WHAT’S THE CATCH?
Navarro excited about season
Dioner Navarro came to spring training in a grim mood.
For months, since the Toronto Blue Jays acquired Russell Martin to take his job, Navarro had asked to be traded to a team that would make him its regular catcher.
“I signed a two- year deal here to catch every day and unfortunately they felt they needed to make a move,” he said on Feb. 23. “I just would like to play every day somewhere.”
But those were Navarro’s last discouraging words, at least for public consumption. And as the Jays prepared to fly to Montreal for their final two exhibition games, he sounded like he was all in for the coming season.
He seemed genuinely excited about the surprisingly early arrival of relievers Miguel Castro and Roberto Osuna, two 20- year- olds whose spring performances earned them spots on the opening- day roster.
And he’s ready, along with other Jays veterans, to help the kids adjust to the big leagues, he said.
“It’s exciting to have these kids come up north with us, just trying to teach them the way and keep them focused on what they’ve got to do,” Navarro told reporters in Fort Myers, Fla., after the Jays finished their Florida swing with a win over the Boston Red Sox.
“We’ve got a great group of guys like ( Mark) Buehrle, ( R. A.) Dickey and then we got ( Jose) Bautista, ( Edwin) Encarnacion. They’re going to have an opportunity to work with a great catcher behind the plate. Russell does a great job, even myself.”
Like management and his teammates, Navarro has been impressed with the talent and poise shown by Castro and Osuna in spring training. He also knows their biggest challenge is yet to come.
“Even though they’re really young and you can call them naive, they do have an idea of what they’re doing on the mound. These are two outstanding kids that throw hard and they throw strikes, which is the No. 1 thing. It’s a long work in progress for them, but that’s what we’re here for and we’ve got to do our job to help them out and guide them through,” he said.
Navarro is the backup catcher and occasional designated hitter, although it is unclear whether he will have a clear- cut DH role, given both he and first baseman/ DH Justin Smoak are switchhitters.
Manager John Gibbons has said simply there will be enough at- bats to go around.
Meanwhile, Navarro is bullish on the 2015 Blue Jays.
“We’re really excited to have the group we have,” he said.