The Blue Jays need 26-year old righty swinging 2B Aaron Hill to have a healthy 2009 season. He only played in 55 games last season for the Blue Jays (due to a concussion) and he was 54 for 205 (.263 avg, .685 OPS) with 19 runs scored, 2 homers and 20 RBIs. Hill is a better hitter than that as he is a career .284 hitter in the majors with a .748 OPS. Hill only made 1 error in 55 games at 2B last season for the Blue Jays but he showed pretty poor range.

30-year old lefty swinging Joe Inglett finally got his big chance last season after Hill was injured and he ran with it. Inglett played in 109 games for the Blue Jays last season and he was 102 for 344 (.297 avg, .762 OPS) with 45 runs scored, 3 homers, 39 RBIs and 9 stolen bases. Inglett did make 5 errors in 66 games at 2B last season for the Jays but he showed better range than Hill did. Hill is a better player than Inglett but the Blue Jays would be in good hands if he were forced into extended action again in 2009.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 2009 SEASON: C

The Blue Jays have lost starting center fielder Vernon Wells for at least the next month due to a strained left hamstring. Wells would be replaced in CF by Alex Rios if he’s not ready for opening day. The Jays would then likely start Adam Lind or Travis Snider in RF until Wells is ready to return to action. In that scenario, Kevin Millar would likely start at DH. Wells is the player the Jays could least afford to lose so they need him to get healthy quickly.

The Blue Jays have outrighted lefty pitchers Brian Burres and Reid Santos to AAA. Both pitchers could elect to become free agents but the Jays are hoping they both stay and compete for jobs in spring training.

The Blue Jays will be likely going with 32-year old lefty swinging 1B Lyle Overbay again this season. Overbay played in 158 games for the Blue Jays last season and he was 147 for 544 (.270 avg, .777 OPS) with 74 runs scored, 15 homers and 69 RBIs. Overbay is a solid defensive 1B still as he only made 5 errors last season in 156 games. The Blue Jays expect more offense out of Overbay in 2009 or else he better be looking over his shoulder at Kevin Millar.

37-year old righty swinging Kevin Millar has been brought in to DH some and play some 1B in 2009 for the Blue Jays. He played in 145 games for the Orioles last season and he was 124 for 531 (.234 avg, .717 OPS) with 73 runs scored, 20 homers and 72 RBIs. Millar doesn’t have much range but he only made 6 errors in 130 games at 1B in 2008.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 2009 SEASON: C-

The Blue Jays have a lot of experience behind the plate heading into the 2009 season. 33-year old righty swinging Rod Barajas will get the bulk of the starts behind the plate this season for the Blue Jays. He played in 104 games for the Blue Jays last season and he was 87 for 349 (.249 avg, .704 OPS) with 44 runs scored, 11 homers and 49 RBIs. Barajas also was very solid behind the plate last season for the Jays as he threw out 17 of 59 (29%) basestealers while Jays’ pitchers had a outstanding 3.32 ERA with him catching.

32-year old righty swinging Michael Barrett will battle 35-year old righty swinging Raul Chavez for the backup job this spring. Barrett is the better hitter while Chavez is a much better defender. Barrett played in 30 games for the Padres last season and he was 19 for 94 (.202 avg, .572 OPS) with 9 runs scored, 2 homers and 9 RBIs. Barrett only threw out 5 of 48 (10%) basestealers last season and Padres’ pitchers had a 4.46 ERA with him behind the plate. Barrett has played in 1,047 games in his major league career and he has a .264 average with a .742 OPS, so look for him to hit better than last season if he wins the backup job for the Blue Jays in 2009.

Raul Chavez played in 42 games for the Pittsburgh Pirates last season and he was 30 for 116 (.259 avg, .606 OPS) with 12 runs scored, 1 homer and 10 RBIs. Chavez nailed 8 of 21 (38%) basestealers last season and Pirates’ pitchers had a 4.76 ERA with him behind the plate which is quite an achievement based on how bad that pitching staff was.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 2009 SEASON: C