Winter Wonderland! Tao's Wish List for the Winter Meetings

You may disagree for your own reasons, but we happen to think that we've been a pretty good boy all year long. As such, we feel well within our rights to make our wish list for theWinter Solstice Baseball Festival of Signings and Meetings a long one this year. So with the meetings starting this weekend, here are a few of the little goodies that we'd like to find in our stirrup socks, currently hung by the mantle with such care.

(And by the way, did you realize that the original Santa Claus was Greek, just like our beloved GM? Nikolaos of Myra. You can look it up.)

As we are avoiding a discussion of some of the larger free agents - quite literally larger! - we'll confess that some of the names here come off more as though we were spitballing over late round picks in our forthcoming rotisserie draft. Still, with so many of the starting slots on the roster mostly occupied, the name of the game remains finding under-appreciated assets and getting maximum return for them.

This list is in no way intended to be predictive of what will happen, but merely a few of our humble requests.

Trade for Gordon Beckham - This is probably a reiteration of last year's "trade for Alex Gordon" request, but the rationale remains the same: Beckham is reaching the bottom of his value, with declining returns over the past few seasons. It's hard to parse through his stats and find the upside, but on the other hand, he's still just 25, and his worst output an OBP of .298. He'd be a 10-15 homer guy who could play the field well and as a number 8 or 9 hitter in the Jays' lineup, there would be little pressure on him to live up to any "top prospect" reputation. We'd give up two sacks of magic beans for him.

Trade for Howard Kendrick - We've always had a soft spot for Kendrick, and as he enters his final season in his current contract with the Angelenos, we wonder if the Jays may be able to pry him loose for something in the range of two and a half sacks of magic beans. He emerged last year as a bit more of a power threat (18 dingers), and UZR loved him as a second baseman this year (19.7, after a -7.3 the year before). Second base is pretty thin, and his output would rank him in the top third for the next few years. Can also play first and left field in a pinch.

Trade for Andrew Bailey - There's something that we don't trust about pitchers in Oakland, given the number of times they are saved by foul balls that don't make it to the stands. (Argue of you must, but we're absolutely convinced that this shaves a full run off their ERAs.) Nevertheless, Bailey still strikes out close to a batter per inning, keeps his walks down and slings it in the mid-90's. If the Jays need to rebuild their bullpen, going with a 27 year-old option might make more sense than an aged "proven" closer.

Trade for Huston Street - For some reason, we were convinced that Street was an old geezer, perhaps because he's been around so long. But when the season starts, he'll only be 28 - if you can believe his Texas birth certificate - though his price will likely be higher than Bailey (four satchels of pixie dust?) Street's numbers stand up pretty well 8.49 K/9, 1.39 BB/9 last year, throwing a fastball with an average velocity of 90.1 MPH, which is about on par with the rest of his career. And he's managed to do well for himself in Coors Field, for whatever that's worth.

Sign Joel Zumaya - Zumaya's 2010 was vaguely disastrous, when he lost all control of his pitches and began walking 6.39 batters per nine. But the 27 year-old came back to respectability last year with a line of 7.98 strikeouts, 2.58 walks and 0.23 homers per nine. As a power arm (his fastball still averages 99.3 MPH), Zumaya would be a decent pick up, provided the market doesn't push him into the three-year contract territory.

Sign Relievers to One-Year Deals - David Aardsma (29) can still hit the mid 90's, and might not merit a two-year deal. Mike Gonzalez (34) held lefties to a .574 OPS last year, though he is repped by Scott Boras and the Yankees are apparently interested. LaTroy Hawkins (37) isn't the worst idea we could think of. Chad Qualls might be worth a cheap and short deal as well. Really, they could just walk the streets of Dallas and look for someone who wears their pants better than Shawn Camp.

Sign a Backup Catcher- Chris Snyder seems to be the preferred option from what we've seen around the other Jays blogs, and his career .333 OBP is probably worth a year-plus-option offer, supposing the Jays want to go that far. Otherwise, Kelly Shoppach looked like one of the cast of extras from The Walking Dead last year, though without all the walking. Ivan Rodriguez hasn't really had a good season at the plate since 2004, but as a one-year option to step in be a catch-and-throw guy, we wouldn't mind him as the short-term solution.

So you see: We're not asking for much. No big blowout signings and no trades to empty the system of our lottery tickets for the next three years. Just a few parts here and there, just to fill the team out for the first few months of the year.

Now feel free to launch your litany of tirades over our lack of interest in the shiniest of the holiday toys. We understand their appeal, but we're simple folk around here.

