That’s really what this comes down to. In order to get out of paying Thomas $10 million in 2009, the Jays also cost themselves 23 weeks of production from him this year. They could have waited and made the move in June or July in advance of Thomas collecting the 304 plate appearances he needed for the option to vest, but then they would have risked a grievance. And considering that Thomas almost certainly would have had solid numbers by then, there’s a good chance he would have won it. By rule, teams cannot release players solely for financial reasons.

So, $10 million. Or maybe $9.6 million, since that’s one roster spot that will have to go to someone else next year. At most, it would have been $11.6 million (if Thomas had reached 600 plate appearances both this year and next). I wasn’t particularly fond of the idea of spending $18 million on Thomas in the first place, but $10 million for 1.9 seasons seems pretty reasonable. Thomas was off to a slow start this year? He still had 11 RBI and 11 walks in 16 games. And it’s not like it was unusual at all for him. In 2007, Thomas hit .223/.357/.400 through May 15 and then .291/.384/.511 the rest of the way. In 2006, he hit .190/.264/.405 during April and .287/.403/.574 during the final five months. For the Jays to take this step now, it’s something they had to be thinking of at least as far back as spring training. It may have been part of their plans right from the start of the winter.

Adam Lind, once he’s eventually recalled, should prove to be an adequate replacement against right-handers. They’ll miss Thomas a lot more versus lefties. No combination of Matt Stairs, Rod Barajas and Marco Scutaro is going to come close to filling that hole.

If only some sort of compromise could have been reached. The Jays were on the hook for this year’s salary anyway. Why couldn’t they have approached Thomas and asked him to forfeit the option for $2 million-$3 million? Perhaps they did, but none of the reports out of Toronto suggest it. Thomas could have kept his job, and the Jays could have put their best team on the field.

It’s doubtful Thomas will be out of work for long after officially becoming a free agent this week. Seattle makes the most sense for both team and player. Jose Vidro doesn’t bring much to the table as a DH, and signing Thomas would allow the team to continue to develop Jeff Clement as a catcher. No other contender has a clear opening at DH, though Gary Sheffield is currently a question mark for Detroit. The Yankees are the Yankees, so they’ll sniff around. However, unless they’re willing to shift Johnny Damon or Hideki Matsui to first base, they won’t have many at-bats to offer. The Rays would seem to be the obvious fallback if the Mariners don’t pounce. I’d rank the possibilities: Seattle, Tampa Bay, Texas, Yankees, Kansas City, Minnesota, Detroit and Oakland.

Jose Cruz Jr. (Astros)
Emil Brown (Athletics)
Travis Buck (Athletics)
Jack Cust (Athletics)
Chris Denorfia (Athletics) - Down $1
Matt Stairs (Blue Jays)
Shannon Stewart (Blue Jays)
Josh Anderson (Braves)
Gregor Blanco (Braves)
Tony Gwynn Jr. (Brewers) - Up $1
Bill Hall (Brewers)
Corey Hart (Brewers)
Sam Fuld (Cubs)
Reed Johnson (Cubs)
Andre Ethier (Dodgers) - Up $6
Juan Pierre (Dodgers) - Down $6
Franklin Gutierrez (Indians) - Up $1
Alfredo Amezaga (Marlins)
Alejandro De Aza (Marlins)
Jeremy Hermida (Marlins) - Down $1
Cameron Maybin (Marlins) - Down $1
Cody Ross (Marlins)
Endy Chavez (Mets) - Down $1
Angel Pagan (Mets) - Up $1
Elijah Dukes (Nationals) - Down $1
Jody Gerut (Padres)
Paul McAnulty (Padres)
Jay Gibbons

Starting pitchers

Chris Sampson (Astros)
Woody Williams (Astros)

Mike Morse (Mariners)
Brad Wilkerson (Mariners)
Jorge Cantu (Marlins) - Up $1
Eric Hinske (Rays) - Up $2
Ross Gload (Royals) - Up $1

Designated hitters

Frank Thomas (Blue Jays) - Down $1
Jose Vidro (Mariners) - Down $1
Billy Butler (Royals)
Jason Giambi (Yankees) - Up $1

