Patterson is the most notable of all the signings and will undoubtedly push the Jays over the top in the AL East. Seems like the reason why Brewers' GM Doug Melvin was so easily able to "school" Alex Anthopolous while acquiring Zack Greinke from the Royals was because AA was spending far too much time contemplating minor league depth moves. I'd give a greater explanation of what that painfully sarcastic sentence was in reference to, but instead I'll take the lazy way out and direct you over to the Score's Getting Blanked for a much more in depth analysis of the Richard Griffin article in the Star this morning to which I am referring.
As for the minor league signings, Corey Patterson is an interesting, if not a horribly under-fucking-whelming one. I can see the logic in the signing, though, as it provides the Jays with another outfield option in case Jose Bautista is moved to third base (which seems increasingly more likely with each passing day) and if they aren't comfortable with Rajai Davis as their everyday left/right fielder. Essentially, based solely on their batting stats, Corey Patterson is the poor man's Rajai Davis - which doesn't bode all that well, but he is a decent backup plan in case any of the outfielders get injured or if Davis struggles like he did last year.
Defensively, both Patterson and Davis excel in right field (particularly in comparison to their left field stats) as evidenced by their ultimate zone ratings (UZR). Patterson's right field, home/away, UZR/150 over his career is 198.9/15.1 and -10.4/3.3 in right field. Rajai Davis' right field (home/away) UZR/150 over his career is 21.1/5.5 and -16.5/-16.2 in left field. Seems like if Bautista is going to be stationed at third base, we can expect Snider to be in left field and Davis (with Patterson backing him up) in right field. It's not a signing to get excited about really, but it's also one that costs nothing, risks nothing, and still provides some insurance for the ball club.
The rest of the signings are basically just fliers on guys who've shown some success in the minors but not much in the big leagues. Maybe one of them turns into the next Scott Downs who the Jays picked up for nothing and who turned into one of their most reliable relievers. And if not, who the fuck cares, like I said earlier it costs nothing and risks nothing.
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