The Toronto Blue Jays continued their busy offseason, adding Canadian content to boot, by acquiring an everyday outfielder while sending a starting pitcher to Seattle. Jakob Poeltl Jersey . Numbers Game breaks down the deal bringing Michael Saunders to Toronto. The Blue Jays Get: OF Michael Saunders Saunders, 28, from Victoria, B.C., is an athletic outfielder who has been making strides offensively and was productive, when healthy, in 2014. Shoulder and oblique injuries contributed to Saunders playing 78 games last season, but posted a career-best .273 batting average and .791 OPS while playing home games at Safeco Field, a decidedly pitcher-friendly park. There was some good fortune at play for Saunders, as he had a .327 batting average on balls in play, notably higher than his career mark of .290 without much change in the distribution of types of balls (ground ball, line drive, fly ball) he hit. What worked in Saunders favour is that, for the first time in his career, he had positive results against both fastballs and sliders. He also exhibited better plate discipline and making more contact than hed shown previously in his career. Saunders will provide some lefthanded power, benefitting from a move to a hitter-friendly ball park, and potentially decent speed as the Blue Jays everyday left fielder. Thats a position he hasnt played a whole lot in recent seasons, but hes been an effective right-fielder (below average in centre field) for the Mariners, so left field shouldnt present too much difficulty. Over the past three seasons, Saunders has accumulated 5.3 Wins Above Replacement (per Fan Graphs), which ranks 75th among outfielders in that span, though many have played more than the 349 games which Saunders has played in the past three years. Saunders, who earned $2.3-million in 2014, is arbitration eligible and is projected (by MLB Trade Rumors) to get $2.9-million in arbitration for next season, not an unreasonable price for a starting outfielder. Its also a whole lot less than the Blue Jays would have to pay if they were to retain last years left fielder, Melky Cabrera. With Happ departing, the Blue Jays are looking at a rotation that should include veterans R.A. Dickey and Mark Buehrle, Marcus Stroman, Drew Hutchison and perhaps Aaron Sanchez. Thats leaning a lot on young arms, so it wouldnt come as a shock if the Jays seek out additional depth, but if Sanchez is inserted into the rotation, the expectation would have to be that his performance would easily surpass Happs 2014 contribution. The Mariners Get: LHP J.A. Happ Happ is a 32-year-old southpaw coming off a decent, but not overpowering, season. Thats who he is. In 30 games last season (26 starts), Happ was 11-11 with a 4.22 ERA and 1.34 WHIP, striking out 133 in 158 innings; fine back-of-the-rotation numbers. He had a 1.3 fWAR, the fourth time in the past five years that his WAR fell between one and two. Happ did allow a career-high 22 home runs last season and that rate should decrease with a move to Seattle. What is notable about Happs performance from last season is that hes added some velocity to his fastball, up to an average speed of 92.7 MPH; two years ago, it was at 90.5 MPH. The added velocity altered Happs approach. He threw more fastballs, fewer sliders, more curves and fewer change-ups. His breaking an off-speed stuff wasnt terrible effective last year, but the fastball was and it allowed Happ to hold down a spot in the rotation. Happ could be a solid No. 5 starter for the Mariners, and stands to benefit from pitching at Safeco Field so his numbers could improve. He will be a free agent at the end of next season, after making $6.7-million in 2015. The Mariners, having recently signed Nelson Cruz, could afford to move Saunders to acquire pitching, but now that they have Happ, the question remains what the Mariners will do with the rest of their staff. Beyond Felix Hernandez and Hisashi Iwakuma, the Mariners have room for a couple of prospects - say two of James Paxton, Taijuan Walker and Roenis Elias - to fit in the rotation ahead of Happ. Verdict: This is another deal thats easy to like for the Blue Jays. Its not that Saunders is assuredly going to be a star, but he could be an inexpensive regular outfielder who costs less and has more upside than the No. 5 starter that they traded to get him. Scott Cullen can be reached at scott.cullen@bellmedia.ca Kyle Lowry Jersey . The 26-year-old Redditch, England, native played three of his past four seasons under Rennie with the Carolina RailHawks of the North American Soccer League. KJ McDaniels Jersey .com) - Patrik Elias registered the winner in the shootout as New Jersey nipped Toronto 2-1 at Prudential Center on Wednesday. http://www.shopraptors.com/Cheap-Og-Anunoby-Raptors-Jersey/ . Kelli Stack and Alex Carpenter also scored for the Americans, who avoided a repeat of Finlands upset at the Four Nations Cup in Lake Placid, N.Y., in November. Finnish goalie Noora Raty made 58 saves in that one, but the three-time Olympian could stop just 40 of 43 U.SEATTLE -- Zach Miller will stay with the Seattle Seahawks after the tight end agreed to restructure his contract in an effort to free up salary cap room for the Super Bowl champions. The team confirmed the Millers restructured deal on Saturday, which was first reported by 710 ESPN radio in Seattle. Terms of Millers new deal were not immediately available, but it keeps an important piece of the Seahawks offence in Seattle after two starters -- wide receiver Golden Tate and right tackle Breno Giacomini -- left earlier this week in free agency. Miller has become vital as both a pass receiver and blocker for the Seahawks offence. Miller had 33 receptions and five touchdowns in the 2013 regular season, but his ability to block on the edge and help the run game led by Marshawn Lynch has proven just as important. Miller was due to make $4. Pascal Siakam Jersey. .8 million in base salary in 2014 before restructuring. It was part of the original deal he signed with Seattle as a free agent before the 2011 season after being a Pro Bowl selection with Oakland. Seattle had previously released wide receiver Sidney Rice and defensive ends Red Bryant and Chris Clemons in an effort to free cap space. Clemons and Bryant both signed with Jacksonville while Rice remains unsigned. With Millers expected return, the Seahawks appear set at tight end, although they have been in discussions with former Green Bay tight end Jermichael Finley. Before the start of free agency, the Seahawks re-signed Anthony McCoy, who missed all of last season after suffering an Achilles tendon tear. Seattle also has Luke Willson, who served as Millers backup this past season. White NFL Jerseys Cheap Youth NFL Jerseys China Wholesale Jerseys 2020 Stitched NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Autographed Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys Discount Jerseys ' ' '
