While we expected the Blue Jays to acquire some starting pitching this off-season, they've been surprisingly active in adding players to their bullpen and bench. Last week they signed Mike Bordick to a one-year, $1M contract. Bordick's official position will be as a back-up infielder, but Toronto really wants the 37-year-old to tutor the infielders, particularly starting shortstop Chris Woodward.

Provided Bordick does not start to infringe on the playing time of the regulars, I don't have a big problem with this signing, though I generally prefer that teams hire coaches to coach rather than saddle the roster with veteran leadership. Bordick offers the team little offensively but he's a nice defensive replacement.

However, the Blue Jays have also signed the arbitration-eligible Dave Berg to a two-year contract. Toronto began expanding Berg from his more traditional role as an infield backup into a more versatile utility player last season. Without a clear replacement emerging from their system, they chose to retain him. I think they're making a mistake in carrying two back-ups with so little offensive upside. Additionally, despite their current lack of a replacement, utility players are easily acquired, so I don't believe they should have signed the 32-year-old to a multi-year deal. If I knew what Toronto will be paying him over the next two seasons, I'm sure I could also complain about the cost of the contract.

The Blue Jays appear prepared to give Kevin Cash another full season to mature in the minors, as they've signed Greg Myers to a one-year, $800,000 contract. Ricciardi was likely familiar with Myers, as Myers signed with the A's during Ricciardi's tenure in Oakland. He also wanted to give the team a left-handed catcher, as both Ken Huckaby and Tom Wilson are righties. I don't see a lot of upside in the 36-year-old, but he should provide the Blue Jays with an acceptable bridge to Cash.

In addition to the offensive players, Toronto has acquired one addition for the rotation. A day after the Devil Rays non-tendered Tanyon Sturtze, the Blue Jays stepped up and signed him to a one-year, $1M contract.

Sturtze isn't a good pitcher, but I believe he was affected by the losing atmosphere of the Devil Rays last season and should rebound slightly with the Blue Jays. While his H/9 were up considerably, his K/9, BB/9, and K:BB all improved. Toronto's stronger defense alone should contribute to a more productive year for the 32-year-old. Consequently, I expect him to provide the Jays with a competent innings eater, which they sorely lacked last year.

Toronto may have committed the most egregious non-tendering error by failing to trade or sign Jose Cruz, Jr., as there were interested teams who would have given the Blue Jays something in return for the outfielder. Additionally, the fact that Cruz regressed this past season should have given them the ability to beat him in arbitration, so they could have retained him at a discounted price and dealt him a few months into next season by which time his trade value likely would have increased.

However, Tampa non-tendered three players for whom there was obviously some market, as two of them have already found new homes, and they could have traded them at any point during the past 18 months. Paul Wilson will likely remain on the market for a couple weeks, but as Sturtze immediately found a new home with Toronto, Esteban Yan quickly signed with the Rangers.

Yan signed a one-year, $1.5M contract with Texas on Thursday, becoming the second closer the Rangers have acquired within a week. Yan's acquisition is a continuation of the misallocation of resources GM John Hart began with signing Ugueth Urbina, but which really stretches back to last year.

One would have thought that the problems he experienced with the expensive relievers he signed last season would have taught him a lesson. However, he's merely moved from successful middle relievers to former closers. A significant portion of the Rangers' bullpen problems last season were the result of injuries, but those were exacerbated by the fact that Hart didn't want to pay for replacements and wasn't able to find them inexpensively. At least he's progressed to only signing these pitchers to one-year deals, as Texas is still saddled with the multi-year contracts given out last season.

Texas non-tendered Frank Catalanotto, Jovanny Cedeno, and Dennys Reyes. Like the Tampa pitchers, there was significant interest in Catalanotto beginning last season. While I can see how he no longer fits well on the roster, the Rangers have no excuse for failing to trade Catalanotto rather than merely non-tendering him.

Reyes, the only player Texas had left from their trade with Colorado after rightfully allowing Todd Hollandsworth to depart as a free agent, wasn't a stellar pitching prospect. However, the 25-year-old has demonstrated some promise and probably would have pitched competently for the Rangers as their primary left-handed reliever, allowing them to use their second round Rule 5 pick, John Koronka as their second lefty. Koronka has had control difficulties at AA, so I don 't think he's capable of a large role at this point, but the 22-year-old starter should be able to handle a handful of innings in relief.

Cedeno's non-tendering is the only one of this bunch that made any sense, as they immediately re-signed him to a minor league contract. The 23-year-old has missed most of the past two seasons due to shoulder problems, however prior to his injury difficulties he displayed considerable promise in A-ball. He should need to spend all of this season and probably a good portion of 2004 in the minors rehabbing and regrouping, but he still has considerable potential. Texas may also choose to move him to relief, if they feel his arm troubles have zapped him of the durability needed for starting, in which case he could take a much faster track to the majors.

In early December, the Rangers re-signed free agent Rudy Seanez to a minor league deal. Due to the recent bullpen additions, Seanez isn't likely to find a place in the bullpen out of Spring Training, but he does provide the team with a little bit of injury insurance at AAA.

Hart's rationale for spending money on the pen has been to support the young rotation the Rangers will be fielding in 2003. Filling out the rotation behind ace Chan Ho Park with Joaquin Benoit, Doug Davis, Ryan Drese, and Colby Lewis isn't a bad idea, though there will likely be some growing pains. However to some extent he's blocked a few of his young pitchers from the major league staff, as there will be no room for extra rotation candidates to spill into the pen. Adding Urbina alone likely would have achieved his goal. My concern is that Hart isn't fully committed to such a youthful group and still intends to add another veteran starter to his rotation.