We inch perilously towards Spring Training with this week's minicamp.

Five storylines to watch at Orioles minicamp this week - Baltimore Sun The beats love a good narrative, and who doesn't, really?

Dan Duquette still candidate for Blue Jays president | HardballTalk
Man. This is irritating.

Minor Moves: Hoffman, Colvin, Valaika, Wilson – MLB Trade Rumors O's signed former Yankee/Ray Cesar Cabral.

10 sneaky-good MLB offseason additions. | SportsonEarth.com : AJ Cassavell Article
O's have an entry in here and it seems like a bunch of other guys on the list were players the O's were checking out.

Several current managers already on the Hall of Fame track - CBSSports.com
There's a current O on the list. It's not John Russell.

Camden Depot: O's Pitching Isn't as Good as You Might Think A look at O's pitching and the p-word.

Ask An Indie Rock Dude About Sports with Panda Bear - Extra Mustard - SI.com
A chat with Roland Park native Panda Bear.

On this day in 1983, Brooks Robinson was elected to the Hall of Fame in his first year if eligibility. Turned out to be a pretty good year for the O's.

It's the birthday of Luis "Call Me!" Ayala and closer/beer baron Chris Ray. Tim Hulett, Juan Bonilla and Paul Gilliford also have birthdays today.

It is tuff for me to imagine that the Arizona Diamondbacks won't gosewisch one of their players for a proper starting catcher before spring training.

The Diamondbacks are in desperate need for major league catching talent right now. Since trading away Miguel Montero for a couple of pitching prospects, the D-Backs have a D-grade backstop on top of their depth charts in minor league veteran Tuffy Gosewisch. While he has a solid grade-A name, Gosewisch is a 31-year-old with 55 major-league (and 742 minor-league) games to his name and is not going to be the number one catcher for Arizona in 2015.

To that end, the D-Backs have been "working hard" to acquire a catcher, reaching out to the Cubs for Welington Castillo and the Blue Jays for Dioner Navarro, according to FOX Sports' Jon Morosi.

#DBacks also have had discussions about #Cubs catcher Welington Castillo, as @nickpiecoro noted recently. Cubs have three MLB catchers.

— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) January 12, 2015

#DBacks inquired to #BlueJays about Dioner Navarro, sources say, but talks have not advanced much beyond that. @FOXSports

— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) January 12, 2015

The Cubs have four catchers, three of which have had significant major league experience, on their 40-man roster (Montero, Castillo, David Ross, and Rafael Lopez) as do the Jays (Russell Martin, Navarro, Josh Thole, A.J. Jimenez). The Diamondbacks have two catchers on theirs: Gosewisch and Oscar Hernandez, who played in 94 games for the Rays' class-A Midwest League club in 2014. This is a sad Google result:

Diamondbacks general manager Dave Stewart recently complained that the asking price for catchers is too high. To AZCentral's Nick Piecoro, Stewart said this:

"Without really giving up something that's going to cost us a player that we don't want to give away, we don't have a whole lot of motion yet."

With a potential Gosewisch-Hernandez combo behind the plate, one would think that the Diamondbacks would need to start thinking about giving up something more than nothing. Navarro alone will not be nearly enough to get someone like Evan Marshall (or even Brad Ziegler due to the 2016 option) but I would think a trade can be worked out for someone like Cliff Pennington (if the Jays threw in cash to match salaries) or the recovering David Hernandez.

Bluebird Banter reader erik.t wrote a FanPost looking at possible targets in Arizona so I will point you over there instead of writing too much overlap.

What I would add is that, Stewart--an assistant in Toronto during the Gord Ash era--owes the Blue Jays for that Woody Williams-Joey Hamilton trade. OK I guess things don't work that way but if he and Alex Anthopoulos pull off a decent trade for Navarro, I'll promise to stop cursing him for his time in Toronto's front office.

With the season ever so slowly creeping towards us, it's looking like a good time to take stock of who the Blue Jays currently have on their roster and how dependable each of these assets is. With no news emerging recently and my urge to write almost forcing me to go down to the coffeeshop on the corner to start a novella, it's the perfect opportunity to start a new feature!

Borrowing from fellow SBNation site Daily Norseman, the stock market report classifies the team's players into a variety of different categories depending on their attractiveness as assets. As we know, the stock market is a wee bit volatile and the report will be revisited throughout the season to see whose stock has skyrocketed and whose stock has crashed into the depths of Enron nothingness. Without further ado.

Blue Chip Stocks

The blue chips are the most dependable stocks and have a track record of success that allows people to feel confident in their future with little chance for a significant downturn. The Blue Jays currently have five blue chip assets, which is a pretty good total.

Jose Bautista (JBAT)  and Edwin Encarnacion (EE)

The two bash brothers of the Blue Jays have done their thing for a long time in Toronto and it's doubtful they stop anytime soon. The former replacement level players are stalwarts of the team's lineup and if they experienced a downturn it would be fatal for everyone involved with the Blue Jays. The front office has followed the buy and hold strategy with JBAT AND EE and it's paid dividends.

Mark Buehrle (BUEH)

Blue chip stocks aren't always the flashiest of investments, but when the going gets tough these assets weather the storm and come out of it relatively unscathed. Buehrle has been one of the most consistent pitchers of the past decade and can be penciled in for 200 innings every single season, which makes him a rare commodity in the current Blue Jays rotation. This stock may soon be obsolete, but there's at least one more solid year of performance left in it.

Brett Cecil (CECL) and Aaron Loup (LOUP)

In an area that is hard to have consistent performance, the pair of lefties in the Blue Jays bullpen have been true blue chip stocks. Extremely reliable late in the game, CECL and LOUP are guaranteed to give solid performance and can be counted on to be the backbone of any high leverage 'portfolio'.

Solid Stocks Exploring New Markets

Sometimes solid stocks veer off their old path and decide to explore new markets with a high chance of success coming with a possible chance of disappointment. If these stocks are able to continue their success in their new surroundings they can quickly make the step up to blue chip stocks.

Josh Donaldson (JDON) and Russell Martin (RUSS)

Two players who are well-established major leaguers and had success with their former teams came to the Blue Jays this offseason and will look to continue their success north of the border. While it is expected that these assets will quickly become the blue chip stocks they're projected to be, there's a chance that playing on turf or catching a knuckleball could provide unexpected barriers to entry that reduce their attractiveness.

