Pirates utility guy Harrison could be on Jays’ radar
The first Toronto Blue Jays- related rumour at the first day of the MLB winter meetings surfaced courtesy of Bill Brink of the Pittsburgh Post- Gazette.
Brink suggests the Jays are interested in Pittsburgh Pirates utility guy Josh Harrison, a very good player who would add to Toronto’s infield depth.
The Jays have already acquired two infield depthtype players this off- season, Gift Ngoepe from the Pirates and Aledmys Diaz from the St. Louis Cardinals.
The Los Angeles Angels got Shohei Ohtani and the New York Yankees traded for slugger Giancarlo Stanton, but the Jays will have an amazing amount of infield depth in 2018 and should be in good shape when Troy Tulowitzki and Devon Travis inevitably go down with injuries.
❚ In other first- day winter meeting news, new Yankees manager Aaron Boone arrived at the Walt Disney Swan and Dolphin Resort, host of this year’s meetings, only to be swarmed by members of the Japanese press. Boone made a beeline to the registration desk.
An hour l ater, Atlanta Braves GM Alex Anthopoulos, formerly of the Blue Jays, arrived to less fanfare, with a phone firmly attached to his ear, as is his regular look. Jays GM Ross Atkins arrived later in the evening to even less fanfare, though there’s no truth to the rumour that a hotel guest approached him to ask if he was the Uber driver.
❚ Meanwhile, 3,109 kilometres away from this central Florida city, in Zapopan, Mexico, Jays prospect Anthony Alford is showing Atkins and the rest of the Toronto front office that perhaps they don’t need to spend a lot of money or give up prospects to replace Jose Bautista in the outfield.
Alford is tearing up the Mexican Pacific winter league with Charros de Jalisco, hitting .457 in 16 games with an 1.073 OPS and .444 OBP with two home runs and six stolen bases in 70 atbats.
Dominating the winter leagues doesn’t guarantee success in the majors, but Alford is again showing that if he can stay healthy, he has all the tools to be an exceptional major leaguer. There’s a YouTube video of him making a highlight reel catch in centre field for Charros de Jalisco. On top of his bat and defence, Alford’s speed is said to be plus-plus.
“Anthony can make your day on and off the field on a regular basis,” Atkins said when asked about the outfielder’s winter play.
The way the Jays’ outfield is set right now for 2018, Atkins will likely try to get another everyday outfielder either via free agency ( i. e. Lorenzo Cain) or trade ( i. e. Christian Yelich). They have defensive whiz Kevin Pillar in centre and either Steve Pearce or Ezequiel Carrera in left, with Alford, Teoscar Hernandez, Dwight Smith Jr. and Dalton Pompey waiting in the wings. Barring a breakout season by any of those, if no deals are made, the Jays could start the 2018 season with the weakest outfield in the American League East.
But Alford’s performance in Mexico is very promising. The great thing about his being there is that, according to an interview he did with mlb. com, it was Alford who asked the Jays ( through Gil Kim, the director of player development) if he could play winter ball, not the other way around.
A f ormer U. S. college football standout, Alford is ranked No. 38 on the Baseball American top 100 prospects list. He’s only 23 and because of his football back- ground is a late bloomer.
❚ Back at the Swan and Dolphin, former Blue Jays pitcher and broadcaster and future Cooperstown inductee Jack Morris walked through the lobby lounge shaking hands. Morris was named to the Baseball Hall of Fame on Sunday, voted in by the new modern era committee alongside his one-time teammate Alan Trammell.
At a nearby restaurant, Jays manager John Gibbons sat down to dinner with Tony LaCava, the Jays’ senior VP of baseball operations, and Mike Shaw, the club’s director of team travel and clubhouse operations.
❚ When asked if Stanton and Ohtani going to the American League makes it that much tougher for the Jays to contend for a playoff spot in 2018, Atkins replied: “We start and end every day trying to make our team and organization the best it can be regardless of what happens to other rosters.”
Fair enough. There was nobody in the big pool outside the Swan and Dolphin lobby because the weather in Florida is quite cool, but Atkins is still hoping to make a splash this week — not an Ohtani or Stanton- size splash, but something to give Jays fans some hope.
ANTHONY (ALFORD) CAN MAKE YOUR DAY ON AND OFF THE FIELD ON A REGULAR BASIS.