Valbuena Heads North Of The Border

Toronto received Luis Valbuena in exchange for cash considerations from the Cleveland Indians. Low risk, possibly a good return. Valbuena has always showed promise, especially at AAA where in 2011 he hit .302 had a .372 OBP and had 17 homers with 75 RBI’s in 113 games. He’s played 229 games in the majors but the 25 year old hasn’t really put it together up there. He’s a very good fielding 2B, and can be used as a utility player due to his versatility. The offense though, he shows promise but Cleveland didn’t think that was enough to keep him on the 40 man roster so they moved him down to make room on it, and Toronto snatched him up to put him on their 40. I like the move by Toronto, he’s still young and has potential, and at very worst I think he could at least be a productive bench player. At this point he seems to be in a battle with Mike McCoy for the 2B job, with Kelly Johnson likely to decline arbitration, unless the Jays go out and sign or trade for someone else. In that case Valbuena and McCoy would likely be battling for a utility man spot off the bench. The Blue Jays have made moves like this before that worked out well. Jose Bautista was acquired from the Pirates in 2008 for a player to be named later. Bautista started out showing promise even with the pirates but never really put it all together consistently until the end of the ’09 season with the Jays. Could this be a case like Bautista, probably not quite as big of a steal, but Valbuena definitely has the potential to be a good starter if he can translate his 2011 season in AAA into the big leagues. This is an under the radar move that could help Toronto now and in the future as Valbuena is still young and could be a permanent fixture in their lineup if he can harness all the potential and produce. Alex Anthopoulos is a guy who has my trust, he’s made some good moves, and I wouldn’t be surprised if the Jays seriously contend in the near future even with a stacked division. They still have work to do but this is a good move.

Comeback For Sizemore?

Grady Sizemore, 29 year old centerfielder, re-signs with the Cleveland Indians. It is a 1 year deal worth $5 million and a $4 million incentive based on plate appearance and another $0.5 million if he’s named comeback player of the year. The last 3 seasons for Sizemore have been derailed by injury, multiple knee surgeries, which have limited the productiveness of the former all-star. The club had declined a $9 million option for this season, but Sizemore could still earn that much, as long as he stays healthy. It really is a deal that is good for both sides. The incentive nature of the contract, and the fact that it’s only one year in length, protects the Indians if Sizemore continues on his injury hindered ways. But he was a very good player and if you can get Sizemore prior to his string of injuries at nine mil, then that’s a bargain. What this deal does for Sizemore is allow him to prove himself. He can almost double the value of his contract if he plays well and plays a full season, and if that happens, next year he will be much more likely to get a big deal when hitting the free agent market.  Sizemore was happy to stay in Cleveland as he has a great respect for the franchise sticking by him through the last few years. There were other offers on the table from other clubs, but Grady was pretty much going back to Cleveland if he could help it. I think this is a good move for the Indians who were a serious contender for much of the season last year, giving them back a guy of Sizemore’s caliber, should help them make a run at the AL Central this season, and Grady deserves a chance like this from some team. If I had to pick who I thought would be comeback player of the year in 2012 today, I would probably have to say Sizemore would be my favorite at this point. We’ll see if he can stay healthy.