Toronto agreed to a three-year, $13.1M contract with RHP Miguel Batista in mid-December. Batista reportedly will receive $3.6M in 2004, $4.75M in 2005, and $4.75M in 2006.

I think this signing should work out quite well for the Blue Jays. Batista's meandering career path and frequent flips between the rotation and bullpen have held his price down despite his obvious skills as a starter. The 32-year-old displayed increased dominance last year while continuing to refine his control skills. He's also a groundball pitcher, which is a characteristic Toronto should find valuable given the homer-friendly tendencies of their ballpark. Arizona didn't have a great defense last year, so I'm not particularly worried about Batista's hit rate climbing too much with the Blue Jays. I expect he'll contribute at least as much and probably more than Kelvim Escobar while costing several million dollars less.

RHP Kerry Ligtenberg agreed to a two-year, $4.5M contract with the Blue Jays on December 8th. Ligtenberg reportedly will receive a $2M salary in 2004 and $2.5M in 2005, leaving me disappointed in Toronto's misappropriation of resources.

While Ligtenberg can be a useful reliever, he's certainly not worth this price. Ligtenberg compiled a 47:14 K:BB with 60 H and 9 HR allowed in 59.1 IP for a 3.34 ERA this year. The Blue Jays want a pitcher with closing experience as their closer in 2004, so Ligtenberg's name has been circulated as a possibility along with RHP Justin Speier and RHP Aquilino Lopez. However, Toronto should really try to limit Ligtenberg to right-handed specialist work, as the 32-year-old's difficulties against left-handed batters continue to swell. Furthermore, as a flyball pitcher, he has a tendency to allow an unpleasant number of homers.

The Blue Jays acquired Speier from Colorado in a three-way trade with the Rockies and Devil Rays in mid-December. Toronto sent LHP Mark Hendrickson to Tampa Bay and a player to be named later to Colorado. The Rockies sent Speier to the Blue Jays, and the Devil Rays sent LHP Joe Kennedy to Colorado. RHP Sandy Nin has since been sent to Colorado as the player to be named later from the Blue Jays.

While he's a flyball pitcher, Speier has proven himself a capable reliever. The 30-year-old compiled a 66:23 K:BB with 73 H and 11 HR allowed in 73.1 IP for a 4.05 ERA with Colorado in 2003. Speier served as the Rockies closer after RHP Jose Jimenez moved into their rotation. That experience has earned him a chance to claim Toronto's closer role, though the Blue Jays have been quite clear that whoever has the hot hand among the Ligtenberg, Lopez, and Speier will close. As previously mentioned, I don't believe Ligtenberg is a good choice, but Speier and Lopez both seem capable of fulfilling the role.

Hendrickson's detour to the NBA delayed his development, and some observers believe the 29-year-old will improve with further instruction and experience in using his 6'9" frame. While he possesses solid control, he's failed to dominate hitters, which has left him with a bit of a home run problem despite his groundball tendencies. Luckily for Hendrickson, he'll be moving from the highly hitter-friendly environs of the SkyDome to pitcher-friendly Tropicana Field. He likely will break camp in Tampa Bay's rotation, barring big problems in the spring. If Hendrickson continues to struggle as a starter, his splits indicate he might succeed as a lefty specialist.

Toronto signed Nin as a non-drafted free agent out of the Dominican Republic in 2000. He then spent 2001 with their Dominican Summer League team and most of 2002 with Auburn in the Short-Season New York-Pennsylvania League. Nin opened 2003 at Charleston-West Virginia in the A South Atlantic League, where he spent the season prior to making one start with AA New Haven in the Eastern League. He was proficient in his 23 starts with Charleston, compiling an 87:19 K:BB with 124 H and 4 HR allowed over 131 IP for a 2.89 ERA. I want to see how the 23-year-old matches up against competition in the high minors, but he's a potentially useful acquisition for Colorado.

Following his quick ascent to the majors, Kennedy has yet to re-establish the dominance he displayed in the minors, though he's maintained solid control. He was worked hard in 2002 as well as 2001, and he missed time in 2003 due to tendinitis in his shoulder, so I wouldn't be surprised to see him run into more serious arm trouble in the future. However, if he remains healthy, the 24-year-old may begin to improve as he replaces the minor league time he missed with major league experience. Kennedy will compete for a spot in the Colorado rotation, and if he doesn't work out in the rotation, the Rockies are prepared to move him to the bullpen. He did well in his short time in the Devil Rays' pen and has proven more effective against left-handed hitters, so he'd likely be quite effective as a lefty specialist.

Overall, this deal appears fairly neutral for all three parties with each team trying to find treasure in the others' proverbial garbage.

Yesterday, the Blue Jays added LHP Valerio de los Santos to their bullpen, signing him to a one-year, $850,000 contract. As with Ligtenberg, Toronto overpaid for de los Santos. Although the 31-year-old took a step forward last year with an improvement in his G-F from .57 in 2002 to 1.14 in 2003, none of his skills are particularly strong. I'm particularly wary of putting someone with his questionable control in front of a less than stellar defense.

RHP Jayson Durocher, LHP Mike Kusiewicz, and OF-R Chad Hermansen agreed to minor league deals with Toronto. Durocher opened the 2003 season on the disabled list following surgery to remove bone chips from his elbow. Shortly after joining the team in late May, he returned to the DL with shoulder tendinitis, which combined with elbow pain during his rehab caused him to miss the remainder of the season. Durocher pitched effectively for Milwaukee in 2002, and the 29-year-old should provide Toronto with nice insurance for their bullpen at AAA, if he recovers from his arm problems over the off-season.

Kusiewicz spent 2003 in the Oakland organization, splitting the year between AA Midland in the Texas League and AAA Sacramento in the Pacific Coast League. He worked with success as a reliever in the Athletics' system, though he also has pitched effectively as a starter in the upper minors. The 27-year-old lefty adds depth to the Blue Jays pitching staff at AAA, and he could be in line for a call-up if his performance is eye catching.

Hermansen hit .353 with a .4052 OBP and .540 SLG on 83 H, 15 2B, 1 3B, and 9 HR with a 19:38 BB:K and 4/5 SB% in 235 AB for the Dodgers' AAA PCL affiliate at Las Vegas this year. While he struggled in his brief major league opportunity and the PCL inflates hitters' numbers, Hermansen still appears to possess some promise as a power hitting reserve outfielder. He even could develop into more, if his plate discipline improves. The 26-year-old may receive an opportunity to serve as a back-up outfielder for the Blue Jays, particularly if Toronto wants their prospects to receive more regular playing time in the minors. However, Hermansen likely won't be considered for any starting jobs opened by injury.

Toronto re-signed arbitration-eligible SS-R Chris Woodward to a one-year, $775,000 contract on December 20th. He's not a bargain, but this price isn't overly steep. The 27-year-old's 2003 skills closely mirrored his 2002 numbers with the exception of a drop in his G-F from 4.88 to 1.75. Woodward also reversed his platoon split, going from performing at a considerably higher level against right-handed pitchers to hitting much better against left-handed pitchers. Meanwhile, his defensive shortcomings caused him to lose playing time to SS-R Mike Bordick in 2003. The Blue Jays would like to at least find another shortstop to support Woodward as a defensive replacement, and Toronto reportedly is pursuing Rich Aurilia, who would push Woodward into a bench role.