In my last Toronto Blue Jays “Should I stay or Should I Go?” article I focused on the Blue Jays shortstop situation for next season, which involves two free agents named Marco Scutaro (Toronto’s starter in 2009) and John McDonald (backup shortstop and fan favorite).

Today I would like to focus on another position in which the Jays are currently up in the air over, the catcher situation.

In 2009 the Toronto Blue Jays used Rod Barajas as their starting catcher and signed veterans Michael Barrett & Raul Chavez to minor league deals to compete for the backup position.

Barrett came out on top in spring training with Chavez reporting to Triple A Las Vegas.

However, very early in the season Barrett had a freak accident occur while tracking a ball in foul ground, stepping on a batting weight in the on deck circle collapsing his feet underneath him causing a serious shoulder injury that would put him out for most of the 2009 season.

This gave an opportunity to the defensive minded Chavez who used it wisely, putting together a fine season backing up Barajas.

In 2009 Barajas had one of his finest seasons in baseball for the Jays boasting a .226AVG with 19HR & 71RBI in 125 games. The 71 runs batted in for Barajas were a career high. Barajas also threw out 34 percent of the base runners who attempted to steal, while making eight errors in 974.1 innings behind the plate.

Will the Jays re-sign the power bat of veteran catcher Rod Barajas?

The soft hitting Chavez hit .258 with 2HR and 15RBI in 51 games for the Jays. The defensive specialist did what he did best behind the plate allowing only two errors while throwing out 62 percent of runners who attempted to steal in 399 innings behind the plate.

Both catchers were also praised by the Toronto pitching staff for their game calling ability, as well as praised by the Toronto coaching staff for helping aid a very young, unseasoned rotation.

Barajas was signed to a one year contract with an option year for the 2009 season which was put into affect last year. Barajas made $2.5 million last season, a very low number for a catcher who hit 19HR & drove in 71.

Chavez was paid $500,000 on a minor league deal as the backup.

Barajas has been questioned by the media after the season was completed and he has stated that he would like to return to Toronto if they would have him. His price tag will definitely be higher than his 2009 salary.

The Jays currently have two very highly touted catchers in the farm system in the form of J.P Arencibia & Brian Jeroloman.

The 23 year old Arencibia had his first taste of full time starting duty at the Triple A level last season with the Las Vegas 51’s hitting .236AVG with 21HR and 75RBI in 116 games played, while the 24 year old Jeroloman did the majority of the catching for the Double A New Hampshire Fisher Cats hitting .217AVG with 6HR and 32RBI.

Will big time prospect J.P Arencibia get a shot with the Jays next season?

The Jays also auditioned Kyle Phillips last September during call ups. Phillips hit .300AVG with 8HR and 29RBI in 76 games for the 51’s in Triple A, while hitting .278AVG with 0HR and 2RBI over 18AB for the Jays. If the Jays want to keep Phillips they will need to re-sign him as he was working on a one year contract last season.

The Jays stockpile of young catchers may make the Barajas/Chavez decision tougher than it actually is, especially if Alex Anthopoulos decides to tear down the club this season and focus on rebuilding. However, if the Jays are to contend this season they will need to re-sign Barajas for sure, possible keeping Chavez as a backup since he did an admirable job last year in the role.

The 2010 free agent class of catchers available to sign is pretty thin, minus Victor Martinez (who will most definitely be re-signed by the Boston Red Sox) so the Barajas move may be a solid one.

Again, the matter will be resolved once the baseball transactions go into effect after the World Series.

Anthopoulos will show his hand early on whether or not he re-signs Barajas and Chavez as he has clearly stated that his first string of roster moves will create a “domino effect” showcasing what the 2010 Jays will look like.

Just like the Jays shortstop situation all Toronto fans can do now is wait.