Alex Anthopoulos is a historically young general manager at 32, but his first significant move as the Jays’ decision-maker was certainly rooted in traditional, old-school thinking.
On Wednesday, the Blue Jays agreed to terms with veteran infielder John McDonald on a two-year, $3 million deal. It was known that the move was coming, but indications were that it would be a one-year pact.
McDonald is, of course, a defense-first infielder. He’s a career .238/.276/.317 hitter, which is awful even as far as utility infielders go. He somehow hit four homers last year, establishing a new career high. That gives him 13 total in 1,713 at-bats over the last 11 seasons, so he certainly better be a good glove man.
McDonald’s defense, though, isn’t what it used to be. He’s certainly not as quick at 35 as he was at 25. He’s still plenty reliable at shortstop, but his numbers in limited action the last two years aren’t as good as teammate Marco Scutaro’s. Say what you will about the unreliability defensive numbers, but it’s just common sense that McDonald is on the decline; he was never particularly fast and he’s probably getting a little slower with each passing year.
And that’s why it was a silly idea to hand him a two-year deal. Multiyear contracts for bench players work out poorly the vast majority of the time, and there couldn’t have been many teams knocking down McDonald’s door. If he did leave, there’s always an Omar Quintanilla-type out there to replace him.
With the deal, McDonald becomes, for the moment, the Jays’ starting shortstop. Scutaro isn’t expected back, and there is some chance that the Jays could go with McDonald as a starter rather than sign one of the mediocre veterans available. Ideally, they’d pick up a young, ready-to-play shortstop in a deal involving Roy Halladay or Lyle Overbay. However, there aren’t that many available, particularly on the teams that are looking to add Halladay.
Nevada Senate vote on proposed A’s stadium in Las Vegas extended until next week
Robert Edwards-USA TODAY Sports
CARSON CITY, Nev. — The Nevada Senate adjourned Thursday without voting on a financing bill for a proposed $1.5 billion Las Vegas Strip stadium for the Oakland Athletics, extending the special legislative session into the next week amid negotiations over whether to contribute $380 million in public funding to the project.
The measure can still be amended by lawmakers, and if it passes the Senate it would still need approval from the Assembly before going to the desk of Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo, who has expressed support for it. Both the state Senate and Assembly are adjourned until Monday.
In a hearing that began Wednesday and stretched into the early morning hours Thursday, lawmakers peppered tourism officials and a representative from a firm partnering with the ball club with questions about the feasibility and benefits of financing such a deal.
Public funds for the stadium would mainly come from $180 million in transferable tax credits and $120 million in county bonds. Backers have pledged that the creation of a special tax district around the proposed stadium would generate enough money to pay off those bonds and interest. The plan would not directly raise taxes.
The A’s would not owe property taxes for the publicly owned stadium. Clark County, which includes Las Vegas, would also contribute $25 million in credit toward infrastructure costs.
A’s representatives and some tourism officials say a deal would further grow Las Vegas’ developing sports scene and act as an economic engine, but a growing chorus of economists and some lawmakers warn that the project would bring minimal benefits for the hefty public price tag.