Jays interested in Delgado

[rapsfan1231]

No thanks, at this point in his career(especially after the surgery), he is not much of an improvement over randy ruiz... rather just keep the team the way it is and keep a spot available for brett wallace to join the jays...

That's the dumbest rationale. Do you think Wallace is going to come and play 1st right away? If anything, Wallace would have to wait a year or until we deal Overbay.

I say sign Delgado as the DH and move Lind to LF with Bautista serving RF. In fact doing so would essentially facilitate Overbay on his way out quicker.

that's not what i meant, this is about the roster we have going into next season
the starters
Aaron Hill 2B
Adam Lind DH
Travis Snider RF
Vernon Wells CF
Alex Gonzalez SS
Edwin Encarnacion 3B
José Bautista LF
Lyle Overbay 1B
John Buck C
then you would have
Randy Ruiz DH/1B
Raul Chavez C
John McDonald SS

basically what would happen is if you trade overbay for some prospect for example.. you would get ruiz to play 1st OR give a chance to lind to see if thing might work out... Again with brett wallace, i don't expect him to make the team but late in the season, if you leave the spot open for him at 1st base this would allow him to get some MLB experience.... I am just saying the options would be SLIGHTLY better. even something is better than nothing since the team is not going to compete next season... signing an 37 year old guy that's been through a recent surgery, on the verge of retirement is not an option for the jays, for me at least...

[The_Hater]

No thanks, at this point in his career(especially after the surgery), he is not much of an improvement over randy ruiz... rather just keep the team the way it is and keep a spot available for brett wallace to join the jays...

I like these types of deals for 1 reason, you sign Delgado for 1 year on the cheap, Delgado has a solid 1/2 season and suddenly he's trade bait to a contender for prospects. If he doesn't work out than you only lost money. It's a solid rebuilding move and much different than giving an aging Frank Thomas a 2+1 year overpaid deal that had zero upside.

[LBJSeizedMyID]

This is a little bit much don't you think? Sure the team was bad, but Frank Menechino was decidedly not the best anything. Even Wells had 23 homers and a .272 average. I think we'd all take that from him in a second this year.

As for Delgado, I'll never be unhappy to see him in the lineup, but I have no idea why we would need him...we have more than enough 1B/DH candidates at the moment, and with Cito Gaston as our manager it's a stone-cold lock that he'll get far more at-bats than would be prudent, barring injury.

Delgado still had a good batting eye last year, and showed really good power before falling to injury. Again, think of the big picture - if you were a contending team, would you rather want Carlos Delgado on your team or Randy Ruiz? You'll go with the veteran.

Randy Ruiz has shown he could flex the muscle as well, and think he could be a sleeper next year, but let's face it - he's 31 already and has minimal value, and would probably serve most useful as a part time player.

[Schad]

Per Bastian, Delgado isn't in the cards.

[kelso]

Emotionally, I would have loved to see him back with the team. he could have provided some veteran leadership as well. With respect to some of the comments in this thread, I dont see Overbay on this team, or if he is, not for very long. He can`t fit into the short or long term plans of this team. AA will give him away if he can.

[Relentless88]

Is Wallace really going to get called up this season?

[kelso]

Is Wallace really going to get called up this season?

I think I remember AA saying after the trade that none of the 3 guys are going to be rushed, but that Wallace could be one of the first call ups. I think we have nothing to lose by having the guy there and he has a plus bat, so its not like we suffer at the plate with a Wallace for Overbay exchange- I think Wallace is already a better option at the plate. Overbay has done nothing for a few years.

[Modern_epic]

Overbay has done a fair bit 2 of the past 3 years; just only against RHP. A 1B who can hit both handed pitchers sure would be nice.

[LBJSeizedMyID]

Right now Overbay is blocking Wallace, so he'll start in the minors, which isn't bad at all. Let him build some confidence and bring him up when he's absolutely ready. Out of the 3 we got in the deal, he's the most likely to get called up first.

[LieCheatSteal]

Just a comment about rebuilding (somewhat related to the Delgado situation):

Rebuilding in baseball isn't like playing all your prospects at the major league level and seeing who sinks or swims (like, let's say, hockey). First of all, you really don't want to rush a prospect in baseball because they need to learn to play pro ball. Brendan Morrow is a prime example. If he just took some more time in the system and learned how to play professionally instead of being rushed up to stick it to fans who clamoured for Lincecum, he would be a much more polished pitcher with a more defined position. Instead, years later, he's still waivering between starting and relieving. Ditto for a guy like Alex Gordon from the Royals. Lastings Milledge with the Nats too. Secondly, for a "small" market team like Toronto, you really want to control their "clocks" on their free agency. Bringing them up too quickly and initially struggling would hurt because when they starting playing well years from their debut, they would be eligible for free agency (hello Yankees). This is a flaw for a league with no salary cap and this is the only way a "small" or an unattractive market for free agents like Toronto has to cope. This is what Tampa did with Evan Longoria 2 years ago before he agreed to sign a more manageable contract with them. Thirdly, rushing a young player up and having him struggle before sending them down would hurt a developing player's confidence, sometimes permanently. The Royals are the worst offenders for rushing players up. How many years have we've seen the Royals being mentioned as a "young and up-and-coming" team, only to see their young players completely suck and some never be the same (Luke Hochevar?)? Fourthly, I believe that a player needs to earn playing time. You just can't give a player a position and believe he will do well. He has to beat someone out. The best young players are the ones that have beaten an older player out of a position.

So, back to Delgado. Yes, his signing (or the concept of a vet signing for a short term deal) would block Wallace but it might be for the best for the reasons stated above. The Jays are miles from contending so why rush Wallace now? Why not sign a vet to a cheap, short term deal and have Wallace play at AAA? If Wallace plays well at AAA, then you either release the vet (and bite the bullet on his salary) or, if he plays well, trade him and get more assets. You don't want to bestow a position onto anyone.

[Avenger]

Delgado is not gonna block Wallace if its a one year deal, i am 100% sure that the Jays won't be calling up Wallce this year, they'll be looking to extend his service time as long as possible.