Second basemen

Ruben Gotay (Braves)
Tony Abreu (Dodgers)
Asdrubal Cabrera (Indians)
Jose Lopez (Mariners) - Up $1
Callix Crabbe (Padres)
Luis Rivas (Pirates)
Jayson Nix (Rockies) - Up $1

Outfielders

Jose Guillen (Royals) - Up $1

Starting pitchers

Chris Capuano (Brewers)
Doug Davis (Diamondbacks)
Edgar Gonzalez (Diamondbacks)

Lance Berkman (Astros)
Mark Teixeira (Braves)
Prince Fielder (Brewers)
Ryan Garko (Indians) - Down $1
Nick Johnson (Nationals) - Up $2
Dmitri Young (Nationals) - Down $2
Kevin Youkilis (Red Sox) - Up $1

Second basemen

Kevin Frandsen (Giants) - Down $2
Eugenio Velez (Giants) - Up $3

Javy Lopez
Corky Miller (Braves)
Eric Munson (Brewers)
Mike Rivera (Brewers)
Miguel Montero (Diamondbacks) - Down $1
Chris Snyder (Diamondbacks) - Up $2
Russell Martin (Dodgers)
Bengie Molina (Giants)
Kenji Johjima (Mariners) - Down $1
Mike Rabelo (Marlins) - Down $1
Matt Treanor (Marlins) - Up $1
Ramon Castro (Mets)
Ramon Hernandez (Orioles)
Guillermo Quiroz (Orioles)
Chris Coste (Phillies)
Carlos Ruiz (Phillies) - Up $1
Adam Melhuse (Rangers)
Joe Mauer (Twins) - Up $1
A.J. Pierzynski (White Sox)

Nick Adenhart (Angels)
Kelvin Escobar (Angels) - Down $8
Joe Saunders (Angels) - Up $1
Jered Weaver (Angels) - Up $2
Tim Hudson (Braves) - Up $1
John Smoltz (Braves) - Down $1
Manny Parra (Brewers) - Up $1
Carlos Villanueva (Brewers) - Up $1
Anthony Reyes (Cardinals)
Brad Thompson (Cardinals)
Jon Lieber (Cubs)
Jason Marquis (Cubs)
Michah Owings (Diamondbacks) - Down $1
Jake Westbrook (Indians) - Up $1
Orlando Hernandez (Mets) - Down $2
John Maine (Mets) - Up $1
Zach Duke (Pirates)
Scott Kazmir (Rays) - Down $2
David Price (Rays)
Edinson Volquez (Reds)
Dontrelle Willis (Tigers) - Down $2
Nick Blackburn (Twins)
Francisco Liriano (Twins) - Down $2
Glen Perkins (Twins)
Freddy Garcia

Relief pitchers

Francisco Rodriguez (Angels)
Scot Shields (Angels) - Down $2
Rich Thompson (Angels)
Mark McLemore (Astros)
Chad Paronto (Astros)
Wes Wright (Astros)
Kiko Calero (Athletics)
Joey Devine (Athletics)
Jeremy Accardo (Blue Jays) - Up $3
B.J. Ryan (Blue Jays) - Down $3
Manny Acosta (Braves) - Up $1
Guillermo Mota (Brewers)
Chris Narveson (Brewers)
Kyle McClellan (Cardinals)
Neal Cotts (Cubs)
Scott Eyre (Cubs)
Kevin Hart (Cubs)
Brandon Lyon (Diamondbacks) - Down $1
Tony Pena (Diamondbacks)
Rudy Seanez (Dodgers)
Vinnie Chulk (Giants)
Craig Breslow (Indians)
Tom Mastny (Indians)
Brandon Morrow (Mariners)
Arthur Rhodes (Mariners)
Daniel Barone (Marlins)
Logan Kensing (Marlins)
Joel Hanrahan (Nationals)
Chris Schroder (Nationals)
Kevin Cameron (Padres)
Justin Hampson (Padres)
Clay Condrey (Phillies)
Tom Gordon (Phillies) - Up $1
Brad Lidge (Phillies) - Down $1
Francisco Rosario (Phillies)
Mike Zagurski (Phillies)
Sean Burnett (Pirates)
Juan Perez
Tyler Yates (Pirates)
Frank Francisco (Rangers)
Kazuo Fukumori (Rangers) - Up $1
Franklyn German (Rangers)
Mike Timlin (Red Sox)
Gary Majewski (Reds)
Taylor Buchholz (Rockies)
Roman Colon (Royals)
Ramon Ramirez (Royals)
Brad Salmon (Royals)
Tim Byrdak (Tigers)
Fernando Rodney (Tigers)
Brian Bass (Twins)
Jesse Crain (Twins)
Pat Neshek (Twins) - Down $3
Joba Chamberlain (Yankees)
Edwar Ramirez (Yankees)
Bob Wickman

