Dustin Shea is 22 years old and resides in Andover, Massachusetts. He is a recent graduate of Wesleyan University and currently works at the Phillips Academy Ice Rink. He is a lifelong sports enthusiast and is most interested in MLB, the NHL, college ice hockey and the NFL. On Wednesday, the Toronto Blue Jays signed A.J. Burnett to a five-year, $55 million contract. The right-handed pitcher was the most sought-after free agent starter. Former Baltimore Orioles closer B.J. Ryan signed a five-year deal with the team less than two weeks earlier. The New York-Boston divisional race may have a new participant.
At the start of the 2005 season, the Baltimore Orioles were red hot. Brian Roberts, previously known only as a base-stealing threat, was the best hitter in baseball and on June 10th, the Orioles sat in first place, four games ahead of the Boston Red Sox. The New York Yankees, slow out of the gate, were in fourth place, seven games back at 29-31.
While it seemed highly unlikely the Orioles could continue to win at that pace, or that the Yankees would continue to lose at that pace, it was a surprise to see the American League East standings look that way more than one third of the way through the schedule.
But, it is a lengthy season and the Orioles didn’t need too long, anyway. Their overachieving starting pitching came back to Earth. Combine that with offensive injuries and the Rafael Palmiero steroid scandal, and the Orioles quickly fell out of contention. The Yankees and Red Sox were both able to make the playoffs, and it was the Toronto Blue Jays who finished third in the AL East.
The Jays were a solid, balanced team in 2005 -- 8th in the league in runs scored and 12th in the league in ERA. With their offseason improvements, they might be able to do what the Orioles failed to do last season and become what many New Yorkers and Bostonians fear. They might be that third good AL East team, causing both teams to have to fight harder for a playoff spot, and possibly preventing two teams from coming out of the division.
On November 28th, Toronto signed BJ Ryan to a five-year, $47 million contract. The former Oriole was excellent last season, his first as a closer. The left-handed fastballer notched 36 saves and had a 1-4 record, 2.43 ERA and 100 strikeouts in 70.1 innings. The signing of Ryan will put Miguel Batista into the set-up role. Justin Speier, Jason Frasor, Scott Schoeneweis, and Vinnie Chulk should all return to the bullpen as well.
On Wednesday afternoon the Blue Jays signed A.J. Burnett for five years and $55 million. He was 12-12 last year, and is 49-50 for his career, but his stuff is good enough for teams to speculate he could become a dominant pitcher.
Burnett, who was the most coveted free agent starting pitcher, will become their number two starter, behind ace Roy Halladay. Halladay was posting Cy Young-quality numbers last season before a Kevin Mench line drive broke his tibia on July 8th, ending his season. The two will head a formidable rotation that also returns last year’s rookie sensation Gustavo Chacin, Ted Lilly, and Josh Towers.
These two signings drastically improve Toronto’s already solid pitching. While the Blue Jays scored plenty of runs last year, they could still stand to add a power hitter. Ideally, they would sign a slugging outfielder to fill their hole in right. Reed Johnson has not given them the production to be a regular outfielder.
Toronto pursued just such a player, but came up empty in their attempts to land San Diego outfielder Brian Giles. If general manager J.P. Ricciardi can find a way to acquire a similar type of player, even if not quite of Giles’ caliber, then the Blue Jays will have quite a lineup to contend with. They have Yankees and Red Sox fans a little uneasy already.