Dein erstes Forum » Anthopoulos says he wont be adding any pieces

VANCOUVER -- Alex Anthopoulos was a busy man last off-season. The Toronto Blue Jays general manager made a series of bold moves that reshaped the club ahead of what would turn out to be a disastrous 2013 campaign. The lead-up to the 2014 season has been relatively quiet in comparison, with the Blue Jays biggest splash coming when they cut ties with catcher J.P Arencibia and replaced him with free-agent Dioner Navarro. While that deal wasnt not on the same level as the headline-grabbing acquisitions of Jose Reyes, Mark Buehrle and R.A. Dickey, Anthopoulos says he wont be adding any pieces through trade or free agency unless it fits into the teams model. "We made a lot of big moves early last off-season. It wasnt by design, it just worked out that way," Anthopoulos said Friday. "Weve had a lot of dialogue. Theres still a lot of players out there, just havent been able to line up with respect to a price, whether its trade or free-agent cost. "We do have the ability on some trade fronts to just say Yes. We know what the asking prices are -- just not willing to pay that price. From a free-agent standpoint ... we have been given a price and we just dont necessarily see the value right now." The starting rotation continues to be a point of emphasis after a miserable 2013 that saw Toronto finish last in the American League East after starting the season as World Series favourites. Free agent starters Ervin Santana or Ubaldo Jimenez are still on the open market, but Anthopoulos said theres a chance that the rotation could be filled out from within. "We have a lot of candidates and a lot of options. Someone like Brandon Morrow coming back (from injury) is a huge boost for us, some of our young kids that are coming back are certainly going help," he said. "We still have dialogue and try to upgrade but we do have some upside to some of the guys that are coming back." Anthopoulos, who was in town for a luncheon with the single-A Vancouver Canadians, also touched on the New York Yankees signing of Japanese starter Masahiro Tanaka earlier this week. The 25-year-old right-hander inked a seven-year deal worth $155 million dollars with Torontos AL East rivals that also includes a $20-million dollar payment to his club team. The Blue Jays, who have an internal policy of not signing player contracts longer than five years, were rumoured to be in the running for Tanakas services early on in the process. "Obviously hes a great starter and there was a lot speculation on where the dollars would go just based on the previous two Japanese starters (Daisuke Matsuzaka and Yu Darvish)," said Anthopoulos. "I think it was expected that he would go north of (their price tags) -- $175 million, I dont know if anybody predicted that. "Hes very talented and the Yankees certainly got better." Anthopoulos said the Blue Jays use the five-year limit on contracts as "a guideline" but tend to shy away from longer-term deals because they offer clubs very little wiggle room. "Weve held firm on our five-year policy in terms of contracts. When free agents are signing for seven, eight years, then normally thats where we tap out," he said. "We definitely have the resources financially in terms of annual value and salaries and things like that. I think weve proven that with some of the players we have acquired. But just the length of term -- very rarely do those seven-, eight-year deals work out." Anthopoulos and manager John Gibbons will be feeling the heat if the Blue Jays stumble out of the gate as the they did in 2013. Fans flocked to Rogers Centre with dreams of a return to the teams glory years of the early 1990s that included two World Series titles, but were instead bitterly disappointed with the product on the field. With pitchers and catchers set to report for spring training on Feb. 17, a repeat in 2014 surely wont fly. "Youre always anxious to try to improve the club and to add to it, but you dont necessarily have to guard against it when you know theres a deal that just doesnt make any sense," said Anthopoulos. "We just dont want to force a deal and do it for the sake of doing it. "We want to make moves that we think are going to help the club. If we have to go more years and dollars than we believe in, people might get excited now but a few months into it we may be regretting that deal and be hamstrung with a contract that we dont want." MLB Jerseys . Born in Berkeley and raised in Oakland, where he later pitched for the As, Ross beat the Giants for the first time in six career appearances by throwing eight scoreless innings to lead the San Diego Padres to a 2-1 victory Friday night. Nike Baseball Jerseys . James scored 25 points against his former