are doing? How was your winter?" kind of day for me. One of my favorite things about Spring Training is that it’s a lot more laid back than the regular season and it’s a great time to just chew the fat with reporters, players and staff. Don’t get me wrong, there is plenty of work to be done, but in between shifts at the laptop, it’s nice to just relax in the Florida sun.

Unfortunately, there wasn’t much of that sun today. I actually had to wear a fleece today because it was unusually cold. But, no, I’m not complaining. I could be taking my dog out in the snow at 8 a.m. in Toronto. Still, it was by far the coldest day I’ve experienced down here.

There were a lot of players around today, and some that weren’t there today, but have already arrived. Some of those include Vernon Wells, Roy Halladay, Aaron Hill, John McDonald, Russ Adams, Alex Rios, John Thomson, Josh Towers, B.J. Ryan, Brandon League, Scott Downs, Jeremy Accardo, Jason Frasor, Gregg Zaun, Sal Fasano, Jason Phillips, and a bunch of others. There’s sure to be more tomorrow.

Toronto manager John Gibbons also made his first appearance at camp, and I ran into hitting coach Mickey Brantley on my way out of the clubhouse in the afternoon.

A few of us reporters met with Gibby today and talked about a few things. He reiterated that he’d like to have more defined bullpen roles for some of the pitchers this season, and he’d like to reduce the number of multi-inning outings from Ryan. Gibbons also said he wasn’t worrying too much about his contract situation (he isn’t signed beyond this season).

There were some other topics discussed, some of which I included in the Jays notes on the site today. One thing that I did get confirmed — even though it had already been reported elsewhere — was that Roy Halladay didn’t experience any setbacks this offseason, contrary to an internet report that surfaced recently. So, don’t worry Jays’ fans, Halladay is just fine.

One thing that is interesting is how Halladay is adjusting his spring workouts. He plans on reducing his number of mound sessions and won’t work in his cutter until later this spring. The cut fastball can put added strain on a pitcher’s forearm, and Halladay thinks overusing the pitch last spring helped lead to his injury that ended his season in September. By cutting down his workload now, he should be in better shape come August and September this year — obviously, barring some other unforeseen setback.

Towers also paired up with Halladay on a run around the complex today, too. Gibbons added that Towers spent time with Reed Johnson this offseason in Las Vegas, where Johnson lives and where they worked together with a trainer. Gibbons isn’t counting Towers out, as far as the competition for the Nos. 4-5 spots in the rotation goes. After all, Towers did win 13 games in ’05.

"I’m a big Josh fan — always have been. He’s done a good job for us here. I think last year was just an aberration," Gibbons said. "I expect him to bounce back. Josh is one of those guys you root for, because he’s never had anything handed to him."

He’ll certainly have to earn his way into Toronto’s rotation again, that’s for sure. That’s all for now. I’ll be back at the complex tomorrow for the reporting day, which only means pitchers and catchers have to be in town — not necessaarily at the training center. So stay tuned for more…

Talk about good timing. I woke up to the worst snow storm of the winter in Toronto, and am now kicking back at my place in Florida. The conclusion of my day turned out just fine, even if the traveling part was a bit hectic. My flight left Toronto on time, despite the massive snow fall, but I barely made it to my connecting flight in Newark.

The first plane I was on had zero visibility on its first attempt at a landing and it had to pull up at the last minute. So we were put into a holding pattern and our pilot came on the intercom with this message: "We might be able to land in Newark in the next 20 minutes, but if we can’t, we’re going to have to head to Richmond, Virginia, because we don’t have enough fuel."

Thank God that Newark allowed our plane to land 15 minutes later. Once we got to the airport, I ran out and jogged to my connecting gate. When I got there, the lady at the counter said, "Jordan?!" — signaling that I was pretty much the only guy the flight to Tampa was waiting on. Once into the jetway, the woman shut the door behind me. Unfortunately, my luggage couldn’t run through the terminal with me.

Everything worked out, though. I got to Tampa — albeit about an hour and a half delayed (could’ve been worse) — and my bags were dropped off at my hotel later this evening. It’s now 12:48 a.m., but I’m here, I have all my stuff, and I’m ready to get this whole Spring Training thing underway.

Toronto’s pitchers and catchers aren’t required to report in Dunedin, Fla., until Friday, but I’ll be heading to the Bobby Mattick Training Center tomorrow morning anyway. I do feel sorry for those of you shoveling yourselves out of the mess back home, but hey, somebody has to bring you all the latest Blue Jays’ news down here in the heat of Florida!

