[Moriarty9]

Jays prepare for title defense
Harden will miss most of season for Toronto
March 17, 2012

DUNEDIN, Fla. — After winning the World Series last year, the Toronto Blue Jays are getting ready to be the team everyone is shooting to take down.

Blue Jays manager Kyle Greer said he's optimistic about his club's chances in 2012, despite a couple of injured pitchers that will miss time to start the year.

Rich Harden went 11-6 with a 3.95 ERA in 31 starts last year before suffering a ruptured tendon in September, an injury that will keep him off a big league mound until late August or early September, assuming there are no set backs.

The team will also start without reliever Alberto Arias, who is recovering from a torn rotator cuff. Greer hopes Arias will be back by Memorial Day to help work the innings Toronto fans have seen him throw in recent years. He went 2-1 with a 5.62 ERA in 41 games before being shut down for the season with the rotator cuff injury. In 172 relief appearances with the Blue Jays the last six years, Arias has gone 12-5 with 14 saves and a 4.94 ERA.

After suffering a major back injury, 25-year-old right-hander Collin Balester is hoping to bounce back in 2012. Greer said Balester is several weeks behind the rest of the pitching staff in preparing for the season and should be taking the mound in late April, possibly early May. He went 4-1 with a 1.98 ERA in five starts last season, 5-5 with a 4.62 ERA in 14 starts in 2010.

As far as healthy pitchers, the rotation is led by Andy Sonnanstine. The 27-year-old went 15-10 with a 4.47 ERA in 35 starts last year, a down year after going 11-5 with a 3.57 ERA in 33 starts in 2010, and 18-11 with a 3.59 ERA in 35 starts in 2009.

Veteran hurler Kevin Millwood joins the team and returns to the American League after pitching for the Chicago Cubs and New York Mets, last pitching in the AL for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in 2002. Millwood went 12-11 with a 4.06 ERA in 35 starts for the Cubs last season, but is confident he can still pitch well in the American League.

Clayton Kershaw, a 23-year-old lefty, looks to break through and show his stuff in 2012. He went 5-8 with a 5.18 ERA in 19 starts for Toronto. He's had some arm troubles in his young career, missing the entire 2010 season with a rotator cuff injury and a few months last season with another injury.

Left-hander Jeff Francis is expected to open the season in the rotation after working primarily as a reliever for the Atlanta Braves last season. In 35 games, he made eight starts and went 2-5 with one save and a 5.29 ERA in 80 innings. He was last a regular starter in 2010 with the Braves and Detroit Tigers, going 11-11 with a 5.30 ERA in 28 games, including 24 starts.

Burke Badenhop, acquired this winter in a trade from Tampa Bay for outfielder Tilahun Mhina, joins the Toronto rotation in 2012. He went 4-5 with a 4.85 ERA for the Devil Rays last season, appearing in 26 games and making 10 starts, throwing 89 innings.

Armando Galarraga, a 30-year-old career minor leaguer, is fighting for a rotation spot, but will be with the club after being taken from Tampa Bay as a Rule V pick this year. Galarraga went 10-6 with a 2.59 ERA in 22 games for the Devil Rays' AA affiliate last year.

Mauro Zarate is pencilled in as the team's closer, a role new to him. The 29-year-old went 6-5 with five saves and a 3.36 ERA in 71 appearances for Toronto, posting a 1.19 WHIP and a .227 opponents average against.

Helping him out will be left-handers Brian Fuentes and Lorenzo Beltran. Fuentes went 6-1 with four saves and a 3.31 ERA in 59 games, throwing 92 1/3 innings for the Blue Jays last season. Beltran, 26, split last year between Toronto and the Oakland Athletics, going 7-3 with 15 saves and a 3.70 ERA in 54 games.

Bobby Parnell, a 27-year-old right-hander, went 2-0 with a save and a 1.93 ERA in 11 relief appearances with Toronto last year after working as the closer for the AAA affiliate.

Carlos Marmol was a reliable reliever for the Blue Jays in 2011, going 5-2 with five saves and a 4.88 ERA in 53 outings.

