Would you vote Rafael Palmeiro into the Baseball Hall of Fame?

Next up would be Hideo Nomo, but he's 123-109 with a 4.24 ERA, in 323 games over 12 years. He was NL Rookie of the Year in 1995, and an All-Star that year. Not a Hall of Famer.

It's Rafael Palmeiro's fourth time on the ballot. He hasn't received much love from the writers. getting 11.0%, 12.6% and 8.8% of the vote.

Rafael Palmeiro is an interesting case. He hit 569 home runs, drove in 1835 and had a .288/.371/.515 line in 2831 MLB games. He had a lot of good seasons but never finished higher than 5th in the MVP voting and he only made 4 All-Star teams. He won 2 Silver Sluggers and 3 Gold Gloves. One of those Gold Gloves is my pick for the worst GG choice ever. In 1999 he played 28 games at first base and 128 at DH for the Rangers, and Gold Glove voters gave him the award. Why? Well the gave him it the year before and why research before checking the box the next year?

His career numbers are pretty good. He is 12th in career homers, 18th in games played, 25th in hits and 16th in RBI. But then the is this other thing. Yep he said 'I have never used steroids' and then, just a little bit later, he tested positive. Also the tested positive in hypocrisy, which, to me, is a worse crime.

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Fortunately there hasn't been much going on in Jays land or someone might wonder why the weekend links guy isn't doing his job (real job getting in the way.) However, he has managed to get off his butt and scrounge (and really scrounge) for links about the Jays this weekend.

JAYS LINKS

Blue Jays Notebook: Knuckleball hangover - Sportsnet.ca
R.A. Dickey’s trademark pitch may have an unexpected impact on Blue Jays relievers. This week's Blue Jays notebook also includes notes on the market for starting pitchers and relievers.

Value of Jays' relievers could be on the rise - Sportsnet.ca
Blue Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos isn’t worried about having to wait to upgrade the roster. He thinks the value of the relievers is only going to climb by playing it slow.

MLB off-season should soon gain momentum - Sportsnet.ca
Dan Johnson remains the biggest addition of the Blue Jays' off-season so far. It's been really slow. But there are many reasons to believe that the market for trades and signings could pick up before long.

Jays' Gose heading to winter ball, after all - Sportsnet.ca
Toronto Blue Jays outfielder Anthony Gose is headed to Venezuela in the coming days to play winter ball with Tiburones de La Guaira.

The Blue Jay Hunter: Parting with Prospects like Stroman and Sanchez
Everyone loves to hoard them, but nobody wants to part with them.

Blue Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos must create an immediate impact: Griffin | Toronto Star
The reason that Jays’ GM Alex Anthopoulos never had to worry about losing his job following a disappointing 75-win season was not the result of what he created on the field. Note: SIGH, he did last year Griff.

MLB LINKS

The Blue Jay Hunter: The Best Moustaches in Baseball: Part Five
Well, it's been a few years since the last installment of the best moustaches in baseball, but after a brief hiatus I've decided to reinstate the yearly tribute to the finest moustaches in baseball history.

Reports: The Nationals Asked D.C. To Buy Them A Roof For $300 Million
The math of stadium financing always seems to be addition. Nationals Park opened in 2008, and the $693 million ballpark was entirely paid for through public funding.

Todd Jones Does Not Believe Todd Jones Belongs In The Hall Of Fame
Todd Jones, who had a lengthy and perfectly respectable career as a reliever, has some thought on his appearing on the Hall of Fame ballot.

When Walk Years Don’t Work | FanGraphs Baseball
The theory goes that some players can turn it on in the final years of their existing contracts on their way to free agency. The data say otherwise, as both writers and teams, have discovered.  Note:  Jays fans know this well... so does Josh Johnson.

ODD LINK

The Best Squirrel-Related Headline Of The Week
The best in at least a week, maybe more. It's just tremendous: "Scunthorpe fans asked not to dress as squirrels for Alan Knill return."

TODAY IN NEPOTISM DOESN'T ALWAYS WORK OUT HISTORY

Baseball History November 30th - National Pastime - Baseball History
2009 TBS spokesman Jeff Pomeroy confirms Chip Caray, who just completed his third season as the lead play-by-play announcer, and the network have decided to part ways. The son of the beloved late Braves broadcaster Skip Caray and the grandson of the legendary play-by-play announcer Harry Caray, had been heavily criticized for his postseason work in which he miscalled plays, cited misinformation and for being very subjective while calling the game.

Would you vote Mike Piazza into the Baseball Hall of Fame?

It is Mike Piazza 's second time on the Hall of Fame ballot, he had 57.8%of the vote last year. Someone said he had back acme and that's enough for a conviction with the Writers fine sense of justice

Piazza was probably the best offensive catcher of all-time. He holds the all-time record for home runs as a catcher.

Over 16 seasons, Piazza hit .308/.377/.545 with 427 home runs, 2127 RBI in 1912 games.