Chris Capuano (Brewers) - Down $2
John Patterson (Rangers)

Third basemen

Scott Rolen (Blue Jays) - Down $3
Willy Aybar (Rays) - Up $1
Evan Longoria (Rays)

Longoria stays at $6. It'll just be a couple of months before he'll provide a return on the investment.

Shortstops

Marco Scutaro (Blue Jays) - Up $1
Brendan Harris (Twins) - Down $3
Nick Punto (Twins)

The Twins' move to keep Matt Tolbert over Jason Pridie concerns me greatly. While they haven't announced anything about second base yet, it's looking more and more likely that Punto will get the majority of the time initially.

First basemen/Designated hitters

Jorge Cantu (Marlins) - Up $2
Scott Hatteberg (Reds) - Up $1
Joey Votto (Reds) - Down $2
Shelley Duncan (Yankees)

Maicer Izturis (Angels)
Kaz Matsui (Astros) - Down $1
Tony Abreu (Dodgers)
Jeff Kent (Dodgers) - Down $1
Jose Castillo (Giants)
Eugenio Velez (Giants) - Up $2
Ronnie Belliard (Nationals) - Up $2
Freddy Sanchez (Pirates)
Jayson Nix (Rockies) - Up $1

Third basemen

Eric Chavez (Athletics) - Down $1
Jack Hannahan (Athletics) - Up $2

Shortstops

Erick Aybar (Angels) - Up $1
Bobby Crosby (Athletics) - Up $1
Kevin Frandsen (Giants)
Felipe Lopez (Nationals) - Down $2
Juan Uribe (White Sox)

Outfielders

Michael Bourn (Astros) - Up $1
Carlos Gonzalez (Athletics)
Ryan Sweeney (Athletics)
Brian Barton (Cardinals) - Up $1
Colby Rasmus (Cardinals)
Skip Schumaker (Cardinals) - Up $2
Alfonso Soriano (Cubs) - Down $2
Jeff DaVanon
Jim Edmonds (Padres) - Down $1
Jody Gerut (Padres)
Josh Hamilton (Rangers) - Up $1
Ken Griffey Jr. (Reds)
Norris Hopper (Reds) - Down $1
Corey Patterson (Reds) - Up $1
Mark Teahen (Royals) - Down $1
Curtis Granderson (Tigers)
Carlos Gomez (Twins) - Up $3
Craig Monroe (Twins)
Jerry Owens (White Sox) - Up $3
Carlos Quentin (White Sox) - Down $2
Alexei Ramirez (White Sox) - Up $1
Melky Cabrera (Yankees)
Barry Bonds - Down $3

Nick Adenhart (Angels)
Kelvin Escobar (Angels) - Down $1
John Lackey (Angels) - Down $1
Ervin Santana (Angels) - Up $2
Shawn Chacon (Astros)
Woody Williams (Astros)
Lenny DiNardo (Athletics)
Dana Eveland (Athletics)
Rich Harden (Athletics) - Up $1
Kirk Saarloos (Athletics)
Chuck James (Braves) - Down $1
Jair Jurrjens (Braves) - Up $1
John Smoltz (Braves) - Down $1
Chris Capuano (Brewers) - Down $1
Claudio Vargas (Brewers)
Ryan Dempster (Cubs)
Rich Hill (Cubs)
Clayton Kershaw (Dodgers)
Esteban Loaiza (Dodegrs)
Mark Hendrickson (Marlins)
Dallas Trahern (Marlins)
Chris Volstad (Marlins)
Orlando Hernandez (Mets) - Down $1
Mike Pelfrey (Mets)
Jason Vargas (Mets)
John Patterson - Down $2
Odalis Perez (Nationals)
Tim Redding (Nationals)
Edwin Jackson (Rays)
Scott Kazmir (Rays) - Down $2
Jeremy Affeldt (Reds)
Matt Belisle (Reds)
Johnny Cueto (Reds) - Up $1
Jason Hirsh (Rockies)
John Bale (Royals)
Jorge De La Rosa (Royals)
Ian Kennedy (Yankees)