There will be daily updates on bluejays.com and I’ll try to post on the blog as often as I can. So stay warm, and stay tuned…

It’s only second year on the Toronto beat, but I’m already getting used to the signs of spring. The annual State of the Franchise event took place on Thursday night downtown. After the function concluded, the reality that Spring Training is practically here hit me. I get on a plane on Wednesday morning, land in Tampa that afternoon, and the marathon that is the 2007 season will begin.

First things first, though, I’ll fill you all in on some things that came up tonight. As usual, there were some minor tidbits that didn’t make it into the general story.

ZAMBRANO WATCH: Maybe the biggest "news" of the night, which wasn’t earth-shattering by any means, was that Victor Zambrano could be available sooner than expected. This doesn’t mean that he’ll be ready to jump into the mix for a rotation spot this spring, but Jays GM J.P. Ricciardi did indicate that the righty could potentially be ready by May.

"I think Zambrano’s a little further ahead than maybe even we thought," Ricciardi said. "I’m not saying he’s going to make the team in April, but he may be closer to pitching in May than we thought. He’s got great work ethic and he’s really pushing himself. We’re probably going to have to pull the reigns on him a little bit."

If healthy, Ricciardi said Zambrano could be the guy they’ve been looking for to replace the 180-odd innings that Ted Lilly provided out of the No. 3 spot of the rotation. Consider that Zambrano is 45-41 with a 4.45 ERA in his career, and won 12 games for the ’03 Devil Rays team that finished with 99 losses. Lilly is 59-58 with a 4.60 ERA in his career.

ROGER THAT: One season-ticket holder at tonight’s event asked Ricciardi if the Jays had any interest in Roger Clemens. Here’s what the GM had to say on the subject:

"He’s 44 years old. At some point, the train comes to a stop," Ricciardi said to a mixed reaction from the crowd. "He’s a great pitcher, and could he help us? Definitely. There’s no doubt about it. But I don’t think Toronto is on his map. I think he wants to go to either New York or stay in Houston, where he lives.

"The other thing is it’d be really hard for us, with the good young players that we have, to bring a player in and allow him to go home on weekends and not travel with the team. Not that he hasn’t earned that, but I think in our environment, it wouldn’t set the greatest example. And I dont think he’s as interested in us as maybe we would be in him."

2B OR NOT 2B: Just because Toronto found a temporary way to keep Aaron Hill at second base this season — signing shortstop Royce Clayton to a one-year deal — doesn’t mean playing short is out of the young infielder’s future. Ricciardi said that it’s not out of the realm of possibility that Russ Adams could become Toronto’s second baseman in 2008, moving Hill back over to shortstop.

Adams was Ricciardi’s first pick as Toronto’s GM during the First-Year Player Draft in 2002. So, when Adams became the Jays’ starting shortstop in 2005, he was in his fourth professional season. Ricciardi said on Thursday that, if they had been more conservative with Adams, this year might’ve been his first in the Majors. So while Toronto believes Hill is a better defender at second, he might have another position switch in store come next season.

MINOR MATTERS: Casey Janssen and Dustin McGowan have an outside shot at starting jobs with the Jays this spring, but Toronto’s plans are for both pitchers to be in the rotation at Triple-A. Joining them should be right-hander Ty Taubenheim, who Ricciardi said could be a long reliever/spot starter in the future.

The Jays also plan on having catching prospect Curtis Thigpen start at Triple-A, and Ricciardi noted that the club hopes to have him team with Zaun at some point in the Majors. Consider that Zaun is under contract for the next two seasons.

FEELING A DRAFT: Toronto has 10 of the first 150 picks in the 2007 First-Year Player Draft.

–The Globe and Mail’s Jeff Blair touches on Toronto manager John Gibbons’ current contract situation. Gibbons’ contract expires after this season.

That’s all for now. I’ll probably be wearing shorts and enjoying some Florida sunshine when I post next. I’ll catch you all down in Dunedin. Stay tuned for more…

For me, the reality of how close the season is to getting underway starts to sink in when the Jays hold these end-of-the-offseason charity events. It’s freezing outside and I brave the cold to go cover the functions and talk to the players who made the trip to Toronto, and you end up talking a lot about how it’s cold and you can’t wait to get to Florida. On Wednesday, Vernon Wells and Gregg Zaun showed up at the Liberty Grand, where the Jays were holding their third annual Reverse Draw.

