Switch-hitting, 35 year old Gregg Zaun will get his starting job back this season after backing up Bengie Molina last year. The amazing thing about last season is that Zaun set a career high in homers (12) despite only batting 290 times. It seems as if Zaun is becoming a better hitter as he’s getting older which is strange for a catcher. The Blue Jays would like to limit Zaun to about 400 at bats if they can have one of their backups earn playing time. Zaun threw out 18% of attempted base stealers and only made 3 errors and allowed 4 passed balls. So he’s a decent defensive catcher.

30 year old Jason Phillips will get a chance to battle for the backup job for the Blue Jays. He only batted 48 times last season for the Blue Jays and he hit .250. Phillips does have occasional power and is a career .254 hitter so he could make it. He also adds versatility as he can play first base. He hit .273 with a .743 OPS in AAA for the Jays last season, but he needs to prove in Spring Training that he can handle the defensive part of catching if he wants to win the job of backing up Gregg Zaun.

35 year old Sal Fasano was signed as a free-agent to compete with Jason Phillips for the backup catcher job. He only hit .217 with 5 homers and 15 RBIs last season between the Philadelphia Phillies & New York Yankees. Fasano has always been an all or nothing hitter as he has a career average of .221, but he has hit a homer every 22.1 at bats over his career. Fasano does have a strong arm as he threw out 23.9% of base stealers last season. He did make 4 errors and had 4 passed balls last season as he isn’t the most mobile catcher behind the plate.

The Toronto Blue Jays bought one expensive piece (Frank Thomas) and then they went bargain basement shopping to fill in holes on their roster. The Blue Jays are taking a big risk on Frank Thomas. Thomas missed 25 games last season and he’s 38 years old but that didn’t stop the Blue Jays from giving him $9 million bucks for this season! Thomas hit .270 last season for the A’s with 39 homers and 114 RBI. He will put up numbers if he stays healthy…..but that’s a huge if. Royce Clayton was brought in to be the starting shortstop for the Jays. His skills as a hitter have started to erode but he still plays good defense. Matt Stairs was brought in as insurance against Frank Thomas getting hurt. He also can sub in the outfield. He has retained power in that left-handed stick of his. The Jays have also brought in Sal Fasano to battle Jason Phillips as the back up catcher. Infielder Jason Smith was selected in the Rule 5 Draft and Ray Olmedo was brought in to battle John McDonald for the back up infielder spot on the Jays.

The Blue Jays have brought in three veterans that are coming off of injuries to compete for the #4 and #5 starter roles. John Thomson has started 32 games the last two seasons and has compiled a 6-13 record for the Atlanta Braves, but if he’s healthy he likely will get one of the spots in the rotation. Tomo Ohka will likely get the other slot in the rotation. Ohka was 4-5 with a 4.82 ERA in 18 starts for the Milwaukee Brewers. The longshot is Victor Zambrano. He only started 5 games and was 1-2 with a 6.75 ERA last season for the Mets. It’s likely that he will wind up in the bullpen. Geremi Gonzalez was 4-2 with a 5.79 ERA splitting the season between the Mets and Brewers. He also is a long shot to be in the rotation for the Blue Jays.