Tyler Yates, 34, spent most of the year in AAA but made 11 relief appearances, going 0-1 with a 4.74 ERA.

Behind the plate, the Blue Jays have one of the best offensive catchers in the game today in Brian McCann. McCann hit .329 with 28 home runs and 91 RBI in 132 games for Toronto, his first year with the club. In his eight-year career, seven years of which were spent in Milwaukee, he's hit .327 with 217 home runs and 740 RBI.

Australian-born catcher Bronson Fallon is slotted as the club's back-up backstop. He hit just .237 with two home runs and 12 RBI in 25 games last season. Fallon played in 102 AAA games last year, hitting .277 with 12 homers and 54 RBI.

After playing in 40 games with Toronto and the Kansas City Royals last year, 25-year-old Rafael Lopez will be the first baseman for the Blue Jays in 2012. He hit .318 with three homers and 11 RBI in 151 at bats last season. Greer said he expects Lopez to hit for average and figures the Puerto Rican-born left-handed hitter will hit roughly a dozen home runs and drive in 70 or so runs.

Brad Harman, a 26-year-old Australian, looks to continue his success after winning the Rookie of the Year award last season for Toronto. He hit .301 with 37 home runs and 101 RBI in 155 games last year. The power numbers were a surprise considering he hit 19 home runs in roughly 300 minor league games.

Keith Ginter will also see time at second base. The 35-year-old veteran hit .250 with five homers and 20 RBI in 64 games last season.

Jeremy Johnston, 24, hit .270 with seven homers and 47 RBI in 124 games last year for Toronto, in his first full season in the big leagues. He can play around the infield but is slated to play third base in 2012.

Switch-hitting shortstop Erick Aybar will be back in a starting role this year. He hit .254 with two homers and 37 RBI in 147 games last season,a sharp falloff from other recent seasons, including .300, 10 HR, 70 RBI, 107 R, 30 SB in 2010, and .318 with 12 homers, 72 RBI, and 106 runs in 154 games in 2009.

Cliff Floyd, a 39-year-old veteran, will be the DH for Toronto in 2012, reprising the role he held in 2011. Floyd hit .273 with 28 homers, 77 RBI and 105 runs in 156 games last season. He has shown some drop off lately. He hit .348 with 40 homers and 114 RBI with the White Sox in 2010 and .309 with 32 homers and 94 RBI in 2009 with Chicago.

Jason Kubel showed promise in 2011, hitting .278 with 19 homers and 84 RBI in 131 games. Greer hopes the 29-year-old will continue to improve and become a bigger part of the Blue Jays lineup.

Doyle Watkins has been inconsistent, but has produced in his two big league seasons. The 25-year-old hit .292 with 23 homers and 64 RBI in 92 games last year after hitting .318 with 18 homers and 101 RBI in 136 games as a rookie in 2010.

Nick Swisher, who spent 2011 with the Boston Red Sox and Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, joins Toronto's lineup in 2012. He hit .270 with 13 home runs and 47 RBI in 330 at bats over 129 games last season, performing much better with the Angels (.291, 8 HR, 34 RBI, 189 AB) than the Red Sox (.241, 5 HR, 13 RBI, 141 AB).

Also fighting for roster spots and playing time are Jose Leon, Eric Bruntlett, and Paul McAnulty.

Leon, 35, hit .154 with one homer and four RBI in 39 at bats last year. He is a .234 hitter with five home runs and 35 RBI in 113 big league games in six seasons.

Bruntlett, 33, is a utility player who hit .172 with one RBI in 29 at bats for Toronto last season. He is a career .208 hitter with one homer and 20 RBI in 264 at bats in six seasons with the Dodgers, Pirates, Nationals, and Blue Jays.

McAnulty, 31, is a corner outfielder that played very little last year, but hopes to play a bigger role this year. He hit .412 with one RBI in 17 at bats with Toronto. He's a .265 hitter with 33 homers and 148 RBI in 485 big league games in his career.