What could’ve been a whole lot of nothing turned into two very good, lengthy conversations with both players. In fact, so much was talked about that much of it will never appear in any published articles. There was some good tidbits that I’ll fill you all in on here, though.

FROM WELLS:

–While not a whole lot of what either player said was "newsworthy," meaning we mainly just discussed the recent moves Toronto has made or how each guy’s offseason has gone, there were some interesting comments from both players. Wells admitted being happy that the Jays didn’t trade away Alex Rios or Reed Johnson in order to solve the pitching issues:

"I talked to [Jays GM J.P. Ricciardi] and we discussed some things and by no means did he want to trade either one of those guys. Those guys are going to be at the top of our lineup most likely and be the catalyst for this lineup. We needed those guys and I’m very thankful we were able to keep them in the fold."

–Wells also had some interesting comments about new Boston pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka:

"I didn’t face him [in the World Baseball Classic], but I saw him pitch when we went over for the Japan tour. There was one game I didn’t play in and he two-hit our team in a heartbeat. It was interesting and fun to watch and I’m glad I had that day off."

"He has command of everything, which normally you’ll find with Japanese pitchers — they have command of all their pitches. And he’s not afraid of you — no matter who you are. He’s going to throw his fastball and he’s going to throw his gyro ball or whatever. Hopefully we just make enough contact on that thing to do some damage."

"I’ll just watch [the gyro ball] the first time he throws it to me. If I look stupid, you guys understand — it’s a gyro ball. It’s not supposed to do that. Sooner or later I’ll figure it out. … You guys may not notice, but I’ve had some ugly swings that have worked sometimes. We’ll see what happens."

FROM ZAUN:

–Zaun had a much praise for Toronto’s acquisitions of John Thomson, Tomo Ohka and, most recently, Victor Zambrano:

"I know Ohka a little bit from my brief time with Montreal. He’s one of those guys who chews up innings. He keeps you in the ballgame. … Hopefully we can get him healthy and get him out there and see what he can do. The split-finger is an outstanding pitch. He’s a control fastball type of guy. Thomson and Zambrano are sinker, slider type of guys."

"Zambrano can be absolutely downright nasty. You don’t see a team like the Mets trade away a guy like Scott Kazmir for somebody who’s not talented. This guy is very talented. He was the ace of the staff in Tampa Bay and I know a lot of teams wanted him at that point. Unfortunately for him, he’s been injured. Maybe he can make the road back. "

That’s all for now. Today makes it officially two weeks until I leave for Spring Training. The offseason has been nice, but I’m more than ready to get back into the grind of the baseball season. Stay tuned for more…

The Jays made another low risk, high reward signing on Tuesday, inking right-hander Victor Zambrano to a Minor League deal that includes an invite to Spring Training. The contract also has a club option for 2008. This deal won’t have as immediate of an impact as the Tomo Ohka or John Thomsons signings do, though.

Zambrano is only eight months removed from reconstructive elbow surgery and it could take him until April, May, or later until he’s available to pitch. The bottom line is Toronto was willing to give Zambrano time to rehab, and if he comes back healthy, the club’s rotation depth could get another boost. Zambrano would provide another arm that acts as a contingency plan later in the season if someone gets hurt.

The Jays want to make a run at the division this year and part of that means not having to relying on so many young, unexperienced players. Sure, young players will need to fill a hole here or there, and that’s fine, but it’s not ideal for a team in contention to be overloaded with young guys. Think about last season for Toronto. The Jays had to lean on a number of rookies when A.J. Burnett and Gus Chacin got hurt. The pitchers did a good job, for the most part, but Zambrano could provide a more experienced, better prepared arm in a similar situation this year.

Of course, that means that Jays fans probably won’t see much of Casey Janssen or Dustin McGowan this year if other guys stay healthy — they’ll likely remain at Triple-A for much of the year. John Thomson and Tomo Ohka are leading the pack of pitchers vying for the Nos. 4-5 rotation spots, with Shaun Marcum nipping at their heals. Marcum could also possibly contend for a long relief role in the bullpen. It’s less likely that Josh Towers would be put into a relief role, and he seems to be a long shot to crack the rotation — though stranger things have happened. After all, he did win 13 games two years ago.

