Blake Murphy Sports Writing

Title: Blue Jays Sign Rod Barajas
Date: January 25, 2008
Original Source: The On Deck Circle
Synopsis: It goes without saying that I wasn’t happy that this signing would/could cut Sal Fasano’s playing time, although looking back it was Step 1 in his transition to farm system manager, so it turned out a positive.

While Magglio Ordonez was talking to the Feds about Jose Canseco and the Yankees were laying the groundwork for a 4-year, $30M extension for rising star second baseman Robinson Cano, Jays’ GM J.P. Ricciardi was also working hard. Yes, J.P. was at it again yesterday, no doubt unshaven, without a tie, and chomping on chewing gum, working the phones and schmoozing agents to bring in a big name superstar. That player?

Rod Barajas.

Yup, THAT Rod Barajas. Ricciardi (which I just realized I have been spelling wrong throughout his tenure here) made ammends with the back catcher who spurned the Jays’ offer of 2 years and $5.25M offer to play for us last season. Looking to replace free agent Gregg Zaun, J.P. was high on Barajas for his throwing arm, game calling ability, and apparent potential to hit the long bomb. In November 2006, the Jays came to an agreement with Hot Rod, only for him to change agents and pull out on the deal in the 11th hour. Jays fans were generally apathetic, since Barajas is by no means a big loss, but the message he sent was clear when he took less guaranteed money to play in a platoon in Philly.Well, 2007 didn’t go so well for Rod. Perhaps baseball’s karma Gods were working their magic on him, but when it came to decision time, the Phillies opted out of their team option on Barajas for 2008 worth $5M, losing Rod to free agency. Enter J.P. Ricciardi, ever the opportunist, who scooped him up for one year at $1.2M. Why the big pay cut? Well, that’s where this signing gets a little fuzzy.

Rod had a dismal 2007, playing just 47 games in what was supposed to be a platoon situation. Throwing out 33.7% of runners, Rod hit just 4 home runs with a .230 average. The scary part is that average isn’t a far cry below his career clip of .238, though two seasons ago he did hit 21 bombs. Rod looked lost, even in the NL, overmatched against most pitchers and not doing enough defensively to take playing time from Carlos Ruiz, just a .259 hitter himself.

So at $1.2M, is Barajas even an upgrade over My Pal Sal? Sure, Barajas throws out close to 35% of base runners, but Fasano isn’t far off on his career success rate. Barajas hit .230 to Fasano’s .178 (Sal had just 45 at-bats), but Fasano’s .219 career average is a negligible decline from Rod’s as far as back-up catchers go. Sal has just as much power when looking at career at-bats per home runs (though Rod has a higher power ceiling given his 21HR 2005), and their career OBPs are very similar. So statistically speaking, Barajas is a marginal upgrade with a pretty cheap price tag.

My objection comes in with intagibles, namely off-the-field effects. Sal was, by all accounts, a clubhouse favorite and a large reason for the success of the pitching staff. Sal was a mentor and a coach to a lot of the young pitchers, being familiar with them from the Triple-A level as well. Fasano knows the game well and is a future bench boss in the league, as evidenced by the fact that he helped Roy Halladay, the 30 year old Cy Young Award winner who doesn’t need advice from anyone, improve his cut fastball by adjusting the positioning of one of his fingers. The fact that one of the best pitchers in the game took an active interest in Sal’s advice, and implemented it, speaks volumes about how respected he is. Sal is well liked by the roster, and is loved by the fans—-you’ll have no trouble finding Sal’s Pals or Fasano’s Pizanos at the Rogers Centre every weekend.

So I definately have to question this move. We don’t need catching depth at Triple-A with Thigpen and Robby Diaz both fighting for time there, so sending Fasano there doesn’t make sense, either. While I’m a proponent of organizational depth, it’s my opinion that both Thigpen and Diaz could be ready for a major league role by the All-Star break, and Fasano would have been a suitable backup between now and then. Instead, J.P. has brought in a player who admittedly did not want to play in Toronto, and a man who has had to eat some humble pie in the past 12 months, seeing his numbers and paycheque decline significantly. Erik posits that J.P. has been bored in the past few weeks, what with winter meetings and most contract negotiations done, and I think that’s a possibility. Really, though, I think J.P. jumped at the chance to sign a player he really wanted at half the price he was willing to pay a year ago.

The Blue Jays’ 2008 roster is looking better as I examine it more, and the back catching position is the only question mark. J.P. tried to solidify the position by improving our depth and experience, which is commendable, just not necessary: it’s a statistical wash, a clubhouse gamble, and could start a Save The ‘Stache campaign among Jay fans.

Oh, and this is completely unrelated, but since we’re on the baseball topic, Bill Simmons has an article in the upcoming issue of ESPN The Magazine that is an impassioned and intelligent look on the effect the steroid era has on us as fans. You can check it out here.