Mid Cap Stocks

Mid cap stocks are middle of the road stocks, which aren't quite massive assets but also are more established than most newer small cap stocks. These stocks have some history of success, but aren't blue chips and therefore carry more risk.

Jose Reyes (RYES) and R.A. Dickey (RAD)

Two remnants of the 2012 offseason transactions, Reyes and Dickey have turned in average performances during their time with the Blue Jays although there was more expected of them. There isn't a huge amount of risk involved with this pair of players, although we've also probably seen their expected return during the last two years.

Value Stocks

The value stocks are considered to have high upside and are currently underpriced with a large amount of room for an increase in value.

Marcus Stroman (STRO), Aaron Sanchez (SNCZ), Daniel Norris (DNOR) and Drew Hutchison (HTCH)

This foursome of pitchers looked impressive during the past season and could quickly become a part of the core of the team in 2015. All four players don't have enough of a track record to be considered extremely dependable but they showed some tremendous upside in 2014 which makes them perfect assets to track as they make their rise to the blue chip section of this list.

Dalton Pompey (POMP)

The only value stock on the position player side of the ledger, Pompey seems to have won himself the centre field job and will look to reach the upside that many people see in him. The risk is quite high for this home grown stock, but there isn't a ton of other options in the current market meaning the Blue Jays are counting on POMP's performance to avoid bringing down the rest of their positions.

Penny Stocks

These stocks are as close to gambling as you can get in the market and should not be considered dependable at all. While the risk is extremely high, there's the odd chance that one of these assets explodes and provides extreme value.

Justin Smoak (SMOK), Devon Travis (TRAV), Ryan Goins (AAAA), Michael Saunders (SNDR) and Danny Valencia (DVAN)

These players aren't extreme penny stocks as they all have some sort of track record that makes them appealing, but the odds they provide solid returns are fairly low. Many of these players have real upside, but if just one or two of them performed solidly then it would have to be considered a win for the Blue Jays.

Marco Estrada (ESTR), Todd Redmond (TODD), Chad Jenkins (JENK), and Steve Delabar (SPLT)

The projected back end of the Blue Jays bullpen is filled with lottery tickets that could have a solid year, especially with a new catcher in place, or they could flame out and never provide any sort of notable performance. Relievers are the ultimate penny stocks as there always seems to be a random standout name each season that comes out of nowhere and becomes the poster child for pitchers who can turn around their careers with a switch to the bullpen.

Try to find a buyer for these stocks

Maicer Izturis (IZT) and Dioner Navarro (DION)

These players no longer have a place in the Blue Jays portfolio and should be traded before the season begins. While they still have some value, they've been replaced by better options that are too similar to them to provide any sort of diversification. If the Blue Jays can dump these assets before April, they definitely should. SELL SELL SELL

There you have it, the first stock market report of the new season. It will be interesting to track each asset's progress as we go through the season and run into inevitable surprises and disappointments. What classifications do you not agree with in this report?

Miami is looking at a number of options to backup the trio of Christian Yelich, Marcell Ozuna, and Giancarlo Stanton.

The Miami Marlins are looking at a number of options in their pursuit of a fourth outfielder, according to Joe Frisaro of MLB.com. Per Frisaro, the club is primarily exploring "left-handed hitters to handle backup outfield and pinch-hit roles", with Andy Dirks, Nate Schierholtz, Ichiro Suzuki, and Will Venable appearing to be the four most probable options.

The Marlins are set to employ what may be one of the best outfields in baseball in 2015, as well as one of the youngest, with all three of its members between the ages of 23 and 25. Christian Yelich will play left, with Marcell Ozuna in center and All-Star slugger Giancarlo Stanton manning right field. The club is currently slated to use 26-year-old Austin Wates, who has yet to play in the majors, as its reserve outfielder, making the necessity of an upgrade evident.

The 28-year-old Dirks did not make an appearance in the majors in 2014, missing a majority of the season with a lower back issue. He was claimed off waivers by the Blue Jays in late October, but the club non-tendered him in December, effectively making him a free agent. A solid defensive left fielder, Dirks is a .276/.332/.413 (101 OPS+) hitter in 1,063 major league plate appearances with the Tigers from 2011 to 2013.

With the Padres loading up on outfielders this winter, Venable seems to have become expendable. The 32-year-old can play all three outfield positions and owns a 106 OPS+ and 12.4 WAR in seven major league seasons. He hit a career-worst .224/.288/.325 in 2014, but could be viewed as a reasonable bounce-back candidate, as he had just one season with a below-average OPS+ (99 in 2011) entering the year. He is also relatively low-risk, being eligible for free agency next offseason.

The 30-year-old Schierholtz seems to fit the Marlins' search parameters quite well, as someone with a heavy platoon split favored towards right-handers (.720 career OPS against righties, .651 against southpaws) and above-average defensive skills (he has been a +11 defender in right over the past three year). Ichiro, meanwhile, could be an ideal veteran option who can still provide value on the basepaths, as well as decent defense in right field.

#GetUseToIt

If you still had any hope that you may be hired to mow the grass at Rogers Centre in 2018, you might want to alter your career plans (for more reasons than one). The home of the Blue Jays will probably not have a natural grass field installed by Opening Day in 2018. There are just too many science, engineering, and financial hurdles in the way.

On Tuesday evening, the National Post's John Lott posted a piece updating fans on the progress (or rather, lack thereof) of the plans to get grass into the Rogers Centre. For every paragraph in that article, my estimated earliest completion date for this renovation project was pushed back two months.

First, despite all the talk from Blue Jays' still-president Paul Beeston about wanting grass by 2018, the club has been slow to get the science portion of the project off the ground. According to a fan's Freedom of Information request, the club and the University of Guelph (which is a public university located in a town northwest of Toronto) have been seriously discussing a collaborative research project since December 2013. Heavily redacted emails obtained in the FOI request showed that officials on Guelph's side tried to chase down the Blue Jays to formalize the agreement five times throughout 2014.

