by Sports Xchange

Even though they have holes to fill at shortstop and catcher (Marco Scutaro and Rod Barajas have filed for free agency) and need help in both the rotation and the outfield, the Jays will try to fill the gaps in their roster for the 2010 season either by filling from within or making trades, according to new general manager Alex Anthopoulos.

"I would say that I would probably be more active in trades than free agency," Anthopoulos said recently. "I think trades is definitely something that I'm going to be more aggressive with overall."

Whether he can find the right fit or not, time will tell.

With the Jays expected to operate in 2010 with around the same payroll they had in 2009 -- roughly $80 million -- they don't really have the financial wiggle room to land even middle-grade free agents.

And being a team in transition, they definitely don't want to lose any draft picks by signing a Type A free agent -- at least not this offseason.

"If you feel like you are one or two pieces away and you're going to supplement a strong core to put you over the top, that makes sense," Anthopoulos said of adding top quality free agents.

The Jays, though, are not close to being at that point.

This winter, there will be no big splash from the Jays in the free agent pool. In fact, there will be barely a ripple.