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Well I don't think there is any doubt at this point in anyone's mind that Aaron Hill's ability to play replacement level baseball is done. At least for the Jays, maybe moving to another team with another hitting coach may help him, but it's certainly not happening here. If the Jays want to compete next year they can't bring Hill and his -0.3 WAR back.

There's no real internal answer unless Hechavarria starts making large strides as a hitter and we can move Yunel to 2B.

There isn't a lot on the free agent market, but there are guys who would be a clear upgrade or stopgaps.

Jamey Caroll- He's 37 but his stats are about as consistent as you can imagine. No power, good OBP, .700 OPS year in and year out. His defense career wise has been decent, this year he's not faring as well. As a stopgap he's a decent option.

Kelly Johnson - He would cost money because of his past performance. He's having a **** year but there's no doubt he'd be a big upgrade over Hill. Looking through his numbers, his LD% has dropped slightly but on the whole most his numbers are similar. Except for contact rates which have really dropped. He's missing 10% more pitches inside the strike zone than he did last year. I haven't seen much of him so I could not tell you what's happening there.

Marco Scutaro - He's decent defensively,he gets on base ok, he hits lefties and righties the same. If we're not spending money, I would be fine bringing Scutaro back for a year.

rarefind wrote:can't lawrie go back to 2nd?

No. He was moved because he cant play 2B.

rarefind wrote:can't lawrie go back to 2nd?

I know you're being sarcastic but waaay too many people think that's an actual possibility. Although it should decrease quickly after watching him at 3rd (I think he'll stick but he's never going to be much more than average).

John MacDonald.
cheap.
good on D.
will bat 9th in the order.
upgrade 1/2 through the season if need be,

YogiStewart wrote:John MacDonald.
cheap.
good on D.
will bat 9th in the order.
upgrade 1/2 through the season if need be,

No...... i was all for him being our starting SS before we signed Gonzalez, like many Jays fans... but he is not a starter, period. Jays will get a gold glove caliber defender, but his offense is non existent. Great leader though.

Im all for bringing back Marco Scutaro.... probably wouldnt cost much either.

YogiStewart wrote:John MacDonald.
cheap.
good on D.
will bat 9th in the order.
upgrade 1/2 through the season if need be,

Not good enough for a team trying to compete. Yes he's good on D, but he's best as a bench player. His offense is non existent. If he could get on base like Jamey Caroll he would have some value but he's no better than Aaron Hill as a hitter.

Other stopgaps (like Scutaro) would be cheaper and better.

if we're going for it next year.... i want hanley or reyes to come play 2nd

The problem is that the other AL east teams have great players at 2B.

It's hard enough to compete as it is without having Aaron Hill matching up with Cano/Pedroia/Zobrist. If the Red Sox manage to land Reyes, it's gonna be damn, damn hard to beat them for the next 4-5 years.

Reyes. He is both a leadoff hitter and middle infielder. If we think about it for a moment, it will become obvious: the only hole on the Jays team is 2B. Every other position has a legit player and prospects coming in behind. At 2B we have no major league player, and no prospects anywhere in the system.

augustine wrote:Reyes. He is both a leadoff hitter and middle infielder. If we think about it for a moment, it will become obvious: the only hole on the Jays team is 2B. Every other position has a legit player and prospects coming in behind. At 2B we have no major league player, and no prospects anywhere in the system.

Reyes will not move to 2B for the Jays.... he will have teams lining up for his services at SS.... if the Jays got him, Escobar would be the new 2B.

however, Reyes is rumored to want Jayson Worth type money.... ouch ........ might as well try for Prince Fielder then

In terms of price/performance, Scutaro is the best option.

number15 wrote:Reyes will not move to 2B for the Jays.... he will have teams lining up for his services at SS.... if the Jays got him, Escobar would be the new 2B.

however, Reyes is rumored to want Jayson Worth type money.... ouch ........ might as well try for Prince Fielder then

I am happy with Escobar at 2B.

Who does our team need more, Reyes or Fielder? Does a Fielder upgrade over Lind/Cooper/McDade really seem a lot higher than a Reyes upgrade over Hill/?/?. Fielder gives maybe 10-15 more HR's than Lind in a year, and a similar batting average. Reyes is hitting .100 better than Hill, and gives us more HR's as well, and is a leadoff type hitter.

Reyes is also a huge injury risk though. Personally, I'd feel better investing money in Fielder (and then signing a guy like Scutaro).

Johnny Mac is a better hitter than Hill.

augustine wrote:

number15 wrote:Reyes will not move to 2B for the Jays.... he will have teams lining up for his services at SS.... if the Jays got him, Escobar would be the new 2B.

however, Reyes is rumored to want Jayson Worth type money.... ouch ........ might as well try for Prince Fielder then

I am happy with Escobar at 2B.

Who does our team need more, Reyes or Fielder? Does a Fielder upgrade over Lind/Cooper/McDade really seem a lot higher than a Reyes upgrade over Hill/?/?. Fielder gives maybe 10-15 more HR's than Lind in a year, and a similar batting average. Reyes is hitting .100 better than Hill, and gives us more HR's as well, and is a leadoff type hitter.

IMO we need Fielder/Pujols more than Reyes. We need a legit power bat to bat behind Bautista in the order. Reyes is nice and is a clear upgrade at 2B, but IMO we don't need to spend THAT much for a second basemen.

2B isn't a premier offensive position. We just need someone to play solid D, and provide .700 OPS. We would have a pretty dangerous lineup featuring Escobar/Rasmus/Bautista/Fielder/Lawrie...with Lind/Arencibia/Thames/Snider rounding that out. Lind has proven to be inconsistent and not a dependable bat in the lineup. At 1st base, we need premium production from someone that has done it year in year out. That would be Fielder or Pujols.

Scutaro makes a lot of sense. He's already been here and had success. Could move to 2B where he'd play solid defense, and also isn't a terrible hitter like Hill.

Of course in an ideal world we sign both Fielder and Reyes and then trade for Josh Johnson (or some other ace).

I like the idea of bringing back Scutaro. He's solid defensively and he's a decent hitter.

If the Jays can add one of Fielder/Pujols to play 1B and Scutaro to play 2B, I'd be fine with that. The fact that Scutaro would be a .100+ increase in OPS over what the Jays have at 2B now is sad.

i'm okay with scutaro for a stop gap, but then spend the money on Fielder and move Lind back to LF

SS Escobar (R)
CF Rasmus (L)
RF Bautista (R)
1B Fielder (L)
DH Encarnacion (R)
LF Lind (L)
3B Lawrie (R)
C Arencibia (R)
2B Scutaro (R)

oh really, youd be okay with the jays signing Pujols to play at first base? Interesting