Catchers

Johnny Estrada (Nationals)
Gerald Laird (Rangers) - Up $1
Jarrod Saltalamacchia (Rangers) - Down $3
Kevin Cash (Red Sox)
Doug Mirabelli
David Ross (Reds) - Down $1
Ivan Rodriguez (Tigers) - Up $1

Third basemen

Scott Rolen (Blue Jays) - Up $1
Mark Reynolds (Diamondbacks) - Up $1
Chad Tracy (Diamondbacks) - Down $1
Blake DeWitt (Dodgers)
Nomar Garciaparra (Dodgers)
Evan Longoria (Rays)
Alex Gordon (Royals) - Up $2
Joe Crede (White Sox)
Josh Fields (White Sox) - Down $3

Chris Bootcheck (Angels)
Darren O’Day (Angels)

Felipe Paulino (Astros)
Jose Valverde (Astros)

I took one save away from Valverde. I wasn’t optimistic going in, and I’m liking their pitching staff less every day.

Armando Benitez (Blue Jays)
Brandon League (Blue Jays)
Blaine Boyer (Braves)
Tyler Johnson (Cardinals)
Brad Thompson (Cardinals)
Bob Howry (Cubs) - Down $2
Carlos Marmol (Cubs) - Up $1
Kerry Wood (Cubs) - Up $2

Just like when I first did the projections, I had Wood as the clear favorite for saves and Marmol still as the Cubs’ most valuable reliever. That’s unchanged, but both are moving up now with Howry fading from the picture.

Randy Messenger (Giants)
Merkin Valdez (Giants)
Greg Aquino (Orioles)
Jim Hoey (Orioles)
Frank Francisco (Rangers) - Down $1
Kazuo Fukumori (Randers)
Eddie Guardado (Rangers)

I was thinking that Francisco might get his act together another six months removed from Tommy John surgery, but he hasn’t impressed this spring. Fukumori is looking like the best sleeper saves candidate in Texas right now.

Luis Mendoza (Rangers)
Juan Salas (Rays)
Manny Delcarmen (Red Sox) - Up $1
Devern Hansack (Red Sox)
Lincoln Holdzkom (Red Sox)
Hideki Okajima (Red Sox) - Down $1

I gave two of Okajima’s four projected saves to Delcarmen, narrowing the gap between the two setup men.

Denny Bautista (Tigers)
Todd Jones (Tigers) - Down $1
Fernando Rodney (Tigers) - Down $1

Jones has looked terrible, but his job remains awfully secure. Because of his shoulder troubles, Rodney dropped a dollar even with Jones struggling.

Jordan Tata (Tigers)
Billy Traber (Yankees)

Elijah Dukes (Nationals) - Up $2
Lastings Milledge (Nationals) - Up $2
Wily Mo Pena (Nationals) - Up $4

I'm guessing Pena will miss the entire month of April, and if Dukes gets off to a fast start like he did last year, it's quite possible Wily Mo won't be a full-timer when gets back. Milledge also gets a boost. I was going to give him a $1 bump even before Pena's injury, but now it's $2, as he no longer has to worry about Dukes stealing at-bats from him in the early going. Milledge is one of my favorite picks right now.

One more note: I'm doing a couple of projected lineups columns and pushed back the AL West top 10s. The AL column will be up Sunday morning, with the NL to follow a day later.

Rocco Baldelli (Rays) - Down $8
Cliff Floyd (Rays) - Up $1
Jonny Gomes (Rays) - Up $1

Baldelli fell all the way to $2 in light of the serious questions about his ability to play this year. I would have bumped Gomes up higher, but I’m guessing the Rays will pick up an outfielder before the end of the spring. If it’s Kenny Lofton, then Gomes would lose significant value. If it’s someone like Nelson Cruz, Jason Botts or Delwyn Young, then Gomes would still seem to be a good bet for 400-450 at-bats.

