Toronto Blue Jays: Alex Anthopoulos Deals for John Mayberry Jr.

Toronto Blue Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos added another first basemen to his stable of past-prime prospects today.

AA dealt 22 year-old farmhand 3B Gustavo Pierre to the Philadelphia Phillies, securing the services of 30 year-old John Mayberry Jr. As per Shi Davidi:

Jun 4, 2014; Washington, DC, USA; Philadelphia Phillies first baseman

Jr. (15) hits a pinch hit two run home run in the seventh inning against the Washington Nationals at Nationals Park. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports

Davidi goes on to note that Mayberry Jr. is on the DL with a power-sapping left wrist injury (Davidi mentioned the DL, I noted the power-sapping nature of wrist injuries). Davidi also tweeted that Mayberry Jr. has two more years of contract arbitration, affording the Jays some contractual control of the 30 year-old.

Hold on to your horses, fans! The Toronto Blue Jays are adding depth for their playoff run this season!

Well…maybe a month ago.

As it stands, the Toronto Blue Jays have a 1% chance of making the postseason. So, this deal can’t be about depth for a playoff run.

It must be a move made with next season in mind!

Well…maybe if Mayberry Jr. was any better than Gustavo Pierre.

Let’s check in and see just how much better Mayberry is, relative to Pierre.

Gustavo Pierre vs. John Mayberry

1. Age

Pierre is 8 years younger. So, Mayberry is much, much older.

Point goes to Pierre here.

Jun 18, 2013; Dayton, OH, USA; East center fielder

(middle) is congratulated by third baseman

(left)and left fielder

after Pompey drove in the winning run in the ninth inning during the Midwest League-All Star Game at Fifth Third Field. East won 6-5. Mandatory Credit: David Kohl-USA TODAY Sports

2. Offense

Gustavo has hit .260 between Class A and AA ball this year, adding 8 homers and 8 steals.

John Mayberry has hit .213 with 6 home runs and no steals in spot duty with the Phillies.

Point goes to Pierre here as well, as he made the Midwest League All-Star team while Mayberry has struggled to earn a regular spot in the Phillies lineup.

3. Future Role

In the long run, Gustavo Pierre faced few roadblocks to a major league promotion.

Only Danny Valencia, Juan Francisco, Munenori Kawasaki, and Steven Tolleson were ahead of Gustavo Pierre on the depth chart. Valencia, Francisco, and Tolleson are journeymen-quality players who aren’t likely to remain Toronto Blue Jays. Pierre may have ascended into the role of everyday third basemen for the Jays in a couple of years.

John Mayberry, on the other hand, does not have a clear path. Edwin Encarnacion, Adam Lind, Dan Johnson, Brett Wallace, and Matt Hague all play first base somewhere in the organization.

EE is a franchise cornerstone, Lind is a righty-hand Blue Jays lifer, and Johnson, Wallace, and Hague are all recent pickups. The 30 year-old Mayberry isn’t clearly better than any of these other first basemen options, so he has a complicated path ahead in his search for playing time.

*all depth chart info courtesy of the Toronto Blue Jays here

So, let’s recap the details of this deal. Mayberry is older than Pierre, an equal or worse hitter, and has no clear path to either major league or minor league playing time.

This is the kind of deal that fits right in with claiming Nolan Reimold, picking up RP Colt Hynes, and bringing in 1B Matt Hague – roster tinkers that amount to little for the Toronto Blue Jays.

These moves are enough to make Toronto Blue Jays observers wonder how many more times Anthopoulos will be in the position to tinker with the Blue Jays roster.

What do you think, Toronto Blue Jays fans? Could John Mayberry Jr. provide some value for the Jays?