JP, on the FAN today, talked a lot about the makeup of the roster. I won't bore y'all with comments about who the 25th man will be (JP said it was Jason Smith "right now") or who has the inside track on the backup C (Phillips), but one thing he said did strike me - he said that Stairs would be the 4th Outfielder as well as the lefty bat off the bench (presumably, he will be hitting for the SS anytime late in the game with a righty pitching)
I am a bit concerned about entering the season, though, with Stairs as the only backup outfielder. Even though presumably Lind will be called up if there is any serious, long-term injury, unlike the 25th man, the 4th OF usually gets 30-40 or so full games a year, just from different players being banged up for a day or two. You can't effectively use Cuse as your 26th roster spot because of the call up/drop down rules (must wait 10 days after sending a player down before you can bring him back up again) and, while Stairs might be adequate at the plate, I am pretty concerned about him playing as much as 1/4 of a season in the OF. I'd like to see them pick up another capable outfielder.
My first suggestion would be this: Cleveland wants McDonald and they want bullpen help, the Jays have McDonald but don't really need him with Olmedo around and have plenty of pitchers, so why not trade McDonald and perhaps a spare pitcher for Shin-Soo Choo. Choo has been made pretty expendable by the Nixon and Delucci pickups in Cleveland, they just resigned Michaels as well, and I think Choo could be great as a platoon partner for Johnson and as a 4th OF. Remember, Reed was great against righties last season but has not always been so in the past.
What do you all think? Is this feasable, and would it help the team? I think it would, but my only concern is that a move like this would block Lind. That said, isn't it better to have too many options than too few?
Another option would be getting Adams an outfield mitt and attempting to groom him to be the next Catalanotto. JP said today that Adams will start at Syracuse at 2B and that he and Hill could be a double-play combo in 2008. I just don't see that happening though, the Jays moving Hill to SS after this year.