Jays are brimming with raw talent
Team offers an enticing mix of youngsters to go with veteran players such as Dickey and Reyes
John Gibbons was asked to assess his team at the end of spring training and on the eve of games that count. He mentioned the imported reinforcements: Russ Martin, Josh Donaldson and Michael Saunders. Lots to like there, he said. But the manager quickly came around, as he had to, to the rookies.
The Toronto Blue Jays are bursting with them. And not just rookies, but some that are remarkably raw. Miguel Castro and Roberto Osuna, young fireballers both, played in Class-A ball last season. Devon Travis, the starting second baseman, played for the double-A Erie Sea-Wolves in 2014. Dalton Pompey, the starting centre-fielder, began last season in A-ball and finished with the Jays as a September call-up.
There are six rookies on Toronto’s 25-man roster as the team breaks camp. It would be a lot for any team. It is an extraordinary number for an organization trying to win now.
“It’s unusual, there’s no doubt about that,” Gibbons said. “But we decided we were going to go with our best. They all proved it, at least to this point.”
Gibbons allowed that the team had to be sure the young players were ready, especially in the mental part of the game.
“We feel good about them,” he said. “They’re our best guys.”
That is probably the case. But what does that say about this team?
After two straight years in which optimism about the Blue Jays collapsed into another season of disappointment, first early, then late, this past off-season was one that could have gone in a number of different directions. Retool or rebuild? The speculation didn’t last long. General manager Alex Anthopoulos signed free-agent catcher Russell Martin in November and traded for Oakland A’s third baseman Josh Donaldson and Seattle outfielder Michael Saunders in early December. Almost immediately, Toronto was back among the favourites in a competitive, albeit soft, American League East.
Spring had its own difficulties. Saunders hurt his knee when he stepped on a sprinkler head while shagging balls in the outfield, though the injury was not as bad as initially feared. More ominously, Marcus Stroman, the 23-year-old ace-in-the-making, blew out his knee March 11 during a fielding drill, instantly setting back the team’s prospects for contention. The Blue Jays hadn’t even made it to the meaningful games before disappointment had set in this year.
Then the young guys took over. Daniel Norris, the 21-year-old starter, pitched his way into the Jays rotation. Aaron Sanchez, the 22-year-old who was a lights-out closer for Toronto at the end of last season, was moved into a starting role when Stroman was hurt. Pompey was given the everyday role in centre field and didn’t lose it. Travis won the job at second base, against an admittedly weak field of candidates. And, most surprisingly, Castro and Osuna overpowered enough hitters — and radar guns — that management felt they couldn’t leave them in the minors. Or, as Gibbonsputit: “We’re gambling on them, that they’re going to be ready, but we feel good about them.”
The decision to go with all the kids is a good bookend to the process that began months ago with the acquisitions of Donaldson, Saunders and Martin. It might seem counterintuitive, but packing the pitching staff with high-upside youngsters is a win-now move, too. The cautious play would be to leave guys like Norris, Castro and Osuna in the minors, where they would get more seasoning against tougher competition — and would not use up a year of the Jays’ control over their contracts. But Toronto has decided it cannot afford to be cautious. These guys might be young and green, but they are also, to use Gibbons’ term, their best guys. The alternative would be to plug roster holes with middling prospects or veteran retreads. (Or to spend more money, but that would run up against Rogers’ payroll parameters.)
It should be enough to give fans hope. This Blue Jays team does offer a tantalizing mix of veterans like R.A. Dickey and Jose Reyes and pups like Castro and Pompey. Donaldson is a star in his prime.
And Martin, who has all of the intangibles, will make winners out of a clubhouse with precious few of them, or at least it is hoped.
But hope is also where a lot of Blue Jays prospects have gone to die. Dustin McGowan, J.P. Arencibia, Kyle Drabek, Ricky Romero, Brandon Morrow: at various points, all flashed the same type of skill and moxie that had Toronto fans dreaming of a long and fruitful relationship with them. None found lasting success.
Maybe this group will be different. You wouldn’t expect them to be here, Gibbons says, “But they are here. We need to take the best team.”
But, best because they are good? Or best by default?
The answer to that question will determine this team’s season.