Are you as confused as I am?
Just hours ago the Blue Jays officially re-signed John McDonald to a two-year, $3 million deal that pretty much answered the question of who would be the starting shortstop in 2010.
Now this comes along.
Jordan Bastian reports that McDonald's role on the team next season remains undefined and that the Blue Jays are actually still seeking a full-time shortstop.
Say what?
So I guess that means time for the Blue Jays to dip into the shortstop free agent bargain bin. Viable options out on the market include former J.P. Ricciardi man-crush Orlando Cabrera, Alex "not that Alex " Gonzalez, or hell...maybe even Adam Everett.
This news comes as a huge surprise after I (and many of us) had assumed that this contract basically locked McDonald in as the full-time shortstop until somebody else challenged him for the job.
In my estimation, part of the reason for signing Johnny Mac to the two-year deal was so other teams could not scoop him up. By the sounds of things, it appears there were a few teams gunning for McDonald, and Alex Anthopoulos didn't want to let him slip away just in case they couldn't find a replacement at SS in the interim.
Unfortunately, knowing the way that Cito Gaston coaches, McDonald is doomed to be banished to the bench once again aside from the odd pinch-running assignment. Which is a shame, because one would think that this starting shortstop position was Johnny Mac's to lose.
But now he's lost it before he even had a chance to defend it. Now he'll spend the rest of 2010 and 2011 trying to get it back.
Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com
- Login to post comments