Jose Reyes. Josh Johnson. Mark Buerhle.
These are the names that will supposedly make the Toronto Blue Jays playoff contenders in 2013, thanks to the blockbuster deal with the Miami Marlins.
After what felt like forever, but was only about a week, MLB Commissioner Bud Selig approved the trade. The Los Angeles Dodgers and Boston Red Sox pulled off a similar trade (with fewer prospects) that Selig had no trouble approving.
The Marlins, owned by former Montréal Expos owner Jeffrey Loria, dumped a bunch of contracts after a rather poor season.
The Blue Jays also got their former catcher John Buck back as well as infielder Emilio Bonifacio and a reported $8 million.
Miami gets shortstop Yunel Escobar, starter Henderson Alvarez, infielder Adeiny Hechavarria, catcher Jeff Mathis, along with minor league pitchers Justin Nicolino and Anthony Desclafani and minor league outfielder Jake Marisnick.
You might remember Escobar for being suspended back in September for putting a homophobic slur in Spanish on his eye black.
Despite the outcry, the Marlins did receive some good minor-league talent. And Johnson only has one season left on his contract.
Having Reyes in the leadoff spot helps Toronto drop Brett Lawrie further down in the order. If Johnson stays healthy, he and Buerhle will dramatically improve a bad starting rotation.
Even with a significant upgrade and the money to match, Toronto did have a dismal 4th place finish last year and that is with Edwin Encarnacion having a career year. These new players will help, but time will tell if this trade can break a 20-year exile from the playoffs. The last playoff visit was in 1993 when Toronto won the second of its back-to-back World Series championships.
Toronto went 73-89 in 2012. 93 wins won the wild card slot in the American League. 20 more wins and 20 years since a trip to the playoffs. A long way to go, but the journey got a bit easier.
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The coverage in the States focused almost exclusively on the impact of the Marlins, a team that has been babied over the years at the expense of the Montréal Expos. The attendance in Florida was about as bad as the Expos when they were forced to play games in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Even if the fan base for the Blue Jays wouldn't affect ratings or readership, the fan base of the Marlins clearly isn't very high, even in Miami.
Selig appeared to be more concerned about the Marlins fans feelings than for Toronto, notably not taking sides in Los Angeles and Boston in a similar deal.
"I am aware of the anger, I am," Selig said. "The questions are fair about the Marlins fans. I want you to know that. It's a subject that I'm extremely sensitive about."
To be fair, Selig did say, "I'm also aware that in Toronto they're very happy."
Still, the idea that MLB would take away part of/all of the trade from the Blue Jays was infuriating. The bias for the Marlins (saving them from contraction talks, allowing Loria to do damage in Montréal and still get another team, treating them better than the Expos) would have caused this deal to be delayed no matter the opponent. Given that the Blue Jays and their fans already seemingly forgotten by MLB, the waiting felt more insulting.
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In acquisitions that Selig couldn't deny, the Blue Jays also signed OF Melky Cabrera for 2 years and $16 million. When we last left Cabrera, he had been suspended for 50 games for taking a banned substance while playing for the San Francisco Giants. When the team could have taken him back, the Giants refused to put him back on the roster. While on said banned substance, Cabrera had been hitting .346 with 11 HR, 25 doubles and 10 triples in 501 plate appearances.
Toronto also signed INF Maicer Izturis to a 3-year deal for $10 million. Izturis will be in the mix for the second base job along with Bonifacio.
The Blue Jays did make all of these moves without a manager. The team announced this morning that former skipper John Gibbons would be the new Toronto manager. Blue Jays fans would remember that Gibbons managed the team from 2004-2008. Gibbons had a 305-305 record as manager, but was remembered more for confrontations with Shea Hillebrand, Dave Bush, Ted Lilly, and Frank Thomas.
Other contenders included Manny Acta, Mike Hargrove, Jim Tracy, Sandy Alomar, Jr., and Tim Wallach. All of those people make a lot more sense than bringing back Gibbons. Great ingredients with a bad chef makes for a lousy soup.
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Florida has no state income tax. Ontario and Canada offer a more extravagant tax structure. For those with normal incomes, the difference can be significant. For multimillionaire athletes, well, they like to complain about taxes, too.
When former Toronto Blue Jays first baseman Carlos Delgado was with the Marlins, his agent put a provision in the contract that if the Marlins traded him to a place that had a state (provincial) income tax, the Marlins would pay Delgado the difference. Turned out that Delgado got just under $3 million out of the deal.
Florida, Texas, and Washington state have MLB teams and no state income tax. The transition for the new Blue Jays players is also financial.
On top of that news, Buerhle can't bring his pet pit bull since Ontario has banned the breed.
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