It's that time of the year again: opening day for spring training. (yay!) Today, pitchers and catchers officially report to camp to undertake their physicals. Obviously, the most significant change with Jays this season is no Roy Halladay. While my heart is certainly heavy without seeing the good doctor in camp, I'm also excited at the prospect of seeing the young guns in the Jays organization get a shot to take the reigns this season.
Many observers have commented at the fact that GM Alex Anthopoulos seems to have gone out of his way to acquire pitching depth and thus, should be in a position to trade that depth for more hitting power.
However, pulling the trigger on a move like this would be haphazard and reckless. The abundance of depth in the Jays bullpen is needed now more than ever and AA's best move should be to turn off his blackberry and stand pat for now.
With the starting rotation appearing as though it will consist of a mixture of young arms and players returning from injury, one would have to assume that at least, in the early going, the Jays won't be looking at these players to pitch late into games.
This is where the plethora of pitching depth in the bullpen is most valuable: If the young pitchers can give the club 6 innings of work and allow the Jays to stay in the game, imagine what the stability that a bullpen consisting of Downs, Frasor, and Gregg could bring to the table. Having these veteran pitchers come in to pitch the 7th, 8th, and 9th to close out a game could give the Jays an extra 10-15 wins this season.
Most would say that because Downs and Frasor make a combined $6.5 million this season, that now is the time that the Jays should dump this salary and get some hitting prospects in return.
The time to make this move isn't now though. Perhaps nearing the trade deadline, if the Jays starting staff have round into shape or other relief pitchers prove that they can pitch well (Jeremy Accardo, for example), then that would be the time to re-evaluate whether or not some of the pitching depth could be moved out to help the team. Until then, I'm more than happy to keep all of the veteran pitching in the bullpen regardless of their salary. Those without options should be sent to Triple AAA, knowing that with an injury or a bad start to the season, they are just a call-up away.
Who makes the Jays' opening day pitching rotation? The Toronto Sports Guys will save that for another blog. Until then, we would love for you to comment on who you think should take the five starting rotation spots and the seven spots in the bullpen.
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