He was Rookie of the Year in 1993, played on 12 All-Star teams, won 10 Silver Slugger awards, got MVP votes 9 times, never winning but coming in 2nd twice, 3rd once and 4th once.

Mike has an offensive WAR of 63.2, good for 66th all-time. He also caught 2 no-hitters.

A pretty amazing career for a guy that was drafted in the 62nd round, only because Tommy Lasorda was his Godfather.

He also had a couple of run ins with Roger Clemens. He was hit in the head by a Clemens pitch, which put him out of the lineup with a concussion. Then, in the World Series, Clemens threw a piece of a broken bat in his directions. Clemens said he was throwing it to the bat boy, but I don't know why he would throw a broken bat that hard at a bat boy. Anyone that gets on Clemens' bad side is aces with me.

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Would you vote Curt Schilling into the Baseball Hall of Fame?

I'm going to skip Kenny Rogers, though his win-loss record (219-156) is almost identical to Schilling's and he had a handle of saves (28), but the 4.27 ERA doesn't scream Hall of Fame and he never won more than 18 games in a season and only got Cy Young votes once, finishing 5th in 2006. He did play in 4 All-Star games and had 5 Gold Gloves. Pitched in 762 games, starting 474 of them.

Curt Schilling had a 216-146 record but things seem to click for him at age 30. After he turned 30 he won 162 games, winning over 20 haves 3 times, finishing 2nd in Cy Young voting 3 times and making 6 All-Star teams.

He has 3 World Series rings (we beat out his Phillies in 1993 or he would have 4). He was co-MVP for the 2001 World series. And you likely remember the 'bloody sock' from 2004.

Course there is some post career stuff, but that shouldn't come into the voting. He's a outspoken Republican. He rode his video game company into the ground, costing himself a fortune.

On the plus side he is a fan of OOTP Baseball: "The only baseball sim I've ever gotten addicted to" was OOTP.

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Would you vote Lee Smith into the Baseball Hall of Fame?

I'm planning to finish these polls today. Then maybe the Jays will do something worth discussing tomorrow. A guy can dream.

I'm skipping Rickie Sexton. He was a really good player, hit .261/.344/.507 with 306 home runs and 943 RBI, over a 12 year career. If he played longer he'd likely have a stronger case. His top years were quite good. He hit 45 home runs twice, and 30 or more homers 6 times. He drove in 100 runs 6 times. He was an All-Star twice. I'd put him in the Hall of very good.

Lee Smith is number 3 on the all time saves list, which is his strongest argument for the Hall. And he was a closer in the old sense of the word, he'd close out games pitching 2 or 3 innings, if needed.

He was an intimidating guy out on the mound. 6'5" and 220, maybe not as scary looking as Jon Rauch but a much better pitcher. He played on 7 All-Star teams, won 3 reliever of the year awards and came in second in the 1991 Cy Young voting.

Right now there are only 5 relief pitchers in the Hall: Goose Gossage, Hoyt Wilhelm, Rollie Fingers, Bruce Sutter and Dennis Eckersley. Smith might not be quite as good as those 5 but he's close.

This is his 12th time on the ballot. Last year he was on 47.8% of the ballots. He's been running between 40 and 50% the last 6 years. I doubt he'll get any more of the vote this year.

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Would you vote Sammy Sosa into the Baseball Hall of Fame?

J.T. Snow is the next on the ballot and he was an ok player for much of his 16 year career, but he doesn't belong in the Hall. In 1716 games, he had 189 home runs, 877 RBI and a .268/.357/.427, not numbers that should get a first baseman into the Hall of Fame. He did win 6 Gold Gloves.

You know the Sammy Sosa story. He wasn't a great player, early in his career, he chased too many pitchers, didn't take walks. Then suddenly he started hitting home runs by the dozen. He and Mark McGwire had a great battle to be the one to beat out Roger Maris for the home run record. They were credited with saving the MLB after 2 strike/lockout shortened seasons.

He hit .273/.344/.634 with 609 home runs, 1667 RBI, in 2354 games over 18 seasons. He was an All-Star 7 times, MVP once, and came in 2nd once, and won the Silver Slugger 6 times,

I'll admit I was never a fan. Mark McGwire had a value before the PEDs, but Sammy didn't have much value outside of the home runs. And he's been a bit of a jerk about it all, or at least comes off as one in interviews.

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Would you vote Frank Thomas into the Baseball Hall of Fame?

The Big Hurt, Frank Thomas, was a fantastic player in his prime and remained a good player into his late 30's.

He played 19 seasons, hit 521 home runs, 1667 RBI, 1667 walks with a .301/.419/.555 slash line.

He drove in 100+ runs 11 times, took 100+ walks 10 times, was an All-Star 5 times (you would have thought he'd make the team more often), he was MVP twice, won a batting title and won the Silver Slugger 4 times.

And there is this, borrowed from South Side Sox:

And if you're a peak voter, he's even better. His first eight years rank among the greatest in major-league history. From 1990 to 1997, he hit .330/.452/.600, good for an OPS+ of 182.

