Obligatory Remarks

Simple point: I loved Eric Thames from the day he was drafted and i will continue to follow his career but, ultimately, he's probably just a guy. In terms of actual baseball accomplishments. Think of, say, Jacob Brumfield (not making a direct comparison, just speaking of the sort of carer that seems likely). We dealt him for another "just a guy" type of player. no need for any passion spent on Thames being dealt.

Harder point: I love - LOVE - Travis Snider and still harbor considerable expectations for his future. It breaks my heart to see him go. That said, if the Jays didn't have faith in him he might never have reached his potential here and i think clearly they were losing that faith. In terms of value, I don't necessarily think we "lost" the deal, as I think Lincoln is very good. But when I reflect on all the bodies that had to move in order to get Colby Rasmus, I wonder if just one guy isn't a bit less than what I would have expected - which makes me wonder if Lincoln is even better than I realize, or I'm just being irrational about Snider.

Going forward, one does wonder exactly how Stroman, Santos, and Lincoln all fit together in the back end of the future bullpen.

Speaking of Marcus Stroman, he was promoted to New Hampshire Monday after having strung together 10 dominant scoreless innings in Vancouver. Not co-incidentally, this makes him eligible for placement in the Arizona Fall League (which, IMO, is why he wasn't stepped up to Dunedin instead).Don't look for him in Toronto this year, as it would unnecessarily burn a 40 man roster spot.

One other note regarding minor league pitching - Roberto Osuna might be the hottest and fastest rising prospect in the system. Other blogs are doing far better work at profiling these guys than I've had time to do but I did want to give a shout out to Osuna for his Vancouver debut. It might only take him a couple more seasons, maybe less, to be at the head of the line for promotion to Toronto.