The Blue Jays have claimed 26-year old lefty reliever Reid Santos off waivers from the Cleveland Indians. Santos pitched in 45 games (0 starts) between AA+AAA ball this season and he was 4-3 with 2 saves, a 4.89 ERA and a 1.38 WHIP. The Blue Jays must feel that you can never have too many lefty relievers as Santos will have a hard time making the team next spring.

Roy Halladay certainly pitched well enough to win the Cy Young Award but it’s likely going to the Indians’ Cliff Lee and deservingly so as he was 22-3 this season. Still, Halladay pitched in 33 games (32 starts) so far this season for the Blue Jays and he was 19-11 with a 2.81 ERA and a 1.06 WHIP. Halladay also saved the bullpen of the Blue Jays as he has 8 complete games this season and two shutouts. Halladay has whiffed 201 batters this season while only walking 38 batters in 237 innings. It’s too bad the Blue Jays didn’t hit better for Halladay as a few more wins would have possibly gotten him the Cy Young Award in 2008.

The Blue Jays have lost starting pitcher Shaun Marcum for the rest of this season and all of the 2009 season as he needs Tommy John Surgery. This is a shame as Marcum had a breakout season in 2008 for the Blue Jays. Marcum started 25 games for the Blue Jays this year and he was 9-7 with a 3.39 ERA and a 1.16 WHIP. Hindsight is always 20/20 but this probably could have been avoided if the Blue Jays had shut Marcum down earlier as his elbow was bothering him.

The Blue Jays have lost starting catcher Rod Barajas for the season due to a torn left hamstring. Barajas played in 104 games for the Blue Jays this season and he was 87 for 349 (.249 avg, .704 OPS) with 44 runs scored, 11 homers and 49 RBIs. The Blue Jays will use Gregg Zaun as the starting catcher for the remainder of the 2008 season. He has played in 80 games for the Blue Jays this season and he is 51 for 224 (.228 avg, .691 OPS) with 25 runs scored, 6 homers and 28 RBIs. Zaun should do a decent job the rest of the way for the Blue Jays.

The Blue Jays have traded 33-year old righty swinging infielder David Eckstein to the D-Backs for 23-year old righty pitcher Chad Beck. Eckstein was a disappointment this season for the Blue Jays as he played in 76 games in which he was 72 for 260 (.277 avg, .712 OPS) with 27 runs scored, 1 homer, 23 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. The Jays have done a solid job of getting young arms for older players the last couple of days. Chad Beck has pitched in 32 games (15 starts) in A-Ball this season and he is 8-5 with a 3.67 ERA and a 1.13 WHIP. He has also whiffed 108 batters in 112.2 innings in the minors this season which proves that he has pretty decent stuff. This was a good move for both teams.