The top five:

Ted Williams, 195
Frank Thomas, 182
Ty Cobb, 180
Lou Gehrig, 179
Mickey Mantle, 176

He would be in the conversation for greatest right-handed hitter of all time.

And, no one credible has ever made the case he used PEDs. It's tough because people take it for granted the if someone hit more than 20 home runs in a season, he must have been on something.

To me, the only question is: does he go in wearing a Blue Jays cap?

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Would you vote Alan Trammell into the Baseball Hall of Fame?

Next on the ballot is Mike Timlin....who was a good player for a long time, but come up some short of a Hall of Fame career. He played for 18 seasons, put up a 3.63 ERA, in 1058 games (number 8 on the all time list) with 141 saves. He never made an All-Star team, which seems unfair. On the plus side, he has 4 World Series rings, 2 of them came from the Jays. He was on the mound at the end of the 1992 World Series, and made the throw to Joe Carter, to get Otis Nixon out.

Alan Trammell was a terrific shortstop. There were some good ones in the AL in the 1980s. Trammell, Cal Ripken and Robin Yount changed the way the position was looked at. Before those three, teams tended to go with good glove, bad bat players at short. Those three showed you could have a good glove and a good bat. Ripken and Yount are in the Hall of Fame. Trammell isn't, yet.

Trammell hit 185 home runs, drove in 1023 and stole 236 bases in a 20 year career, all with the Detroit Tigers. His career batting line was .285/.352/.415. You can find his career numbers here.

He was named to 6 All-Star teams, won 4 Gold Gloves and 3 Silver Sluggers. His career WAR is 66.9, 101st on the career list. Bill James had him ranked as the 9th best SS of all time in his New Historical Abstract. He, more than likely, would have dropped a couple of spots in the 10 years since James wrote that.

He played most of his 20 year career with Lou Whitaker (a fine player, if not quite at the same level as Trammell). Off the top of my head I can't think of another pair of middle infielders that played together for most of 19 years.

This is Trammell's 13th time on the ballot, last year he appeared on 33.6% of the Writers' ballots.

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Would you vote Larry Walker into the Baseball Hall of Fame?

Made it to the end of the ballot. Ok Jays, you can make some news anytime now....please.

Larry Walker is another former Expo on the Hall of Fame ballot and another Canadian too. He had a 17 year career, the first 6 with the Expos, then 9 and a half with the Rockies and a season and a half with the Cardinals.

Walker hit 383 home runs, had 1311 RBI, and 230 stolen bases with a very nice slash line of .313/.400/.565. He was the NL MVP in 1997, played on 5 All-Star teams, won 7 Gold Gloves and 3 Silver Slugger awards. He had a 67.3 career WAR, 96th all-time. His career numbers are here.

His numbers look great, but then he played in Denver, in the pre-humidor years. With the Expos he was a great fielding, doubles hitting outfielder. When he got into the thin air of Colorado he started hitting home runs by the dozen. His best season with the Rockies he hit 49 homers, had 130 RBI, with 78 walks and 33 stolen bases and a line of .366/.452/.720.

I really liked Larry Walker. He had a lot of range in the outfield, and had a great arm. It is kind of unfortunate that the play that everyone remembers is when Larry handed the fly ball he caught to a kid in the stands and then found out that there was only 2 out.

This is Larry's 4th time on the ballot, last year he was listed on 21.6% of the Writers' ballots, he isn't gaining any momentum.

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The idea that Ryan Goins can start at second base for the Blue Jays is a romantic notion. Like most romantic notions it's also hogwash.

Coming off an absolutely nightmarish season it appeared that the Blue Jays headed into the offseason with three main problem areas on the roster: catcher, second base and the starting rotation. According to FanGraphs, those three position groups combined for 3.7 WAR on the year, which is abysmal. When you remove R.A. Dickey and Mark Buehrle from the equation, you are looking at -0.8 WAR from your catchers, second basemen and #3, 4, and 5 starting pitchers (not that the Toronto rotation was healthy enough to have a true 3, 4 and 5). Needless to say, some upgrades are in order.

When it comes to upgrading the roster this offseason most of the discussion has surrounded catchers and starters. This is understandable as J.P. Arencibia is one of the most reviled men in the city and the majority of the rumors surrounding the Blue Jays this offseason have involved starters like Jeff Samardzija. However, there is another reason that Jays fans have spent less time pining for second baseman (although at Bluebird Banter there has been some serious, and I would say justified, pining for Omar Infante): a man by the name of Ryan Goins.

Ryan Goins was called up to the big club in late August and won the hearts of Jays fans in short order with his dazzling defense. He started his career on an eight-game hitting streak, and although his success with the bat would fizzle down the stretch the enthusiasm Jays fans had for him would not. FanGraphs WAR had Goins as worth 0.4 WAR in just over a month, which would have made him an above-average starter if he played all year. For that reason it appears that some consider him a reasonable choice to start this season as the Blue Jays second baseman. The problem is that Goins should not be Plan A at second base; he probably shouldn't be Plan B either. Those who are pro-Goins have been seduced by aesthetically-pleasing defensive wizardry and good old-fashioned optimism. Today my purpose is to burst the bubble of Goins optimists and once and for all put an end to the Goins delusion. The first, and the easiest, way to break down Ryan Goins is to take a look at his hitting ability.

