Jays counting on Roark’s stability to bolster staff
Newly signed starting pitcher could slot in near front of revamped rotation
Tanner Roark is well aware of the challenges associated with pitching in the slugger-heavy, home-run friendly American League East.
And the newest Toronto Blue Jays starter believes the solution can be as difficult or as simple as you want it to be.
“Make your pitches,” Roark said on a conference call with the Toronto media on Wednesday, the day after he passed a physical with the team and his two-year, US$24 million deal became official. “Don’t hang a pitch or it’s going to go far. It goes with this division.
“I think it’s a great challenge. Keep the ball out of the air is the biggest thing. Pop-ups, they go out for home runs.”
If there’s a warning sign associated with Roark it is that the long ball has a tendency to bite him. In his final 10 starts for the Oakland A’s last season, Roark gave up 14 home runs.
Interesting coincidence, of course, that the Roark deal was announced by the Jays on the same day the Yankees unveiled superstar Gerrit Cole. It only served to highlight the competitive imbalance between the two division residents.
That being the case, the Jays believe there is upside in the 33-year-old veteran, as the righthander in theory brings durability to manager Charlie Montoyo’s pitching staff and immediately becomes among the oldest players on the team.
On a roster that had trouble getting outs all season and went through 21 starters in 2019, a healthy Roark at least offers some potential stability. In a split season between the A’s and Cincinnati Reds, Roark started 31 times and had a 10-10 record with an ERA of 4.35. Better yet, he has maintained that durability throughout his career.
“What keeps me on the field is I work hard,” Roark said. “It can be a long, arduous season, repetitive. The mental part can just crush you. Working hard and doing what you need to do to prepare yourself for every fifth day, that’s the biggest thing.
“The stuff between the starts is the real work. The start is the reward.”
A self-described late bloomer after spending five and a half seasons in the minors, Roark certainly must see opportunity with the Jays, who aggressively pursued him from the start of the free-agent period.
With rookie Trent Thornton, two pitchers who missed almost the entire 2019 season due to injury (Matt Shoemaker and Ryan Borucki) and a couple other off-season adds in Chase Anderson and Shun Yamaguchi, Roark could find himself near the front of the Toronto rotation.
“Spending (all that time in the minors), that was the biggest thing, the mental part,” Roark said.
“Having the underdog mentality I’ve had my whole entire career — being underrated, not getting the most respect — that has made me mentally stronger.”
Roark said there was certainly some appeal in signing with the Jays given the young roster of position players filled with promise. But the veteran said he was also impressed with the young Toronto catching duo of Danny Jansen and Reese Mcgwire.
“Tempo for me is key,” Roark said. “Last year both (Jays) catchers rated great defensively and they’re young guys. That drew a lot of interest (for) me.”