Starting pitchers

Casey Janssen (Blue Jays) - Down $4
Jesse Litsch (Blue Jays)

So much for one of my favorite sleepers. I still don’t see Litsch as an option in AL-only leagues, though as a groundball pitcher working in front of two exceptional infielders in Scott Rolen and Aaron Hill and two more solid defenders, he could keep the Jays in a lot of games.

Jair Jurrjens (Braves) - Up $1
Jo-Jo Reyes (Braves)

Jurrjens has really separated himself from Reyes and will almost certainly be the choice to round out Atlanta’s rotation if Chuck James isn’t ready. I’m still not as high on him for the long-term as some, but he’s looking like a nice late-rounder for 2008.

Chris Capuano (Brewers) - Down $1
Yovani Gallardo (Brewers) - Up $1
Ben Sheets (Brewers) - Up $1
Carlos Villanueva (Brewers)

Gallardo is making steady progress in his return from knee surgery, so he was given back some of the innings originally taken away from him. Villanueva also gained innings at Capuano’s expense. Sheets also moved up a bit because of the way he’s thrown so far this spring.

Kyle Lohse (Cardinals) - Up $2

There aren’t many places where Lohse would have come in as more than a $1 pitcher, but with St. Louis, he ranks as a borderline $3 guy. I still may have to tweak his projection again, depending on whether he’s going to be ready to start the season in the rotation or not.

Carlos Zambrano (Cubs) - Up $1

Yeah, it’s still the first half of March, but Zambrano’s command has been pretty impressive so far.

Hiroki Kuroda (Dodgers) - Up $1

Kuroda has had a rough go of it in his last two appearances, but I’m still a little more optimistic now than I was going into the start of the spring. He’s still not someone to target in mixed-league drafts.

Barry Zito (Giants) - Down $2

Based on his spring performance to date, there’s less reason than ever to think Zito will be better than a league-average pitcher, and no league-average pitcher is winning 14-15 games for the Giants this year. I dropped him to $4.

Sergio Mitre (Marlins)

Mitre’s innings appear set to go to Rick VandenHurk, Ricky Nolasco, Chris Volstad or Gaby Hernandez, but I wouldn’t be surprised if Jeff Weaver lands in Florida as his replacement. They’re all $0 pitchers anyway, so I’m not touching them just yet.

Felix Hernandez (Mariners) - Up $1

King Felix is up a buck, but Zambrano did move past him for the ninth spot in my overall SP rankings.

Shawn Hill (Nationals)

Hill’s injury cost him $1 in the 4x4 rankings. He remains a $1 pitcher in the 5x5 rankings.

Troy Patton (Orioles)

Zeroed out.

Brandon McCarthy (Rangers) - Down $2
Sidney Ponson (Rangers)

I gave Ponson a 5.91 ERA projection in Texas. That’s the highest figure for anyone with at least 50 innings, though Lance Cormier (6.07 ERA in 46 innings) comes close.

Scott Kazmir (Rays) - Up $1

Kazmir was given back half of the innings I originally took away because of his elbow injury. It looks like he’ll start on Opening Day, but I’m not putting him all of the way back where he was. There’s no way an elbow injury so early in the spring can be taken as a good sign.

Homer Bailey (Reds) - Down $1
Matt Belisle (Reds)
Johnny Cueto (Reds) - Up $2

I originally had Cueto at $2 and Bailey at $4. Now they’re reversed. I always had Cueto with the better ERA and WHIP projection, but I wasn’t expecting to see him until May or June.

Josh Beckett (Red Sox) - Down $1
Jon Lester (Red Sox) - Up $1

One missed start for Beckett costs him $1. It looks like Lester could take his place in Japan, giving him a few extra innings. He’s throwing well and deserved to move up a dollar anyway.

Francisco Liriano (Twins)

I gave Liriano a few more innings, but I also raised his ERA a bit, leaving his value relatively unchanged. He’s healthy enough to pitch and I’m becoming more optimistic that he’ll make 28-30 starts, but he’s not nearly in 2006 form yet.

John Danks (White Sox) - Up $1

Danks jumped from $1 to $2 based on the way he’s throwing.

Phil Hughes (Yankees) - Up $1

Hughes appears to have more velocity now than he did when he returned from hamstring injury last year. It’s a great sign for his future development.

