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The Blue Jays placed a phone call to Menasha, Wis., last night. As the crow flies, Menasha is about as far away from baseball's winter meetings as the southernmost tip of Greenland.
The conversation went like this:
"Hey do you mind playing some first base next season?"
Eric Hinske was on the other end of the phone listening to the Jays' offer.
If free agent Corey Koskie passes his physical today, then the Jays will sign Koskie to a three-year, $17-million US deal.
BIG SHOES
Koskie will play third base and Hinske, originally thought to be a cornerstone at third base and given a five-year deal in the spring of 2003, takes over for Carlos Delgado at first base. Those are big shoes to fill.
Hinske hit .246 with 15 homers and 69 RBIs in 155 games in 2004.
The 2002 American League rookie of the year made 42 errors at third base in his first two seasons, but only eight in 2004.
Koskie has a .963 career fielding percentage at third, while Hinske has a .952 mark.
The left-handed hitting Koskie, who we first wrote that the Jays had interest in on Oct. 27, hit .251 for the Twins this season with 25 homers and 71 RBIs in 118 games. Koskie walked 49 times and struck out 103 times.
Koskie hit .300 his first two full seasons with the Twins in 1999-2000 and then knocked in 103 runs in 2001.
The Jays' meat of the order now will consist of Frank Catanalotto, Vernon Wells, Hinske and Koskie, although manager John Gibbons likely won't place Koskie and Hinske, both left-handed hitters, back-to-back in the order.
Koskie is only the fourth Manitoba-born player to make the majors.
The others were:
- Russ Ford of Brandon, who broke into the majors in 1909 and had three 20-win seasons, two with the New York Highlanders, predecessor of the Yankees.
- Mel Kerr of Souris, who played one game with the Chicago Cubs in 1925.
- Harry (Bud) Sketchley of Virden, who played with the Chicago White Sox in 1942.
Signing Koskie would be a triumph for the Blue Jays over competition such as the Seattle Mariners, Detroit Tigers, the Los Angeles Dodgers -- whose interest may have been a smokescreen as they talked contract with their own free agent Adrian Beltre -- and the Minnesota Twins, Koskie's original team.
The Jays will be better tomorrow than they were a day ago, but is Corey Koskie enough?