Brad Emaus is hitting well: 13 for 42 with one HR....310 avg with 5 walks and only 2 K and also 2 stolen bases....He could be in the picture for the Jays next year at 3B if EE is dealt.

Darin Mastroianni, a guy I said should have been sent to the AFL, was finally added to the fall league roster after an injury and is is 3 for 16 over 5 games. Mastroianni has to be considered a dark horse candidate as #4 outfielder with the Jays next spring. With Rios traded, there is no backup centerfielder unless you consider Bautista or Buck Coats to be that guy. Nothing but a slap hitter at the plate but he steals bases like craaaaaazy.

Adam Loewen and catcher A.J. Jiminez are stinkin' the joint out so far. Loewen has struck out 20 times in 51 at bats. He might not be the second coming of Rick Ankiel.

Control specialist Reidier Gonzalez has a 2.92 era over 12.3 innings and was named an AFL allstar. Gonzalez is a right hander who turned 24 a few days ago. He's likely to open 2010 in Vegas but a callup to the big club at some point is surely a possibility.

SP Robert Ray has a 4.20 era over over 15 innings. Only 4 walks to go with 13 strikeouts.

Im beginning to wonder if AA will be the GM with enough balls to move Hill back to SS. We have a few guys that could be real good 2nd basemen but nothing else.

Gutsy call, but I agree -> Hill at shortstop is worth exploration.........I hate to take a productive player out of his comfort zone but Hill at shortstop makes it easier to fill out the roster.........That's what spring training is for !....

Hill publicly said he doesn't want to play SS.

Hill is being paid very well to play baseball. He'll play where the Jays decide, just like A-Rod, Soriano and others. I would rather he stayed at second, but Hill is taking the money so he should play where the team wants him to play.

Nah, Hill will stay here. Why make the guy unhappy, and take him out of the spot where he could be a GGer?

I agree he'll probably stay at second. When he's being paid millions of dollars, he shouldn't be unhappy to play baseball where the team wants or needs him to play. He does, after all, want to play baseball.

Agree, but as with 99% of athletes, they are little babies. Not saying he is, but if you publicly state you want to stay at 2B even though the team needs you at SS, that's not exactly being a team player.

I don't see Hill as a crybaby, but I suspect the money and the fame are big ego boosters. Hopefully the issue of him playing at SS never comes up. Besides, I quite like Hill at second (where he seems happy).

I take all these stats with granulars of salt.

Its kind of like wanting to trade or trade for a player because they've gone into a slump or they're hitting like crazy over a short period of time.

Its almost like giving credence to spring training stats.

"Gutsy call, but I agree -> Hill at shortstop is worth exploration.........I hate to take a productive player out of his comfort zone but Hill at shortstop makes it easier to fill out the roster.........That's what spring training is for !...."

I agree, it would be gutsy. And how does AA deal with it, if Hill refuses? Do you just start trading eveyone away that refuses to switch positions?

And if our team is looking to build and contend in 2-3 years, making the roster "easier to fill out" isn't a term that a team looking to contend, uses for an important position player like 2B. Maybe a bench player or a RP, but not a critical position.

Hill said he's comfortable at 2B now, he'd prefer to stay there but he'll do what the team asks. Not that Hill's opinion should really matter all that much about what position he plays.

"Hill said he's comfortable at 2B now, he'd prefer to stay there but he'll do what the team asks. Not that Hill's opinion should really matter all that much about what position he plays."

If a move were to occur or be heavily discussed and then happen. Fans better be aware of what they're saying because a move pushing Hill to short could see a pretty big decline in defence. So no one better be cracking on Hill for making more errors or botching plays.

every team "fills out their roster" .... from the yanks to the marlins.......Texas moved gold glove winner Young to 3B to make room for Andrus...................I'm not saying I like the idea of moving Hill to SS but if a guy like Emaus is ready to play 2B and Hill could field a credible SS, then it's an idea worth exploring

"every team "fills out their roster" .... from the yanks to the marlins.......Texas moved gold glove winner Young to 3B to make room for Andrus...................I'm not saying I like the idea of moving Hill to SS but if a guy like Emaus is ready to play 2B and Hill could field a credible SS, then it's an idea worth exploring"

www.baseball-reference.com/minors/player.cgi?id=emaus-001bra

I certainly hope that Emaus can be the player he was in 2008 and not the one he was in 2009. Because those stats are atrocious. It might've had something to do with a major slump in June when he had a .378 OPS over 90 AB's. I'd prefer to see the Jays promote him to AAA, and see how he does. Keeping in mind his stats would be inflated playing in Vegas.

As for filling out a roster, I guess we have differing opinons of what it means. To me it means filling the last holes on a team that need to be filled. Not, making changes to slot one of the best prospects in the game into a spot that wasn't open for him.

No harm done.

IMO - if we had a ML ready 2B in waiting then AA and Cito should be all over it and Hill should recognize that this will happen eventually.

But if Emaus/Inglett/Jackson/Tolisano/Campbell are not banging on the door to come up, why even have this conversation? Go out and trade for a ML ready SS or sign one in the off season. Emaus' stats in AFL are not indicative of being ML ready. But i've been proven wrong before.

Im well aware of that however if Im paying you millions of dollars I have the right to ask you to play there. The only reason I even brought it up is due to us having a number of guys coming that play 2nd and 3rd but no real SS. Personally I like Hill at 2nd.