Toronto Blue Jays: Early Look at Potential Option for Center Field in 2013

Center field is a position the Toronto Blue Jays have had trouble filling over the past few seasons.

Last season, GM Alex Anthopoulos orchestrated a deal to bring in young, disgruntled center fielder Colby Rasmus from St. Louis.

Unfortunately, Rasmus hasn't quite panned out for Toronto, as they were hoping he would, and he is currently part of a Jays lineup that is struggling mightily.

Of late, I've been hearing from numerous Jays fans that it's all going to be okay, because if Rasmus doesn't improve this season, the Blue Jays have super-prospect Anthony Gose waiting in the wings.

Sadly, however, most Jays fans are not aware that Anthony Gose's development hasn't been smooth sailing thus far, and it is almost certain that he will not be ready to be an everyday starter for the Jays in 2013 (here's the stats from Baseball-Reference for those that are curious as to why that may be).

Keeping this in mind, if the Jays want to be competitive next year, and Rasmus continues his current trend, Toronto will need to pursue another option in center field.

Here are a few free-agent possibilities for Toronto in the upcoming offseason.

Melky Cabrera

A guy like Melky Cabrera could be exactly what the Blue Jays are looking for moving forward.

Cabrera fits the bill of a top-of-the-order bat, and he can also play very good defense in center field.

Last year, Cabrera hit over .300 and racked up over 200 hits while posting an OPS over .800 and swiping 20 bases.

This season in San Francisco, Cabrera is hitting .338 (not including last night's matchup against Colorado) through his first 150 at-bats and has already picked up five stolen bags and has knocked in 14 runs.

This offseason, the Jays could probably lure Cabrera out of the bay area with a four or five-year contract, since the Giants outfield prospect Gary Brown is now in Double-A and already has nine stolen bases and only strikes out about 15 percent of the time. Essentially, the Giants will probably not want to lock Cabrera in when Gary Brown is about a year or two away and would come much cheaper.

B.J. Upton

It has been widely speculated over the last few years that once Upton's contract expired, he'd be leaving Tampa Bay to sign a better paying contract.

While the Jays haven't been too keen on making a big splash in the free-agent market, going out and getting a talent like B.J. Upton may be the right move this offseason.

Upton could also be signed for upwards of five years and can still accommodate Anthony Gose when he is finally ready by shifting to left field; he has the arm to play a corner outfield position as well.

While Upton's batting average has lagged behind over the past few seasons, he has shown a good amount of pop at the plate and has stolen over 35 bases in each of the last four seasons.

Shane Victorino

While the rumors surrounding Shane Victorino being traded to the Blue Jays now seem to be defunct, he will still be a free agent this offseason.

Victorino would be precisely what the Blue Jays need if they want to become contenders in the American League.

He would be a veteran presence for a young team, yet someone who can still play for another five to seven years (he'll be turning 32 this offseason).

He would provide a true top-of-the-order hitter for Toronto—something they currently don't hav. (Neither Johnson or Escobar are true leadoff hitters.) Victorino has excellent speed (already has 11 stolen bases this season and is an 82 percent career base stealer), the ability to get on base (a career .343 on-base percentage) and even has some power (he hit 18 and 17 home runs in 2010 and 2011, respectively).

Victorino could definitely be the bridge in center field from 2013 until Anthony Gose is truly ready to take over the position.

Michael Bourn

Another free agent this offseason is Braves outfielder Michael Bourn.

Over the last four seasons, Bourn has been very impressive (his worst year at the plate of the four was last season when he hit .278 and had an OBP of .311).

Known as a leadoff hitter who can hit for average, get on base and then steal them, Bourn is your prototypical leadoff man. He is something the Jays are sorely lacking in their current lineup.

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