The Bat of Ryan Goins

If Ryan Goins is going to make a living playing baseball in the major leagues he is going to do so on the strength of his glove. However, just because you are good defensively that doesn't give you a blank cheque to be utterly offensively incompetent. In his first taste of major league action Ryan Goins was just that. This is what he managed in 2013:

That's pretty painful stuff. The strikeout and walk numbers are particularly troubling, although the sample is very small. That being said, he really didn't come up looking like a guy who understood the strike zone. The following Brooks Baseball picture shows his swing rate by zone segment in his MLB cameo:

As I said before, the sample size is small. It would be unfair to assume he can't hit major league pitching based on 121 plate appearances alone. In order to get a better idea of what Goins brings to the table as a hitter a look at his minor league numbers is required. The following chart shows his minor league stats at every level that he logged more than 100 PA. You may think I'm trying to hide some of brilliant small performances by adding that restriction but I just want to make the chart more readable, in fact Goins hit below .200 at every stop where he had less than 100 plate appearances. If anything I'm being generous in my omissions. Here's what the minor league career of Ryan Goins looks like:

Those numbers aren't absolutely dreadful but they don't jump off the page. It is very important to be cognizant of the fact that Ryan Goins was old for his level every step of the way. He was 22 when he was playing in Lansing, a league where legitimate prospects are 19 or 20. In his early years he relied on inflated BABIP numbers to get by, and the only legitimately encouraging seasons since was 2012 where he was able to really cut down on his strikeouts and wasn't so reliant on BABIP. Even so, he was 24 at that point and hadn't even reached triple-A yet.

These numbers do suggest that he probably isn't going have a historically awful BB/K ratio like the one he showed in his stint with the Jays, but there isn't a lot here. Goins has no power, his walk and strikeout rates have tended to be about average and he needs balls to fall in for his production to be palatable. He is an athletic guy who might be able to sustain higher BABIP numbers, but he hardly has elite speed. In his entire minor league career he only had 30 stolen bases. Stolen bases aren't the best gauge of speed, (see Rasmus, Colby) but if Goins was a total burner that would probably show up somewhere.

Overall, Ryan Goins looks like a well-below-average offensive player. Going into a season where he will be 26 it is unfair to assume that he's on the brink of some kind of breakout at the plate. I've mentioned this before on Twitter, but I think it is worth noting that Ryan Goins is older than Clayton Kershaw, he isn't some bright young phenom with room to grow. Steamer projects the following numbers for Goins in 2014:

Unfortunately, that looks about right.

The most difficult aspect of dispelling the notion that Ryan Goins is an option at second base for the Blue Jays is trying to criticize his defense. That doesn't mean I won't do my darndest to try.

The Glove of Ryan Goins

I should probably clarify what I mean by "criticize" here. Like most Blue Jays fans, I believe that Ryan Goins is an excellent defender. My argument is that his defense will not be enough to make up for his offensive shortcomings not that it isn't fantastic in and of itself.

Defensive stats are a bit tricky, but in the case of Ryan Goins, UZR loved the man as much as the eyeball test did. In 261.1 innings at second base Goins turned 27 double plays and committed a single error on the way to a 33.1 UZR/150 rating. That suggests that over the course of a year Goins would save 33 runs above average, giving him 3.3 WAR on defense even before adjusting for a demanding position. That would definitely make him a worthwhile starter, even if his offense brought that number down somewhat. The problem is that number is not even remotely attainable. Since the UZR era began in 2012, this is what the top UZR seasons by a second baseman look like:

Goins is good, but he isn't going to blow away the best numbers of the last 12 seasons. Hypothetically, if Ryan Goins is the best defender of this era at second base he would be something like 20 runs above average defensively in 2014. Given his expected production with the bat, even that wouldn't be enough for him to be an average starter. UZR isn't the be all and end all of measuring defense, but it gives us a sense of the maximum impact a great defender can have.

This article isn't meant to be a scathing indictment of Ryan Goins. He could have some value in the major leagues as a bench player given that the kind of defensive ability he possesses. The fact he's a left-handed bat doesn't hurt either. That being said, Goins just doesn't look like starter material. Steamer sees Goins as a 0.1 WAR player next year, and although that projection may be on the conservative side it is more reasonable than seeing him as a starter. There is no reason to believe that Goins can hit major league pitching well enough to be a viable option at second base, even with his prowess in the field. Therefore there is no reason why the Blue Jays shouldn't be aggressively pursuing a starter at second base either through free agency or a trade. There haven't been many rumors to that effect just yet. Perhaps that's because Alex Anthopoulos is pulling his "Ninja GM" routine again and the acquisition of Omar Infante or Howie Kendrick is imminent. If trotting out Ryan Goins at second base on Opening Day is the alternative then Blue Jays fans better hope so.

