Cito Doesn't Expect Rod Barajas Back

[zilby]

Blue Jays manager Cito Gaston doesn't expect soon-to-be free agent catcher Rod Barajas to return to the club next season.

Barajas was surprised by Gaston's prediction.

"I don't know why someone would assume that," Barajas told the Toronto Sun. "I don't think I've had any issues in the clubhouse, I've never said anything negative to pretty much anybody. I enjoy it here, I have fun here and I don't see any reason for someone to make that assumption about me coming back. ...

"He's probably had some talks with some people and they've come to that conclusion. If it was up to me, I'd love to come back. Maybe they don't want me back."

When asked why he felt as though Barajas was a goner, Gaston replied: "He's a free agent. Has he given me the impression he's not coming back? I don't think anyone has tried to sign him, so he's going to be out there."

Toronto has decided to hold off on any free agent discussions until after the season.

http://baseball.realgm.com/src_wiretap_ ... g_in_2010/

not surprised.

[tsherkin]

Hmm. How polite of Cito, lol. Ah well, I guess that means they're looking at bringing Philips or Arencibia onto the roster, right?

[zilby]

Hmm. How polite of Cito, lol. Ah well, I guess that means they're looking at bringing Philips or Arencibia onto the roster, right?

then yogi was right and chavez is gonna be on the team next year. cool

[tsherkin]

Don't take my word as gospel, lol, I'm making pure conjecture. Chavez would be neat, yeah; he's got a good arm, seems to have a good command on holding baserunners, and he's not a bad hitter, so that's solid.

I like Rod, but this seems a natural move.

[Schad]

Chavez is a bad hitter. He's a failure wrapped in a tragedy wrapped in a double play. And there are younger items on display at any given Museum of Natural History.

[tsherkin]

Well, if he's a bad hitter, I haven't seen it when I've watched, and it's not showing in the stats. It's a miniscule sample size, but he's hitting almost .270 right now. Of course, that's in-line with his historical trends... hits .260 or so unless he gets above 100 PAs. Of course, this is his largest PA sample in any single season, so that's something worth noting, too. He may have improved. Last year with Pittsburgh, he hit .259 over 122 PAs.

.260+ is not a "bad" hitter, not for a guy who's going to be in the arse-end of our lineup, Schad. HE may take bad hacks from time to time and he may not have the discerning eye of an Evan Longoria or Joe Mauer, but he's not killing us like Bautista and he's noticeably better than Barajas.

[Bam-Bam Bigelow]

.260+ is not a "bad" hitter, not for a guy who's going to be in the arse-end of our lineup, Schad. HE may take bad hacks from time to time and he may not have the discerning eye of an Evan Longoria or Joe Mauer, but he's not killing us like Bautista and he's noticeably better than Barajas.

His on base percentage is under .300, thats a bad hitter. Soto, Varitek, Laird for example are hitting under .220, but still have an obp of .300 or more. As bad as Barajas has been his OPS is still about .30 points higher then Chavez.

[tsherkin]

Excuse me? Barajas' OBP is .270 and he's hitting .238. We're talking point of comparison here, right?

Yeah, he's not drawing walks well, but he's also not striking out that frequently compared to league average. His K% is only 12.7% this year (11.5% last year) against league average of 17.9%. Yeah, his BB& is like a third of league average and that's terrible, but Barajas strikes out more frequently and barely walks any more frequently (+1%).

So maybe I underestimated how much his inability to draw walks costs him as an average hitter, and maybe his baBIP is overstating his BA this year a little, but certainly by point of comparison with Barajas (who is terrible at the plate), we'd rather have Chavez.

EDIT: Also, Barajas is 33, he's not exactly a spring chicken himself, so a comment about Chavez's age seems out of place unless he asks for a ridiculous sum of money.

[Avenger]

good riddance, JP Arencibia for all his flaws could come in and do a better job than Barajas.

[Mustard_Tiger]

Cito needs to learn to keep his mouth shut, I think.

[Michael Bradley]

Chavez is horrendous. Even counting this season (which is by far his best season with at least 100 PA), his career numbers are .233/.267/.307. John McDonald has better career numbers (just barely). He is simply a bad player anyway you slice it.

Barajas at least hits the occasional home run, but even Rod can't get on base to save his life (.271 OBP this season, .286 for his career). Just our luck, the "catcher of the future" looks like he might turn into Barajas with more power too (JPA).

Where is Gregg Zaun when you need him? Noodle arm be damned, at least he could hit.

[tsherkin]

Honestly, I think I'd rather have the arm behind the plate than the hitting ability; it's nice to see Chavez making runners think twice, and even occasionally catching them. I'd be much more content with replacing Rolen's bat (*crosses fingers that Encarnacion doesn't suck next year*) and upgrading out in right (or waiting for Snider to become a hitter instead of a swinger).

[Bam-Bam Bigelow]

Excuse me? Barajas' OBP is .270 and he's hitting .238. We're talking point of comparison here, right?

Yeah, he's not drawing walks well, but he's also not striking out that frequently compared to league average. His K% is only 12.7% this year (11.5% last year) against league average of 17.9%. Yeah, his BB& is like a third of league average and that's terrible, but Barajas strikes out more frequently and barely walks any more frequently (+1%).

So maybe I underestimated how much his inability to draw walks costs him as an average hitter, and maybe his baBIP is overstating his BA this year a little, but certainly by point of comparison with Barajas (who is terrible at the plate), we'd rather have Chavez.

EDIT: Also, Barajas is 33, he's not exactly a spring chicken himself, so a comment about Chavez's age seems out of place unless he asks for a ridiculous sum of money.

I wasn't saying Barajas has been good, just pointing out how Chavez is a horrible hitter. Jays have bigger problems then the catching position though. Corner Of, 3b and DH if you wanna keep Lind in LF.

[tsherkin]

Yeah, and I was mostly saying that I'd rather have Chavez than Barajas at this point, though obviously Rod is making a case at the moment against the Tigers, lol.