With Jose Bautista scheduled to come off the DL shortly it was looking pretty crowded in left field with Anthony Gose, Rajai Davis and Travis Snider on the major league team and Eric Thames in the minors.
Then within a couple of hours - poof Snider and Thames were gone.
I'm sorry to see Snider move on. I like many fans became enamoured with the young fielder when he first came up as a 20 year old. But he has bounced up and down between the majors and AAA ball for 4 years now. It has become apparent the Jays do not see him as an every day player. Let's hope that it happens for him in Pittsburgh. As for Eric Thames, he wasn't nearly as talented as Snider but worked his butt off.
I have not been impressed with Davis. A great base stealer but just an average bat without a high on base average. His fielding is mediocre, and Snider in the field was a definite upgrade. However, the idea of having Gose up with the Jays is appealing as long as he can hit major league pitching. He had a high strikeout rate in Los Vegas. As well, his baserunning will eventually make Davis obsolete.
The pitching help is certainly needed. Like many others I've predicted that the Jays would collapse with each body that went down beginning with Brandon Morrow on June 11. But the collapse never happened and if it has happened yet it won't be happening at all. This team is incredibly resilient.
So the pitching help, Brad Lincoln and Steve Delabar, will restock the bullpen and allow the Jays to return the minor league arms back to where they belong. I expect the Jays will be able to keep close to the pack chasing the wild card spots right through the rest of the summer.
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