Collaborative research agreements between private corporations and public universities can be complex. They involve not only the matter of the amount of funds the university stands to receive from the sponsoring corporation and defining the exact parameters and goals of the research, but much more hairier matters such as intellectual property transfer, and what information is proprietary and what is publishable. However, Guelph, having strong roots in agricultural research, should have sufficient experience in these types of collaborations to get their end of things done quickly. But that hasn't happened (looking at you, Blue Jays) and it has been a year since the first draft was written.

Of course, the contract-signing part of contract research projects, which the Blue Jays state should be done in a week-ish, is the easy part. The hard part--actual science research--has not begun.

Lott spoke with the university's turf researcher Eric Lyons who gave an end-date of May 2016 for the first stage of the research project, which is to select (or create?) the right strain of grass for indoor growth. Two things to note about that date: a) scientific researchers are generally optimistic about timelines (and end results) when writing grant proposals, and b) that May 2016 end-date was given without reference to a start date. Does May 2016 assume that something will be signed in January 2015? Does every month's delay in signing push back the end-date by a month?

Let's assume that the Blue Jays and the University of Guelph announces their collaboration this afternoon and that Lyons and his research team manages to be lucky and finds the right species in his laboratory by May next year. Then I assume that he will need to scale-up the lab grass into something that is field-sized, which according to Lyons, will be harvest-ready in 2017 if everything goes well. (And what if the signing or research is further delayed? Are there only certain points in late summer/early fall when grass can be grown?) Only then would Lyons be able to test the grass in a simulated Rogers Centre environment to see whether it will actually survive indoors under artificial light.

Assuming all of that works out, the perfect sod would still need something other than grey concrete to be installed. So while the grass research is being conducted, engineers and architects would have to find a way to completely blast out the concrete base of the stadium, dig down to install drainage pipes as well as to allow for something like six inches of soil, as well as figure out how to change the HVAC system in the park to create necessary air currents and to dehumidify 1.6 million cubic metres of air. And once those plans (and likely more) are all drawn out, it would have to be executed by a team of contractors in about five months (between November and April) without serious disruptions to the end of one baseball season (playoffs??!??) and/or the beginning of the next.

Oh, and of course, all of this is assuming that the Toronto Argonauts actually move out after their 2017 season as planned.

While I have faith that scientists and engineers will eventually figure out how this massive project can be accomplished, I just don't see how this could be completed by April 2018.

What will be done in the Rogers Centre in the meantime is the installation of a new self-styled "temporary" AstroTurf in time for this upcoming season, as first confirmed here on Bluebird Banter last year. Sportsnet's Shi Davidi gave us more details regarding the new, (hopefully) softer artificial turf back in December.

Another huge factor is cost of this 21,650-square metre project. Back in 2013, Paul Beeston gave a quarter of a billion dollars as the figure that he has budgeted for stadium retrofits and renovations. With the cost of carving out the centrefield porch, the new AstroTurf, and other smaller items accounted for already, I don't see how whatever's remaining can fully cover this grass installation project all the way from research and development to the actual roll-out.

Unfortunately this whole thing sounds too much like a lot of the Blue Jays teams since 1993 in that it will take everything to break right for a chance at success.

According to FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal, the Blue Jays and the Orioles have discussed a possible trade package that would see current Orioles general manager Dan Duquette be released from his contract (which runs through 2018) in order to become the next CEO of the Blue Jays. However, it appears these discussions are still very preliminary.

Sources: #Orioles, #BlueJays have discussed compensation package that O’s would require for allowing GM Dan Duquette to become Jays CEO.

— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) January 14, 2015

Sources add: #Orioles, #BlueJays not close to deal on Duquette, but talks indicate O’s open to his departure; CEO higher position than GM.

— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) January 14, 2015

Duquette under contract with #Orioles through 2018. As I’ve previously reported, some O’s people want him to go. Uncomfortable situation.

— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) January 14, 2015

This situation reminds me somewhat of what happened around John Farrell's departure, although in that case it was a lateral move rather than a promotion, as it would be for Duquette. Right now, this is certainly more of an "uncomfortable situation" for the Orioles than the Blue Jays as Duquette is still handling the day-to-day affairs of the ballclub. I'm not sure how much longer Duquette can legitimately wield power with these rumours surrounding him. Orioles ownership is probably standing in the way to try and get as much as possible for freeing Duquette, who "wants to leave" Baltimore. So it might be beneficial for the Jays to drag this along as long as possible and to keep leaking bits to the press.

I am also interested to see what type of "package" was discussed between the two clubs. It would likely involve an exchange of players. I'm wildly speculating here, but would it also include an opportunity for the Orioles to interview certain Blue Jays front office personnel to fill their general manage position? Tony LaCava can't be traded per se, but if the Orioles want him and he agrees to go to there (along with a few assistants or scouts) maybe he can be considered part of the deal?

UPDATE - 6:26 pm

Not sure if this will develop into a bigger story later today but according to a Detroit writer, the Blue Jays trade for Dan Duquette is close to completion. Jon Morosi took the time to retweet it so it holds a little bit of water, although he was quick to say that he cannot confirm the report. Morosi also added that he is optimistic that the deal can be done but that Beeston is still representing the Jays at the owners' meetings along with Phil Lind.

Source tells me the Dan Duquette trade from the #Orioles to the #BlueJays is almost done.

— Tony Paul (@TonyPaul1984) January 14, 2015

Morosi called into the FAN at 6 pm and pretty much reiterated what he tweeted out so far. He told us that compensation is likely going to be "somewhat in line" with what we have seen recently in the Theo Epstein and John Farrell transactions as Major League Baseball is thought to be involved in the Blue Jays-Orioles negotiations. Morosi thinks that the players involved likely haven't been finalized yet, but we are probably looking at a middle reliever, infielder, or someone of that level rather than a top prospect or a marquee player. He believes that MLB can step in to resolve the awkward situation and allow the two clubs to decide compensation later, citing Epstein's as a precedence (the players were not traded until months after Epstein left for the Cubs). Indeed, according to Buster Onley, MLB is supportive of Duquette's move to Toronto.

Jeff Blair, filling in for Bob McCown, suggested, that it was interesting that reports said that Buck Showalter was the one meeting with Colby Rasmus rather than Duquette. It is known that Showalter has (or had) desired a player personnel role.

Intriguing.

