The Miami Marlins began their fire sale this past summer.  At the time, it was a little easier to believe that they weren't actually selling off the team, that they had a plan in place.  Now, as the Marlins trade Jose Reyes, Mark Buehrle, Josh Johnson, John Buck, and Emilio Bonafacio, it's clear that Miami is simply dumping salary.  The Toronto Blue Jay, who will benefit from the Marlins' strange ways, are instantly better with this trade, but they will need to manage Buehrle agen and injury concerns as well as Johnson and his injury history.

Buehrle is known for his durability, but at 33 years old his chances for injury are just increasing every season.  In 2012, he started 31 games.  He has started 30 or more games in every season since becoming a full time starter.  Perhaps the Blue Jays can count on this to continue, but they should be prepared for the durability to let up at some point.  This isn't to say Buehrle won't have success in Toronto.  And this isn't to say he will get injured.  The Blue Jays simply need to prepare for the possibility.


Last season, Johnson missed some time with a shoulder injury.  He started just nine games in 2011.  This past season was a bounce-back year for him in terms of games-started.  Johnson started 31 games. However, Johnson posted the highest ERA of his career aside from his shortened 2007 campaign.  Johnson is still young, but he has battled injuries his entire career.  Since becoming a full time starter in 2006, Johnson has started fewer than 15 games in a season three times.  That should be worrisome to the Blue Jays.

Overall, it seems clear that Toronto got a good deal in this trade.  They gave away some young talent, but they are going to be able to compete immediately.  In what seems to be an ever-improving division, the Blue Jays needed to do something big to compete.  They've done it.


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