Lawrie up, Kawasaki down
For those who missed it this weekend, the Blue Jays have brought up Brett Lawrie – as a 2B. This move is a bit of a head scratcher to me. I think Lawrie is certainly athletic enough to play 2B, but there is no viable, long-term replacement at 3B on the roster in my opinion. The Jays plan to use Maicer Izturis and Mark DeRosa at the hot corner for now. Is there something in the works to acquire a premier 3B before the trade deadline?
The Jays are saying they see SS Jose Reyes and Lawrie setting up as a long-term double-play team. Yet even Reyes says that the transition for Lawrie probably would be easier if it had of happened in Spring Training either this year or next. For the record, Reyes believes Lawrie is more than capable of playing 2B – he just thinks it would be an easier move if Lawrie had more reps.
Lawrie went 1 – 8 at the plate in his first two games back and didn’t commit an error with limited chances at 2B.
Again, this move is a bit bizarre to me but we’ll see how it plays out.
The odd-man-out is once again Munenori Kawasaki. Kaswasaki was optioned to triple-A to make room for Lawrie.
The Jays are still carrying an 8-man bullpen but will likely go back to a traditional 7-man ‘pen when Melky Cabrera comes back from the DL shortly or immediately after the allstar break. Barring any trades (think Darren Oliver), the Jays will likely send down Neil Wagner simply because everyone in the ‘pen is pitching so well and he is the guy with minor league options.
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