Item: Blue Jays sign C Bengie Molina to 1-year $4.5 million contract with a mutual $7.5 million option and a $500,000 club buyout.

Christopher James: I know Jim's got a little thing for Jason Phillips, but Jim, move into 2006. This isn't the old 'low cost/high obp' Blue Jays of your, um, older brother, this is the new style. This is the best available SP, closer, and big bopper at third Blue Jays.

Phillips can teach Quiroz a few things at AAA, Bengie is a two-time gold glover, play-off weathered, better than his brothers kind of catcher, and that's just what the big swinging GM of the Blue Jays wants behind the plate.

They invested a lot of scratch in a certain pitcher this year, the least they can do is give him a big target to throw too. Also, with another full season behind the plate, Zaun might die, and who wants that? 4.5 mill. is chump change for these Jays. Sign 'em up!

Joel Williams: I know Ricciardi likes Molina. And I know Ricciardi had some of Ted's money left over. But I'm not sold on this deal. Granted, Molina looks like an upgrade over Zaun. But is he?

Greg Zaun calls a hell of a game behind the plate. He's done wonders to the Jays staff's ERA since he's been here. (Think Halladay, Towers, the 'pen...) Molina is a two time gold glove winner, yes, and the Angels' pitching staff has been pretty ok the last few years - so maybe edge to Molina here?

How about hitting? Stealing Jim's math, here's Greg Zaun's first-half stats for the last 3 seasons: .278 .371 .396 Not bad at all. Here's Molina's Best Ever season: .296 .336 .446

I'd say those numbers are pretty comparable. And expect Molina's numbers to decline - he is 31. So here's my conclusion: I think the Jays should have taken the risk of finding Zaun an adequate backup. Not making Zaun the adequate backup. Give the guy some rest and see what he can do over a full season! Oh well.

I guess if you have the money to spend, you might as well spend it. I just hope that money isn't needed at the trade deadline, when one more piece is all the team needs to ensure a playoff spot.

Sean Doyle: In terms of quality alone, I actually don't see Molina as a big improvement over Zaun. Molina has more power over the last 3 years, Zaun gets on base more, but overall they're both pretty good offensive players at catcher. Defensively I think Molina's Gold Glove repuatation is a bit overblown, and Zaun calls a good game, but again there's not a huge difference between the two.

The key to this move is depth. Zaun is the type of guy that everyone can cheer for, but there's no doubt he wore down with his workload last year, and at age 34 its fair to give him more days off, rather than less. Having Phillips as a 3rd catcher and (hopefully) Quiroz as a 4th one means the Jays won't have to dig up another Huckaby if someone gets hurt.

The money is about right - less than what Molina was looking for, but its bad form to low-ball a veteran player like him, so its hard to imagine the Jays could go lower. The Angels did not offer him arbitration so the Jay's don't lose a draft pick. The only potential cost is losing Quiroz since he has to clear waivers if he doesn't make the team. However for a team looking to win now choosing depth over potential is a valid choice.

I'm not wowed by Molina but I do think he'll contribute, and he and Zaun compliment each other well in terms of their skills. By starting them in the right situations, they can make each other look as good as possible.

Jim Turner: For this kind of money, the risk to the Jays is minimal. Worst case, he bottoms out and the team buys him out next season. If he puts up another good season, and decides to sign elsewhere, the Jays could pick up a #1 draft pick as compensation. The Jays now have some depth at catcher, which they have been sorely lacking for two seasons - witness the number of Huckatbats we've had to endure. Zaun and Molina do compliment each other well, hopefully there will be enough playing time for both to keep them happy.

For those who say it's not the optimal use of resources, well, of course not. The optimal use of resources would be spending the league minimum on say - Felix Hernandez and his 15 prospectiest friends. But since we don't have those guys and we did have a hole at catcher, $5 million isn't a terrible amount to spend, especially for one season.

The way Ricciardi has splashed money around this offseason, both with Ryan and Burnett, and the casual dumping of Corey Koskie, I get the impression that money will not be terribly tight at the trade deadline if the Jays are in contention. This does not seem to be an Oakland situation where Billy Beane has to meticulously balance every dollar, so I think the idea that Molina's signing will prevent in-season moves is largely without merit.

I'd expect a .270/.315/.410 season from Molina, which is light years ahead of what Huckaby and Kevin Cash had been doing. Zaun will get the rest he needs and can become a pretty potent weapon off the bench. If Molina tanks, then he can backup Zaun. All in all, I'm not ready to order my World Series tickets, but this is a solid move.