Put it this way: Clayton wouldn't still be in baseball if he truly stunk. He's an average defender, with some speed around the base paths. Is his bat as bad as they say? His batting average is, well pretty average, and his OBP is not very good. But let's step outside the numbers for a minute… I listened to alot of Nationals games last season and Clayton came through with clutch hits a good many times. Some would argue that this indicates more about the lackluster Nationals than it does about Clayton, but I'd prefer to see Clayton swinging the bat than Russ Adams.

What about John MacDonald? Great question, especially since MacDonald and Clayton appear to be players with similar abilities. Clayton has had fairly good success against LHP, so I expect that we'll see him platooning with MacDonald and Adams. As J.P. said, it will be a three-headed monster up the middle! (Clayton still has to prove himself–a situation he's quite familiar with–as J.P. has stated that he is not a shoe-in for the starting SS.)

Sure, Lugo would have looked great on the field with the Jays, but starting pitching is the biggest need. If the team can save some money for pitching by signing the affordable and durable Mr. Clayton, plus get dependable offense vs. LHP and a mentor who can help Adams emerge as a true major leaguer, then we'll all look back on this trade positively.

Thanks for your comment!