Toronto Blue Jays

2010 Record: 85-77, 4th Place
Manager: John Farrell

Notable Acquisitions: OF Juan Rivera, RP Octavio Dotel, RP Jon Rauch, RP Carlos Villanueva, RP Frank Francisco, OF Rajai Davis, OF Scott Podsednik, 2B Brett Lawrie

Notable Departures: OF Vernon Wells, SP Shaun Marcum, C John Buck, RP Scott Downs, RP Kevin Gregg, RP Jeremy Accardo, 1B Lyle Overbay, RP Brian Tallet

 

2011 Outlook: The Blue Jays went inside the AL East to replace Cito Gaston, bringing in former Red Sox pitching coach John Farrell as their new manager. Unloading Wells’ bloated contract this offseason could be considered one of the best moves of the winter across baseball, but the team then turned around and signed 3B Jose Bautista to a lucrative contract extension coming off his breakout 2010 campaign. The bullpen looks to have been significantly upgraded and is now deep with pitchers who have closing experience. Young catcher J.P. Arencibia is a potential Rookie of the Year candidate and the door is open for significant playing time with John Buck leaving via free agency this offseason. If only the Blue Jays could switch to another division,. Then they may be able to contend for a playoff spot.

 

Three Blue Jays To Watch In 2011 (with 2010 Stats)


1. 3B Jose Bautista (.260, 54 HR, 124 RBI)- Bautista came out of nowhere with a power surge last season, and the Blue Jays are betting on him maintaining somewhere close to that level since they signed him to a five-year, $65 million contract extension prior to spring training. He had 59 career home runs prior to last season, so Toronto made a fairly risky move that could hurt them big if Bautista can’t produce down the road. With the departure of Vernon Wells, he can be considered the face of the Blue Jays’ franchise now. It will be interesting to see how he handles the extra pressure and attention.

2. C J.P. Arencibia (.143 in 35 at-bats)- Arencibia hit two home runs in his first major league game last season, but those were the only two home runs he hit in his brief stint with the Blue Jays. With John Buck using his career year in 2010 to sign a three-year deal with the Florida Marlins, the starting job is Arencibia’s to lose right now. He hit 53 home runs over the last two seasons at Triple-A, so he should add to an already fairly powerful Toronto lineup if he can prove he is ready for a full-time role in the big leagues. Regardless, the 2007 first-round pick is a star in the making and this could be the year he begins to show it.

3. OF Travis Snider (.255, 14 HR, 32 RBI)- Snider is slated to be the Blue Jays starting right fielder this season with Bautista moving permanently to third base. Snider's spring got off to a bad start as he pulled a ribcage muscle while playing golf, but he is getting closer to returning to game action and the injury should not be an issue going forward. Snider missed a lot of time with a sprained right wrist last season, but finished strong (.353, 5 HR, 8 RBI over his final 12 games of the season) and has shown nice power potential during his time in the minors. Still just 23 years old, this could be the year things come together for the 14th overall pick in 2006.


2011 Prediction: 4th Place

Photo:  Keith Allison, Creative Commons 2.0