There is no question that Manny was a great hitter.  He was patient, he had discipline, he could slug with the best of them.  According to baseball-reference, over his career he accrued a -11.8 dWAR.  While terrible defensively, he was known for his bat, and his personality.  It had been documented many times that Manny lacked focus and concentration, and that he played for himself more than he did for the team.  Who will forget the time he cut off the throw from Johnny Damon, allowing an inside-the-park home run?  How about the time he caught a fly ball, ran up the wall, high-fived a fan and threw the ball to the infield?  Remember when he threw the Red Sox’ 64-year old travelling secretary to the ground when he couldn’t fulfill Manny’s wish of getting him 16 tickets for a game?  Manny being Manny.

Living in the Toronto area, I have heard rumblings from fans that the Blue Jays and GM Alex Anthopoulos should take a chance on Manny.  He would have to sit for the first 50 games though. So while everyone would be in mid-season form, it would be as if Manny was just starting cold.  That is only one of the reasons why I don’t think the Jays should sign him.  

Manny could be had at a ridiculously low price considering what he could bring to the table.  Before the 2011 season, he signed a $2M contract with the Rays. So a team could probably get him for around $1M this year, seeing as he will miss roughly the first 1/3 of the season.  After making over $200M in his career, Manny won’t hold out for the most money, but rather the chance to play more. In 2010, as a 38-year old, he posted a 138 OPS+, albeit in only 90 games.  Sure, he started off 2011 getting one hit in seventeen at bats before the suspension came around, but that’s such a small sample that one should not take too seriously.  I would expect Manny to struggle to begin the season, but still be a slightly better than average hitter by the end of 2012.

Toronto plans on giving the bulk of the at bats at DH to Edwin Encarnacion, who can also fill in at 1B, 3B and LF.  Over his career, Encarnacion has an OPS+ of 104, which is just a touch above average, but his last two seasons have seen him produce identical OPS+ of 110.  His line drive rate has consistently improved, as well as K rate, down to a career-low of 14.5% in 2011.  When Encarnacion didn’t have to take his fielding woes into consideration and simply focus on hitting, he was actually quite good.  His slash line of .296/.361/.494/.855 is pretty impressive from just the DH spot.  Encarnacion is only 29-years old, and thus, is in his prime years.  Anthopoulos has been on record saying that Encarnacion is capable of a 40 home run season if he can stay healthy.   Thus Manny doesn’t prove to be a significant upgrade, if an upgrade at all, at the DH position for the Jays.

There should be no chance of Manny signing with Toronto, considering the praise Anthopoulos has given to Encarnacion, stating that he has 40 home run potential.  Manny should be able to get a deal with a team, but most likely not a contender.  Known for his gruelling workouts and work ethic (although, possibly enhanced due to his PED use), Manny will be able to get back into shape fairly quickly.  As I said before, I believe that Manny can still provide a bit of value to a team who needs a DH. But will the offensive value offset the antics of Manny being Manny?