Jays still in on Floyd

MLBTR is telling us that the Jays are still looking in to White Sox starter Gavin Floyd, via Ken Rosenthal and Jon Morosi.  Floyd would probably represent an upgrade over Dustin Mcgowan/Kyle Drabek/whoever, so if the Jays think that this might be year 1, they can go for it and deal with the rotation jam later.  He'll make $7MM this year, and then has a $9.5MM option for 2013, but will become a free agent if that option is declined.

Assuming the Jays do acquire Floyd, he would take over as the #3 starter, moving Cecil to #4, and either Alvarez or Mcgowan will take the #5 spot, with the other... um.. hmm.  Alvarez could still be sent down, since he still has options, as does Drabek if he's not ready, or some guys could be jettisoned from the bullpen, making room for either Mcgowan or Alvarez there (I think they want Mcgowan starting to keep a routine).  Either could be traded, obviously, but I don't think that's likely.  Alvarez to AAA or the bullpen is probably the most likely scenario here, I'd say.

Here's a thought: Let's say the Jays can acquire Floyd without giving up a whole lot (big "if" already); they complete the year with him, and then decline the option, making him a free agent.  Floyd would almost certainly get something along the lines of 5 years and $50MM, which would net the Jays a compensation pick!  Odds are currently set at "Very Unlikely".

Update: 

Just spoke to Alex Anthopoulos.He said: "We're getting Floyd now?Who are we giving up?"#bluejays #jays
— Mike Wilner (@Wilnerness590) March 12, 2012

Heh.

Elsewhere, my fantasy preview is up at Nowhere Plans.  There is also a big-ass spring training blog there, if you're at all interested in that.  I know I'm not, but I do happen to know that Travis Snider is having a great spring to this point.  That can be found here.

The Cubs signed Gerardo Concepcion the other day.  The Cuban prospect got a 5 year, $6MM guaranteed contract with a spot on the 40-man roster.

The NY Times had a piece on Brandon Morrow that I think I forgot to link.

Finally, Fangraphs' Marc Hulet released his top-100 prospects list.  You'll find 7 familiar names on it, tied for second most with Oakland, and 1 behind the Braves.  Travis d'Arnaud (36), Anthony Gose (37), Dan Norris (53), Drew Hutchison (54), Justin Nicolino (63), Noah Syndergaard (64) and Jake Marisnick (66) were the good guys.