The Blue Jays are going to replace John Buck behind the plate with 25-year old righty swinging rookie J.P. Arencibia. Arencibia was the Blue Jays’ #2 rated prospect coming into the 2010 season according to Baseball America. He then went on to prove why in AAA-ball last season. He played in 104 games in AAA-ball last season and he was 124 of 412 (.301 avg, .986 OPS) with 76 runs scored, 32 homers and 85 RBIs. Arencibia earned a promotion last season and he played in 11 games for the Blue Jays in which he was 5 of 35 (.143 avg, .532 OPS) with 3 runs scored, 2 homers and 4 RBIs but he did whiff 11 times. Arencibia should fit right in with the Blue Jays as he has a nice power stick. Don’t be surprised to see him crank 20-25 homers as a rookie for the Jays in 2011. He played in 8 games behind the plate last season for the Blue Jays and he had 1 passed ball but no errors. He threw out 2 of 5 (40%) runners trying to steal on him last season and Jays’ pitchers had a 4.43 ERA with him behind the plate. Arencibia is going to be a good Rookie of the Year candidate for the Jays in 2011 due to his all around play.

35-year old righty swinging Jose Molina will be Arencibia’s backup in 2011. Molina played in 57 games for the Blue Jays last season and he was 41 of 167 (.246 avg, .681 OPS) with 13 runs scored, 6 homers, 12 RBIs and 1 stolen base. The Jays would be ecstatic if Molina can hit like he did last season but that’s not what they pay him for. Molina made 2 errors in 56 games behind the plate last season and he had 5 passed balls so he’s far from perfect. But, he threw out 13 of 34 (38.2%) runners trying to steal on him and Jays’ pitchers had a 3.72 ERA with him behind the dish. Pitchers love throwing to Molina so the Jays will be o.k. whenever Arencibia needs a day off in 2011.

31-year old righty swinging Ryan Budde will likely be stashed in AAA as the #3 catcher on the Jays in 2011. Budde played in 6 games for the Los Angeles Angels last season and he was 4 of 10 (.400 avg, 1.255 OPS) with 2 runs scored, 1 homer and 3 RBIs while whiffing 5 times. He also played in 53 games in AAA-ball last season and he was 42 of 172 (.244 avg, .627 OPS) with 24 runs scored, 1 homer, 13 RBIs and 1 stolen base. Budde didn’t make any errors in 6 games behind the plate for the Angels but he did have 2 passed balls. He threw out 1 of 6 (16.7%) runners trying to steal against him last season but Angels’ pitchers loved throwing to him as they had a 1.20 ERA in 30 innings with him behind the plate. Budde will likely be the first guy called up if Arencibia or Molina get injured.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE BLUE JAYS CATCHERS IN 2011: B

The Blue Jays have re-signed 34-year old righty swinging outfielder Jason Lane to a minor league deal. Lane played in 42 games in AAA-ball for the Blue Jays last season and he was 53 of 164 (.323 avg, .946 OPS) with 28 runs scored, 6 homers, 35 RBIs and 3 stolen bases. Lane last played in the majors back in 2007 with the Padres & Astros. Lane has played in 497 games in parts of six years in the majors and he is 291 of 1,208 (.241 avg, .771 OPS) with 165 runs scored, 61 homers, 189 RBIs and 10 stolen bases. The Blue Jays will give Lane a shot to win a job on the bench this spring.

The Toronto Blue Jays have acquired 31-year old righty reliever Frank Francisco and cash from the Texas Rangers for 29-year old righty swinging C/1B Mike Napoli. Francisco pitched in 56 games (0 starts) for the Rangers last season and he was 6-4 with 2 saves, a 3.76 ERA and a 1.27 WHIP. He has now pitched in 277 games (0 starts) in his first six years in the majors and he is 17-15 with 32 saves, a 3.75 ERA and a 1.29 WHIP. Francisco has only given up 237 hits in 283 1/3 innings in his major league career while whiffing 315 batters showing just how nasty he can be. Francisco will compete with Octavio Dotel and Jon Rauch during spring training for the closer’s job. I really like this deal for the both the Blue Jays who get a reliever that they really wanted and the Rangers who get a big righty bat.

The Blue Jays have designated 28-year old lefty reliever Rommie Lewis for assignment to make room on the 40-man roster for Mike Napoli. Lewis pitched in 14 games (0 starts) for the Blue Jays last season and he was 0-0 with a 6.75 ERA and a 1.50 WHIP. He also pitched in 24 games (8 starts) in AAA-ball last season in which he was 1-5 with 5 saves, a 7.59 ERA and a 1.76 WHIP. I think Lewis will clear waivers due to the fact that he was awful last season, but he is a lefty, so you never know.

The Blue Jays have dealt 32-year old CF Vernon Wells to the Los Angeles Angels for 29-year old righty swinging C/1B Mike Napoli and 32-year old righty swinging outfielder Juan Rivera. Wells played in 157 games for the Blue Jays last season and he was 161 of 590 (.273 avg, .847 OPS) with 79 runs scored, 31 homers, 88 RBIs and 6 stolen bases. He played in 1,393 games in his 12 years with the Blue Jays and he was 1,529 of 5,470 (.280 avg, .804 OPS) with 789 runs scored, 223 homers, 813 RBIs and 90 stolen bases. Wells made 3 All-Star teams, won three Gold Gloves and he won 1 Silver Slugger Award in his time with the Jays. Wells was #3 in Blue Jays’ history in games played with 1,393. He is also #2 in hits (1,529), #2 in runs scored (789), #2 in homers (223), #2 in RBIs (813), #10 in stolen bases (90), #2 in doubles (339) and #10 in triples (30) in Blue Jays’ history. Rajai Davis will take over as the Jays’ new centerfielder in 2011.

Mike Napoli will likely split time at catcher, 1B and DH for the Blue Jays in 2011. Napoli played in 140 games for the Angels last season and he was 108 of 453 (.238 avg, .784 OPS) with 60 runs scored, 26 homers, 68 RBIs and 4 stolen bases. He has now played in 506 games in his first five years in the majors and he is 389 of 1,549 (.251 avg, .831 OPS) with 246 runs scored, 92 homers, 249 RBIs and 21 stolen bases. Napoli brings a big power stick to the Angels so he should fit right in with the rest of the lineup. Juan Rivera will likely get a lot of P.T. at a corner outfield spot (likely LF) for the Jays. Rivera played in 124 games for the Angels last season and he was 105 of 416 (.252 avg, .721 OPS) with 53 runs scored, 15 homers, 52 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. Rivera has now played in 817 games in his first 10 years in the majors and he is 754 of 2,693 (.280 avg, .789 OPS) with 349 runs scored, 112 homers, 418 RBIs and 11 stolen bases. I really like this deal for the Jays as they get out from under Vernon Wells’ contract while getting two solid hitters (Napoli & Rivera) for him.