The Blue Jays have acquired 26-year old lefty starter/reliever Dana Eveland from the Blue Jays for either a player to be named later or cash. Eveland pitched in 13 games (9 starts) for the A’s last season and he was 2-4 with a 7.16 ERA and a 2.18 WHIP. He allowed an amazing 70 hits while walking 26 batters in only 44 innings last season for the A’s. Eveland has now pitched in 83 games (44 starts) in his major league career and he is 13-17 with 1 save, a 5.54 ERA and a 1.70 WHIP. The Blue Jays are stockpiling pitching for 2010 and it never hurts to have a lot of them that throw from the left side.

The Blue Jays will be without 28-year old lefty reliever Dirk Hayhurst for the next 4-6 months after having surgery earlier today to repair fraying in the labrum of his right shoulder. Hayhurst pitched in 15 games (0 starts) for the Blue Jays last season and he was 0-0 with a 2.78 ERA and a 1.41 WHIP. The Blue Jays are deep in the bullpen so they should survive until Hayhurst is ready to return to action in 2010.

UPDATE: The Blue Jays have placed Hayhurst on the 60-day disabled list to open up a roster spot.

27-year old righty swinging Aaron Hill came back from a injury marred 2008 season with a vengeance in 2009. He played in 158 games last season for the Blue Jays and he was 195 for 682 (.286 avg, .829 OPS) with 103 runs scored, 36 homers, 108 RBIs and 6 stolen bases. Hill had a “career” year in 2009 but I really think that his power is legit and that he will put up outstanding power numbers again in 2010. Hill is also a really good defensive player. He made only 7 errors in 156 games at 2B last season while showing outstanding range.

35-year old righty swinging John McDonald will likely be Hill’s primary back-up in 2010. He played in 8 error-free games at 2B last season for the Blue Jays while showing outstanding range. He’s not much of a hitter though.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 2B IN 2010: A

The Blue Jays have signed 26-year old righty starting pitcher Wade Townsend to a minor league deal. Townsend was a first round pick of the Rays in 2005. He pitched in 3 games (all starts) in Rookie-ball last season and he was 0-0 with a 13.50 ERA and a 3.75 WHIP. He has now pitched in 64 games (43 starts) in his four years in the minors and he is 7-21 with a 5.58 ERA and a 1.55 WHIP. It’s a longshot that Townsend will amount to much in the majors but he does have a good arm.

The Blue Jays have signed 31-year old righty reliever Kevin Gregg to a 1-year, $2.75 million dollar deal with two options that if picked up can top out at $12 million bucks for the life of the contract. Gregg pitched in 72 games (0 starts) for the Cubs last season and he was 5-6 with 23 saves, a 4.72 ERA and a 1.31 WHIP. He has now pitched in 343 games (8 starts) in his major league career and he is 23-27 with 85 saves, a 4.10 ERA and a 1.32 WHIP. Look for the Blue Jays to put Jason Frasor on the trading block with Gregg likely being the closer for the Jays in 2010.