Ultimate

And his SLG actually was higher in NY. So that gives credibility to his claim.

ANother benefit to leaving the DH spot open is that you more likely to get lucky and find someone for cheap who provides surprise production. THe odds of this happening at a particular position are much lower but now you can take someone from any position either in Spring Training or during the season.

So you want to have 2 left fielders against righties?

You are probably right. I think we should just keep him at SS for now. If I moved him anywhere it would 2B.

I said I would keep him if we do not get value for him in a trade. If we get value for him I am okay with trading him. Valencia is not better than Navarro. Valencia is limited to being a bench player or the less used side of a platoon, he will never be an every day player. The way our roster is shaping up I don't see that skillset as a fit for us.

A platoon of Smoak or Dirks with Mayberry or Valencia at 1B or DH might be better than Navarro. I'll agree with you there. I do not think it would be significantly better than Navarro. Navarro even if slightly worse than a platoon gives you the advantage of roster flexibility (not having to have a backup catcher on the roster) and you avoid the obvious disadvantages of a platoon (IE there would be cruicial situations where SMoak would have to face a lefty or Valencia would have to face a righty)

Mayberry and Tolleson have provided similar domination against lefties and provide more defensive versatility. Valencia will probably be a sweetener in a trade at some point.

There have been a few old posters with some not so smart baseball questions all along.

I don't think Valencia is of much use to the Jays anymore. Last year they were lefty heavy and needed guys who hit lefties. Now they are righty heavy and he isn't as valuable as the other Right handed bench options. If you need a right handed bat to play 2B, thats Tolleson. If you need a right handed bat to play LF you have Mayberry or Pillar, if you need a right handed bat to play 1B/DH you have Mayberry. Valencia is a 3Bman platoon option and we we won't be platooning at 3B anymore.

I don't think Drew will sign here. He could potentially go to the Yankees or Mets and the Jays do not have a good relationship with his agent.

Never claimed that he was "very good" just "good enough".

I am open to trading him if you get good value. But I don't think you have to trade him and I am not convinced we will get great value for him as there are legitimate concerns about his durability as starting catcher. He could get just as many at bats this year as last year, maybe more and not catching regularly could lead to a spike in his numbers. No reason why his market value in free agency would be hurt by that.

A lot of former catchers have become better hitters after giving up being a primary catcher. So you could see an improvement from Navarro offensively. Not having a big money DH gives you lineup flexibility to give position players days off in the field while keeping their bat in the lineup. Terminator I think we agree on the low probability of the injury being a concern. It does seem that a lot of managers worry about it though. I was hoping Donaldsons presence would take away that concern (even if that concern is fairly unnecessary in the first place). I didn't realize that Lawrie had been a catcher. Donaldson has been one more recently and at a higher level though as Lawrie's time behind the plate must have been quite a while ago.

Josh Donaldson used to be a catcher, that is definitely in the past and he won't be going back there. But in an emergency due to an injury to a catcher he could finish a game behind the plate. (in an emergency only). Martin is the catcher, Navarro DH. Navarro could catch 1 in 5 games or so. (maybe catch MB) and Martin could DH that game. If Martin is being counted on a your #2 hitter, you probably don't want his bat out of the lineup for 20% of the games. Under this scenario most teams would still feel the need for a 3rd catcher on the roster (IE Thole) in case there is an injury to the starting catcher in game. IE if Navarro is DH and Martin gets hurt, you would need to remove your DH and have your pitcher bat for the rest of the game. I think the risk of this is low enough that I would take my chances and not carry the 3rd catcher and waste a roster spot. You probably would not pinch hit for either Martin or Navarro. Martin because he is too good of a hitter to pinch hit for and Navarro is a switch hitter and would not be exposed to certain relievers. You would lose the ability to pinch run for Navarro when he is catching, but you could still pinch run for him when he is the DH (which he would be 70-80% of the time). The Blue Jays would likely have a 7 man bullpen. Meaning a 4 man bench. It would give you so much more flexibility to not have to waste a roster spot on Thole. You could have a bench of Mayberry, Pillar, Goins, Tolleson or Smoak. A lot would depend on who the 2nd basemen is. If its a average-below average defender you would want Goins around as a potential defensive replacement. If its a lefty hitter with pronounced splits you might want Tolleson as a Platoon partner. I would probably keep Thole and send him to AAA as insurance in case of an injury or if Martin and Dickey don't click.