By Jim Callis
January 7, 2003

When the Athletics got Erubiel Durazo in a four-club trade at the Winter Meetings, it almost immediately was rumored that the Blue Jays would receive sweet-swinging outfield prospect John-Ford Griffin from Oakland in a separate but related transaction. That came true on Tuesday, when Toronto got Griffin for a player to be named later. The Jays gave up Felipe Lopez to the Reds and received minor league righthander Jason Arnold from the A's in the Durazo deal.

Griffin, 23, was the 23rd overall pick in the 2001 draft by the Yankees, who gave him up last July in a three-team trade that brought them Jeff Weaver. Griffin topped .400 in all three of his seasons at Florida State, where he set a school record with a .427 career mark and Seminoles coach Mike Martin called him the best pure hitter in the program's storied history. Griffin batted .277-8-41 in 85 games between high Class A Tampa, Double-A Norwich and Double-A Midland in 2002. His season ended in July, when he injured his hand in his second game in the Oakland system. There's little question that Griffin will hit for average. He has an extremely quick bat and understands the strike zone. Though he has homered just 13 times in 151 pro games, he's expected to add more pop as he matures physically. The biggest concern surrounding Griffin is how much defensive responsibility he'll be able to handle. He had surgery on his throwing arm after his sophomore year at Florida State and though he has worked to strengthen his arm, it remains below average. He's limited to left field at best but might have to move to first base or DH.

June 23 update: The Blue Jays completed this trade by sending Jason Perry to the Athletics. Perry was primarily a first baseman at Georgia Tech before Toronto made him a sixth-round pick in 2002, but he has split time between DH and left field this year. Perry hit .384-11-41 in his 43-game pro debut last year, spending much of it in the Rookie-level Pioneer League. He ended the summer at high Class A Dunedin and was sent there again this season. He hit .304-1-17 in 39 games, with a .356 on-base percentage and .422 slugging percentage. He has a short swing and good strike-zone judgment, so his power and on-base ability are better than he has shown in 2003. He's more athletic than most first basemen but it's still undetermined if he can handle left field.