3 Up 3 Down: Lawrie, Reyes and More Roster Moves

Talk about a tale of two homestands; after completely dominating Philadelphia Phillies and outscoring them 22-6 in two games last week, the Blue Jays experienced the ugly side of the next series as they’ve dropped three straight to the Los Angeles Angels.

The Angels have outscored the Blue Jays 18-9 in what has been a lopsided series thus far. Although taking one out of four games is not an ideal result, one win is a consolation for what has been a pretty underwhelming series.

Here are a few quick thoughts on the possibility of moving Brett Lawrie back to second base, Jose Reyes’ resurgence, and a cavalcade of even more roster moves.

Moving Lawrie to Second … Again?

Over the weekend, John Gibbons declared that upon Brett Lawrie’s return, he would be moved off the hot corner to second base (against right-handed starters at least).

Is anybody else a little leery about moving Brett Lawrie back to second base after he’s been so great at third?

The Blue Jays attempted that last year after the revolving door of second baseman which included Maicer Izturis and Emilio Bonifacio, and that had disastrous results; so why do they think it’s going to be any different this time?

What it comes down to is the Blue Jays are once again compromising their roster to accommodate a player who is out of options (Juan Francisco).

I agree the Blue Jays really can’t afford not to have Francisco’s bat in the lineup right now, but what happens if and when he cools off; does Brett Lawrie go back to third base until Francisco heats up again?

Playing Lawrie at second and Francisco at third is a strategy which may work out in the short term, but I can’t see it paying dividends for the Blue Jays in the long term.

Update: It appears as though the Blue Jays have somewhat come to their senses at Brett Lawrie will be back in the lineup tonight playing third base, not second. I guess this has now become a moot point.

Jose Reyes Returns to Form

I’ll be honest … on Friday, I began drafting a blog post with the premise that Jose Reyes has been a shell of his former self. But then a funny thing happened over the weekend; he got his groove back.

Given it’s a small sample size, but Jose Reyes has had a pretty good homestand thus far; he reached base nine times, including six hits, four stolen bases, and most notably from the video above, he scored from second base on a ground ball.

That’s tremendous news for those like myself who thought Reyes was playing afraid and perhaps cognizant of hurting himself again. If Jose Reyes isn’t lighting it up on the basepaths, then he really isn’t playing to his full potential.

Reyes should be one of those guys that makes opposing pitchers nervous when he gets on base, and who has the ability to swipe a bag at any given moment. Finally, that version of Jose Reyes is beginning to emerge once again.

As the Roster Revolving Door Turns

Another day, another bunch of roster moves in Blue Jays Land. If it feels like it’s been a revolving door of sorts, it’s because it has been. Since Opening Day, the Blue Jays have made 51 transactions. Yes, 51 transactions.

This includes the optioning of players, sending players to the disabled list, activating players off the DL, claiming players off waivers, and calling players up from the minors. I’m not sure if the Blue Jays have made the most moves, but they definitely rank up there.

Image courtesy of AP Photo/Patrick Semansky