Recently, MLB Trade Rumors linked to an article stating the New York Mets interest in former Blue Jay catcher Rod Barajas. Initially it seemed as though they were making a "hard push," but those statements have since been re-stated. They are now looking on bringing in the hard-luck catcher on a minor league deal.
Barajas, as any Jays fan over the last two years will tell you, is a good receiver behind the plate that is capable of handling inexperienced staffs, while throwing out runners at a good clip. With the bat though, he struggles to get on base, but is capable of hitting the ball over the fence.
His string of bad luck in free agency (as the Drunk Jays Fans will tell you) may continue as he was probably expecting a multi-year deal heading into the offseason. At the very least he should receive a guaranteed major-league deal. The Jays felt the same way and offered him arbitration knowing he would decline in order to receive a more lucrative offer elsewhere. Unfortunately for the Blue Jays, if Barajas does not receive a major-league deal, theywill not receive the draft-pick compensation they were looking for.
As a "B" level free agent the Jays would expect to garner a "sandwich," or supplemental, pick while the other club would not have to give up a pick. You would think that the only starting catcher left on the market would be in line to get a major-league deal, but that doesn't seem to be the case.
Barajas at the age of 34 could help a lot of teams solidify their catching position and the Mets are the leading candidate at this point with Omir Santos, Josh Thole, Chris Coste, and Henry Blanco. Teams such as the Mariners and Rangers would seemingly get in on Barajas and possibly drive up the price on him. He had a solid season last year hitting .226/.258/.403 (with 19 homers) in 460 plate appearances while throwing out 29.3 per cent of his attempted base-stealers and earning $2.5 million.
If the Jays are able to get a pick for Barajas they are going to have nine picks in the top three rounds of the 2010 amateur draft which could really help the Jays minor league system if they draft well. Anthopoulos told Batter's Box that he plans on drafting the best players available despite age or position. Hopefully with a heightened scouting system they will feel more comfortable with the available players and spend above the slot level in order to sign them unlike last year.
Barajas, as any Jays fan over the last two years will tell you, is a good receiver behind the plate that is capable of handling inexperienced staffs, while throwing out runners at a good clip. With the bat though, he struggles to get on base, but is capable of hitting the ball over the fence.
His string of bad luck in free agency (as the Drunk Jays Fans will tell you) may continue as he was probably expecting a multi-year deal heading into the offseason. At the very least he should receive a guaranteed major-league deal. The Jays felt the same way and offered him arbitration knowing he would decline in order to receive a more lucrative offer elsewhere. Unfortunately for the Blue Jays, if Barajas does not receive a major-league deal, theywill not receive the draft-pick compensation they were looking for.
As a "B" level free agent the Jays would expect to garner a "sandwich," or supplemental, pick while the other club would not have to give up a pick. You would think that the only starting catcher left on the market would be in line to get a major-league deal, but that doesn't seem to be the case.
Barajas at the age of 34 could help a lot of teams solidify their catching position and the Mets are the leading candidate at this point with Omir Santos, Josh Thole, Chris Coste, and Henry Blanco. Teams such as the Mariners and Rangers would seemingly get in on Barajas and possibly drive up the price on him. He had a solid season last year hitting .226/.258/.403 (with 19 homers) in 460 plate appearances while throwing out 29.3 per cent of his attempted base-stealers and earning $2.5 million.
If the Jays are able to get a pick for Barajas they are going to have nine picks in the top three rounds of the 2010 amateur draft which could really help the Jays minor league system if they draft well. Anthopoulos told Batter's Box that he plans on drafting the best players available despite age or position. Hopefully with a heightened scouting system they will feel more comfortable with the available players and spend above the slot level in order to sign them unlike last year.
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UPDATE: Jon Heyman is saying that Barajas is likely to accept a minor-league deal with the New York Mets worth about $1 million where he would be the favourite to start at catcher. This would not allow the Jays to collect a draft-pick.
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