UPDATE 2 - 6:47 pm

Peter Connolly of the Baltimore Sun spoke with Orioles owner Peter Angelos, who categorically denied that his club is in--or will be in--any sort of negotiation to release Dan Duquette from his contract, although Angelos acknowledged that the Jays did inquire.

I don't believe Angelos at all. Here has been too much chatter for absolutely nothing to have been discussed.

Did you think that we put the whole Dan Duquette to Toronto thing to bed a month ago? Wrong! This is the story that won't die for Orioles and Blue Jays fans.

The zombie story about the Toronto Blue Jays possibly being interested in hiring Dan Duquette away from the Orioles for the Jays CEO job still will not die. A month later it still craves brains. Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports reported on Wednesday that the O's and Jays have at least discussed possible compensation that would allow Duquette to leave to take that job. That would be necessary since Duquette is under contract with the O's until 2018.

It's never been entirely clear how seriously to take this whole thing as even more than most baseball rumors just about every report about it has been sourced vaguely and the information has not been very specific. In the case of today's story about "have discussed" - well, so what? Despite the full-throated insistence by O's owner Peter Angelos that Duquette would be remaining in Baltimore, he would be a fool not to at least ask what the Jays might be willing to send back to Baltimore if they really like Duquette that much.

If Angelos made that inquiry and Toronto gave him an answer that he didn't like, that still counts as them having discussed it, though it's not very serious in that case. Indeed, Rosenthal adds that the two sides are "not close" on a deal and he provides no indication that they continue to be actively discussing the situation on into today.

More interesting, and even more vague, is his further report from the last time this story was in the headlines that "some" in the Orioles organization want to see Duquette leave. The fact that anyone at all within the organization is agitating for Duquette's departure is weirder than anything they might leak to Rosenthal about the situation.

Is it a jealous subordinate who wants to move up the ladder? Someone who is convinced that Duquette now wants to have the CEO job and that he will never be happy or do his best in Baltimore? Is it a dopey intern who overheard a conversation while in the bathroom or found a paper on someone's desk who is leaping to conclusions? It could be someone else entirely, with a completely different motivation.

It is a thorny issue, because if it turns out that Duquette really would like to leave, how can we feel good about him doing his job as the Orioles GM (well, Executive Vice President of Baseball Operations) if he'd rather be in Canada as the Chief Executive Officer of an Orioles divisional rival?

As important of a part as he has had in the O's rise up from the depths of the AL East, there becomes a point where forcing him to stick around could be counterproductive to the team's best interests, if he really wants to pursue the job with the greater responsibility elsewhere. The O's are likely handcuffed from trying to persuade him to stick around with a promotion because everyone ahead of Duquette on the organizational chart is named Angelos.

Maybe it will all amount to nothing, but the fact that it's a month later and we're still talking about it is worrisome.

Dormant for a month, the story about Dan Duquette possibly going to the Blue Jays exploded back onto the Orioles news landscape on Wednesday. One report now says there's "growing optimism" a deal will get done. Then there's what Peter Angelos had to say about it.

The saga of Dan Duquette possibly leaving to join the Toronto Blue Jays as CEO is like a bad TV ad where you keep getting hit with, "But wait, there's more! (Just pay separate shipping and processing.)" You think it's all over, but then it's not and they're trying to give you extra bottles of magical cleaning solution or a hand sponge or a set of knives to go along with your new blender. What if you don't even want a set of knives? Too bad.

Our Wednesday evening update to the story comes from Tony Paul, who reports that a deal is "almost done." That follows on the earlier report from Ken Rosenthal on Wednesday, who said that the teams had discussed compensation. Paul is a writer for Detroit News and a radio host in that market, so while I don't doubt someone told him something, you do have to wonder how close he really is to the situation.

He is not the only one reporting on things moving along, though. Here's the other half of the dynamic duo of Fox Sports, Jon Morosi:

Source also told me #Orioles - #BlueJays compensation talks are ongoing, with growing optimism in recent days that deal will get done.

— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) January 14, 2015

Is that growing optimism on the part of the Jays, on the Orioles, or both? I guess we will find out. As far as the compensation, while there have been a couple of these moves in recent years, they don't tend to involve really impact names. It'd probably be along the lines of a mid-level prospect of some sort. Maybe the Jays would give the Orioles the man in the white shirt.

I don't know about you, but I'm over hearing about all of this and would like for it to either happen or go away.

UPDATE 6:45pm: It sounds like Orioles owner Peter Angelos is also among the people who just want this story to go away. He spoke to Baltimore Sun reporter Dan Connolly:

Reiterating what he said in Dec, #Orioles Peter Angelos is NOT going to deal Dan Duquette to #BlueJays. "It's not going to happen" he said

— Dan Connolly (@danconnollysun) January 14, 2015

Now, it's plenty possible that is all just posturing, even when he goes on to say that the Blue Jays have inquired about Duquette "but we are not negotiating with them in any way." If he keeps rejecting their offers, then they'd better up the ante if they really, really want to get their hands on Duquette.

But maybe it's all just blowing smoke; maybe the continuing simmer of this story is all coming out of the Toronto organization for their own nefarious purposes and maybe Angelos is serious that there's no way, no how that he will be letting Duquette go to a division rival or any other team at this time. If that's the case, then any time spent talking about it is just a waste of breath.

The whole saga is pretty bizarre. How can you have an entire offseason full of one team's GM potentially leaving to go to be the CEO of a rival team within that division, and it actually happens in January, long after any possible successor would have a chance to implement a plan for that same offseason?

Anybody who thinks Duquette didn't do much this offseason because he had his eye on the Jays job the whole time probably hasn't paid attention to the last couple of Duquette offseasons, which were also marked by a frustrating lack of action that nonetheless led to some decent, good, and even great Orioles teams.

Who would even be the next GM if Duquette were to leave? I thought it would be a few years before I ever had to think about it, but maybe not that long after all.

One thing that's certain is that, with the success the team has had the last three years, the O's GM job probably looks a lot more attractive to candidates than it did the last time around, when people from around baseball were rejecting the team left and right and ESPN's Keith Law infamously stated that no one with any self-respect would take the Orioles GM job. We did alright that time, thanks.

While reports say a deal could be close, the Orioles owner disputes that Duquette is going anywhere.

