Blue Jays Shake Up Roster Ahead Of Trade Deadline
Wednesday August 1,2012 : Blue Jays Shake Up Roster Ahead Of Trade Deadline
Since taking over as Toronto Blue Jays general manager in October of 2009, Alex Anthopoulos has been given a grace period by fans. Essentially, the argument for this free pass if you will, is that Anthopoulos is building a contender and needs time without being judged. However, last night the Jays GM’s grace period came to an end, as he made two bold moves that have fans and media alike asking why now? Today, we’ll look at the online sportsbook moves that Blue Jays management made to shake up the organization.
In the middle of last night’s four to one loss to the Seattle Mariners, Jay’s manager John Farrell pulled then left fielder Travis Snider from the game. Snider appeared completely healthy, and a few minutes later was hugging teammates before heading into the dressing room. This indicated, that Snider’s tenure as a member of the lone Canadian franchise in the MLB had finally and somberly come to a close. As a former first round draft pick in the 2006 draft, one could only hope the sparingly used highly touted prospect would bring back someone of value.
The trade of Travis Snider to the Pittsburgh Pirates for relief pitcher Brad Lincoln literally blew up the social media website Twitter. Despite hardly being in the majors the past couple of years, the aforementioned Snider had become a cult hero for a fan base in desperate need of someone to cheer about. However, looking at the trade, fans should be happy to know that both clubs could win out on the deal long term. Snider will get to play everyday as the left fielder in Pittsburgh. Meanwhile, Lincoln will come in and become a central piece to a rebuilding bullpen. With an opportunity to close out games, Lincoln will be a welcome site.
After the Blue Jays traded every fan’s favorite player, they then made a second move conveniently with the team they lost too last night. In a move that was perhaps more shocking then the first deal, the Blue Jays traded left fielder Eric Thames to the sports betting online Seattle Mariners for Steven Delabar. Thames had often been the antonym to any debate about Snider, as the duo were in competition to secure the everyday left fielder position on the Jays MLB roster. Thames originally won the job out of spring training, before being sent to the minors. When Snider was traded to Pittsburgh, many fans and media believed that Thames was on his way to take over in Toronto full time. On the other hand, similar to Lincoln, Steven Delabar is a reliever that has the potential to close out baseball games. Also comparable to Lincoln, Delabar is under team control for the next five years, something GM Anthopoulos covets when acquiring assets.
The trades of Travis Snider and Eric Thames suggest that the Toronto Blue Jays intend to shake up their roster ahead of the trade deadline scheduled for later today. Heading into spring training this offseason, it was unclear whether Snider or Thames would be Toronto’s everyday left fielder. Then, both players received a cup of coffee with the team before veteran utility outfielder Rajai Davis took over. As fans, we can’t see why two of the most prominent Blue Jays prospects in the past two seasons, were jettisoned for unknowns. Yet, as analysts, we can see, that if Lincoln and Delabar become good relievers in Toronto, then Thames and Snider will leave Toronto after bringing in two playoff needed players.
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