REPORT: Blue Jays Shake Up Roster; Make 5 Trades; Acquire 2 Canadians - BlueJays09's Dynasty

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REPORT: Blue Jays Shake Up Roster; Make 5 Trades; Acquire 2 Canadians

Posted on September 9, 2012 at 01:08 AM.

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Justin Morneau is returning to Canada after he was dealt to the Blue Jays

Wow, new Jays GM Tyler Spencer waste no time making moves, as he changed up the roster with 5 trades today. He said: "I wanted to try and make this team a right now team while trying to save the main group of prospects. I feel like I have done this today. I am happy with my team to start the regular season.". Lets break down each deal individually:

1) Jays deal C JP Arencieba, RP Jason Frasor, P Jesse Litsch to the Brewers for C Martin Maldonado, RP John Axford.
- The Jays wanted a catcher who had better contact and defense and was around the same age as JP. They got their man Maldonado from the Brewers and also received Canadian John Axford in the deal as well. The Jays had to give up 2 of their relievers in Frasor and Litsch, but it makes sense for both teams as Axford needed a change of scenery and Litsch as well after all his injury problems. Frasor was set to become a free agent at seasons end and will be missed. Maldonado will start at C and Axford will become the set-up man in the Jays Bullpen.

2) Jays trade SP Brandon Morrow, SP Henderson Alvarez, AAA SS Jonathan Diaz to the Pirates for SP James McDonald, SP AJ Burnett and LF Alex Presley.
- This deal sees ex-Jay Burnett return back to Toronto to complete a deal for sallary reasons for the Pirates. McDonald will be a stud SP and we had to give Morrow and Alvarez to get him, and AJ made it work sallary wise and was an excellent piece to the rotation. Presley will start in AAA at LF. AJ Burnett: "I'm happy to be returning to Toronto, I had some good years there and I hope to help them succeed in the future"

3) Toronto trades 3B Brett Lawrie, INF Mike McCoy, and AAA C Tuffy Gosewisch to San Francisco for 3B Pablo Sandoval, 2B Joaquin Arias, 1B Xavier Nady.
- This move shocked Toronto as they see Canadian Brett Lawrie leave for some warmer temperatures. GM Spencer says "Sandoval fits better in our lineup and for what we are trying to do. Lawrie is an excellent player and will be missed for sure". Arias will take over the 2B spot in AAA and Nady will also report to AAA playing 1B

4) Blue Jays trade 1B Adam Lind, LF Raja Davis, C Jeff Mathis to Minnesota for 1B Justin Morneau, LF Ben Revere, 2B Alexi Casilla.
- This was an excellent move for Toronto who get Canadian Justin Morneau home to Canada finally, and also get a cheaper, upgrade outfielder in Revere and also adds depth by getting Casilla should win the backup INF job over Vizquel who will probably be sent to AAA. Morneau brings back some Canadian blood and an upgrade at 1B. Revere should start in LF and lead off for Toronto.

5) Lastly, Toronto trades 2B Kelly Johnson, 1B David Cooper, AA SS Raph King to Tampa Bay for 2B/SS/RF Ben Zobrist, LF Luke Scott, 1B Brandon Allen.
- This move was made because Zobrist can play many positions to help the team and provides solid contact and power. The Jays lost Cooper but got Scott who should take over as the teams 4th OF and Brandon Allen who should take over Coopers job at 1B in AAA.