Blue Jays focused on improving wonky ’pen
RICHARD GRIFFIN His holes are still holes. Blue Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos, since his spending/ trading spree in November acquiring third baseman Josh Donaldson and catcher Russell Martin, has done very little in shaping his roster, anxiously clutching the relatively small amount of budgeted money remaining — believed to be about $9 million (U.S.) he has left to spend this off-season.
As such, even with useful players at key positions still available via free agency, Jays fans should anticipate the GM staying frustratingly patient, waiting for the right deal to come along. With just about enough cash for one more addi- tion of significance forget second base, another hitter or an upgrade on Justin Smoak and Daric Barton. Right now, it’s all about upgrading the bullpen.
Anthopoulos has been adding pitchers, but nothing that has made headlines. Very quietly, via his favourite but muchmaligned building method, the risk-free waiver wire, he has added arms, albeit tier-two talent. He has shored up both the Triple-A Buffalo rotation and the raw number of roster and invited players for the MLB ’pen that manager John Gibbons and pitching coach Pete Walker will be evaluating at spring training, beginning Feb. 23.
That’s right, folks, camp is just 55 days away.
Jays fans should anticipate the GM staying frustratingly patient, waiting for the right deal to come along
Hey, don’t plan any parades, but since Nov. 1, the list of freshly added Blue Jays throwers — minor-leaguers and invited free-agents for the bullpen — has swelled to 10. That newcomer list (asterisk denotes lefty): Marco Estrada, *Scott Barnes, Cory Burns, Preston Guilmet, *Colt Hynes, Ryan Tepera, *Andrew Albers, Wilton Lopez, Michael Lee and Gregory Infante.
Those candidates, in Dunedin, will join incumbents *Brett Cecil, *Aaron Loup and Todd Redmond, plus five others with at least some time in the 2014 ’pen: Steve Delabar, Kyle Drabek, Chad Jenkins and *Rob Rasmussen.
Pitchers who seem destined for the Bisons rotation, if they make it through spring training, are: *Jeff Francis, Liam Hendriks, *Juan Pablo Oramas, Bo Schultz and Scott Copeland.
Don’t worry, that mixed bag of pitching at this point does not inspire Anthopoulos either. It’s why he’s saving any remaining money for the right reliever, someone who could perhaps be his 2015 closer. If it’s someone obtained via trade, someone controllable for at least this season, that may leave him some leftover cash to go out and find a mid-range free-agent to further shore up the relief corps.
Frustrated fans may ask, why not someone at the back end of the ’pen with a proven track record of closing out games like Francisco (K-Rod) Rodriguez, Rafael Soriano, Jesse Crain, Kyle Farnsworth or even Casey Janssen? Upon further review, there seems a pattern in the GM’s off-season pitching additions, maybe even a new guideline that precludes any of those bigger names being signed.
Consider that of the 18 potential Jays’ relievers listed, all are between 26 and 31 years old. So, if you are scouring the leftover free-agent market or trade possibilities, consider just pitchers in that age group. Anthopoulos has always insisted that being a major-league GM is an ongoing learning process. He was burned in building his bullpen last year, hanging onto basically all of the pieces that had overachieved in ’13, expecting them to do it again.
After the 2014 mess, his new belief is that the bullpen is the most unpredictable, fluid part of any roster and that’s why he is basically rebuilding.
That newfound age discrimination for relievers may explain the lack of interest Anthopoulos has had in established names currently available — the likes of K-Rod, Soriano, Janssen and even what seems natural, like bringing back Dustin McGowan. The issue? They are all 32 years of age or older.
Falling into the desirable 26-31 age group and reportedly available in trade: Tyler Clippard (Nats), Tommy Hunter (O’s), Tanner Scheppers (Rangers), all A’s relievers including lefty Sean Doolittle and Ryan Cook, plus other familiar names who have pitched mostly in a setup role.
Interesting pitchers, in that same 26-31 bracket preferred by Anthopoulos, arms still out there as free agents, with contract demands likely to be dropping as spring training approaches, include Joba Chamberlain, lefty David Huff and Alexi Ogando. But none of them are closers.
The fact is, if Anthopoulos has not been bowled over by anything that has been offered, it’s better that he is hanging onto the money, waiting for a knock-me-off-my-horse type deal — especially if, as it seems, he is back on a short leash. But if he still has that money in hand when the season opens, with this same motley bullpen group to lean on, then his strategy will have been an abject failure.
Late January may then become a time for the Jays to look at repatriating old friends Janssen and McGowan. In any case, Anthopoulos must make more moves.
This winter of fans’ discontent is not over. By the way, Happy New Year to all and hey, can we just skip the month of January?