ARBITRATION UPDATE:

Toronto still has three arbitration-eligible players — Alex Rios, Reed Johnson and Scott Downs — left unsigned. One thing to keep in mind is that the Jays haven’t gone to an arb. hearing with a player since 1997. Last night, Jays GM J.P. Ricciardi didn’t have nay updates, except to say:

"Today, we’re probably going [to arbitration] on all three. Tomorrow, we could be getting close to getting a deal done. I don’t really panic on these at all. It’s just a process you have to go through. But, you know what? All three of them will be in Toronto this year playing."

So, no real updates, but any Jays fans still worrying about any pending trade involving Rios or Johnson can let out a sigh of relief. Although, when Toronto added Thomson and Ohka, it seemed very unlikely that the Jays were still aggressively pursuing trades. Ricciardi has said he’d rather add to what’s already in place anyway.

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE CURRENT ROSTER?

If the season started today, here’s what the roster probably would look like. How do you all think it stacks up with others around the league?

Position Players:

1B Lyle Overbay          LF Reed Johnson        C Gregg Zaun
2B Aaron Hill               CF Vernon Wells         C Jason Phillips
SS Royce Clayton         RF Alex Rios
3B Troy Glaus              OF Matt Stairs
UT John McDonald
UT Jason Smith           DH Frank Thomas

Pitchers:

1. Roy Halladay            LR Scott Downs             CL B.J. Ryan
2. A.J. Burnett             LR Shaun Marcum (?)      SU Brandon League
3. Gustavo Chacin        MR Jason Frasor
4. John Thomson          MR Brian Tallet
5. Tomo Ohka              MR Jeremy Accardo

On Tuesday, Toronto reached a preliminary agreement on a one-year deal with free-agent starter Tomo Ohka. The deal is pending a physical, so Jays GM J.P. Ricciardi didn’t want to get into financial specifics until the deal was official. The contract is believed to be worth $1.5 million with another $1.5 million in incentives.

So as it currently stands, Roy Halladay, A.J. Burnett, Gustavo Chacin, John Thomson and Tomo Ohka would make up Toronto’s rotation. Both Thomson and Ohka come with some recent injury history, and both Burnett and Chacin struggled with elbow issues last year, too. So if someone goes down this spring, Shaun Marcum, Josh Towers, Casey Janssen and Dustin McGowan could be in the running for a rotation spot.

Marcum and Towers could also be in the running for a long relief role out of the bullpen. Towers isn’t ideal out of the bullpen, but Marcum has experience as a reliever and a starter, making it very possible that he could take that job. Janssen and McGowan seem destined for Triple-A. Anything can happen during Spring Training, though.

The Thomson and Ohka signings are both low risk deals that could turn out to be bargains for Toronto. If both are over their injuries, they are each capable of making 30 starts and logging 180-200 innings — all for the base price of $3 million combined.

For Ohka and his agent, Jim Masteralexis, run support played a big role in the decision. Ohka has a career ERA of 4.04, but a 48-57 record partly because he’s never pitched for a team with a prolific offense. That shouldn’t be an issue with Toronto, which should have one of the best O’s in all of baseball in 2007.

Ohka was initially looking for a three-year deal and he had a number of two-year offers on the table as recent as Monday. The pitcher and his agent decided instead to focus on one-year offers. That way Ohka can possibly benefit from pitching for a competitive team and once again become a free agent in 2008.

As we inch closer to Spring Training, one thing to look forward to every year is position battles. Last season, Toronto’s roster was pretty much locked in. That’s not the case this year, as there are a few positions that are up in the air.

Here’s a few spots where compeition may heat up:

1. STARTING ROTATION: Obviously, Roy Halladay, A.J. Burnett and Gustavo Chacin are locks. John Thomson has also been given a starting job, which is his to lose this spring, as well. So that leaves the No. 5 spot up for grabs.

Leading candidate: RHP Shaun Marcum — He started for the first time as a rookie last year and impressed Toronto down the stretch.

Other candidates: RHP Casey Janssen, RHP Josh Towers and RHP Dustin McGowan.

2. BULLPEN: Six spots seem set with closer B.J. Ryan, and relievers Brandon League, Jason Frasor, Jeremy Accardo, Scott Downs and Brian Tallet. That leaves one spot open.

Leading candidates: There doesn’t appear to be one pitcher that’s a frontrunner for this job. It could be RHP Francisco Rosario, who is out of options, or LHP Davis Romero, who impressed Toronto last year, but would give the Jays four lefties in the ‘pen.

