Kuzul

The Toronto Blue Jays are well on their way to a successful 2013 campaign.At least, that's what the unbiased Vegas ratings are saying, honoring the Blue Jays as 8-1 favorites to bring the World Series back north of the border. General Manager Alex Anthopoulos has been pressured for years to make a significant move to bolster the team's chances.With the acquisition of Colby Rasmus, and the emergence of Brett Lawrie, Edwin Encarnacion and Jose Bautista, it seemed to be a good first step. This offseason, Jays nation has had more than enough to talk about, and a playoff buzz has been circulating in the city. Yet with the triumph of being obvious trade winners this winter, the Blue Jays are not guaranteed a championship, and may not even be guaranteed a playoff spot. Their chances might be better than they have been in recent memory, but there are still a few questions to be asked, and a ...

It would appear the Toronto Blue Jays and New York Mets have agreed on players for an R.A. Dickey trade, but according to Jon Heyman of CBS, stranger things have happened than a trade like this falling through. But should this deal go through, Dickey will be the final addition to a Blue Jays squad that catapulted itself into a playoff contender. The key Toronto player involved in this trade is top prospect Travis d'Arnaud. If you're not familiar with who he is, d'Arnaud was the cog when the Blue Jays traded Roy Halladay in December 2009. Last season he hit .333/.380/.595 in an injury-shortened season. But regardless, he is in fact scheduled to make his MLB debut in 2013, and he seems to have all the tools necessary to make for a solid big league catcher. R.A. Dickey is the reigning NL Cy Young winner, and at 38, it's difficult to tell whether his knuckle ...

In the latest sports scandal, Toronto Blue Jays 2012 first-round draft pick Marcus Stroman has been suspended 50 games for testing positive for performance enhancing drugs, according to Sportsnet's Shi Davidi.Stroman released the following statement shortly thereafter:"Despite taking precautions to avoid violating the minor league testing program, I unknowingly ingested a banned stimulant that was in an over-the-counter supplement. Nonetheless, I accept full responsibility and I want to apologize to the Toronto Blue Jays organization, my family, my teammates, and the Blue Jays fans everywhere. I look forward to putting this behind me and rejoining my teammates."The 21-year-old Duke alumni was viewed as one of the more advanced minor league pitchers. Stroman compiled a 3.26 ERA with 23 strikeouts and a .219 opponents batting average between Class-A Vancouver Canadians and Double-A New Hampshire Fisher Cats. This is a major blow for the Blue Jays in an already disastrous season, as Stroman ...

In the wake of signing backup catcher Jeff Mathis to a contract extension through 2015, the Toronto Blue Jays are in a bind for 2013 over whether to start J.P. Arencibia or prospect Travis d'Arnaud behind the plate.Although that might be the initial reaction of fans and foes alike, that isn't the problem at hand.According to the National Post's John Lott, Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos insists that Toronto can fit both Arencibia and d'Arnaud "into the everyday lineup."From a hitting standpoint, this makes perfect sense. Arencibia's .242/.279/.466 slash line merits some credit. It's also a major step in the right direction from his .219/.282/.438 numbers in 2011.Prior to his injury, Travis d'Arnaud was tearing it up in Triple-A, disseminating Pacific Coast League pitching with a .333/.380/.595 line. If it weren't for his ailment, d'Arnaud would definitely be in the Blue Jays' lineup today. So again, from a hitting standpoint it makes sense to have ...

According to CBSSports, the Toronto Blue Jays have signed veteran catcher Jeff Mathis to a two-year extension worth $3 million with a $1.5 million club option through 2015. Mathis, 29, had spent the majority of his career with the Los Angeles Angels before being sent to Toronto in 2012. In his career he's batting .196/.256/.312, but he hasn't been in MLB for eight years for his bat.Mathis has been key behind the plate for the Blue Jays this season ever since the injury suffered by J.P. Arencibia, maintaining a .997 fielding percentage to go along with an A.L.-leading 39 percent rate of throwing out potential base stealers. With the signing, Toronto has opened the door for discussion about the starting job behind the dish in 2013.With highly touted prospect Travis d'Arnaud on the verge of cracking the big club's roster, much is to be said about whether he or Arencibia will be traded this ...

Mike Trout is going to be the 2012 American League Rookie of the Year, but before anyone jumps the gun, keep in mind that Trout isn't the first ROY, and won't be the last. He still has a lot to work on before being mentioned in the same breath as Mickey Mantle or Ken Griffey Jr. Don't get me wrong, Trout is a five-tooler. He runs like the wind (first in the bigs with 36 stolen bases), hits for power (21 homers), hits for average (tops in the A.L. with .345 avg.), wows us with his defensive skills (this explains it all) and has a cannon for an arm (I don't have a video, but trust me on this one).But regardless of those numbers, Mike Trout still hasn't proven himself to be one of the best players ever. That's not his fault, though. He hasn't had the opportunity to play a ...

Buster Posey has been a grinder for the San Francisco Giants this season, and a player who deserves the National League MVP Award.Since he broke into the big leagues in 2010, where he batted .305/.357/.505 and ran away with the Rookie of the Year Award, Posey has been an instrumental part of the Giants lineup.Not only does he call a great game, but he brings a youthful energy to the squad, an energy that's hard to maintain.Buster Posey is hands down the most important player on a Giants squad inches ahead in the N.L. West pennant race. Why? Because he's their backbone.Before the enthusiasm Bryce Harper and Mike Trout brought to the game, Posey showed the world he's able to carry a World Series team on his back. His presence on the diamond is electric, so it's not a shocker San Francisco missed the postseason last year after losing Posey 45 games ...

The Toronto Blue Jays have made big changes after a 15-inning marathon that resulted in a 5-4 loss to the Oakland Athletics. The A's walked off for a major league-best 13th time this year.The Blue Jays have called up Adeiny Hechavarria from Triple-A Las Vegas, who will most likely play third base after Brett Lawrie left the game with what is said to be ribcage tightness.Hechavarria had been tearing it up in the Pacific Coast League, batting a scorching .312/.363/.424 to go along with 63 RBI, 38 walks and a .961 fielding percentage. He is widely regarded as the best defensive player in the Jays system, and one of the best in the PCL.It'll be interesting to see how he performs in the bigs, as the PCL—and Las Vegas in particular—is widely known for being a hitter's league. Hechavarria has a tendency to fall behind in the count, which might hinder his ...

The Miami Marlins are doing the opposite of trying to sell Josh Johnson. To ask for an organization's top prospects in return for a guy who's been battling health issues is one thing, but he hasn't been the World Series champion pitcher we still try to envision him as. The asking price for Johnson is high, unreasonable and irrational for most every team in the majors. According to ESPN's Jerry Crasnick, the Marlins are asking for players comparable to Jurickson Profar and Travis d'Arnau to get the trade talks going.Josh Johnson is not worth the Texas Rangers' and Toronto Blue Jays' major league ready, No. 1 prospects—plain and simple.Unless the Marlins are willing to lower the price on JJ, there's no way any team is going to bite. The Rangers and Angels have reportedly backed out from trade talks involving Johnson because they feel the price tag is too high. But if the price comes ...

The Toronto Blue Jays have had their fair share of spectacular trade deadline moves in the past.Whether it was acquiring players for a long-term goal, or maybe picking up a guy to help them make a World Series push, the Jays have done it all.That being said, they've also made some pretty abysmal calls from the management side, but let's be honest—which team hasn't?  With the trade deadline inching closer and closer, we take a look back on Toronto's best deadline acquisitions—the ones which had the most impact, and the one's that helped the ballclub exactly the way they needed to. Begin Slideshow