Blue Jays

As we saw this past season, it doesn't make sense to put too much stock in preseason baseball odds . (Unless you're actually planning on betting on them.) But looking at how those odds shift is one way to see how impactful the pending Jays-Marlins trade could be if approved. As Dan Connolly outlined this morning , the megadeal that would send Jose Reyes, Josh Johnson, Mark Buehrle and others to Toronto would make the Blue Jays a true force in the American League. And that's reflected in the Vegas sports books this afternoon.

Orioles third-base coach DeMarlo Hale, one of two coaches the team has yet to resign, has interviewed for the Toronto Blue Jays bench coach job, an industry source has confirmed. Ending a tenuous search for a manager to replace John Farrell, who left to become the Red Sox's new manager, the Blue Jays hired John Gibbons, who managed Toronto from 2004-'08. He was introduced to the media on Tuesday morning.  Orioles manager Buck Showalter had expressed concern that other teams could woo Hale, who also served as the team's infield coach, with the offer of a bench coaching job. Hale was bench coach on new Indians manager Terry Francona's staff in Boston and worked alongside Farrell, formerly the Red Sox pitching coach, under Francona.

I had separate conversations earlier this offseason with a scout from a rival team and a player agent that basically intimated the same thing: The industry was watching what the Orioles and Toronto Blue Jays would do this winter because they are viewed as the potential new guard in the AL East with the New York Yankees aging, the Boston Red Sox rebuilding and the Tampa Bay Rays hampered by payroll. The agent said Baltimore and Toronto could be easier sells this year to clients because the sense is that both teams are in a position to win now and for a few more years if they make the right choices.

SARASOTA, Fla. - The Orioles staked the Toronto Blue Jays to a five-run lead by the second inning Wednesday, but they stormed back with five solo homers and eventually won, 6-5. Left fielder Nolan Reimold, who was playing in the field for the first time since experiencing shoulder tightness on March 1, had two home runs to lead the offensive barrage. J.J. Hardy started the second inning against Toronto's Jeremy Jeffress, who is fighting for a bullpen spot, with his second homer in two games.

The Orioles have lost right-hander Todd Redmond, who was on the team's 40-man roster, on waivers as he was claimed by the Toronto Blue Jays, according to an industry source. Redmond allowed five earned runs and eight hits with eight strikeouts and four walks in eight Grapefruit League innings before he was optioned to Triple-A Norfolk on Saturday. The 27-year-old Redmond was claimed off waivers by the Orioles on Feb. 8 from the Reds. He made his major league debut with Cincinnati last season - making his first and only big league start - on Aug. 18 in the nightcap of a doubleheader.

DUNEDIN, Fla. -- As the competition for the Orioles' fifth rotation spot begins to heat up, right-hander Jake Arrieta made his case Saturday afternoon, throwing 4 2/3 shutout innings in a 3-1 win over the Toronto Blue Jays at Florida Auto Exchange Stadium. Arrieta, last year's Opening Day starter, said his ability to mix his pitches Saturday was the best "since I can remember.” “Today was the best sequence day I've had from start to finish in a long time, not just the spring, but since I can remember,” Arrieta said.

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. -- The Toronto Blue Jays are scouting Bret Saberhagen and are one of only a handful of teams with the resources necessary to trade for the New York Mets' very available pitcher.But while it sounds like a perfect fit, Toronto GM Pat Gillick said yesterday the Blue Jays' interest in Saberhagen is dwindling."There are some other things we're working on that are more palpable," Gillick said. "Nothing is imminent, but we're working on other things now."Toronto is interested in acquiring a starting pitcher but is believed to be focusing its efforts on Houston's Greg Swindell.

Here's another tale of toughness from inside the Orioles' clubhouse. Manager Buck Showalter said he had two different lineup cards filled out just more than 30 minutes before the first pitch of the Orioles' 12-2 win over the Blue Jays on Wednesday - one with shortstop J.J. Hardy in it and another without. For the past two days, Hardy has been dealing with a painful hangnail on his right middle finger, and on Wednesday Hardy said it became so difficult to throw that he was gripping the ball with just three fingers.

Adam Jones' tremendous season continues. In Monday's first game, Jones tied a season high with four hits: three singles and a home run. The four-hit day was his second of the season and first since June 12 against Pittsburgh. He nearly homered a second time in the eighth, hitting a long fly ball to right that just sailed foul. He had to settle for another single. The homer, a two-run shot in the fourth, was his career-best 32nd of the season. He now has 81 RBIs, two shy of tying his career high, set last year.

TORONTO - From the day early this spring when Orioles manager Buck Showalter decided to place Nolan Reimold in the leadoff spot, he told Reimold he didn't need him to become a different player because of his new place atop the batting order. “I don't want him to start being chop-shop,” Showalter said. “I want him to be Nolan Reimold and get deep into some counts, and when it's time to square up a ball and do something with it, go ahead and do it. Don't change anything.