Is shoemaker the right fit?
With injuries behind him, righty aims to be key cog in Jays’ rotation, says Rob Longley.
It was merely a session of long toss and as such, one of his first meaningful throwing sessions of the spring, but Aaron Sanchez was humming the ball with effortless zip.
“You watch me and then you tell me how it looks,” Sanchez said, a playful response when asked if there were any lingering effects from the finger injuries that have caused him to miss massive chunks of the past two seasons.
Shortly before Sanchez did his thing, Marcus Stroman powered his way through a similar drill. If you follow the Stro Show on social media, you know that the declarations of confidence and strength come almost daily now.
For the Jays to have a shred of success in year one of the team’s almost all-in youth movement, it’s widely accepted that these injury-crossed, would-be aces and former best pals will have to return to dominant fashion.
But what about the remainder of the five-man starting rotation first-year manager Charlie Montoyo and pitching coach Pete Walker will begin to assemble when the action dials up here on Thursday?
With that in mind we introduce Matt Shoemaker, a 32-year-old right-hander looking to put the injury bug behind him and re-establish himself as a key majorleague starter.
Coming off a nagging forearm injury and eventual surgery that dogged him for the better part of two seasons, with a solid Grapefruit League season Shoemaker is expected to slot in as the Jays’ third or fourth starter.
And despite making just seven starts in a 2018 campaign interrupted by surgery, Shoemaker is brimming with confidence after a rejuvenating and reassuring September for the Angels, the only team that has employed him in his six-year, big-league career.
“Physically, we knew where we were going and we were physically ready and obviously mentally, that was just a great step forward, knowing it was fixed,” Shoemaker said on Wednesday. “That was the starting process of ‘hey, we’re good moving forward.’
“To be able to come back and pitch six starts (in September) after recovering from this, it affirmed that physically I’m ready and mentally I’m ready,” Shoemaker added, while sneaking a glance at the surgical scar on his right arm. “I’m sick of being off. Nobody wants to be in that situation. It was frustrating beyond belief.”
The Jays are certainly banking on a career resurgence for Shoemaker, albeit at a relatively bargain cost. The US$3.5 million they paid to sign him classifies as the team’s second “biggest” off-season acquisition, behind the $4 million they shelled out to infielder Freddy Galvis.
The one-year tag would appear to mitigate any potential risk for general manager Ross Atkins. The Jays are in need of bodies after a rotation that was in tatters much of 2018 saw veteran Marco Estrada exit in the off-season.
Left-hander Ryan Borucki returns after his breakthrough rookie season and could hold down the third spot ahead of Shoemaker, but starting depth is at a premium.
Shoemaker says there were multiple suitors for his services after the Angels opted not to renew. Toronto the city and Toronto the baseball roster held duelling attractions to the Michigan native.
“Once Toronto came talking to us, there were some factors that went into it. A lot of my friends who played here couldn’t stop talking about how much they loved it,” Shoemaker said.
“The organization. The city. You go where the opportunity is and this is a great opportunity with the young talent they have, but there were a lot of other factors where this was like, man, Toronto is a good spot for me.”
And the Jays are obviously hopeful that Shoemaker will be a good fit for Toronto as well. In his six seasons with the Angels, the veteran compiled a 40-32 win-loss record, the best of those campaigns coming at the front end of his career, notably a 2014 season in which he was 16-4 with a 3.04 ERA.
The Jays were attracted to Shoemaker’s leadership potential, particularly in a young clubhouse with an emerging pitching staff.
“He’s pitched against some pretty good players in this league,” Walker said.
“He has some knowledge. He has a track record. It’s nice to have some veteran presence around here.”
When Shoemaker is on, he employs an effective mix of fastball, slider and split-finger curve.
“He’s not fun to hit against, there’s some funk to him,” Walker said. “He’s a tough at-bat. He’s got a good combination of pitches and he’s a competitor, which is great.
“He seems to be one of those pitchers who continues to come at you. From what I hear, he’s another true professional, so it will be good to have him around here. I’m looking forward to watching him work.”
For a rotation that is one of the big question marks for Montoyo’s team on the eve of spring training, Shoemaker vows he’s ready to take doubt out of his part of the equation.
“You know what you can do as a player when you go out there, you just sometimes have to battle that healthy part which is unfortunate,” the personable hurler said.
“Right now I’m super excited (and) healthy, so let’s go out there and pitch and every time give this team a chance to win.”
He has some knowledge. He has a track record. It’s nice to have some veteran presence around here.