The Slanch Report

Frank Thomas was given his outright release by the Toronto Blue Jays on Sunday in a somewhat surprising move given that he is a known slow starter and seemed to at least still have something, albeit not his former MVP glory, in the tank. The decision was made more with an eye on the bottom line than anything else; Thomas had a $10 million option that would have been automatically triggered with 300 plate appearances, a very reachable target if he were the starting DH. Now, the Blue Jays are able to play professional hitter Matt Stairs instead and soon, hot prospect Adam Lind. For the future of the franchise, this makes perfect sense, but it is certainly a jones for Thomas who is now out of work. Teams like the Twins and the Mariners should seriously consider signing him as a DH, in fact, he might even be worth it if he were signed cheaply.

It seems though, that Thomas is still in the Blue Jays minds. On May 25th, one day after giving out Aaron Hill bobbleheads, the Jays are planning to giveaway 10,000 Frank Thomas bobbleheads to the fans. Oops…

No word as yet if they are Frank in the powder blues, I can only wish it so. I hope that they have been made already and are sitting in some Toronto warehouse right now. I would be truly saddened if these never got the chance to be in the public’s hands. I for one, cannot wait to find one on ebay!

Now that would be a fun game to go to. Would he show up? Would they still mention anything about it? Will they change the event?

Also, on a semi-related note, why is there all this talk about Thomas getting resigned but at the same time Mike Piazza remains completely out of work. Is Thomas at this stage significantly better than Piazza? One of my friends insists it is backlash against the Piazza being gay rumors and that teams are scared of him. Regardless, I have to think a team like the A’s, the Mariners or the Twins could all certainly use a player like Thomas or Piazza to upgrade their offenses.

ed. to add:

Oh no! The Blue Jays are too smart for me! They have taken down their planned Frank Thomas bobblehead giveaway, and now are announcing it as a “Blue Jays Giveaway.” Double burn for Thomas I suppose, first he’s released and then they destroy all evidence of their ever celebrating him. If I were him I might have someone try all my food, maybe Ricciardi will remove all evidence of Frank Thomas ever existing…!