Monday, November 27, 2006

WTH??? Zaun on the verge of re-signing?

Apparently, Zaun is on the verge of re-signing with the Blue Jays. This is completely out of left field.... There's no word on the Barajas deal but I'm guessing it's not official yet...Could JP have used the Barajas leverage to drive Zaun's price down? Or did he just sign two FA catchers to give him incredible depth at the position? Apparently, the Jays deal with Barajas deal broke down. Barajas allegedly cancelled his trip for his physical...More as soon as more breaks honestly... Jeff Blair reports that a source told him "One of these guys is going to be the Blue Jays catcher," and Ricciardi has said that there is no deal with anyone at this time and that he hopes to have a deal with someone done this week, no comment on Barajas. Newsday in NY reports that the Jays HAVE re-signed Zaun and that he was due to fly to New York to meet the Yanks' management but that has "been put on hold".

Jeff Blair has his latest article about John Gibbons and still no further news on the signings. He does however speculate about the lineup and shares the possibility of Wells hitting second. That would be one fearsome lineup if they did that.

Something we do know is that there should be a press conference for the Thomas signing tomorrow, where JP will probably avoid all catcher questions.

Sportsnet News at 10pm reports that Rod Barajas was not signed by the Jays...and that it COULD be that Zaun is CLOSE to re-signing with Toronto.

If EVER both are signed...here's their splits over the last three seasons
Barajas : vs LHP .712 OPS, vs RHP .746 OPS
Zaun: vs LHP .809 OPS, vs RHP .752 OPS

So I believe Zaun would get all the at-bats vs LHP if both are signed with them mostly splitting time vs RHP.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi there, long time reader, first comment - wth?! I'm so confused. In the TSN article it was saying how it was a good situation for Barajas and the Blue Jays, as Rod wanted to play 120 games and the Jays needed someone to do such a thing. Ugh, maybe it's a false report, lol.

Anonymous said...

I think we're all confused...honestly! Ricciardi is overspending at catcher? Or did he screw over Barajas and anger the guy he eventually signed at catcher.

Dan Julien said...

Well to tell the truth...Zaun can mash lefties (.809 OPS in his last three years) and hits well against righties. Barajas hits well against righties but can't hit lefties. So I see Zaun getting all the starts against LHP if they're both signed with a fairly even split vs RHP to rest both.

Anonymous said...

This is F'ed up! Did Barajas figure out he could make more money and f over the Jays? Or did the Jays screw him over to sign Zaun?

Dan Julien said...

It honestly seems as though barajas pulled out and the Jays then signed Zaun. But we'll find out more tomorrow!

Anonymous said...

Wells 2nd? Does that mean he'll steal more, or is it just to have break up the leftie bats??