Rookie outfielder Travis Snider will likely bump 25-year old lefty swinging Adam Lind to the DH spot. Lind played in 88 games for the Blue Jays last season and he was 92 for 326 (.282 avg, .755 OPS) with 48 runs scored, 9 homers and 40 RBIs. He should be able to handle the starting job for the Blue Jays in 2009 but if he has problems against lefties then Kevin Millar could work his way into a platoon with him.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 2009 SEASON: C

33-year old righty swinging 3B Scott Rolen played with a bum shoulder last season and the Blue Jays are hoping that a winter of rest will have him ready to rebound in 2009. Rolen played in 115 games for the Blue Jays last season and he was 107 for 408 (.262 avg, .780 OPS) with 58 runs scored, 11 homers, 50 RBIs and 5 stolen bases. The Jays need him to get back to his career norms with the bat in 2009. He has played in 1,620 games in his major league career and he has a batting average of .282 with a .871 OPS. Rolen’s defense also was sub par last season. He made 11 errors in 115 games at 3B last season for the Blue Jays while showing slightly below average range. Rolen’s a better player than he showed last season.

28-year old righty swinging Jose Bautista will back up Rolen this season. He played in 128 games for the Pirates and Blue Jays last season in which he was 88 for 370 (.238 avg, .718 OPS) with 45 runs scored, 15 homers and 54 RBIs. Bautista made 11 errors in 99 games at 3B last season but he showed outstanding range. Bautista is a capable fill in if Rolen continues to have shoulder problems.

35-year old lefty swinging Howie Clark will likely start the season in AAA and wait for a call. He played in 4 games for the Twins last season and he was 2 for 8 (.250 avg, .750 OPS) with 1 RBI. Clark also played in 93 games in AAA-ball last season and he was 99 for 338 (.293 avg, .773 OPS) with 50 runs scored, 6 homers and 48 RBIs. It’s always good to have a player like Clark in AAA in case of injuries.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 2009 SEASON: C

33-year old righty swinging Marco Scutaro will head into the 2009 season as the likely starter at shortstop. He has been a solid backup his whole career but he earned this chance by playing solid for the Blue Jays last season. In 145 games last year for the Blue Jays he was 138 for 517 (.267 avg, .697 OPS) with 76 runs scored, 7 homers, 60 RBIs and 7 stolen bases. He played in 56 games at shortstop last season for the Blue Jays and he made 5 errors while showing above average range. This just goes to show that hard work can and does pay off.

34-year old righty swinging John McDonald will likely be the backup SS in 2009. His reputation is that he’s an all glove no hit player but that wasn’t the case last season as he didn’t hit or catch the ball. McDonald made 9 errors in 67 games at shortstop last season for the Blue Jays while showing below average range which was a surprise. McDonald can’t afford to lose it on defense if he wants to continue his major league career because he’s not a good hitter. McDonald played in 84 games for the Blue Jays last season and he was 39 for 186 (.210 avg, .524 OPS) with 21 runs scored, 1 homer, 18 RBIs and 3 stolen bases.

28-year old lefty swinging Brandon Fahey was brought in as a free agent over the winter. He’s a younger version of John McDonald. He played in 58 games for the Orioles last season and he was 24 for 106 (.226 avg, .601 OPS) with 8 runs scored and 12 RBIs. He played in 46 games at shortstop for the Orioles last season and he made 5 errors while showing good range. He will likely start the season in AAA ball.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 2009 SEASON: C

27-year old righty Shaun Marcum (Tommy John Surgery) and Dustin McGowan (surgery for fraying of right labrum) will both miss most if not all of the 2009 season. That is the reason the Blue Jays have brought in so many pitchers on minor league contracts to try to replace this talented duo. Marcum pitched in 25 games (all starts) last season for the Blue Jays and he was 9-7 with a 3.39 ERA and a 1.16 WHIP. He has now pitched in 89 games (64 starts) in his major league career in which he is 24-17 with 1 save, a 3.95 ERA and a 1.28 WHIP. It’s a shame that Marcum went down last season because he would have lined up as the Jays’ #2 starter this season after the departure of A.J. Burnett in free agency. 26-year old righty Dustin McGowan has the better shot of returning some time this season. He pitched in 19 games (all starts) for the Blue Jays last season and he was 6-7 with a 4.37 ERA and a 1.37 WHIP. McGowan acutally has better stuff than Marcum but he hasn’t learned to harness it quite yet. He has now pitched in 75 games (56 starts) in his major league career and he is 20-22 with a 4.71 ERA and a 1.37 WHIP. It will be hard for the Blue Jays to recover from losing McGowan, Marcum and Burnett in 2009.

The Blue Jays have signed 32-year old righty starting pitcher Wade Miller to a minor league contract. Miller last pitched in the majors with the Cubs in 2007. Miller has pitched in 151 games (147 starts) in his major league career to date and he is 62-46 with a 4.10 ERA and a 1.36 WHIP. The Jays have signed a lot of pitchers like Miller giving them chances to revive their careers so this is a nice low risk move by them.