Toronto Blue Jays 2005 Season Preview

The Toronto Blue Jays entered the 2004 season with high hopes after winning a surprising 86 games in 2003. General Manager J.P. Ricciardi had bolstered the team's pitching staff that already included the previous season's AL Cy Young award winner in Roy Halladay, and the Jays were planning on having a say in the tough AL East and certainly being in the wild card mix at the end of the season. Funny how things sometimes don't go as planned. The Blue Jays stumbled out of the gate, wound up losing 94 games and finished last in the division. The Blue Jays will be looking to field a more competitive team when the curtain opens on the 2005 season.

How can a team improve one season after having one of the weakest offenses in the American League and after a winter where they saw Carlos Delgado, the team's most talented offensive player in franchise history leave via free agency? One could argue that they can't and they would probably be right, but what Delgado's departure meant was that Ricciardi had a couple of options available to him without being handcuffed by one player's inflated salary. Those options came with the additions of former Minnesota Twins third baseman and Canadian born Cory Koskie and Diamondback Shea Hillenbrand who became expendable when Arizona signed free agent Troy Glaus. Whether that is enough to supplement Delgado's 32 home runs and 99 RBI's remains to be seen.

The Blue Jays rotation is still front loaded with talent in Roy Halladay and lefty Ted Lilly. Both pitchers can be dominant at times and if healthy all season form as good a 1-2 punch as any other team in the AL. Halladay will be looking to bounce back from an injury plagued 2004 season which saw him on the shelf for most of the second half. Lilly was impressive enough for Joe Torre to name him to the AL all star team last season, and the Jays will be counting on Lilly to improve on his 12-10 record. The third spot in the rotation still belongs to Miguel Batista, who suffered through an erratic season which saw him spend time in the bullpen. If Batista can overcome his control problems, the team will be more than comfortable with the front end of the rotation. David Bush got the call up from AAA Syracuse halfway through the season and went an impressive 5-4 with a 3.69 ERA. He will likely be slotted in the rotation behind Batista. Josh Towers and Gustavo Chacin, who was a late season call up after winning 16 games at AA New Hampshire, will battle for the final spot in the rotation. Towers won 9 games for the Jays last season but Chacin will be looked at very closely in spring training to see if the lefty is ready to make the permanent jump to the majors, or if he needs time in Syracuse. The Blue Jays entire rotation has the potential to be very solid and should be the strength of the team in 2005.

The Jays bullpen struggled in 2004 and certainly played a part in the team's miserable performance. The bullpen led the league in losses (34) and also sported the fewest wins (16). It once again features a collection of arms with nobody in particular standing out. The team is hoping that former Jay Billy Koch can resurrect his career with another stint in Toronto. They have also added former White Sox and Angels left-hander Scott Schoeneweis to add some depth and veteran leadership to this questionable bullpen. Justin Speier is slated to close and Jason Frasor who saved 17 games for the Jays last season will see late inning relief work, but if Koch has a good spring he will make things interesting in the bullpen. Another option is highly touted Brandon League, however the Jays do not want to rush this hard throwing youngster and he will probably begin the season at Syracuse. Look for him as a mid season call up and prepare to be impressed.

The Blue Jays infield will have a new look to begin the season. Corey Koskie's arrival at third base means a shift across the diamond to first base for Eric Hinske. Koskie is solid both offensively and defensively and the Canadian will be looking to impress Blue Jay fans all around Canada. Hinske will be looking to recapture the stroke that garnered him the AL Rookie of the Year in 2002. Second base is solid with dazzling glove man Orlando Hudson. Whatever contributions Hudson makes with his bat are just an added bonus to the outstanding defense he supplies up the middle. Once again the shortstop position is a revolving door for the Jays as 2002 first round draft pick Russ Adams settles into that role. Adams got a late season call up and showed enough skills to be penciled in as the Jays starting shortstop. They are hoping that the 24-year-old can solidify a position that has been an area of weakness over the past few years. Gregg Zaun saw action in 107 games last season and will once again handle most of the duties behind the dish. The catcher of the future is Guillermo Quirez but he appears to need more time at AAA before he is ready for a permanent call-up to the big club. Veteran Greg Myers will backup Zaunn.

The outfield is anchored by Vernon Wells. Wells production dropped considerably from his outstanding 2003 totals and he will be expected to produce big numbers again in 2005. Like many other Blue Jays, Wells spent time on the disabled list in 2004 and a healthy season is crucial to him putting up solid numbers. Reed Johnson will share playing time with Frank Catalanotto in left field. Catanalotto is very versatile and has been used by the Jays in a number of different ways over the past two seasons and that should be a similar case in 2005. Alex Rios will start in right field. Rios' power numbers were less than impressive in his rookie season but at 24 years of age the ceiling is high for this talented player. Shea Hillenbrand should see the bulk of DH duty while occasionally filling in on both corners of the diamond for Koskie and Hinske.

The Jays bench is solid with Frank Menechino and newcomer John McDonald. Menechino came over from Oakland early last season and managed to see playing time in 72 games for the Jays. McDonald is an outstanding glove man with a light bat but would be a tremendous asset defensively if Hudson or Adams misses time due to injury.

John Gibbons begins his first full season as Blue Jays manager after replacing Carlos Tosca on an interim basis. The Jays went 20-30 with Gibbons at the helm but the easy going manager showed enough leadership to be given the full time job in the off season.

The Blue Jays are excited about the recent announcement that ownership is committing to a payroll total of 210 million dollars over the next three years. This will give Ricciardi some much needed payroll flexibility to field a stronger team, seeing that the 2005 payroll is roughly 50 million dollars. It will be a welcome change for the General Manager who has been limited to what he could do by financial constraints put upon him by ownership. 2005 might not be the year that the Jays have a say in the AL East or the wild card race. 2006 could be a different story.

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