Free agent catcher Dioner Navarro has signed with the Blue Jays signalling the end of J.P. Arencibia's time in Toronto

The first big news of the Blue Jays offseason has come as free agent catcher Dioner Navarro has signed with the Toronto Blue Jays for two years and $8 million. A 29-year-old from Venezuela, Navarro played for the Chicago Cubs last season putting up a slash line of .300/.365/.492 with 14 home runs. He had a salary of $1.75 million last season, where he played in 89 games with 53 of them being starts behind the plate. The switch hitting catcher is solid enough behind the plate and he threw out 13 of 50 baserunners in his time with Chicago. Before 2013, Navarro had played with Cincinnati, the Los Angeles Dodgers (twice), Tampa Bay, and the Yankees.

He was involved in a scary collision this summer where he had to be carted off the field, but luckily only missed limited time:

via cdn0.sbnation.com

Since 2009, Navarro has been mainly a reliable back-up who gets on-base enough to be an average reserve catcher. He accumulated 1.7 WAR last year and if he matches that for the next two years in Toronto then Blue Jays fans will be quite happy.  Ken Rosenthal broke the news on Twitter:

Sources: #BlueJays in agreement with free-agent catcher on Dioner Navarro on two-year deal, pending physical.

— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) December 2, 2013

Sources: #BlueJays’ deal with Dioner Navarro is two years, $8M. Pending physical.

— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) December 2, 2013

The contract also breaks down into $3 million this year and $5 million in 2015:

dioner navarro gets $3M in '14, $5M in '14 for $8M total. #jays

— Jon Heyman (@JonHeymanCBS) December 2, 2013

Quite clearly, this means the J.P. Arencibia era is officially over in Toronto and Josh Thole will almost certainly stick around as a back-up who will catch R.A. Dickey. The news of Arencibia being non-tendered should come very soon as the deadline to tender a contract to an arbitration eligible player is tonight.

This seems like a very Alex Anthopoulos type of move that no one saw coming, but makes sense now that it's happened. Although he isn't Brian McCann, Navarro won't drive anyone crazy striking out 25% of the time, considering his K-rate last season was 13.5% and he's also not afraid of talking a walk finishing with a 8.6% BB-rate in 2013. Some fans will paint this as the Blue Jays betting on one good year from Navarro as a back-up in Chicago, but for $4 million per year the gamble seems to make financial sense. Catcher won't be a huge strength for the Blue Jays in the next two years, but there's a good chance it won't be a weakness either.

There will be a lot more to come with this story...

Two-year deals for backup catchers are so in this winter.

The Blue Jays have reportedly agreed to sign catcher Dioner Navarro to a two-year deal pending a physical, according to Ken Rosenthal. He also tweets that the deal is worth $8 million. The signing should give the Blue Jays some much-needed production from behind the plate, as J.P. Arencibia and Josh Thole combined for truly wretched production for the Jays in 2013. Both hit below .200, though Arencibia did knock 21 home runs. that was not enough to make up for Toronto's combined backstops line of .194/.235/.348.

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Navarro has followed the winding, well-worn path of the wayward catcher prospect over the years. He made the All-Star team with the Rays back in 2008, but otherwise he has struggled to live up to the expectations of a top-50 prospect. He revived his career in 2012 after signing a minor-league deal with the Reds, hitting well in AAA and earning a late-season call-up. He parlayed that into a free-agent deal worth $1.75 million with the Cubs last offseason. Chicago was very good to him, as he hit .300/.365/.492 while backing up Welington Castillo.

It has been a fine winter so far for backup catchers, as the likes of Jose Molina, Brayan Pena, and now Navarro have all signed multi-year deals. With so few high-quality catchers around the league, it seems teams are beginning to see the value in guys like Navarro who can catch 80 games a year and not embarrass themselves with the bat. Just $4 million a year for a part-time catcher may sound like a bit much at first blush, but ask the Blue Jays just how hard it is to find a decent catcher these days, and it all starts to make some sense.

What this will do to the rest of the catching market is unknown -- it is just Navarro -- though it does mean one fewer potential destination for free agent Jarrod Saltalmacchia, or trade target Ryan Hanigan.

More from SB Nation MLB:

• Robinson Cano reportedly wants $260-275 million | More rumors

• Phil Hughes goes to Twins for 3 years, $24 million

• MLB releases 2013 drug testing report

• Grant Brisbee: How much would Ryan Braun get now?

• Death of a Ballplayer: Wrongly convicted prospect spends 27 years in prison

The Cubs backup catcher in 2013 has found a home north of the border where he will presumably get a chance to start.

The Cubs will have to find a new backup catcher for 2014. Ken "Robothal" Rosenthal broke the news this morning.

Sources: #BlueJays’ deal with Dioner Navarro is two years, $8M. Pending physical.

— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) December 2, 2013

Dioner Navarro was one of the few bright spots in the 2013 season in Chicago. After signing a one year. $1.75 million deal with the team to backup Welington Castillo, Navarro hit .300/.365/.492 with 13 home runs and 34 RBI over 89 games.

Such a performance was destined to catch the attention of other teams and with the Cubs committed to Castillo as their catcher for the time being (and likely the long-term), it seemed a foregone conclusion that Navarro would sign somewhere else. In fact, we heard very little about the Cubs trying to bring him back, even though the Cubs still need a backup catcher. Navarro understandably wanted to go somewhere he could start and presumably he'll get that chance with the Blue Jays, with J.P. Arencibia having been a major disappointment there.

Navarro signing with Toronto makes sense for them from all kinds of reasons, but the move will no doubt fuel the rumors about Jeff Samardzija going north of the border as well.

Good luck in Toronto, Dioner and I'm glad you signed with an American League team so that the Cubs don't have to face you.

The Blue Jays are looking to trade J.P. Arencibia now that they have Dioner Navarro in the fold.

The Blue Jays are now working on potential trades for catcher J.P. Arencibia, according to Jon Heyman. Now that they have locked up Dioner Navarro for two years and $8 million, they don't have much room on the roster for Arencibia. The 27-year-old catcher was originally drafted by the Blue Jays back in 2007 and has spent his entire career in the Jays' system, but he is arbitration-eligible for the first time this winter and the Jays appear reluctant to invest in both him and Navarro.

Blue Jays sign Dioner Navarro to 2-year deal

Two-year deals for backup catchers are so in this winter.

Arencibia has shown good power in his young major league career, if nothing else. He has socked 23, 18 and 21 home runs the past three seasons for the Jays, but has a cumulative batting average of just .214 over that span -- he hasn't made up for it with walks, either, as his three-year on-base percentage is all of .260. The Jays have been counting on him to develop into their catcher of the future, even trading fellow catching prospect Travis d'Arnaud last winter in exchange for R.A. Dickey. But he only seemed to regress with more playing time, with that promising future never coming to pass, and now with Navarro in the fold, it looks like Arencibia's days in Canada are numbered.

The market for catchers has been brisk so far this offseason, as Navarro, Jose Molina, Brayan Pena, and of course Brian McCann have signed multi-year deals. Jarrod Saltalamacchia is still available on the free agent market and will certainly sign a multi-year deal as well, and now Arencibia joins the likes of Ryan Hanigan on the list of catchers available via trade.

More from SB Nation MLB:

• Robinson Cano reportedly wants $260-275 million | More rumors

• Phil Hughes goes to Twins for 3 years, $24 million

• MLB releases 2013 drug testing report

• Grant Brisbee: How much would Ryan Braun get now?

• Death of a Ballplayer: Wrongly convicted prospect spends 27 years in prison

With the Dioner Navarro signing, what to do with JP?

Assuming the signing of Dioner Navarro goes through (it is 'pending a physical' at the moment), what do we do with J.P. Arencibia?

There are competing thoughts on Twitter:

#bluejays are working on possible trades for jp arencibia after agreeiing to sign navarro. JP: big power but had rough '13

— Jon Heyman (@JonHeymanCBS) December 2, 2013

Sources: the market for Arencibia is soft. A trade is not imminent. He may well go to camp with the Jays. @Sportsnet

— Jamie Campbell (@SportsnetJamie) December 2, 2013

No kidding the market is soft for a guy that had a negative WAR and acted like a jerk during the season.

Personally, I doubt there is a trade out there at the moment. I'd think that a trade would be more likely during spring training when someone loses a catcher to injury and JP hits a couple of spring home runs. Then someone might think that he would be a cheap fill in and who knows, you might get lucky and he might figure it out.

The good part is, as Minor Leaguer pointed out:

@bluebirdbanter@ajee100 He would be on a non-guaranteed contract going into ST. So sign him / go to arb then cut him in ST if necessary.

— Minor Leaguer (@Minor_Leaguer) December 2, 2013

I tend to think that he would be a lousy guy to have around this spring. He doesn't seem like the type of guy that would take the news of losing his starter job quietly. I think he'd be a jerk about it and would let everyone know how terrible he thinks the team is, how they screwed hi, just basically try to make everyone as miserable as he is.

But then, since it wouldn't be a guaranteed contract, he could be let go at any moment, for just a fraction of the deal.

He does have options, he could be sent to the minors, but I don't think that will happen. Again, I don't think he i the kind of guy to take that sort of thing quietly. I'm not one that worries about chemistry but I don't think I'd want his attitude around. Or, at least, if he reacts the way I'm expecting.

Of course, he could also be non-tendered tonight, then the Jays wouldn't have to worry about trying to trade him or worry about his attitude. Just let him go and save yourself the hassle. Is what we'd get back for JP worth the time spent trying to trade him? Would it take away from time spent trying to improve the rotation?

