Something has to be done about the AL East. There are way too many smart guys in the room.

Did you see what the Blue Jays did yesterday? They traded a PTBNL to Colorado for catcher Miguel Olivo then almost immediately declined his option and paid his $500,000 buyout.

Their plan is to apparently offer him arbitration, which he will decline, then take the supplemental first-round draft choice as compensation as Olivo will be a Type B free agent.

Basically, the Blue Jays are paying $500,000 a draft pick that will probably fall in the No. 45 range.

Toronto will control the draft in 2011 if they get picks for Scott Downs, Jason Frasor, John Buck, Kevin Gregg and Olivo. Much as he did last season, GM Alex Anthopoulos is placing a great value on draft picks and trying to build his team from within.


Anthopoulos also hired a manager in John Farrell who is astute as evaluating young pitchers.

Is a draft pick worth $500,000? It is if you take the right player. A cost-controlled, productive major leaguer will give a team tremendous value for six years. It’s the exact reason the Red Sox traded for Felipe Lopez last year, to get the draft pick.

We already know the Yankees and Rays are run by smart people. Then the Orioles hired Buck Showalter and now Toronto has Anthopoulos making slick moves. A tough division is getting tougher every day.