Around The AL East: Blue Jays

It's been a downward spiral for catcher Rod Barajas ever since he walked out on the Jays last year after initially agreeing to a two-year, $5.25 million contract.

Barajas went on to sign a one-year deal worth $2.5 million with the Phillies, who then declined their option on him for 2008. With no other takers, the agent for Barajas approached the Jays, and he signed a one-year deal worth $1.2 million to be Gregg Zaun's backup.

Last year, Barajas was expected to carry the bulk of the catching load with the Phillies, but that never materialized. A groin injury sent him to the disabled list, and the Phillies then turned to Carlos Ruiz, who became their everyday catcher. The result was that Barajas played in just 48 games, hitting .230 with four homers and 10 RBIs.

Talk about taking your lumps.

The Jays, though, had no one other than veteran Sal Fasano to turn to in the event that Gregg Zaun was injured, and the club decided it was better to forgive and forget and locked up Barajas.

"From what we gathered and what we found out, the Phillies just decided to go with the kid Ruiz," Jays general manager J.P. Ricciardi said. "Like most major league players, when you take playing time away from them, the production doesn't usually go up, it goes down."

With the Jays, Barajas, who hits right, will form a platoon with Zaun, a switch-hitter who is more productive from the left side. A good defensive catcher with a strong arm, Barajas also figures on receiving playing time against teams that like to run, such as Tampa Bay.

The signing of Barajas should conclude the Jays' offseason shopping. The results: They have more depth and flexibility with a bench that also includes infielders Marco Scutaro and John McDonald as well as the left-field platoon of Reed Johnson and Matt Stairs.

"If you look around our team, we have a lot of depth that we haven't had," Ricciardi said. "We've got some depth in some areas where, if we do get hit with an injury, we don't take a giant step backward."


NOTES, QUOTES
—LHP B.J. Ryan, who is recovering from Tommy John surgery, will throw off the mound for the first time by the end of the month. "B.J. had been throwing long toss from 120 feet, shut down for a month and now is feeling so good that he's ready to start his normal throwing program with a light bullpen," Brad Arnsberg, the Jays' pitching coach, said. "He'll be throwing off the mound. He's really excited and told me he hasn't had a bad day since he started throwing."

—RF Alex Rios and the Blue Jays are a little more than $1 million apart after exchanging arbitration figures. The Jays offered $4,535,000 million while, Rios, the club's only unsigned arbitration-eligible player, asked for $5.65 million. Regardless of how that process works out, the Jays and Rios will continue to work on a long-term deal. "We've got Alex here for the next three years," GM J.P. Ricciardi said. "We are going to talk to him and continue to talk to him about a multi-year deal, and we'll see how it plays out."

—CF Vernon Wells is on schedule in his recovery from surgery to his left shoulder. "Right now, there are no restrictions and we don't anticipate any restrictions," GM J.P. Ricciardi said of Wells. "We may have to go a little slower in spring training than in the past, but that's only more from a precautionary standpoint. Right now, he has a full range of motion and he feels well."

—LHP Scott Downs is more than pleased after signing his three-year, $10 million contract. "Right now it's a big shock," Downs said. "I'm still kind of in awe of the whole thing. It's a life-changing situation for myself and my family. You hope that one day you can get something like that. I'm shocked and fortunate that I was able to get it done."

—To make room on the 40-man roster after the signing of free agent C Rod Barajas, INF Ray Olmedo was designated for assignment.


BY THE NUMBERS: 33.7—The percentage of runners C Rod Barajas has thrown out in his major league career.


QUOTE TO NOTE: "We're pretty much done now. I know I've said that in the past and things have always popped up. But I just don't see anything that we've had our fingers on that is going to really lead to anything. I think this is our club." —GM J.P. Ricciardi after the signing of C Rod Barajas.