I may have been too slow posting this:

The Blue Jays will tender Rasmus, Rogers and Cecil today. They will not tender offer to Arencibia, who will become free agent if not traded.

— steve simmons (@simmonssteve) December 2, 2013

What would you do with JP if you were Alex?

Shi Davidi had this:

Three sources told sportsnet.ca that general manager Alex Anthopoulos will non-tender the 27-year-old ahead of Monday's midnight deadline if a trade partner doesn't emerge.

Boy they really don't want the guy.

With this news coming out, I'd have to guess that they won't find a trade for him. Would you trade for the guy if you knew he would be a free agent in a couple of days? I'd imagine he would get more as an arbitration eligible player than he would on the open market.

It seems like the Blue Jays don't want to take any chance that they would have to have him come to training camp and infect play with a bad attitude. I don't see why they wouldn't tender him then cut him before March. If they are that worried about him being around the other players, cut him the week before pitcher and catchers report.

It is kind of a sad end to his days as a Blue Jay. Things started off so hopeful. 4 for 5 and 2 home runs in his first Major League game. Back then we would never have guessed his time as a Jay would end like this.

Signs two-year deal with Toronto Blue Jays.

Dioner Navarro has signed a two-year deal with the Toronto Blue Jays. The deal will pay him $3 million in 2014 and $5 million in 2015, according to Jon Heyman of CBS Sports.

dioner navarro gets $3M in '14, $5M in '14 for $8M total. #jays

— Jon Heyman (@JonHeymanCBS) December 2, 2013

The former Ray reinvigorated his career with the Cubs by slugging a higher number than he ever has before. Here is a quick rundown of Navarro's offensive career. All numbers are from FanGraphs.

It's clear what Navarro was. He was a slap-hitting catcher with good control of his bat and a decent idea of the strike zone, but as with many weak-hitting players, pitchers were able to knock the bat out of his hands, leading to low BABIPs and poor ISOs. It's less clear what he is now. In 2012, it seemed like Navi was trading walks for power, but in 2013 the walks came back.

So is he the second coming of Ben Zobrist? A decent defender at a premium defensive position who at age 29 has finally learned that he can swing hard while still commanding the strike zone? Or is Navi a small sample size mirage poised for some hard lessons in the AL East? I'll go this far in terms of a bold prediction. Dioner Navarro will outproduce J. P. Arencibia in 2014.

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More on the events of the day. YAY NEWS. We are going to milk this for days, you know

We've had a few hours to get used to the Dioner Navarro signing, what do we think?

A few days ago I wrote this:

There is a rumor that someone is going to sign Dioner Navarro, as with any free agent catcher, pitcher, middle infielder, it could be with the Jays. Or, it could be with any of half a dozen other teams. Navarro hit .300/.365/.492 in 89 games for the Cubs last year, the best numbers of his 10 year career. He had 13 home runs, his first time in the double digits. He's not thought of as a very good defensive catcher, but he couldn't be much worse than JP. He has good timing, hitting .300 for the first time just before going on the free agent market. Someone will likely be overpaying for him, I don't know that it should be the Jays.

The good news is that we didn't overpay. Or at least didn't overpay by much. Keith Law (subscription required) figures we overpaid some:

I liked Dioner Navarro as a potential value signing in free agency this winter, looking at him for one year and about $2 million (which could easily stretch to $2.5-3 million with continued acceleration in free agent salaries this winter) to see if his offensive spike in 2013 had any legs to it.

He does a few things well enough to merit giving him a major league deal and a starting job, including solid walk rates, average pop, and above-average throwing, but just hadn't performed anything like this in five years, and the breakout came back in the National League.

Defensively, it looks like he has a league average arm, doesn't seem to block pitches in the dirt well, but pitchers seem to like pitching to him. Course, I don't remember too many pitchers complaining about JP (well, other than Dickey), so I on't know how much that is worth.

Offensively, he's not very consistent. We are signing him off his best season ever, which really isn't my favorite idea. He hit .300/.365/.492 with 13 home runs (first time in double digits). If he hits like that for the Jays, we'll be very very happy, but I'd be also very surprised. But he'll be better than what we got from JP, he'll have a positive WAR and that's good.

He won't catch as many games as JP did, so we'l see more of Josh Thole (or something else, there is still a ot of time between now and opening day). I'd imagine a 100-60 split between them. If the team is going to do better, we are going to have to have a bounce back year from Thole. He's almost got to be better than last year, how much better is a good question.

Thole was a good hitter, before the concussion. I kind of wonder if he's ever really recovered from that.  I wonder if he's ever going to fully recover.

On JP....I really dislike that they aren't  tendering him, mostly cause I hate giving up any asset for nothing. I'd have tendered him and then, if I couldn't get rid of him by spring training, then cut him.

We all know, where ever he ends up, he'll have a better season (it would be impossible not to better) and there will be no end to the whining and complaining about it. I'll have to turn off twitter.

Really, JP has dug his heels in about changing his approach, at the plate, and behind the plate, at least as a Blue Jay. Maybe this will be the shock to the system that he needs.