Rumors resurfaced today indicating that Dan Duquette could be heading to Toronto with some sort of compensation finding it's way back to Baltimore. Tony Paul of the Detroit News reported that a source told him the "trade" was almost done, with FoxSports' Jon Morosi reporting that compensation talks were ongoing and there was optimism that a deal could get done.

Then things took a turn. Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun countered those reports with quotes from Peter Angelos (the cause of delay in Duquette going to Toronto in the first place) saying that "it's not going to happen." Angelos reiterated that Duquette was their GM and would remain as such. He understood their interest in Duquette, but even denied that they were in negotiations.

This is quite obviously something of a tricky situation. One can understand Angelos' desire to hold on to a highly coveted asset who is under contract. Then again, if Duquette doesn't want to be in Baltimore, it's hard to see him remaining there, contract or not. These things usually do work out in the end, even if involves some sort of MLB mediation. We've seen Theo Epstein acquired by the Cubs and John Farrell acquired by the Blue Jays, so there is precedent for this sort of thing. Those precedents also indicate that any potential piece heading back to Baltimore would be quite small.

By the same token, Angelos has a history of being a squeaky wheel and getting the grease from MLB. He put up a fight against the Nationals coming to DC, and while he "lost," he came away with an extremely favorable television deal as consolation.

All of this and we have yet to figure out what may happen with incumbent Blue Jays CEO Paul Beeston, who has been in that role since 2009. It's unclear if he would be forced out of the front office altogether, or slide to a less prominent position if Duquette did indeed come aboard.

It's taken too long to implement these. Maybe MLB itself should have a countdown clock for doing things?

I'm sure you've heard the news that pitch clocks are becoming a thing. In an attempt to speed up the pace of play, the league "experimented" with pitch clocks in the Arizona Fall League, which is a moderately disguised way of saying, "We're starting at the bottom. Get ready for this." It has recently been floated around the internet that the pitch clocks will be established in AA and AAA this year, but MLB probably won't adopt them in 2015. If they're already in AA and AAA after a short experimentation period, you can fly to Vegas, go to a casino, and place a bet that there will be pitch clocks in MLB soon. You'll probably lose money though. It's an expensive town.

For those unfamiliar, the pitch clock tested in the Arizona Fall League was 20 seconds. If a pitcher failed to deliver the ball in that time, the umpire called a ball.

I'm ecstatic for this change. Football has a play clock. Basketball has a shot clock. According to Wikipedia, even televised bowling events have a shot clock. Hockey doesn't have a shot clock, but I don't know anything about hockey. Soccer doesn't have a shot clock, but their game clock don't stop til it gets enough. Baseball just has a rule that it doesn't enforce because of traditions or whatever. It's no secret that game length is increasing. This is a good step to reduce the length of games and hold the attention of youngsters who are probably playing with iPads anyway.

Since we're interested in the Royals here, I'm interested in which Royals pitchers would be affected by a pitch clock. Below is a table of each pitcher who has "Pace" data from FanGraphs. Pace is the average number of seconds between pitches. I do not believe the playoffs or spring training are included in the dataset. Assume that the pitch clock remained at 20 seconds in the MLB.

BRING BACK BRUCE CHEN!

But seriously. Ventura and Guthrie would be relatively unaffected. Vargas would have to speed up slightly. It's mostly the relievers who would be affected, which makes sense. Relievers can pitch very high leverage innings, so they may take slightly more time to adjust their jockstraps, hats, and belts and wipe their noses to make sure all is cosmically right before throwing the ball.

As a team in 2014, the Royals were on the lower end of team pace at 22.3 seconds. The Blue Jays were the quickest at 21.1 seconds. Mark Buehrle helped out there. The Rays were the slowest at 25.6 seconds. The Royals might be less affected than other teams on the whole, but much of their success was tied to the HDH trio, who take a long time to throw the ball.

Would forcing slower pitchers to pitch more quickly decrease their performance? It's possible, but that's really getting out there in speculation. You could go through the mental aspects, like the pitcher getting more nervous if he doesn't have a pitch decided by the 10 second countdown. That could be a real thing. It's also possible that pitchers will stop wandering around and won't be affected much. We'll have to wait to find out.

Another aspect of the pitch clocks is the batter. Part of the problem is that the batter hops out and readjusts everything between each pitch. There are separate rules being discussed to address this.

There could be unintended consequences. What about timeouts? Will catchers call time more often? Will coaches run to the mound more often? There are things that need to be worked out to make sure the actual effect is not the opposite of the intended effect. There are ways to limit these things as well. MLB just needs to decide on which ones.

I'm in favor of shorter games. I'm in favor of increasing the percentage of time during which there is action over inaction. This is a good step. Now the clock is ticking on implementing the change.

It's like he never left. It's also like he was never here. Both statements are true. That is the paradox of Andy Dirks.

According to FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal, the Blue Jays have made a small move today in inking outfielder Andy Dirks to a minor league deal, which includes an invitation to big league spring training. Rosenthal tweeted out the news less than an hour after the Bisons' Hot Stove Luncheon, during which Blue Jays assistant general manager Andrew Tinnish repeatedly assured that the club was prepared to add minor league free agents to help build a winning team in Buffalo. He did not mention or even suggest that this move as it has not been finalized yet.

Source: #BlueJays sign outfielder Andy Dirks to a minor-league contract with invitation to major-league spring training.

— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) January 15, 2015

Dirks, if you recall, was claimed by the Blue Jays on waivers from the Tigers after the season before being granted free agency after the club decided against tendering him a major league contract for 2015. After a month or so on the open market looking for a major league deal, Dirks decided to return to the Jays' system. He probably signed for much less than the $1.6 million MLB Trade Rumors projected him to get from arbitration. Savings!

The soon-to-be 29-year-old is a left handed batter who has played all three outfield positions, although left field was his home for the bulk of the time. He missed all of 2014 with a back injury.

All the talk about a certain employee of the Baltimore Orioles possibly leaving his club for a promotion had overshadowed the news of the Toronto Blue Jays' loss of Clayton McCullough to a promotion earlier this week. On Monday, the Los Angeles Dodgersannounced that they had hired away McCullough to make him their new minor league field coordinator.

"Clayton McCullough is a guy we're really going to miss," Blue Jays minor league director Charlie Wilson told Bluebird Banter at the Buffalo Bisons Hot Stove Luncheon, adding that "it's really tough to lose a guy like Clayton."

