News broke earlier this afternoon that the Blue Jays orchestrated and maneuvered a few deals which saw them land centrefielder Colby Rasmus from the St. Louis Cardinals (who just two short years ago was ranked the 3rd best prospect in all of baseball by Baseball America).
The acquisition was predicated on the Jays swinging pitchers Zach Stewart and Jason Frasor (who just last week became the Jays all-time appearance leader) to the White Sox for pitcher Edwin Jackson and 3rd baseman Mark Teahen; the Jays then shipped Jackson off (with not much else of substance) to St. Louis for Rasmus and fluff. Now, I do not know how anybody can think this is not a major coup for the Jays. They receive a highly touted, soon-to-be 25-year old who is tagged with the potential of becoming a top five centrefielder in the entire league.
You'll hear the arguments that he didn't get along with Tony LaRussa, and that he is much maligned. However, people can change, especially if placed in the right situation. Need proof? Look no further than last year's main acquisition of the Jays, Yunel Escobar. We heard the same things -- he doesn't get along with his manager (Bobby Cox)...he's selfish/lazy...he's wasting his talent. Well, who would argue now that wasn't a great deal for the Jays? Escobar is quickly establishing himself as one of the best shortstops in the entire game and has now found a home in Toronto, as evidenced by his 2-year deal with the option of two additional years to be tacked on.
These types of deals are ones the Jays have to make, even if they blow up in their faces from time to time. Competing with the Yankees and Red Sox is a daunting task, especially when they'll never be outspent, so identifying and picking up high-end, controllable talent is a major source of building up a core that would finally compete with the big boys. The deal for Rasmus -- as was the case with Escobar -- certainly fits the bill.
Some will point to Anthony Gose, the centrefielder of the future awaiting in the wings. "Why pick up Rasmus when Gose will soon be the guy?" is a common refrain heard. Well, for one, you can never have enough high-end talent. Two, Gose is still two or three years away, which means Rasmus provides more than just a stop-gap measure. And three, if Rasmus ends up reaching his potential that his talent dictates, the Jays will have yet another solid trade bait piece they can flog off to fill another gap (will an adequate closer ever be found?!).
In all, it should be considered an exciting day for Jays fans who can look forward to not only the end of this season, but next season seeing a mighty fine core coming together. Of course, the trade deadline is still four days away, and you just know GM Alex Anthopoulos is continually working the phones to improve his team. Ubaldo Jimenez anyone?
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