Closer role, others in bullpen are wide open
There is no doubt that the Blue Jays need someone to close out games in 2012.
The two who did that job most of the time last season, right-handers Frank Francisco and Jon Rauch, are free agents.
The Blue Jays did not pick up the option year on Rauch's contract although his return hasn't been ruled out.
But the Blue Jays could do better than either.
Francisco improved as the 2011 season progressed and finished 17-for-21 in save opportunities, while Rauch was 11-for-16.
But the Blue Jays had 25 blown saves, sometimes more than one in the same game and sometimes before the ninth inning, and it's an area that needs to be bolstered.
Do they do it by trade or through free agency?
General manager Alex Anthopoulos likes to accumulate draft picks and to sign one of the big-name free agents he might have to give up one. He is also wary of signing a contract that he feels is too long in a volatile position.
Anthopoulos also likes to acquire players the club can control for at least a couple of years. That is why ESPN's Buster Olney mentioned the possibility of acquiring Andrew Bailey from the Oakland Athletics. Bailey would be under club control through 2014.
Anthopoulos doesn't talk much about such things, except to say many of the rumors involving his team aren't true.
Beyond someone to close out games, the bullpen is being rebuilt anyway. Shawn Camp also is a free agent.
It could mean some young starters breaking into the majors by taking on bullpen roles. But closers are a different situation. Anthopoulos said recent that his bullpen situation is "very fluid."
Then he added a sobering thought.
"At the same time, if we go into the offseason and say we have to have X amount of relievers, and either the trades for those players don't make sense or the free-agent contracts don't make sense, we're going to make bad deals and we're going to regret it during spring training or during the year," Anthopoulos said.
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