With the comments from Richard Griffin on what he'd do if he were GM of the Jays, wonder what people in the Jays community would do if they were GM?
I have 2 schools of thought on this one, but will post the most fun one...I'd have to put together a strong business plan to Teddy Rogers for the extra cash, but with NYY falling, Boston not as dominant as in the past and TB being new to winning (who knows what they'll do next year), the AL East is at it's most vulnerable right now!
1. Let AJ Burnett walk, he's a nice to have as a # 2 but with Marcum/McGowan behing Doc we're still pretty strong, hoping Purcey can improve in his 2nd year leaves only 1 hole.
2. The BIGGEST move would be to make a deal with the devil (Scott Boras) and sign Mark Teixeira to a 5 year deal $19-$22M, he'll give us the much needed power that's been lacking from this lineup.
3. Fill the biggest hole in the lineup at SS with either FA Orlando Cabrera or Rafael Furcal, either is a productive top of the order bat with sound Defense at SS
4. Fill the last spot in the rotation with FA SP Oliver Perez, Derek Lowe or Randy Wolf, someone that can eat innings and keep their team in the game.
5. Sign minor league FA 3B Dallas McPherson, give him a chance at meaningful DH ABs and he'll be a fill in for when Rolen goes on the DL.
6. Lose Zaun, keep Barajas as the everyday C and get a quality defensive minded backup.
7. Trade Lyle Overbay, he's got a nice bat but no power for a 1B and with Teixeira he's easily expendable. Get some bench depth and some youth
This leaves the Jays with a lineup like:
SS Cabrera or Furcal
RF Alex Rios
CF Vernon Wells
1B Mark Teixeira
LF Adam Lind
3B Scott Rolen
2B Aaron Hill
DH Dallas McPherson
C Rod Barajas
Bench: keep Stairs, Scutaro, Inglett, back up catcher, maybe keep Wilkerson
Rotation: Doc, McGowan, Marcum, Oliver Perez, David Purcey
Bullpen: Janssen, League, Downs, Carlson, Tallett, Ryan
With a team like this the city would have some high hopes and deservedly so, this is a team that could make a run at a pennant and for sure the wildcard. I do realize it's a pipe dream and it's highly unrealistic to beleive that Ted Rogers would spend an additional $30M+ on the team but it was all for fun!
What would YOU DO?????
