Since the 1993 season the Toronto Blue Jays have been average at best. However after offseason trades, which resulted in the acquisition of R.A. Dickey Josh Johnson Mark Buehrle and Jose Reyes, the Jays' expectations are the highest since their back to back World Series championships in 92-93. Despite all of their great additions this offseason, I am not convinced that they will be participating in October for the World Championship. They are competing in a division which all five teams are legit contenders, the Yankees are always good, the Orioles won the wild card, the Rays have proven to be very good the past three years and you can never count out the Red Sox. The Blue Jays have improved, but in order to survive the 162 game grind of the AL East they need to fill one more huge gap in their lineup.
The projected lineup for this year under the current roster
The projected lineup for this year under the current roster
1. Jose Reyes SS
2. Melky Cabrera LF
3. Jose Bautista RF
4. Edwin Encarnacion DH
5. Brett Lawrie 3B
6. Colby Rasmus CF
7. Adam Lind 1B
8. J.C. Arencibia C
9. Emilio Bonifacio 2B
The Jay’s offense will live and die by Jose Reye’s ability to set the table and the middle of the lineup's ability to drive him in. I expect Melky to return to a .270 batting average, after he flushes the steroids out of his system, and look for the young star Brett Lawrie to have a breakout season protecting Encarnacion. Injuries have plagued Rasmus, but if he stays healthy he can easily hit .270 which would be a big help to Adam Lind giving him RBI opportunities and forcing pitchers to pitch to him. Arencibia is a young catcher who hasn't shown much offensive potential but will be appreciated for his ability to play defense and to control the pitching staff.
That leaves the second basemen, or lack there of. Emilio Bonifacio is an outfielder that has the ability to play infield, and scouts have reported that he does not grade out well as an infielder. Of Bonafacio’s eight seasons he has only played more than one hundred games twice, and he has only batted over .265 once. He is a great guy to have off the bench to give a manager flexibility with substitutions, but he has not proven that he can play second base everyday at the caliber needed to win a world championship.
Good thing for the Blue Jays, Freddy Sanchez is unsigned in free agency. Sanchez sat out the entire 2012 season, but the ten-year veteran has a career batting average .297 and is a very respectable defensive player. If the Blue Jays were able to sign him it would create a one two punch with Jose Reyes at the top of the lineup that may be the best in baseball. Adding the fact that Jose Bautista follows is down right scary.
The Blue Jays front office is going all in this year, and Freddy Sanchez should be the last piece to help them make a splash in the most competitive division in baseball.
My prediction, the Blue Jays will make a serious run at Freddy Sanchez, and if he proves to be too expensive they will go after Rickey Weeks near the trade deadline to help fill the gap in their lineup.
-Blake Dale Lepire
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