Toronto settled on a one-year, $6.2M contract with Shannon Stewart last week. Stewart compromised considerably from the $7.5M he was requesting arbiters award him, so he must have feared they would rule in favor of the Blue Jays, who only proposed a $5.5M salary.

The Blue Jays drafted Stewart out of high school with the 19th overall pick in the first round of the 1992 draft, and he made his major league debut with the team on September 2, 1995. Stewart is eligible for free agency after the season, and Toronto is not expected to re-sign him as they continue to cut costs and look to their minor league prospects. He experienced a few injury problems last season that indicate the Toronto turf may be affected his health, but another season shouldn't do too much damage. I believe an arbitration board probably would have ruled in favor of the Blue Jays, so this compromise works well for both sides. This past season the 28-year-old significantly improved his plate discipline, and while I suspect 2000 represented a peak in his power numbers, his baserunning skills appear on the upswing. If Toronto's buried in the standings at the trading deadline, I suspect they'll deal Stewart to save on his salary in the second half and guarantee a decent return rather than gambling on draft pick compensation.

In early January the Blue Jays acquired OF-L John-Ford Griffin from Oakland for a player to be named later. At the time of Oakland and Toronto's four-way trade with Cincinnati and Arizona, most considered a follow up trade of this nature to be a condition of the first deal. The A's acquired Griffin from the Yankees in the same three-way trade with Detroit in which they acquired Jason Arnold, who was also shipped to Toronto in the four-way deal.

Griffin only played in two games with AA Midland after Oakland acquired him, because he was struck on the hand with a pitch and placed on the DL almost immediately. However, he was assigned to the Arizona Fall League, where his performance indicated he definitely needs to make up the time he missed at AA. The 23-year-old still retains decent upside, but he likely won't be prepared to contribute in the majors until at least September of 2004.

In late August the A's sent RHP Jeremy Bonderman to the Tigers to complete the three-way deal in which they acquired Arnold and Griffin. Oakland had to wait until a year after Bonderman's signing in order to trade him. The A's drafted Bonderman out of high school with the 26th overall pick in the first round of the 2001 draft. He did not play in 2001 but began the 2002 season at A+ Modesto in the California League, where he compiled a 160:55 K:BB with 129 H and 15 HR allowed in 144.2 IP for a 3.61 ERA in 25 starts before he was traded. After the trade, the 20-year-old made two starts with Detroit's A+ Florida State League affiliate at Lakeland. Bonderman appears well prepared to advance to AA in 2003. However, given his youth and the fact he won't need to use an option to return to the minors until the 2005 season, the Tigers should take their time with his development and give him at least a full season at AA and a full season at AAA before bringing him to the majors. Nevertheless, his inclusion in the trade further solidifies Detroit's position as the clear winner of that deal.

After the Rule 5 draft in December, Oakland sent OF-R Daylan Holt to the White Sox to complete the Keith Foulke/Billy Koch trade. Holt possesses considerable power potential and his walk rate looks promising, but the White Sox will want to help him improve his contact rate. After finishing the 2000 season in the Short-season Northwest league and spending a year at A+ Modesto, the 24-year-old split last season between A+ Visalia and AA Midland and appears to need at least another half season at AA before he'll be ready for AAA, so he too shouldn't be ready to contribute in the majors until at least September of 2004.

Oakland has recently signed OF-R Ron Gant and CR-R Olmedo Saenz to minor league deals. Gant will compete in Spring Training with Eric Byrnes, Jason Grabowski, and Rontrez Johnson for a reserve position in the outfield. The 37-year-old's performance last year proves he still has a lot to offer a team, given his solid walk rate and strong power skills. However, these other players with the possible exception of Byrnes have the potential to put up similar numbers now and offer the A's upside in the future. Johnson currently appears to have the edge over the others, as Oakland would have to risk Texas reclaiming the Rule 5 pick if they don't put him on the roster.

Saenz will not be eligible to play for the A's until May, as they turned down his option and waited until now to re-sign him. However, the 32-year-old is still recovering from the Achilles tear he suffered in the playoffs and likely won't be healthy until at least then anyway. He'd also have difficulty breaking onto Oakland's roster at this point. Once he's healthy, he'll provide them with depth at AAA for the infield corners and DH. He offers solid power but doesn't quite have the plate discipline to hold a regular bench job.