Maicer Izturis - 2nd Base Controversy?

 

So... Maicer Izturis.  I don't know a lot about this guy.  But he'll be with Toronto for a few years now. 3 actually (barring trades.. . or his 4th year option).  My (mis)understanding at the time he was signed (from the Angels) was that he was going to be the guaranteed 2nd baseman for the Blue Jays.  Since The Great Miami Fire Sale of '12, however, I've been hearing Bonifacio's name in the mix for 2nd base. So I'm doing a little research to try and understand a little bit about the former Angels 2nd baseman that's been thrown into some good ol' fashioned Toronto controversy before he's even set foot on the field.

 

Right off the top when I look at Izturis' career stats, I see he debuted as a rookie for the Montreal Expos in 2004 with 32 games played.  That fits with Anthopolous' penchant for acquiring guys with Montreal ties. I can't tell from my searches if Anthopolous had ever scouted Izturis when he was with the Expos.  I do know Anthopolous left scouting in  Montreal to join Toronto's organization in 2003.  I also know Izturis was traded to Montreal from the Cleveland farm system in 2003.  Maybe AA still has some nostalgic insight of this player from that time. Who knows?

 

At 32 years old, I also see that during 9 seasons, Izturis has never played over 122 games in a season, so it's difficult to really say he's ever been an 'everyday' 2nd baseman.  His batting average has never been stellar, but not bad for a guy that wouldn't really be considered an everyday player.  He's touched on .300 once, and a .273 career batting average is respectable.  He's generally had a decent OBP; career .337 OBP. As a point of reference, Kelly Johnson was touted for his OBP when he was first acquired, and his career OBP was .338 by comparison. Big difference between Kelly Johnson and the newly acquired Izturis? Izturis has accumulated 313 SO's over 9 seasons; Johnson has accumulated 829 over 7 seasons (yes Johnson has 200 more AB's career than Izturis... but still).  So Izturis should be an upgrade at 2nd from what we're used to in terms of selective hitting and putting the ball into play. Not a lot of stolen bases, but averages 10.1 per season, so he'll contribute. No power numbers to speak of though.

Fielding - I've noticed that Izturis has never played more than 68 games in a season at 2nd base. In fact, his career split is 390 games at 3rd, 246 games at 2nd, and 194 games at SS. So not only can we not refer to him as an 'everyday' player, we can't really refer to him as a '2nd baseman' either.  He appears to be more of a career super-utility infielder than 2nd baseman per se, so I find it highly unlikely he would be promised an everyday 2nd baseman role in Toronto. If he matches his career high for games played at 2nd base, we actually need 94 games covered by someone else.  I should note, however, that it appears 2nd base is Maicer's position with fewest errors and best fielding percentages.

I've also come across a quote from Alex Anthopolous in the 'Leader-Post' where he said of Izturis: "We signed him to compete for second base," he said. "There were no guarantees beyond that. I'm very big on being clear, never overpromising anything." I take this as reinforcement that Izturis is not the bone-fide 2nd baseman.

Izturis did play for an Angels team that won the WorldSeries in 2002.  He's been part of an Angels team that's won their respective West Division title 5 times after that. He's been part of a winning tradition, and that kind of experience is a welcome addition to a Toronto team that's attempting to establish the same kind of tradition. I'd also like to point out that his 3 year, 9 million dollar, contract with Toronto is decent value for someone of Maicer's pedigree. An All-star 2nd baseman he's probably not.  A dependable and experienced super-utility infielder; that's what we have in him. No 2nd base controversy.