2008 Prediction: 3rd in AL East
In
- Scott Rolen (STL) - acquired for Troy Glaus - 1/14/08
- David Eckstein (STL) - signed to a 1 year, $4.5 million contract - 12/14/07
- Marco Scutaro (OAK) - acquired for Graham Godfrey and Kristian Bell - 11/18/07
- Shawn Camp (TOR) - signed to a minor league contract - 1/7/08
- Matt Stairs (TOR) - re-signed to a two year, $3.5 million contract - 11/12/07
Out
- Troy Glaus (STL) - traded for Scott Rolen - 1/14/08
- Howie Clark (MIN) - signed to a minor league contract - 11/22/07
- Ryan Roberts (TEX) - signed to a minor league contract - 11/21/07
Remaining Free Agents
Projected Opening Day Lineup Starters
C - Gregg Zaun
1B - Lyle Overbay
2B - Aaron Hill
3B - Scott Rolen
SS - David Eckstein
LF - Reid Johnson/Matt Stairs/Adam Lind
CF - Vernon Wells
RF - Alex Rios
DH - Frank Thomas
Projected Opening Day Rotation
Roy Halladay
A.J. Burnett
Shawn Marcum
Dustin McGowan
Jesse Litsch/Gustavo Chacin
Projected Opening Day Closer
B.J. Ryan
Improvements: Other than Rolen and Eckstein, the Jays really didn't make too many earth-stopping moves. They acquired utility man Marco Scutaro from the A's, who will give the Jays some depth and experience as an infield/outfielder, who also comes with some pop.
Lack of improvement: The Jays really didn't have many holes to fill this offseason, which would translate into only a small handful of moves made. The team is pretty well balanced, and their biggest problems are the teams from Boston and the Bronx.
Keys to success: Vernon Wells had a down year in 2007, with only 16 homeruns and a .402 slugging percentage. He's going to have to rebound and have a season similar to 2006 when he hit 32 homeruns and had a nice .302 batting average for the Jays to have a shot of catching the Red Sox and Yankees in '08. Also, Frank Thomas will become 40 years old in May. He has shown so far that age will not slow him down, but will he be able to keep that mentality in 2008?
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