3-2 Changeup
01-09-2006, 02:38 PM
An excerpt from the Toronto Star.[
While Ricciardi insists the lineup is more or less set, there are some names out there that still interest the Jays. One is outfielder-first baseman Craig Wilson of the Pittsburgh Pirates, who had 29 homers, 35 doubles and 82 runs batted in two seasons ago before suffering through an injury-plagued 2005 campaign.
Wilson has a career on-base percentage of .363, including a .387 mark posted last season in only 59 games. Those numbers and his previous homer total are the sort of statistics that draw Toronto's interest and Ricciardi believes Wilson would represent an upgrade over what the club has in left field.
Pittsburgh signed outfielder Jeromy Burnitz last week and the previous acquisition of first baseman Sean Casey has left Wilson without a position. He could also be awarded more than $4 million from salary arbitration and the Pirates aren't sure they want to pay that to a part-timer.
"We've always liked him, but I don't know what his availability is," Ricciardi said.
The Pirates have said they're going to hold on to Wilson, but that sounds like posturing by the budget-conscious team. Ricciardi said he'd only do a "one-for-one" trade for Wilson, meaning a current major leaguer or a better minor-league prospect, but no more packages like he did in the Lyle Overbay trade with Milwaukee.
The Koskie deal has left the Jays with some extra cash to absorb Wilson into the fold. Ricciardi is also still looking at free-agent catcher Bengie Molina, but "only if the price is right."
While Ricciardi insists the lineup is more or less set, there are some names out there that still interest the Jays. One is outfielder-first baseman Craig Wilson of the Pittsburgh Pirates, who had 29 homers, 35 doubles and 82 runs batted in two seasons ago before suffering through an injury-plagued 2005 campaign.
Wilson has a career on-base percentage of .363, including a .387 mark posted last season in only 59 games. Those numbers and his previous homer total are the sort of statistics that draw Toronto's interest and Ricciardi believes Wilson would represent an upgrade over what the club has in left field.
Pittsburgh signed outfielder Jeromy Burnitz last week and the previous acquisition of first baseman Sean Casey has left Wilson without a position. He could also be awarded more than $4 million from salary arbitration and the Pirates aren't sure they want to pay that to a part-timer.
"We've always liked him, but I don't know what his availability is," Ricciardi said.
The Pirates have said they're going to hold on to Wilson, but that sounds like posturing by the budget-conscious team. Ricciardi said he'd only do a "one-for-one" trade for Wilson, meaning a current major leaguer or a better minor-league prospect, but no more packages like he did in the Lyle Overbay trade with Milwaukee.
The Koskie deal has left the Jays with some extra cash to absorb Wilson into the fold. Ricciardi is also still looking at free-agent catcher Bengie Molina, but "only if the price is right."