One other note -- had a brainfart yesterday on the Holliday comment. Of course, it will be Garrett Atkins batting directly behind him, not Brad Hawpe. I had it in the right order in the projection.

I'm currently working on having the top-250 lists completely updated by the conclusion of the weekend.

Outfielders

Reed Johnson (Blue Jays) - Down $2
Adam Lind (Blue Jays) - Down $1
Matt Stairs (Blue Jays)
Shannon Stewart (Blue Jays) - Down $3

Mike Cameron (Brewers) - Up $1

Brewers manager Ned Yost likes Cameron as a No. 2 hitter. We’ll see if he still feels the same way if someone else does the job well while the center fielder is serving a 25-game suspension.

Rick Ankiel (Cardinals)
Ryan Ludwick (Cardinals) - Up $1

A few extra at-bats for both with Scott Spiezio gone. Ludwick may be the favorite to start in right field for the Cardinals right now.

Trot Nixon (Diamondbacks) - Down $1
Matt Kemp (Dodgers)
Delwyn Young (Dodgers)

Kemp didn’t quite lose a dollar, but his projection was downgraded slightly with manager Joe Torre clearly looking at him as a No. 8 hitter.

Jason Tyner (Indians)
Cameron Maybin (Marlins)

Maybin was a candidate to bat first or second initially, but now it looks like he’ll hit seventh if he makes the Marlins. I rearranged his projection, but didn’t drop him. He’s still the clear favorite to start.

Moises Alou (Mets) - Down $2
Endy Chavez (Mets) - Up $1
Angel Pagan (Mets)

Chavez and Pagan picked up some at-bats with Alou going down, but odds are that the Mets will trade for outfield help prior to Opening Day.

Scott Hairston (Padres) - Up $2

I spent all winter figuring the Padres would bring in one more outfielder. They haven’t, so Hairston, as the likely starter in left, gets a $2 boost.

Frank Catalanotto (Rangers) - Down $1

Catalanotto is expected to hit in the bottom of the third of the order once the Rangers officially turn the leadoff slot over to Ian Kinsler.

Rocco Baldelli (Rays) - Down $1
Jonny Gomes (Rays) - Up $1

An offseason of rest didn’t seem to cure Baldelli’s of his hamstring woes. Maybe he’ll hold up for 130 games primarily as a DH anyway, but he’s a worse bet than he was a few weeks ago.

Jay Bruce (Reds)
Ryan Freel (Reds)
Jerry Hairston Jr. (Reds)
Corey Patterson (Reds) - Down $5

Patterson’s arrival probably knocks Bruce back to Triple-A, but I wasn’t counting on him making the team anyway. He’ll still be a factor before all is said and done. The Reds could go with Patterson versus righties and Freel or Norris Hopper against lefties initially. Freel, though, will deserve some starts against righties over Patterson. Hopper, who is highly unlikely to repeat a fluky 2007, should eventually prove to be the odd man out.

Matt Holliday (Rockies) - Down $1

Holliday lost a bit of value with the switch from third to the cleanup spot in the order. He’ll have a few more chances to drive in runs, but he’ll lose runs scored and he’ll be pitched around more frequently when a lefty is on the mound. Todd Helton was much better support in that regard than Brad Hawpe is.

Jason Pridie (Twins)
Alexei Ramirez (White Sox)

Ramirez went from a lower-tier $1 pick to my top $1 outfielder. It’s obvious already that he has some upside.

Hideki Matsui (Yankees) - Down $1

Matsui remains a little behind schedule in his return from knee surgery and appears unlikely to be a full-time player at the start of the season.

Shawn Green (Retired) - Down $5
Kenny Lofton (Free Agent) - Down $2

Lofton still figures to find work, but I had to take down his at-bats projection a ways.

Starting pitchers

Kevin Correia (Giants) - Up $1
Noah Lowry (Giants) - Down $1
Jonathan Sanchez (Giants) - Up $1

As a result of Lowry’s injury, I now have all three of these guys at $1. Sanchez was very close to the cutoff anyway, even though he was behind Correia in line for a rotation spot. The Giants still could bypass him if one of the available veterans would come cheap enough for them (Jeff Weaver maybe?).