Darkhorse: RHP Geremi Gonzalez — Toronto manager John Gibbons said recently that Gonzalez could be a candidate for a bullpen job. He’s had a good showing in the Venezuelan Winter League and has Major League experience as a starter and as a reliever. He could provide a veteran arm to an otherwise young bullpen.

3. BACKUP CATCHER: Gregg Zaun signed a two-year deal to be Toronto’s starter and he has a vesting option for 2009 based on games caught. So he’ll garner most of the playing time. But the backup job appears to be a battle between two veterans.

Leading candidate: Jason Phillips appears to be the frontrunner for the job. He spent much of 2006 at Triple-A, but spent some time up with the Jays. One plus with Phillips is he can also be a backup at first base.

Other candidate: Sal Fasano recently signed with the Jays and would like to compete for the backup job. He doesn’t mind playing at Triple-A for Toronto, if needed, though. The reality is that the Jays will likely need a third catcher at some point during ’07 and Toronto’s top catching prospect, Curtis Thigpen, isn’t Major League ready, yet.

4. FOURTH OUTFIELDER: Toronto is set with Reed Johnson, Vernon Wells and Alex Rios in left, center and right, respectively. The fourth outfield job could become a competition this spring, though.

Leading candidate: Matt Stairs — Toronto signed Stairs to a Minor League deal in December with the hope that he could be their fourth outfielder. It seems likely that he’ll make the roster, but as with anything, things could change.

Other candidate: Adam Lind — With Johnson set to play everyday in left, Toronto would prefer to get Lind more at-bats at Triple-A. That doesn’t mean that Lind, who impressed Toronto last season, won’t try to crack the Major League roster. If the Jays wanted to platoon in left, Lind would likely split time with Johnson. That doesn’t appear to be an option at this point, though.

5. UTILITY INFIELDER: Toronto is set around the horn with 3B Troy Glaus, SS Royce Clayton/John McDonald, 2B Aaron Hill and 1B Lyle Overbay. Beyond that, though, the Jays could have a few players vying for a job.

Leading candidate: Jason Smith — Toronto picked Smith up in the Rule 5 Draft, hoping he could emerge as their 25th guy — a player who could provide depth at third, short, second and maybe even first. With Smith, though, third base lacks a true backup for Glaus.

Other candidates: Maybe John Hattig? He was decent in his short stint with the Jays last year and he would provide a switch-hitting option off the bench. Toronto also recently claimed switch-hitting shortstop Ray Olmedo off waivers from the Reds. In all likelihood, though, the super utility infielder job is Smith’s, barring something happening this spring. Russ Adams could also have an outside chance at making the roster. He’s set to start the year at Triple-A and Toronto manager John Gibbons sees him as a second baseman now, but he could play either short or second off the bench. He’ll have to show a lot this spring to have a shot at the Opening Day roster, though.

Of these, the starting rotation, bullpen and catcher jobs appear to be the only ones with competition set to take place. The fourth outfielder and utility infielder jobs appear set, but things could change. It’ll be interesting to see how they all pan out, though.

How do you think it will all play out? And who do you like as the top candidates for these positions?

ON ANOTHER NOTE: Congrats to my hometown Chicago Bears on making it to Super Bowl XLI. Maybe after the big game in two weeks, Chicago can have something else to talk about other than the ’85 Bears. I’m very much looking forward to seeing Manning vs. the Monsters.

Toronto has signed first baseman Lyle Overbay to a four-year deal worth $24 million. Overbay would’ve been eligible to become a free agent after the 2008 season and he likely would’ve garnered a 4-5 year deal on the open market. So securing the 2009-10 seasons in the contract was big for Toronto.

Overbay will make $4.2 million in 2007, including $3.8 million paid as a signing bonus. He is then scheduled to make $5.8 million in 2008 and $7 million in 2009 and 2010. The signing is also good because Overbay might’ve garnered more in 2008 through arbitration.

• The contract for John Thomson has a base salary of $500,000, but it will jump to $1.5 million should he make the Major League roster out of Spring Training. Also, Thomson can make as much as $3.75 million — not the previously reported $4 million — if he can make 34 starts this year. If he makes 30 starts, Thomson would make $2 million and he’d make $2.5 million if he logs 32 starts.