McCullough served as the Blue Jays' minor league Coordinator of Instruction last season after two championship seasons as the manager of the Vancouver Canadians.

McCullough, who just turned 35, started his coaching career as the hitting instructor for the rookie-level Pulaski Blue Jays in 2005 at the tender age of 25. When he took that role he had just retired as a player with 104 minor league games under his belt, making it up to triple-A for his last professional game. McCullough was promoted to be the GCL Blue Jays' manager in 2007, then went on to manage the single-A Lansing Lugnuts for a couple of seasons before taking the A-advanced Dunedin Blue Jays to two straight postseasons in 2010 and 2011. His efforts led him to be named the Florida State League Manager of the Year in 2011. As a former catcher, he would also be involved with catching instruction.

Last season McCullough worked primarily with the youngest position prospects in the organization, working from the Dominican Summer League up to the Florida State League. He spoke with Blue Jays From Away about the details of his coordinator role last year.

I have never had a chance to meet McCullough or to really see him in action, but I have heard nothing but positive things about him from players and other coaches in the organization. He has had an incredible amount of experience and success at a very young age.

Wilson, for one, believes that McCullough has a very bright future in the game. "The sky's the limit for him. He'll do very well in this game. Major league manager, farm director, general manager, who knows. He's that good."

The Blue Jays are not actively hiring someone to fill in the hole left by McCullough's departure right now, but it is likely they will find someone by 2016.

Other notes

Sal Fasano will be moving from minor league catching to pitching instructor (to replace Dane Johnson, who was promoted to major league bullpen coach) this upcoming season but the Blue Jays will not be looking to hire a new catching instructor for 2015. Wilson said that Fasano will still do some catching instruction along with field coordinator Doug Davis, Lugnuts manager Ken Huckaby, Canadians manager John Schneider, and GCL coach Paul Elliott, all of whom were former catchers.

Fasano, Wilson, Johnson, and Pete Walker recently completed two-and-a-half days of planning in Dunedin. Wilson said that the club is "very comfortable" with having Fasano as the franchise's first non-pitcher pitching coordinator. I would be interested to see whether the Fasano will return to that role in 2016.

On Dane Johnson's move to the big leagues, Wilson said he was very happy for Johnson, but he will be another big loss for the minor league side, saying that "he's extremely competent, outstanding pitching coach, and was a fabulous pitching coordinator and very deserving of the promotion."

According to a partially-capitalized tweet from CBS Sports' Jon Heyman, left-handed reliever Brett Cecil has avoided arbitration by signing a one-year, $2,475,000 contract with the Blue Jays, a nice raise from the $1.3 million he earned in 2014.

Brett Cecil settles with blue jays for $2.475M

— Jon Heyman (@JonHeymanCBS) January 15, 2015

Cecil, 28, has been outstanding for the Blue Jays since his conversion to a reliever, making the All-Star roster in 2013. The four-eyed lefty was projected to make $2.6 million in arbitration according to MLB Trade Rumors' magical formula. With the departure of Casey Janssen, Cecil is widely viewed as the best reliever out of the Blue Jays bullpen and he looks to be the leading candidate for the closer's role. He is under club control through the end of the 2016 season.

Josh Donaldson, Marco Estrada, Michael Saunders, and Danny Valencia have yet to settle on a figure with the Blue Jays, and they will have until this Friday (tomorrow) before they formally exchange salary figures with the club. It is Blue Jays policy to not continue negotiating one-year contracts after the salary exchange--so if a player fails to settle by tomorrow, they will either go through to an arbitration hearing to decide an amount for a one-year contract or have to sign a longer-tern extension.

The Blue Jays have not needed to attend a salary arbitration hearing since 1997.

Update

The Blue Jays couldn't come to terms with Josh Donaldson and Danny Valencia, so they will be exchanging numbers and going to arbitration, unless they come to an agreement with each on multi-year deals (as per the team's self imposed rule). I really can't see them wanting to go more than one year with Danny Valencia, so I'm figuring our annual mentions of Bill Risley may be coming to an end.

Two down, Jon Heyman tells us (how come he gets told half an hour before the Jays PR department sends out the news?):

michael saunders, jays settle at $2.875M for 2015

— Jon Heyman (@JonHeymanCBS) January 16, 2015

So with Cecil signed yesterday, we are waiting for Marco Estrada, Danny Valencia and Josh Donaldson.

MLB Trade Rumors guessed that Saunders would get $2.9 million, so the Jays have $25.000 to put free pop in the pop machine in the clubhouse. Though, since J.A. Happ is making $6.7 million this year, they have a bigger savings. Saunders hit .273/.341/.450 in 78 games for the Mariners last year, I'd be very happy if he hit much the same for us, in more games.

Which one comes next?

Apparently it is Marco Estrada, who signed a 1-year, $3.9 million contract. Trade Rumors thought he'd get $4.7 million, a big saving for the Jays. Now, unlike the Mets, the Jays won't be charging their players to attend their workout camps.

Missing out on signing Takashi Toritani, who decided to remain in Japan, the Blue Jays signed the next best Japanese middle infielder available in Munenori Kawasaki according to a Bisons media release. Like the previous two seasons, Kawasaki signed a minor league deal with an invitation to major league camp in spring training.

The Blue Jays still do not have a bona fide everyday second baseman in the major leagues so I think we can all expect that he would appear on the major league roster for a good length of time some time this year. He brings a decent glove at second, short, and third (although his arm is probably not good enough at third for prolonged periods) and an acceptable bat so he is actually a good, affordable bench guy. We just don't want him to end up starting five games a week.

The 33-year-old fan favourite is believed to have turned down a chance to play in Japan for more money than this minor deal would give him. It's nice to see that there are players out there who enjoy playing in Toronto (and Buffalo).

Kawasaki will likely return to play short in cold, cold Buffalo to begin the season. Whether he is the starting shortstop or the backup infielder down there probably depends on how Ryan Goins hits and whether Goins can stick in the big leagues.

After being designated for assignment on Wednesday to make room for the waiver pick-up of Matt West, right-handed pitcher Cory Burns was outrighted to Triple-A Buffalo today. Although he is off the 40-man roster, the Arizona native will still be invited to Major League spring training giving him a chance to pitch his way into the back end of the bullpen.