The Catchers Market, or All the Familiar Facemasks

It's the darnedest thing about finding a catcher. Everybody's always sure that there's a more productive catcher on the market, or that they've got one on the way that's sure to be an improvement on the fat, slow bum with marginal offensive abilities that they've already got.

But take a look around the free agent market for catchers this offseason, and you realize that there's not a lot out there that you haven't already seen before.

With Cito essentially stating that Rod Barajas has already punched his ticket out of town, and the Jays demonstrating their disappointment with the performances of J.P. Arencibia and Brian Jeroloman, the spot behind the plate is up for open auditions.

So who's going to come in to improve on Rod the Bod's 18 homers, 64 RsBI, .704 OPS?

A glance through MLB Trade Rumo(u)rs' list of available catchers shows that there's not a lot to choose from out there that we haven't already seen and run out of town. The two best options for the Jays might be Gregg Zaun (6 HR, 23 RBI, .752 OPS) or Bengie Molina (17/70/.710), neither of whom would provide a lot more than Rod. (Although Zaun is probably the strongest OBP catcher on the market.)

We've been a big proponent of Miguel Olivo before, but again, he's going to bring the same low OBP (.279) that people have identified as a problem with Barajas. Brian Schneider used to be a guy that we'd favour, but he's rocking a .602 OPS this year and generally making Raul Chavez (.664) look like a viable full-time option.

Ramon Hernandez is hurt. Josh Bard might be an upside play, but not a major improvement. Ivan Rodriguez is mostly getting by on reputation these days.

Then, there's Jason Varitek, who may be too washed up to continue on in Boston, but who could bring his flattop haircut and bag full of intangibles to another AL East team and provide some significant knowledge of the teams in the only division that really matters for the Jays. However, his relatively strong .731 OPS is bolstered by his home numbers in the only stadium that could make Jim Rice a Hall of Famer. (Varitek's road OPS is .611. Yikes.)

Frankly, the catcher market is just a mess, so we're not clear on the rationale for sending Rod Barajas on his way when there is little else out there to replace him.

The Tao's Wandering Eye: Give us some Figgy pudding, or maybe some Zim

It was mentioned in the comments yesterday that Mike Wilner asked Aaron Hill in a recent interview if the player who had indicated to Lighthouse his interest in playing in Toronto had a name that rhymed with "Phone Higgins".

To be honest, we'd never been much a of Figgins fan in the past, having written him off as a bit of a slap and dash type with marginal fielding skills. Seeing him boot a couple of balls in a playoff game against the Red Sox has probably stuck with us, and we're always a bit wary of guys who put up high averages but mediocre slugging.

But in recent months, we've started to come around on the free-agent-to-be, and we're ready to start visualizing him as Jay next year, if only so that we can be disappointed this offseason.

After a lousy season in 2008 (.685 OPS, 1 HR, 72 runs scored), Figgins has rebounded nicely this year, with 100 runs scored, a .404 OBP and .406 SLG. He still gets thrown out more than we'd like to see (16 times versus 39 steals), but he'd make an ideal top of the lineup option for the Jays in 2010, should they need one.

(Although there's a good argument to be made that Marco Scutaro's numbers are better, and we fully expect our wise and sage-like readers to make that argument in the comments.)

Also, Fangraphs tells us that we shouldn't believe our lying eyes when it comes to Figgins' defense, as he ranks third in the majors amongst third basemen with a 13.0 UZR/150. Only Evan Longoria and Ryan Zimmerman (13.8 and 16.1) rank ahead of him.

Speaking of Zimmerman...
MLB Trade Rumo(u)rs' Tim Dierkes makes the argument that the Nationals should consider putting Zimmerman up for auction in order to replenish a lagging farm system. Zimmerman is in the midst of an outstanding season (.372 OBP, .527 SLG, 27 HRs and 90 RsBI), and is locked up through 2013 at a fairly reasonable rate.

And though it seems as if he's been around forever, Zimmerman is still only 24 years old, which is nearly a full year younger than Brian Dopirak, and just about a year older than J.P. Arencibia.

We're not necessarily thinking that the Nats will offer him up, but if there is a guy who might be worth selling the farm for, it would be Zimmerman.

The Tao's Wandering Eye: Nick Johnson

With the Nationals' recent signing of some dude who doesn't even like baseball, they are left with a veritable cornucopia of 1B/OF/DH types. And seeing as how they are still stuck in the National League, they're not going to be able to get them all into the lineup on a regular basis.

Chances are that someone out of that mix is going to get moved, and if we had our druthers, the Jays would take a run at oft-injured first baseman Nick Johnson.