Anyway, now that you've had time to think about it all, what do you think about the events of the day?

The title and picture come from Minor Leaguer. I love the photo.

With Dioner Navarro now in the fold, Toronto is looking to trade J.P. Arencibia.

The Toronto Blue Jays are looking to trade catcher J.P. Arencibia before tonight's non-tender deadline, according to Sportsnet.ca's Shi Davidi. If the team fails to deal the 27-year-old former first round pick within the next few hours, he will likely be non-tendered.

With the club's signing of veteran backstop Dioner Navarro earlier today (and the presence of Josh Thole), Arencibia became expendable. Thus far, he has drawn "minimal" trade interest as stated by Davidi, with Fox Sports' Jon Morosi adding that at least one organization has expressed interest in acquiring Arencibia.

Blue Jays still engaged in trade talks for J.P. Arencibia with at least one team, source says. Less than 8 hours until tender deadline.

— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) December 2, 2013

Despite his 21 home runs, Arencibia's offensive production in 2013 was astoundingly horrid, as he hit just .194/.227/.365, good for a 59 OPS+ and a -0.2 offensive WAR. His .227 OBP made him the only player to garner at least 400 plate appearances in 2013 while posting a sub-.240 OBP. Since becoming Toronto's starting catcher in 2011, Arencibia has hit .214/.260/.410 with 62 home runs and a 3.1 WAR. He is generally regarded as an above-average defensive catcher.

• Non-Tender Tracker
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• Mariners sign Willie Bloomquist to two-year deal
• Minor moves roundup: Eduardo Sanchez, Darnell McDonald, Russ Canzler
• MLB and Japanese League execs closing in on a posting system agreement

He gone!

Hours after the Blue Jays signed free agent catcher Dioner Navarro, it was announced that their starting catcher for the past three seasons, J.P. Arencibia, was not tendered a contract and is now a free agent. They have tendered contracts toBrett Cecil, Esmil Rogers, and Colby Rasmus.

The non-tendering of Arencibia suspected after Navarro was signed, even though there were some discussion that the Blue Jays would be better off keeping him and evaluating him into spring training. General manager Alex Anthopoulos was reportedly trying to trade Arencibia even after news of the Navarro signing leaked out, but when rumours about Arencibia's non-tendering started circulating, a trade would have been much harder to pull off.

Arencibia, who will be 28 by spring training, was the Blue Jays' first-round draft pick in 2007, selected in the same round as Kevin Ahrens, Travis d'Arnaud, Brett Cecil, Justin Jackson, and Trystan Magnuson. Arencibia reached triple-A in his third professional year at age 23 and played two seasons with the Las Vegas 51s. He won the MVP award for the Pacific Coast League in 2010 hitting .301/.359/.626 with 32 homers and 85 RBI. After that breakout season, he was awarded with a call-up to the majors and had a very memorable major league debut. On August 7 against the Tampa Bay Rays, Arencibia hit a two-run homer on the first pitch he saw in the major leagues, and ended up going 4-for-5 with two homers, a double, and three RBI. Blue Jays fans were understandably excited after that game, and were disappointed when then-manager Cito Gaston chose to play free agent-to-be John Buck ahead of Arencibia.

In 2011, Arencibia finally got his chance to start full-time, and set a franchise record for home runs by a catcher with 23 dingers after hitting two on Opening Day. Despite his power, which is rare for a backstop, he struggled with a .219/.282/.438 slash line in 2011, and followed it up with a .233/.275/.435 line in 2012 after another great opening day. Arencibia took a big step back in 2013, struggling tremendously in the second-half, limping to a .194/.227/.365 slash line, and was just a handful of plate appearances for qualifying for the second-worst on-base percentage in baseball history. His plate discipline was also considered to be poor, striking out 148 times and walking just 18.

Once a fan favourite for his personality, good looks, and self-deprecating tweets, J.P. Arencibia succumbed to increasing pressure and his own personal struggles on the field in 2013, taking to social media and the local sports radio station to lash out at the Blue Jays' television analysts for criticizing his poor play at and behind the plate. Despite all that, Arencibia still worked closely with the Toronto community and did a lot of charity work. He was the Blue Jays' nominee for the Roberto Clemente Award this season.

It's too bad that things didn't work out between the Blue Jays and Arencibia. All the best to him in his future endeavours. I wouldn't worry about his not finding employment--there will be multiple teams who would be enticed by his ability to hit home runs.

~Memories of J.P.A.~

Major league debut was called by Sam Cosentino and Pat Tabler (omen)

Arencibia's impression of Tim Kurkjian

Arencibia's game-winning home run in the top of the 16th inning on Opening Day 2012

A great dugout catch

Matt Harvey (@halladayfan32) invited to attend the Home Opener by J.P. Arencibia

Arencibia catching the ceremonial first-pitch from friend and cancer survivour Jessica Dunn

Arencibia with caught stealing to end a game.

J.P. Arencibia's last home run as a Blue Jay