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Money aside for now, would the acquisition of Young make baseball sense for the Jays?

There's a solid argument to be made that he could. The most pertinent point is that Young could fill the team's current hole at third base, which would allow the club to shift Jose Bautista back to his preferred position in right field. Travis Snider would then be slotted into left field, with the speedy Rajai Davis patrolling centre field.

The infield would be offensively productive with Adam Lind and Aaron Hill on the right-side and Yunel Escobar and Young on the left.

Young's reputation as being a solid clubhouse presence would also be a plus for a largely young group of hitters. He can hit for average and power, and while his defense isn't great, he did capture a Gold Glove award in 2008 and perhaps some of his lack of range could be covered by Escobar.

Naysayers of the deal would point to the fact that Young's advanced age means that he does not fit into what the Jays are attempting to do. Maybe so, but if the club wants to seriously compete in the American League East in the next few seasons, they're going to need to get an established player or two. Simply put, the Jays could do a lot worse than Young.

Relentless88 wrote:Pass from the Jays. He is a decent hitter, but not great as some think (.774 OPS was lower than Napoli's last season). He's also old and owed a LOT of money.

The Rangers don't want to give him away, but a team that takes in that contract won't really be willing to offer up good value for him.

Opportunity cost is a favourite expression of Toronto Blue Jays general manager Alex Anthopoulos.

It is a fitting idea to keep in mind for those who suggest he move heaven and earth to acquire disgruntled third baseman Michael Young from the Texas Rangers, an idea floated in many corners before.

For those not in the know, here is the short version of the events in Texas: the Rangers signed free agent Adrian Beltre, costing Young his position and eventually leaving the career .300 hitter feeling “misled and manipulated.”

In Toronto, Young could play third for now and shift 2010 home run champion Jose Bautista back to his preferred position, right field.

Assume for the moment that Young, a former Blue Jays draft pick traded to Texas in 2000 as part of the ill-advised Esteban Loaiza deal, would approve the deal.

Young’s contract has a partial no-trade clause and the Blue Jays are not one of the eight teams he can be sent to without consent.

Also assume that the three years and US$48-million left on Young’s contract is no obstacle for a Blue Jays team with, more or less, no long-term, big money contracts on the books.

Those two huge assumptions aside, a Young trade still presents problems for the Blue Jays.

If it were a case of the Rangers simply wanting to dump their version of Vernon Wells’ contract and the Blue Jays could send any old thing down Texas way (“Oh, hi Juan Rivera. Didn’t see you in the corner over there. Welcome to Dunedin. Don’t unpack.”), Anthopoulos might be well advised to hit up Rangers GM Jon Daniels for another deal faster than you can say Frank Francisco.

rocket2981 wrote:Young is light years away from Napoli as a hitter, OPS is not the be-all-end-all stat.