Sure, Johnson's missed a ton of games over his career due to a series of injuries. But when he's been healthy and when he's played, he's put up the sort of offensive numbers that would make the Jays' current lineup blush.

Johnson sports a .396 on base percentage and an .852 OPS over his eight-year career with the Yankees, Expos and Nationals. With the exception of Scott Rolen (whose glory days are behind him), nobody on the Jays' current roster even comes close to those numbers. Not Wells (.332, .812), not Rios (.338, .793), and certainly not Overbay (.362, .809).

In his last fully healthy season in 2006, Johnson posted a .948 OPS with 46 doubles, 23 homers and 110 walks in 500 ABs for the Nats.

Of course, 2006 is a long time ago, and Johnson missed most of last season with a wrist tendon injury, so there's an obvious question as to how many left-handed hitting first basemen with gimpy appendages you need on one roster. At the same time, it's at least reasonable to expect that a healthy Johnson would put up better numbers in 2009 than Overbay, Adam Lind, Kevin Millar, José Bautista or even Travis Snider, and that the Nationals may be willing to part with him for less than his value.

With a salary of just over $5 million for next season, Johnson would be affordable to the Jays provided they were able to send some salary back in the other direction. And even if the numbers don't necessarily add up, how can you put a price on adding a guy to your roster who is the spitting image of Pvt. Pyle from Full Metal Jacket?

The Tao's (Absurdly Obvious) Wandering Eye: Manny Ramirez

It seems like every time we mention some barely-above-replacement-level player who we think might be a fit for the Jays, we almost immediately get the same comments asserting how idiotic we are for wanting Scrubby McBencherson instead of Manny Ramirez.

Which, in itself, is kind of idiotic, because OF FREAKING COURSE WE WANT THE JAYS TO SIGN MANNY RAMIREZ!

Not at any price, mind you. But if Manny's value in the free agent market were to fall (supposing it has), and if a shorter-term deal could be struck and if that deal were at a reasonable per annum salary that wouldn't remove all of the team's payroll flexibility, then by all means sign Manny up and stock up on officially logofied Jays do-rags.

Then again, if Evanka Osmak had a pendulous ball-sack, they'd call her Evan.

The point to some of these time-wasting free agent pool excavations that we do on occasion is to find guys who we think might fit on the active roster and in the Jays' likely diminishing payroll structure. We thought that was a given, but apparently not.

Steve Simmons - Still an idiot after all these years
It's always a treat when our Google News alerts turn up something from Sun Media tree-killer Steve Simmons. Simmons' Sunday column is a craptacular thing of beauty, in which the tiresome hack fills the tabloid with more than a thousand words worth of meaningless speculation, thoughtless piling on and drive-by putdowns on any number of subjects.

This weekend, as per ususal, Steve-O drops in a gratuitous swipe or two at J.P. Ricciardi's expense:

"Shouldn't the Blue Jays at least pretend to be interested in somebody this winter, like a Ben Sheets? Couldn't they just fake it for our amusement?"

Absolutely, Steve-o-rino. J.P. should pretend to blow his budget to amuse you so that you have something to write about next Sunday. Lord knows that executives make their best decisions when they are trying to keep the baying jackals in the media entertained or at bay.

And moreover, we really appreciate the lack of context that you've provided in your snappy one-liner. (You must have been a big fan of Cracked Magazine's "Shut Ups" too!) It makes it so much easier for us to shape our opinion on J.P.'s inactivity this offseason when you neglect to mention that the vast majority of teams are also sitting back and waiting for the price of the remaining free agents to fall.

Why are Ben Sheets, Manny Ramirez, Adam Dunn, Oliver Perez, Orlando Hudson, Orlando Cabrera, and Bobby Abreu still unemployed? Obviously because J.P. Ricciardi is a big stupid head who hasn't signed them all!

Fire J.P.! Hire Steve Simmons! Ignorance is stregnth!

The Tao's Wandering Eye: Ty Wigginton

Why Ty?

Because he hit more homers than any Blue Jay last year
He hit 23, for those of you who are counting. In just 386 at bats, by the way. And that's 39 fewer AB's than it took for Vernon Wells to hit 20.

Because he's played all over the diamond.
He could slot in at first (if Overbay is hurt or sucks), or at third (if Rolen is hurt), or in the outfield (if the magic just doesn't happen for either Adam Lind or Travis Snider). Or he could DH. Whatever, dude.

Because he's played in the AL East before
And he's posted an OPS of .891 versus the Red Sox and .831 versus the Yankees. If you're into that sort of thing.