team, leading the energized Heat to a 114-107 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Saturday night. Dwyane Wade added 24 points and Chris Bosh had 22 for the Heat, idle since a 90-84 loss Tuesday at Indiana. https://www.cheapmlbjerseysjustwholesale.com/. "Weve given ourselves now a tougher task," said Carlyle after the Friday practice, the Toronto head coach notably chipper and upbeat throughout. "But the bottom line is we just have to win our share of games [and] not worry about what anybody else is doing. Nike NCAA Jerseys 2020 . Harrison Barnes had 15 points and Reggie Bullock scored 11 for the Tar Heels (17-3, 4-1 ACC), who took the court for the first time without starter Dexter Strickland. The junior guard tore his right ACL last Thursday at Virginia Tech and will miss the rest of the season. Cheap Nike MLB Jerseys . According to the Globe and Mail, a decision between the NHL and the Players Association should come within the six months. "I can tell you, (a decision) shouldnt take all that long," NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly told the Globe and Mail. MIAMI -- Entering Thursday night, the Philadelphia Phillies were 1-40 when trailing after eight innings. Make that 2-40 now. Tony Gwynn Jr. led off the ninth with a walk against Miami closer Steve Cishek and later scored, Ben Revere added the go-ahead run when Miami second baseman Donovan Solano bobbled a potential double-play grounder and the Phillies rallied past the Marlins 5-4 Thursday night to snap a six-game losing streak. "We basically took what they gave us," Phillies manager Ryne Sandberg said. "As they gave us bases our guys were alert and had the speed on the bases to get into scoring position and then it was just balls in play and avoiding strikeouts and making something happen." Revere had two hits for the Phillies, who won for the third time in 13 games. It was Reveres sixth multi-hit game in his last eight outings. It was back-and-forth all night, the last swing going Philadelphias way: The Marlins led 2-0, the Phillies went up 3-2 and the Marlins scored two in the eighth, grabbing a 4-3 lead on Jeff Bakers pinch-hit triple. But in the ninth, Cishek gave the Phillies a chance, and they took advantage. "I just made things more difficult than they needed to be," said Cishek, who was 18 for 19 in save chances entering Thursday. "And the end result kind of showed right there." Gwynn went to third on a single by Revere and wound up scoring the tying run on a grounder by Jimmy Rollins. Chase Utley then hit another grounder to Solano, who only had the play at first and allowed Revere to score easily. Marlins manager Mike Redmond didnt speculate about what Solanos bobble meant, saying the innings biggest mistake was the free pass Cishek (4-4) issued to Gwynn. "He walked the leadoff guy," Redmond said. "So after that, I dont think it matters." Phillies closer Jonathan Papelbon got his 19th ssave in 21 chances.dddddddddddd. Jake Diekman (3-2) got the win despite a shaky eighth, giving up two runs and costing Philadelphia the lead. "Good thing is we didnt get swept, we were able to get a win," Gwynn said. "Hopefully it will propel us into some more. Getting swept is a bad feeling and then having to get on a plane after that is even worse." Marcell Ozuna had three hits and scored twice for Miami, and Christian Yelich also had a two-hit night for the Marlins. Casey McGehee extended his hit streak to 10 for Miami, reaching base for the 27th straight game. Cameron Rupp had a two-run, two-out, full-count double off Miami reliever Chris Hatcher to highlight Philadelphias three-run sixth. Rupp was batting .125 before his opposite-field hit sailed over Giancarlo Stantons head and off the right-field wall. Phillies starter Kyle Kendrick gave up six hits and struck out four in seven innings, leaving with a 3-2 lead. Marlins starter Brad Hand gave up three singles to open the sixth and was chased after 99 pitches, the fourth-most of his career. Hands sacrifice bunt -- his first RBI in nearly three years -- allowed Ozuna to score Miamis first run in the second. Ozuna singled and scored again in the fifth, Yelich driving him in that time for a 2-0 Miami lead. NOTES: Through two innings, Hand had thrown 47 pitches, Kendrick 20. ... The Phillies lead the season series 7-6. ... Nathan Eovaldi (5-3, 3.71) starts for Miami at St. Louis on Friday against Lance Lynn (8-6, 3.38). The Phillies will send Roberto Hernandez (3-7, 4.26) to the mound in Pittsburgh against Gerrit Cole (6-4, 4.02). ... Both teams have played 85 games this season. The Marlins were 32-53 at this point in 2013, the Phillies were 41-45. ... The wife of Marlins pitcher Tom Koehler gave birth to a daughter Thursday, Redmond said. ' ' '