Christopher James: Jeff Blair, baseball writer for the Globe and Mail reported the following:

“Ricciardi expects Catalanotto to form a left-field platoon next season with Reed Johnson and also see some duty at designated hitter. Catalanotto is also an option to play first base if, as expected, Carlos Delgado leaves as a free agent.”

OK. Lets look at this. 2005 I reckon we will see Wells, Rios, and Johnson in the field to start the season, with Gabe Gross most likely in the mix by mid-season. Johnson, Rios, and Wells are all stellar fielders. I am constantly impressed with Johnson’s arm, and am not terribly keen on him not being a fixture in the field. But Gross is a stud, and is probably just about ready. That leaves us with DH and first base. Delgado is gone. Sad to say, but he is not necessary, as the Jays are not ready to compete. So DH and first base…Cat is in the mix, for sure, and can also sub in as a fifth outfielder. He can flat out hit, and is a better option than Phelps ended up being. Gross will probably take his cuts at DH as well, and Crozier, by mid-season, may be ready to man first base.

So was the Cat worth bringing back? Yes. He, like Rios and Johnson and probably Adams soon, and Hudson, while lacking power, can hit, and hit a lot. 2 years/$5.4 million—his fielding is more than adequate, and with a sound groin his speed is above average. With so many young fellas in the lineup next year (no Delgado, no Woodward, no Myers, etc.), he will be a sound veteran presence on the bench (and expected, I reckon, to fill the role as veteran mentor more than he has in the past).

Joel Williams: Yes, bringing the Cat back is a good move. If only for some semblance of legitimacy for a major league team. If only to ensure that somebody's going to hit .300. If only to say Catalanotto three times fast.

But wither the homeruns?

It's great to have an undervalued veteran player, who's more than adequate at 3 positions, and that hits .300. He fits into the Blue Jays' budget. But does he fit into the Blue Jays' future? Sure, I can see him being valuable next year while they work in Gross and make sure Rios is the real thing. But two more years?

Can I stand to watch another season with the Jays hitting homeruns at the lowest rate in baseball? What happened to the Moneyball philosophy? "Scotty, I need more power!!"

Here's hoping Carlos Delgado reads Jim's article about why he'll be back. 'Cuz the Jays will need him desperately.

Jim Turner: The Cat did manage 50+ extra base hits last season, so hopefully his power will bounce back after he's healthy. It's baffling to me that he was allowed to step back on the field at 70% during a 90+ loss season, especially if he was in the club's plans for the future. It's almost Howie Clark playing for Josh Phelps baffling, but we'll save that for another day.

Re-upping Catalanotto buys the Jays some flexibility for the next couple of seasons, and when you're on a budget, that's a handy thing to have. If either Rios of Gross happen to slump coming out of April next year, then Cat can step in. If they both hit well enough to stay in the lineup, then Cat DHs vs righties.

Catalanotto was also prominent in several rumoured trades around the All-Star break, so if A) the Jays aren't competing and looking to shed payroll next year, or B) The kids are all playing great and Cat is extraneous, then he could become a valuable trading chip. The only negative about the signing is Cat's health, which hasn't been good in either of his seasons in Toronto. The nature of the injuries, eye and groin, strike me as more fluke than chronic, but this is still a guy who's never played 140 games in a season, so a $5.4 million commitment is a bit of risk, but hardly Sirotka-esque.

I don't necessarily agree that the Jays aren't ready to compete next year. Get everybody healthy - Halladay, I'm looking at you - and they are more than capable of being a surprise team. If the Royals could vault from 100 losses to better than .500 with their cast of characters, the Jays can certainly pull it off.

Sean Doyle:

Buy low, sell high.

A 2-year deal is good for both F-Cat and the Jays. The good people at Baseball Prospectus run simulations on their positronic supercomputer which orbits high above the earth in a compound housed in a hollowed-out asteroid named PECOTA (no relation to Bill Pecota, a human baseball player). You can read about the PECOTA system here but information about the satellite itself is limited to subscribers.

PECOTA figures that Catalanotto will perform close to his 2003 levels for the next two years, and is likely to decline a bit with age after that. Although his groin muscles will always be a little wonky, it is not the type of injury that is likely to affect F-Cat's play. He's never played in more than 133 games in a season, but he's not likely to play much more than that even if healthy. As risky signings go, this is a good one.

Catalanotto is also an established major-league bat on a team that figures to get even younger next year, and the timing of this contract seems to show that the Jays are advertising to potential free-agents coming along (Ricciardi has mentioned a few times that he's hoping to add two bats, one of whom is Delgado). Having a quality player on board who is well-liked and enjoys playing here can only help in the years to come.