By Jim Callis
December 14, 2003

The Blue Jays continued the overhaul of their pitching staff with a three-team trade on Sunday. After previously adding Miguel Batista, Pat Hentgen and Ted Lilly to their rotation and Kerry Ligtenberg to their bullpen, the Jays picked up another reliever in Justin Speier. Toronto sent Mark Hendrickson to the Devil Rays, who gave up Joe Kennedy to pry Speier loose from the Rockies.

Speier, a 30-year-old righthander, goes after hitters with a low-90s fastball and a splitter. He more than survived his three seasons in the thin air of Colorado, compiling a 4.04 ERA with the Rockies. He went 3-1, 4.05 in 2003, setting career highs for saves (nine) and appearances (72). In 73 innings, he had a 66-23 strikeout-walk ratio and a .257 opponent average. He made $850,000 and will get a boost in arbitration this offseason. For his career, he has a 19-10, 4.50 record and 10 saves in 274 games. He's the son of former all-star shortstop Chris Speier.

Kennedy, a 24-year-old lefty, has seen his ERA rise from 4.44 to 4.53 to 6.13 in his three major league seasons. His .200 winning percentage (3-12) was the worst in the majors in 2003, and his ERA would have been the worst had he pitched enough innings to qualify. Kennedy was torched for a .303 average and 19 homers while putting together a 77-47 K-BB ratio in 134 innings. With a low-90s fastball and a good curveball, Kennedy has the stuff to fare much better than he did in 2003. But he too often gets too tentative, doesn't challenge hitters and falls behind in the count. He made $300,000 this season and won't be eligible for arbitration until after 2004. His career record is 18-31, 4.98 in 82 games.

Hendrickson, a 29-year-old lefty, is starting to make his mark as a baseball player after spending parts of four seasons in the NBA as a 6-foot-9 forward. He went 9-9, 5.51 in 30 starts this year, his first extended taste of the majors. In 158 innings, he allowed 24 homers and a .317 average while striking out 76 and walking 40. Though his statistics wouldn't indicate it, Hendrickson presents a good package for a southpaw, with his size, low-90s fastball and power curve. He needs to improve his changeup and his location in order to do a better job against righthanders, who hit .333/.365/.550 against him in 2003. He made $300,000 and won't be eligible for arbitration until 2005 at the earliest.

December 15 update: Though no player to be named later was initially reported as being part of the deal, the Blue Jays completed the transaction by sending righthander Sandy Nin to the Rockies. Signed out the Dominican Republic in 2000, the 23-year-old Nin has gone 24-14, 2.26 in three minor league seasons. In 2003, he went 7-8, 2.89 in 23 starts at low Class A Charleston, with an 87-19 K-BB ratio, four homers and a .250 opponent average in 131 innings. He also turned in one quality start at the end of the year for Double-A New Haven. Nin has a strong arm, with a 90-93 mph fastball and a power slider. His changeup has potential but still needs improvement. He doesn't get as many strikeouts as his stuff would indicate he should because he's just 6 feet tall and his pitches arrive at the plate on a flat plane.