Because he's lovably plump and he has a big cranium
Somebody's got to replace Kevin Mench's cartoonishly huge skull in the lineup.

Because we have an uncanny ability to ignore some glaring truths
Like the fact that Wigginton posted a 1.080 OPS in the former Enron Park and a .697 OPS everywhere else.

The Tao's Wandering Eye: Mike Jacobs

Since it came up in yesterday's comments (dig through the prolonged discussions on mulleted soft-rockers and you'll find it), we figured that we'd share what we think of Marlins 1B Mike Jacobs, who may be available to a team looking for a power bat.

We actually like Jacobs, and think of him as a discount version of Adam Dunn: he'll hit homers (32 last year) and drive in a good-not-great number of runs (93) in part because he strikes out to damn much (119 times last year in 447 ABs, versus 39 walks).

One particularly important stat to look at with Jacobs is how much better he hits on the road than at home in spacious Pro Player Dolphin Loria Stadium. Last year, Jacobs posted an OPS almost 120 points higher on the road (.872 versus .758), and a look at his stats over the years at least suggests that there are a number of Miami doubles that may turn into home runs in other barns.

Jacobs isn't an elite player, but 32 homers in the current power climate is nothing to shrug at. If the Marlins are looking to get rid of Jacobs before they have to pay him, then there is a great opportunity for the Jays to get themselves an upgrade at DH without paying through the nose for it.

On the other hand, why get hamburger when you can get a huge slab of meat?
MLB Trade Rumo(u)rs' Tim Dierkes speculates that the Jays could be in the running to pry Prince Fielder away from the Brewers if he hits the market.

Be the first to buy your custom Bradley and Cabrera Jerseys
Bleacher Report released its MLB Free Agent Rankings and Predictions this week. Their signing predictions figure the Jays will dish out generous but somewhat reasonable contracts to DH Milton Bradley (two years, $30 million) and SS Orlando Cabrerra (three years, $25 million). We'd be a bit surprised if the Jays have that kind of coin to toss around, and we think that in spite of their tepid offense last year, a starting pitcher still has to be a priority in a post-A.J. world.

The Tao's Wandering Eye: Hank Blalock

Editor's note: This is the first of a new series of posts, to be known as The Tao's Wandering Eye. The purpose of this series - which we'll probably abandon after one attempt, like we did with guitar lessons or yoga - is to highlight the players that we inexplicably have taken a shine to, and that may be available through trade or free agency in the coming off season. Our goal is to make an argument for their acquisition without sounding like an idiot sports talk radio caller, or worse, a sports talk radio HOST.

Also, we're aiming to find something to talk about other than the playoffs, which have started to depress us.

Let us begin.

There's probably no better place to start our make-believe off-season shopping then with Hank Blalock, if only because the case for the Jays acquiring him so marginal that we're sure to irrevocably damage whatever reputation we might have left in these parts.

And yet, if you're looking for a possible low-risk, high reward acquisition to help keep the Jays in the game in the depressingly competitive AL East, Blalock as a corner infielder and DH may just be the ticket.

It's been a while since Blalock was a real up-and-comer, with the memories of his two All-Star Game appearances in 2003 and 2004 fading. In his best season, Blalock swatted 32 homers and drove in 110 RsBI runs in 2004, rating even some marginal MVP votes.

In 2005 and 2006, Blalock's offense declined, and while we would never make this connection, some remarked on the fact that this one-time weightlifting fiend suddenly saw his power numbers fall off the table. More eyebrows may be raised by the fact that over the last two years, our boy Hank has missed about two-thirds of the Rangers' games due to one ailment or another. Blalock has not yet turned 28, and one wonders why he is physically breaking down at such an early age.

And yet...when the boy is healthy and when he plays, Hank Blalock has put up some fine numbers over the past two seasons. Those numbers which stand out all the more when compared against Toronto's options on either corner of the infield going into next season.

In the last month of 2008, Blalock was absolutely on fire, with 10 doubles, 8 homers, 23 RsBI and an OPS of 1.080. Blalock also spent that time at across the diamond at first base, where he made just a single error. SI.com's Jon Heyman reported last week that one scout called Blalock the "best hitter I saw in the second half."

It looks at present as though the Rangers will pick up Blalock's fairly reasonable $6.2 million option for next year, although the right bullpen arm (or arms) may shake him loose.

We get that everybody loves Rolen and Overbay...it's just that when we think about the chances of either of them hitting 25 homers or driving in 90, we figure that it is a lot less likely than Blalock's chances of doing the same.