During his last start we were debating what the Jays should do with Josh Johnson, then came last night's start, which was even worse.
I don't know what I'd do if I was Alex Anthopoulos. There doesn't seem to be an easy fix. He's throwing hard enough. His pitches seem good enough that he should be doing better, but everyone seems to be making good contact with everything he throws. I'm sure that Pete Walker and Pat Hentgen have gone through enough video of his to see if there is a simple 'let's have him move his hand two inches this way' solution.
The team is 3-12 in his starts, they can't have that next year if they want to contend. I'd like to think he can't be this bad next year, but then I said the same about Ricky Romero.
So what would you do if you were Alex:
- Give him a qualifying offer after the season, knowing that he would be sure to take it? You'd have to hope he improves. I would hate to be paying him the same money that I'm paying Jose Bautista.
- Offer him an extension for less that the qualifying amount, say $8-10 million and maybe an option or two, figuring that he doesn't want to go into free agency with this season behind him. Again you would be hoping for improvement.
- Let him be a free agent, say good bye, no compensation.
Let's have a poll