On Tuesday, Toronto signed 33-year-old right-hander John Thomson to a one-year deal worth $500,000. The contract also includes performances bonuses based on starts that could push Thomson’s salary up to around $4 million. Adding Thomson with an incentive-based deal is a good plan for the Jays. Toronto needs to replace the 180-odd innings that left with Ted Lilly’s departure and Thomson notched near or more than 200 innings in each of the 2003-04 seasons with Atlanta.

If he is truly over his history of injury woes — shoulder inflammation that cost him two months last year, a blister on his middle finger that sidelined him earlier in the season, mild elbow soreness near the end of last Spring Training, a more serious finger tendon injury that cost him three months in 2005, and surgery on his rotator cuff in ’99 — then this could be a bargain for Toronto. Should Thomson emerge as the No. 3 starter the Jays have been searching for, the Jays rotation could be in better shape than it was a year ago.

Also, if Thomson can successfully become the No. 3 starter, that would keep lefty Gustavo Chacin as the No. 4, which is where he is probably better suited. Thomson said he was under the impression that he was heading into Spring Training with a job to lose — not to compete for a job.

So if he pitches well, that leaves Shaun Marcum, Casey Janssen, Josh Towers and Dustin McGowan left competing for the last rotation spot. Marcum appears to be the frontrunner. Toronto was impressed with how he finished last season and he was more consistent than the other three pitchers. Toronto GM J.P. Ricciardi has already stated that McGowan will most likely begin at Triple-A (Toronto secured that fourth option year for him). Towers could be a solid fifth starter if he can find his 2005 form, but who knows how likely that is after his 2-10 showing a year ago. Towers and McGowan will have to really show something this spring to realistically have a shot.

OTHER NOTES:

–All Thomson had to say on his conference call today was that a couple of reasons he chose Toronto was that he has been impressed with the outfield defense, which is led by three-time Gold Glover Vernon Wells, and the pitcher liked the prospect of pitching to catcher Gregg Zaun. In fact, Thomson did say both of those things. Thomson added some other unnecessary shots at the Mets and catcher Paul Lo Duca, though. New York was the only club other than Toronto to offer Thomson a Major League contract, but the starter liked what he saw with the Jays better:

"As far as just looking at Paul Lo Duca across the field, I’m not really into how he acts behind the plate," Thomson said. "I know a bit about Gregg Zaun and I know he wants to win and he’s not going to let anything get in his way to do that, and I like that. And then with Vernon Wells in centre field, I’m not really concerned about the outfield with him out there.  . . . Just watching the Mets outfield, if Cliff Floyd is out there it’s not a real good fit for him out there. He can hit the ball but as far as defence, he’s a little shaky. I just liked what’s happening in Toronto."

–The Globe and Mail’s Jeff Blair writes on his blog that, "The Blue Jays will invite [Robbie] Alomar to Toronto this summer to herald his induction onto the team’s Level of Excellence at the Rogers Centre. The club wanted to do it this past season when the Philadelphia Phillies were in town for an interleague series between June 30-July 2 — Phillies general manager Pat Gillick and former president Paul Beeston were to be part of the ceremony — but couldn’t get all the ducks lined up."

—Also on Tuesday, Toronto agreed to terms on a one-year deal worth $825,000 with reliever Jason Frasor, thus avoiding arbitration. Now, Scott Downs, Reed Johnson, Alex Rios and Lyle Overbay remain as the only unsigned arb-eligible players for the Jays. The Blue Jays have talked with the agents for each player and Toronto is considering the possibility of a multi-year deal with Overbay.

–One pitcher to pay attention to this spring is reliever Francisco Rosario. The right-hander is out of options and will be in the running for a bullpen job. Barring injury, B.J. Ryan, Brandon League, Jeremy Accardo, Brian Tallet, Downs and Frasor all appear to be locks for the bullpen. That leaves one open spot, which Toronto manager John Gibbons said could go to either lefty Davis Romero, newly acquired righty Geremi Gonzalez or Rosario. If Romero won the job, Toronto would have four lefties and three righties in the bullpen. If Rosario doesn’t get the job, he’d have to clear waivers before being sent to Triple-A Syracuse.

That’s all for right now. I hope everyone had a good holiday and a happy new year. I’ve booked my flight to Florida, rented my car and got my living arrangements all set up for Spring Training. Now, if only that reporting date could come quicker so I could be down south soaking up the sun.

Stay tuned for more…