Shi Davidi broke the news on a relatively busy day for Blue Jays beat writers with the arbitration tidbits and whatnot:

#BlueJays outright RHP Cory Burns to triple-A Buffalo. Will invite him to spring training.

— Shi Davidi (@ShiDavidi) January 16, 2015

Burns, a 27-year-old righty, hasn't seen the majors since 2013 with the Rangers and only has a total of 29.1 innings over two seasons. In 2014 he was absolutely crushed in the Pacific Coast League with the Texas Rangers affiliate before heading to Tampa Bay and pitching quite well in the high minors.

The Blue Jays now have a small collection of fringe bullpen arms who could compete for the final few spots if no other moves are made. With the way some seasons go for Toronto relievers maybe one of them will end up as closer by August.

It appears a certainty that the Blue Jays will be going to arbitration for the first time since 1997 as they are quite far apart from Josh Donaldson and Danny Valencia in their arbitration filings. While the team did avoid the process with Brett Cecil and Marco Estrada, it seems that the front office will go through the difficult exercise of proving why their players aren't worth as much as they think they are.

In the case of Donaldson, the Blue Jays filed at $4.3 million while the third baseman countered with a $5.75 million proposal. This is obviously an extreme gap that would be difficult to narrow through simple negotiations, meaning that before Donaldson even puts on a Blue Jays jersey he (and his representatives) will be forced to argue his worth.

Recall that the arbitrator chooses one number or the other making the result of this process quite impactful on the 2015 payroll and beyond. With Donaldson being a super two player, if his first year of arbitration eligibility nets him a $5.75 million pay check then things will get very expensive in a few years as he approaches free agency. On MLBTR it was predicted that Donaldson would receive $4.5 million in 2015, which is clearly much closer to the Blue Jays number.

Jon Heyman had the Donaldson arbitration filings:

josh donaldson submitted $5.75M request, jays submitted $4.3M

— Jon Heyman (@JonHeymanCBS) January 16, 2015

The second Blue Jays player likely going to arbitration is Danny Valencia, reportedly with a smaller gap between the two parties than what Donaldson faces. The team filed at $1.250 million while the player filed at $1.675 million, making the difference still not insignificant considering the relative size of the salary. With Valencia contending for the final spot on the roster this outcome will also be important for the team going forward. It's unlikely that the front office will want to try and work out a multi-year extension with the fringe infielder, making it almost a guarantee that the two sides end up in arbitration. It was predicted at MLBTR that the former Royal would receive $1.7 million which obviously exceeds both filings. Maybe Valencia's agents will point out that he could be able to play second base?

Source: Danny Valencia files at $1.675 while #BlueJays file at $1.250

— Ben Nicholson-Smith (@bnicholsonsmith) January 16, 2015

Alex Anthopoulos spoke about the impending arbitration process quite frankly, noting that it was clear the two sides were going to have a tough time mutually agreeing on a salary:

AA said he knew early on w/ Donaldson & Valencia they were far apart. "...Sometimes you need to have a 3rd-party to settle these things."

— Brendan Kennedy (@BKennedyStar) January 16, 2015

One last note from Anthopoulos is that the team nearly had a trade in place for a reliever earlier in the week, but it fell apart:

After Q bout relievers, AA says he's been "pretty engaged" in trade talks. Was "close" early in week, but fell apart. Now nothing imminent.

— Brendan Kennedy (@BKennedyStar) January 16, 2015

The Mariners signed all their arbitration eligible players besides Tom Wilhelmsen. The Mariners will sign Tom Wilhelmsen soon. Here are some words about it.

The M's got five steps closer to finalizing their 2015 Roster on Friday by avoiding salary arbitration with five players--Dustin Ackley, Charlie Furbush, Austin Jackson, Logan Morrison, and the newly acquired Justin Ruggiano. Missing from the list, however, is everyone's favorite bartender-turned-Deadhead-turned-closer-turned-competent-bullpen-arm Tom Wilhelmsen.

Wilhelmsen remains the only arbitration eligible player left unsigned by the M's, as he is seeking a contract in the range of $2.2 million over the $1.4 million offered up by the club. As Ryan Divish notes over at the Seattle Times, it's unlikely the two sides will make it all the way to arbitration hearings in February, as the Mariners typically end up avoiding the process internally (Of course, I'm not sure which club wouldn't rather deal with a salary discrepancy of under a million dollars for a 31-year old right handed reliever internally, so that fire has probably been extinguished before it even started). Wilhelmsen will most likely get something in between, and then hopefully have a successful 2015 coming out of one of the best bullpens in all of baseball.

Something about all this feels kind of interesting, though. Wilhelmsen certainly deserves his money this season--he is the longest-tenured member of the M's bullpen, and despite having a confusing mechanical breakdown after saving the city of Seattle from the terror of Brandon League, he has proven himself adaptable by performing admirably in a new role last season. In the process, he's had to change his arsenal a little bit, relying more on his slider and changeup after losing the pinpoint control of the 12-6 curveball that led him to a 1.4 win season in 2012. He developed a bit of a home run problem last season, but his xFIP actually dropped nearly an entire point down to 3.69 after a career-high 4.57 in 2013. He still misses bats, and he still hits 98 on his fourseamer. Tom Wilhelmsen is going to get a raise.

But will he get the full $2.2 million dollars? That amount of money wouldn't only make him the second highest-paid member of the Mariners' pen, it would also put him in company with A's reliever Jesse Chavez and the Giants' Yusmeiro Petit, each of whom were offered as much from their clubs earlier in the week. This is a bit arbitrary, but keep in mind that both Chavez and Petit have been shuffled in and out of their clubs' starting rotations after dealing with an injury onslaught and Tim Lincecum respectively. Both are certainly great pitchers on their own merit, but much of their value comes in the fact that they can adapt to fill holes where needed in the wake of contingency. Tom isn't a starter, but you can fill in the blanks yourself.

