Yes, I'm fully aware of the rumours. It's a good sign if that's the type of player Anthopoulos is targeting, but he's not my first choice for catcher next season. No, that person is Mike Napoli. Or, as I like to call him, Mike Naples.
Last year Napoli hit .272/.350/.492 in 432 plate appearances. Additionally Mike Scioscia had a tendency to sit Napoli against lefthanded pitchers, whom he hit .330/.417/.606 against in '09 and .278/.388/.521 against for his career, late in the season, so you would expect a better full season line with a not-retarded manager (the Jays do not fall in this category). By WAR (wins above replacement), Napoli 3.2 was worth the same as Brandon Phillips, Lance Berkman, and Justin Morneau in '09 and was basically identical to his WAR from '08. And just for reference, the difference in WAR last year between Napoli and Rod Barajas was basically the same as the difference between Albert Pujols and Chone Figgins.
Now, obviously, Napoli wouldn't be easy to pry from LAA, but with John Lackey and Kelvim Escobar leaving in free agency, Brian Fuentes coming off a bad year as closer, and Los Angeles having a monster offence still without Napoli (plus Hank Conger coming up from the minors sooner than later) I don't think LAA would be completely opposed to trading Napoli away for the right pitchers. Would Ricky Romero and Jeremy Accardo or Scott Downs be enough? Maybe, maybe not. But the Jays have the pitching to pull it off regardless.
Do it, Alex. The Greasy Italian Quotient of this team has been sorely lacking for YEARS. Bring me Mike Naples.
