--RHP A.J. Burnett was offered salary arbitration. Since Burnett is a Type-A free agent, the Jays would get two compensatory picks should Burnett sign with another team. Burnett, who opted out of the final two years of his five-year contract with the Jays, is being pursued by a number of clubs -- the Red Sox, Yankees, Orioles, Braves and Phillies among them.
--C Greg Zaun and OF Brad Wilkerson were not offered salary arbitration. Zaun lost his starting job midway through the 2008 season to Rod Barajas. The team said it will try and fill the backup role from within. --In a sign of the troubled economic times, the Jays cut 24 front-office jobs, the bulk of them coming in the ticket department. None of the cuts affected the baseball operations. "It's regrettable," said Paul Beeston, the Jays' interim president. "Every sports team is challenged (by the economy) and the Toronto Blue Jays are as well."
--RHP Jeremy Accardo, whose 2008 season was cut short May 10 because of continued problems with his right forearm, received some good news. "Everything's going as planned and as soon as I got the final word from Dr. (James) Andrews, said everything's good, I've just been getting ready, started throwing a couple of weeks ago," Accardo said recently. "It was one of those injuries where you have to let it heal before you can get back out there and do it and I just never gave it enough time to heal. Once it heals, you're good to go."
--OF/DH Adam Lind had a pretty good season, hitting .282 with nine homers and 40 RBIs in 88 games. In September, however, Lind had zero homers and three RBIs. "It was a simple case of being tired physically," Lind said. "I had never experienced a season like that before, never played so many games before. I think I wore down." Lind said he plans to engage in more rigorous training in the New Year.
BY THE NUMBERS: 1 -- The number of teams that Darek Braunecker, the agent for free agent RHP A.J. Burnett, claims have offered a five-year deal.
QUOTE TO NOTE: "Everyone is cognizant of the economy. How the economy will affect the free agent market, we'll know down the road. I've quit speculating. I'm not sure it will affect guys at the top. They are still going to get what is coming to them." -- RHP A.J. Burnett's agent, Darek Braunecker
