This past Spring, I was lucky enough to con Brian Jeroloman into spending a couple of minutes after a game to chat a bit about training, about (then) new manager John Farrell, and about his hopes for the year.

Brian did get his wish; he was called up to Toronto last Tuesday August 22, in a puzzling move that has fans and analysts scratching their heads. Jeroloman makes the third catcher on the Jays’ active roster. According to John Lott’s report for the National Post, GM Anthopoulos said that Jeroloman would “rarely play”.

So. Why, with infield depth initially reduce by the departures of Hill and McDonald, would the Jays want 3 catchers?

My first thought was that either JP Arencibia or Jose Molina are in line to be traded. As much as I love Jose Molina, he would be a fine addition to a team looking towards the post-season. Perhaps the Giants?

Another option… would Travis d’Arnaud get the call up to Vegas? D’Arnaud, the Jays’ likely catcher of the future, has been heating up the eastern seaboard with a season .315 batting average and the honor of being chosen as a mid-season All Star.

But as time passes from the date of the callup, with no moves being made, the situation gets curiouser and curiouser.

Why bring up Jeroloman to have him sit in the bullpen? There’s been very little coverage in any media over the move, likely because of Anthopoulos’ comments that Jeroloman wouldn’t see much playing time, if any. It’s the kind of news that’s non-news… except that it doesn’t make sense.

Why waste space on the 25 man roster?

I enjoyed speaking with Brian in Spring Training. He’s a genuinely nice guy who seems to enjoy what he does. I only wish I’d had more than five minutes to come up with some better questions!

Next time!

Brett Lawrie - Toronto's Lucky Number 13?

Last December, the announcement went out that the Jays had traded away popular starting pitcher Shaun Marcum for hot prospect Brett Lawrie.

Just 20 years old at the time, Lawrie had been a first round draft pick by the Milwaukee Brewers in the 2008 draft and received a whopping $1.7 million signing bonus.

Going 16th overall, Brett became the highest picked Canadian-born position player in MLB history.

In his first season with the Brewers organization, Lawrie skipped  into AA and stayed there for 2010, leading the Southern League in hits (158), triples (16), runs (90) and extra-base hits (60).

The Jays had also wanted Lawrie. With the 17th overall pick, the team just missed out.

But this doesn’t mean Alex Anthopoulos forgot about the young second baseman from Langley, BC.

In the March 2011 “State of the Franchise” presentation, Anthopoulos spoke at length about the deal – and why he was willing to trade away his pitching ace.

» Continue reading “The Imminent Arrival of Brett Lawrie”