Alex Rios, Gone. Where Do The Blue Jays Go From Here?

Written By: Mark "The Hard Hitter" Ritter

“Every strike brings me closer to the next home run”.

Babe Ruth

And so it goes for general manager J.P. Riccardi and his Toronto Blue Jays.

Yesterday, news hit the airwaves that one time first round draft pick (1999) and two time All-Star (2006, 2007) Alex Rios was claimed off waivers by the Chicago White Sox.

Rios, who was hitting .264 with 14 Home Runs and 62 RBI’s, was signed to a monster contract by Blue Jays general manager J.P. Riccardi just 18 months ago. The deal was worth $69.8 Million over four years, which, at the time, based on Rios’ past and future potential, seemed about right.

Sadly, despite the huge upside that Rios has, he has never materialized into the player the Jays had hoped for.

Now, with payroll clearly being an issue in Toronto, Blue Jay fans watched as one of their top producers—Rios was third in home runs, third in RBI’s and seventh in on base percentage—was let go for nothing.

Yes Blue Jay fans, J.P. Riccardi couldn’t even get a bag of balls for a two-time All-Star. What’s up with that?

To be fair, ever since Rios signed the monster contract, he never seemed to find his groove, especially at the plate. In 2007, the season prior to the big money contract, Rios hit .297 with 24 home runs and 85 RBI, since then he has struggled to find his consistency, but his numbers weren’t exactly horrible either.

Last year Rios hit .291 with 15 home runs and 79 RBI. His 2009 totals will likely see him come close his career high of 24 home runs, he currently has 15, and with a little work his .264 average can easily be driven up to the .280-.290 range.

From the press box, it would seem as if the Blue Jays gave up on Rios far too early, but for every fan that believes that J.P. made a huge mistake, you will find another that believes the Blue Jays would never win with Rios in the lineup.

The truth is somewhere in the middle. Rios has a huge upside and may very well hit 30 home runs some day. But, his inconsistency at the plate is well documented and Rios could just as easily be a 15-20 home run player for the remainder of his career.

Allowing Rios to be claimed by the White Sox is not the end of the world, but to receive nothing in return, regardless of the financial flexibility, was surprising to say the least, some may even say inexcusable!

All the Blue Jays can do now is move on, hope that the prospects can fill a few holes and make an aggressive pitch for some hitting help in the off-season, which I acknowledge will likely be easier said than done.

With a 4.18 ERA, the Toronto Blue Jays have the second best ERA in the entire American League, eighth overall in MLB. With a total of 815 strike outs, the Jays rank 10th overall in the Majors, third in the American League. It would seem as if pitching is not an issue for the Jays and it is felt that many of their young arms are “The real deal”.

When high priced pitcher A.J. Burnett left for the Yankees in the off-season many Blue Jay fans felt it would be a huge blow for the Jays starting pitching. Fortunately, the addition of Rickey Romero to the Jays starting rotation has been a huge boost for the club, one that compensates for the loss of Burnett.

Heading into today’s head-to-head match-up between Burnett and Romero, Burnett had a record of 10-5 with an ERA of 3.67. Comparatively, Romero has a record of 10-5 and and ERA of 3.66. It doesn’t get any more even than that folks!

On the horizon, the Blue Jays will likely promote highly touted Outfield/DH prospect Travis Snider to play the outfield and take Rios’ spot.

To date, in 44 games with the Jays AAA affiliate Las Vegas 51’s, Snider is hitting .319 with 13 home runs and 37 RBI’s. He still struggles a bit in the outfield, but his hitting may very well earn him a regular spot in the lineup. Offense is badly needed in Toronto, and Snider might just be the guy to supply it.

Another player that has caught my eye of late is minor league veteran Randy Ruiz. The 31 year-old Ruiz, who stands 6’1”, 240 pounds, was hitting .320 with 25 home runs, 43 doubles and 96 RBI’s with the Las Vegas 51’s.

Ruiz was recently called up by the Blue Jays and in just two games he has hit two home runs and is tearing the cover off the ball. Could he be a legitimate replacement for a guy like Lyle Overbay? Only time will tell, but you gotta love what we’ve seen from this guy so far.

Clearly, if the Jays are going to be competitive in the ultra-tough American League East they are going to have to add some bats. Snider and Ruiz are still prospects and unproven at the Major League level. A legitimate MLB hitter, or two, is a must this off-season if the Jays truly plan on contending.

Some available free agents this off-season include Canada’s own, current Boston Red Sox left fielder, Jason Bay, former Boston Red Sox and current New York Yankee Johnny Damon, designated hitters Jim Thome and Jason Giambi, left fielder Matt Holliday, right fielder Brian Giles, third basemen Adrain Beltre and Joe Crede, center fielder Reed Johnson (a fan favorite when he played with the Blue Jays), and many others.

The reality is, unless the Jays are able to spend, which seems to be an issue at the moment, they will be forced to ask the likes of Snider and Ruiz to step up large and make a major impact on the Blue Jays offense. Stranger things have happened, but, despite theses two players' potential, I wouldn’t bet on them being huge factors in 2010.

The future of this franchise currently lies in the hands of general manger J.P. Riccardi. It is my guess that J.P. is as good as gone once this season is over and it couldn’t come any sooner.

J.P. has made far too many bad trades and acquisitions over the years. He is arrogant to a fault, brutal to the media and the fans have had it with this stiff. The Blue Jays scouting staff, which admittedly J.P. has had a hand in selecting, has done an admirable job selecting good pitching talent, but, when you finish as far off the pace as the Jays do, it’s not exactly rocket science to come up with a decent prospect.

The bottom line is, it is time for a drastic change, Riccardi’s time is over and other changes will come accordingly.

For the most part, since the Blue Jays 1993 World Series title, fans have been very patient. It has been a long time since Blue Jays great Joe Carter hit his clutch home run to win the World Series, it’s high time the Blue Jays gave their fans another winner, clearly, it’s long overdue.

Sadly, the fans’ patience has run out this year. The Jays are ranked 22nd overall in MLB attendance, with just an average of 24,394 fans showing up to games this season. The reason? Simple, the Jays have not been putting competitive clubs on the field, the fans do not expect a World Series every year, but a pennant race every three or four seasons sure as heck would be nice!

In order for the Jays to spend money they will need to increase attendance dramatically. In order for attendance to increase you will have to convince the fans that the Jays have a legitimate chance of winning, not simply being an also-ran.

It’s a double-edged sword, a problem that is not easily solved. In my mind, it all starts at the top, and until the Blue Jays owners, GM, and coaching staff can get on the same page, it will be another frustrating year for Jays fans in 2010.

The time is now, make the moves and the fans will creep back into the Dome, let the team slide deeper by allowing the likes of Roy Halladay move and you will never get the fans back.

The choice is yours, what will it be Blue Jays?

Until next time,

Peace!