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Quick recap of a couple of Jays moves

The newest Blue Jays pitcher throws a pitch during the 2011 world series (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
The newest Blue Jays pitcher throws a pitch during the 2011 world series (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
Getty Images

As was first speculated in the fanshot yesterday, the Jays actually did complete the deal with 41 year old lefty reliever Darren Oliver. The specific contract details have not seem to be released as of yet, but it does seem to be for a 1 year deal with a team option for the next year.

Oliver looks to feature prominently in the Jays pen has he has had good platoon splits. Not only that, but he will bring the "veteran" presence that people always seem to want to have around. I like the move, and it is moves like this that really in the end help out a bullpen in my opinion. At the moment, we are looking at a bullpen with Santos, Janssen, Oliver, Villanueva and Litsch. There are still two spots that could likely be filled internally or by outside moves. That being said, to me that looks like a very solid pen.

Link to Darren Oliver's baseball reference page for stats.

The second move the Jays made seem to cause a little bit of annoyance in the people I talked to. The Jays signed Aaron Laffey. Laffey was non-tendered by the Royals earlier this month. He spent the first 4 years of his MLB career with the Indians before bouncing around in 2011 between the Mariners and the Yankees. Quite simply Laffey isn't very good. A soft tossing lefty that can't really miss bats. The logic goes that he wanted to compete for a rotation spot and the Jays offer him the best chance to do that? In my opinion if he beats out Drabek, Cecil, McGowan or Henderson we are in for a world of hurt come the start of the season.

Link to Aaron Laffey's baseball reference page for stats.