John McDonald signs two-year deal

[joeyt618]

Looks like Johnny Mac's daily highlight reel plays have earned him a new two-year contract worth $3.8 million.

Link: http://toronto.bluejays.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20070911&content_id=2201598&vkey=news_tor&fext=.jsp&c_id=tor

I actually don't mind seeing him our everyday SS for next year, provided he brings similar offensive numbers like this year. A .250 hitter batting ninth is excusable, and his defensive skills surely make up for it.

[TR50]

i also am happy, subtly happy we have Mac back to man SS.....he deserves every penny....i guess

[Holmes]

MacDonald is a great backup shortstop. But he should just be that. There's a reason the Rey Ordonez's of the world are few and far between.

If our offense is any indication of what we will get next year then we desperately need contributions from every position we can get. We'll sour on a .240 hitting MacDonald in 2008 faster than you can say Ol'MacDonald.

[Geddy]

Hopefully next season when the rest of the team is hitting the way they should, we won't really care about if he is hitting .250

[TR50]

Hopefully next season when the rest of the team is hitting the way they should, we won't really care about if he is hitting .250

probably what riccardi is thinking, god i hope he's right even though he's not what we need

[tsherkin]

I'm exceptionally happy that he's been re-signed; this isn't a team-killing deal and he's a fantastic fielder. He's not particularly great as a hitter but he's pretty clutch. For example, if Gibbons hadn't crapped his brain in the 9th when he pulled Halladay, we might have won a game that he was involved in offensively.

We still need more contact hitting and speed in our lineup but Mac's a nice retention.

[mini]

So I guess we are out of the A-Rod sweepstakes?

[Raptorsrock]

J.P. is an idiot.

I'm glad Johnny Mac got paid as he's a good dude. But there was no reason for this contract.

His a 32 year old career journey man who has a lifetime avg. of .240 and hit less than 5 HRs a year. probably not a lot of teams lining up to sign him.

I can't wait for the day JP is fired. We're going no where with him as the gm

[Michael Bradley]

J.P. is an idiot.

I'm glad Johnny Mac got paid as he's a good dude. But there was no reason for this contract.

His a 32 year old career journey man who has a lifetime avg. of .240 and hit less than 5 HRs a year. probably not a lot of teams lining up to sign him.

I can't wait for the day JP is fired. We're going no where with him as the gm

My thoughts exactly.

Ray Olmedo is a better option than McDonald moving forward. Seriously, there's a pretty good chance that McDonald finishes the year with an OPS below .600. He's not Ozzie Smith where his defense is so great that it negates his bat (and Smith was WAY better with the bat than McDonald).

If McDonald is the starting SS next season, the season is already over. Horrible move.

[Holmes]

-= original quote snipped =-
If McDonald is the starting SS next season, the season is already over. Horrible move.

With current management more seasons will continue to be over until there is change.

[OldNo7]

I like that we resigned him, but much like the Thomas situation last summer - why come to the table and offer to overpay someone by that much? Are you telling me there were other teams who would have offered him that contract when he became a free agent? Highly doubtful.

[Geddy]

I wonder if we could have landed a guy like Bill Hall in the off season via a trade. He was one of the key parts in the Brewers' resurgence last season and he has good potential.

He has struggled a lot this season because he's coming off an injury, so his stock would have been low. He has put up big numbers in the past and is decent in the field.

I think JP just has this ego thing where he wants to stick with players that he chooses, or he thinks are good, just to better his name as a 'smart GM'.

[asif9t9]

This is a tough one. I obviously like Johnny Mac like everyone else. I mean, his D is jawdropping. But this is a Leaf move. It's where the GM re-signs a player and tells us he's happy with the player, but forgets the fact we're destined to finish third in the division again. This is NOT a winning team. If this was the NHL or NBA, we'd be in the playoff hunt. But in MLB, we're nothing. We need to get better....not stay the same.

I don't knock Johnny Mac. I'm knocking JP for actually being satisfied with this year. JP is already thinking about the "what ifs" for next year. What if Vernon doesn't suck. What if Lyle learns how to hit clutch. This is a total treadmill move.

[beater97]

Well I wouldn't say this is a bad move, but at the same time I wouldn't say its a great move. My reasoning, as someone mentioned before is that there probably wouldn't be too many teams looking to sign him and I doubt anyone would've given him that kind of money. On the other hand it is great to have one player on the bench like him. If JP signed him to be the starter for next year I wouldn't be too happy about that but I don't think that is going to be the case.

[fliszt25]

Terrible move. I'm glad to see that some others agree.

SS is one of the offensive areas we need to improve in. I like Johnny Mac as a role player and his D is great, but sigining him to what looks like bonus money that says: 'now you're the everyday shortstop' is just ridiculous.

I also agree that we should be trying out Olmedo a bit more. I just don't understand the management of this team. We're out of the race and management still insists on playing Johnny Mac everyday.

This team is destined for long-term mediocrity under the present circumstances.