Now, no, I know what you're thinking. I'm not saying that the Mariners have had talks to convert Tom Wilhelmsen to a starter because he's asking for the same amount of money as players who have done just that. But the Mariners have discussed that very move before, intrigued after he made that spot start against the Twins last July, and he surely knows it. Here's Lloyd, quoted in a Greg Johns piece from MLB.com, when asked about that very possibility:

I mean, I think it would be awfully hard to build him this year, but certainly going into Spring Training that's something we would probably entertain. Why not? He's 94-97 [mph] with real good sink, he's got a cutter, curveball, slider, changeup and is a power guy who has flourished in the long roles. And he's mature enough probably to handle it.

Lloyd seems to be floundering on sides here, and you can certainly read his intent on either side of the coin. But it seems clear that both the club and the player are aware that there remains some untapped starting potential waiting to be taken advantage of, and as a result, Tom is rightfully going to try and get a few extra dollars. And he probably will, too.

Of course, there is a huge difference between wholly converting a reliever into a starter, and we've covered that ground here as recently as October. Crucial to Chavez and Petit's success (and their one-and-a-half-win 2014s) wasn't that two game-ready starters were found biding their time in warmup jackets on the bench a la Hisashi Iwakuma or R.A. Dickey--it was the fact that they were each able to adapt to changing circumstances as needed.

If you remember, Tom's start against the Twins last July didn't go quite as well as Petit and Chavez' transitions to the first innings. By the third, Wilhelmsen was already appearing tired, running into trouble and eventually getting pulled for Danny Farquhar in what effectively turned into a long bullpen day. But Lloyd remained intrigued, giving him the first innings against the Blue Jays in September when the Mariners had to pull Chris Young upon his total implosion. He doesn't appear ready to make successful spot starts yet, but the conversations (and games) have certainly been had. And as a result, you kind of have to wonder what the possibility of prepping Wilhelmsen for longer appearances looks like this spring, despite the fact that the M's have added injury depth absent last season in Roenis Elias and Erasmo Ramirez.

Wilhelmsen cannot be unaware of the situation he is in. His $2.2 million offer may be admittedly higher than what he actually expects to receive from the club before arbitration, but it clearly suggests he understands that he isn't going to simply be a spot arm out of the pen next season. And likewise, the M's reticence to match it also mirrors their belief that he may not be ready to last seven innings in the wake of impending injury.

Either way, we are talking about a difference of a couple hundred thousand dollars on the balance sheet of a billion-dollar transnational corporation. Tom Wilhelmsen is going to make a little more money than the Mariners initially offered him, and then we will get to watch him throw baseballs in a few months. Dance on, my friend. Dance on.

First Russell Martin, then Josh Donaldson and now James Shields?

According to Ken Rosenthal, the Blue Jays brain trust has had internal discussions about making a run at James Shields.

The surprising thing for me is that front office internal discussions were mentioned in the media this early in the process as Alex Anthopoulos is infamous for keeping things quiet till things were almost completed.  The mystery Jays exec strikes again!

Signing James Shields would lay to rest (for now) comments that Rogers is Cheap, rumors that the Jays are almost at the end of their player budget for this season, change the dynamic of the rotation (a starting five of RA Dickey, Mark Buehrle, James Shields, Marcus Stroman and Drew Hutchison is much more imposing) and put Aaron Sanchez in the bullpen (making it better) for now.

Personally I wouldn't get my hopes up as it has been noted in the article that more teams would enter the market for James Shields as his agent's asking price got cheaper (went from initial rumors of 5 years 110 million to 4 Years 70-80 million.)

Tell us what you think.

If the Jays have money for James Shields, why haven't they spent on the obvious holes in the bullpen and second base?

The idea that the Blue Jays are having 'internal discussions' about signing James Shields kind of amuses me. I picture Alex, alone in an office, talking to himself:

"I should sign Shields"

"But I have no money"

"What if he signed really cheap?"

"I have no money, really cheap is still going to be more than no money"

"I could back load a contract"

"Yeah if I do that, then it will become Duquette's problem"

And, knowing Alex, that would go on for another hour.

I figure that the chances of us signing Shields is almost zero, unless Mr. Edward Rogers III does get Dan Duquette to run the team. If that were to happen, I'd bet that there will suddenly be more money. I think if Duquette becomes team president, then Rogers will give the team a bunch of money, so he can make a big splash and get the fans on his side right away.

And think of how much Mr. Rogers will be saving by forgetting about the idea of real grass, once he kicks Beeston out the door. I'm betting it is never mentioned again. I get the feeling that Rogers have already decided it isn't going to happen, so why bother really studying it. I hope I'm wrong, but I think that if it was going to happen, they have started studying it by now and have some clear idea if it could be done and how much it would cost. But I digress....

The team does have a lot of money coming off the books after this year, so if they could get Shields for 4 years and some sort of back loaded contract, in the area of $80 million, they should be able to afford it. Then, if he is going for that, the Jays won't be the only team that is suddenly interested. It would be interesting if, by lowering his price, Shields got a bidding war going and got someone back to the 5 years and $100 million he had been looking to get earlier.

In case you are wondering, Shields hasn't been great at Rogers Centre. He's had 10 career starts, a 4-3 record, 4.09 ERA. The number that sticks out is 20 home runs allowed in 70 innings. Good strikeout to walk rate there, 61 strikeouts, just 13 walks. but the 20 home runs is, by far, the most home runs he's allowed in any road park. not that I'd read too much into 10 career starts.

If there is money around, I'm not sure that I wouldn't rather the team spend it on a second baseman and a couple of relievers than Shields, but I guess it is a little late for that, there isn't much left for free agents at those spots.

Shields would give us another guy with a 200 innings streak going, he has thrown over 200 innings the last 8 seasons. Between him, Mark Buehrle (14 straight seasons) and R.A. Dickey (just 4 straight, but still, that's pretty good).

Signing Shields would allow the Jays to keep Aaron Sanchez in the bullpen for the year, then next season, when Buehrle is gone (and maybe Dickey as well) Sanchez can slide into the rotation. Another worry I have is that, if Sanchez were to be a reliever next year, and he does a good job, like I'd expect, it will be hard for the team to move him into the rotation. People will talk about how great Joba Chamberlain was, when he first came up as a reliever, and how trying to make him a starter didn't work and how he was never the same.

Adding Shields would give us one of the better rotations in the AL East, but if we had the money around to sign him, I don't understand why Alex has been so cheap filling out the bullpen or looking for someone to play second.