Frank Thomas a Blue Jay(???)

by slitheringslider on Nov 16, 2006 3:00 AM EST in News Comment 6 comments

According to various reports (mlb.com, espn.com, Globe and Mail), the Jays are about to sign Frank Thomas to a 2-year deal worth between $20-$30million dollars with a club option for a 3rd. After not hearing much news from the Blue Jays camp thus far this offseason, this is certainly a huge splash. A healthy Thomas would certainly add a huge presence in our lineup that already inclues Glaus, Wells, and Rios, and would add the the murderer's row of hard hitting righties in the middle of our lineup.

What are everyone's thought on this? Personally, I think if Thomas can stay healthy, $10-$15mil/yr might actually be a bargain. Thomas has been a hitting machine all his life and I feel like he will continue to be into his 40s, his certain will certainly be felt in the Blue Jays' lineup. Kudos to J.P. for acting early and making a big splash in the free-agent market.

Now, we just have to wait for the official news. More on this later.

Update [2006-11-16 13:9:11 by Alpheus Chan]:

Latest report from The Globe and Mail says that the contract is $18mil/2yr with an option for a 3rd year that makes the contract $30mil in total. $9mil/yr sounds a lot better than $12mil/yr, this deal sounds better by the second.

0 recs | Comment 6 comments

Story-email Email Printer Print

Comments

I have a few thoughts about this

There is more money to work with than I would have thought. I don't see JP doing this move and then going into next season with MacDonald and Phillips-types at SS and C. I hope there is still some money for a starter, a middle-infield type, and Zaun. Will Adams be given another shot to win the everyday SS job? The price may be right and money will surely be a consideration, even though...
Cat won't be back, and Lind will see lots of time in the outfield. The Jays must believe he can passably play left and is ready to contribute everyday offensively against RHP.
The Jays think Glaus is still healthy enough to play 3rd every day for the next two seasons (this is especially true since Thomas is a righty).
The Jays become very righty-centric (Rios, Wells, Glaus, Thomas, Hill), but their 1-6 looks pretty scary.
The Jays may look to trade some of their talent for a middle-infielder, catcher, or starting pitcher, rather than seeking to sign free agents like Zaun, Lilly/Padilla/Mulder, and Lugo. I don't think it is forgone that the Jays won't sign Lugo, but it will stretch their budget and they will probably have to make a deal for one of these other players. Letting Cat and Speier walk for vastly less-well-compesated players will make up for some of this, though.

"Let us go forth awhile, and get better air in our lungs. Let us leave our closed rooms... The game of ball is glorious." - Walt Whitman

by hugo on Nov 16, 2006 10:51 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

Re:

With the free-agent class being so weak, the best option to plug all the holes in the Blue Jays team is just to trade Vernon Wells. If the right package come along, as much as I love VW, I wouldn't mind seeing J.P. pull the trigger.

by slitheringslider on Nov 16, 2006 12:04 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Reed Johnson

If Reed Johnson remains, how do the Jays sit him for the now-AB-less Adam Lind?

The Thomas signing definitely looks like it blocks Lind until Reed is solved.

Fake Teams - a Fellow SBNation blog!

by Fake Teams on Nov 16, 2006 1:36 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Platoon

Just like last year, Lind will take Catalanotto's at-bats, and will spell Thomas when he needs a rest, which will be often.

by slitheringslider on Nov 16, 2006 4:24 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Spending the money wisely?

Do we have enough money to spread out still for our other important needs? That is the key question, because last time I looked we had a pretty good hitting lineup already. Don't get me wrong I think adding Thomas would make us lethal and if it's within reason I'm for it. I don't think he's worth 12/Mil per year as was initially reported (2 years/23MIL). I would really like to see the Jays resign Lilly as it would keep the chemistry and he's a solid #3 starter. If not Padilla or Mulder would be attractive or how bout Tom Glavine at bargain? A solid middle reliever would be great but I don't think that's available through free agency. Possibly a trade there. I also think if we put the money towards Lugo it'd be better than Thomas. Another thing is what type of message is this we are sending to Vernon? I think no matter what we can't trade him before the year. He's the leader. We can win this year. I truly believe Vernon wants to win more than play in Texas. If we are willing to pay him 15/Mil a year around there at the end I think he'll come back because we have a better oppurtunity to win then Texas. Although Texas and even Anaheim could easily top us in a bidding war. Just some thoughts there, hopefully JP is spreading the wealth.

by bluejayleaffan on Nov 17, 2006 2:57 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

This Deal

Looks a lot better now than it did when it took place. However, with that said, the main concern isn't whether Frank will produce, but whether he'll stay healthy.

by mark w on Dec 8, 2006 3:43 PM EST reply actions 0 recs