Great Expectations
Five things to watch as the Blue Jays head into spring training
Toronto Blue Jays pitchers and catchers have reported to spring training in Dunedin, Fla. Here are five storylines to watch as the season approaches:
1. GREAT EXPECTATIONS
The Blue Jays snapped a 22-year-long playoff drought last year by winning the AL East title for the first time since 1993. And while few expected that kind of performance out of spring training — especially after Marcus Stroman tore his ACL — expectations mounted once then-GM Alex Anthopoulos bolstered his offence and defence with Troy Tulowitzki and his rotation with David Price at the trade deadline. Price is gone now, having signed a whopping free-agent deal with rival Boston, but the expectations remain high for Toronto to at least repeat last year’s success. Manager John Gibbons knows that. “We still want to take one more step, that’s for sure,” Gibbons said. “We want to be able to come out and say, ‘Hey, we won this thing.’” Along with Price, backup catcher Dioner Navarro, outfielder Ben Revere, starter Mark Buehrle and bullpen arms Mark Lowe, LaTroy Hawkins and Liam Hendriks have left either via trades, retirement or free agency but the bulk of last year’s monstrous offence remains. And now they have post-season experience. “We had a number of players on the team who hadn’t been through it and they stepped up,” Gibbons said. “( Jose) Bautista and Eddie (Edwin Encarnacion), some of the best players in baseball, finally got their true recognition in the spotlight. A lot of good things happened.”
2. THE FIFTH STARTER
Right-hander Aaron Sanchez has made it clear where he wants to be when the season starts this April: the starting rotation. Sanchez, who opened last year as a starter but moved to the bullpen after an injury, gained 25 pounds of muscle working out with teammate Marcus Stroman this off-season. Toronto made moves to bolster the rotation — signing right-hander Marco Estrada, lefty J.A. Happ and trading for righty Jesse Chavez — but they also added veteran reliever Drew Storen, which offers flexibility in dealing with Sanchez. “I think everybody would love to see (Sanchez start),” Gibbons said. “We’ll take him down to spring training, stretch him out and as spring goes on we’ll decide what’s best or the team. That’s what it’s going to come down to.” New GM Ross Atkins says Sanchez’s chances in a rotation fronted by Stroman and including Estrada, Happ, and R.A. Dickey (with Chavez and Drew Hutchison also in the mix), will depend on a number of factors.
3. THE FREE AGENTS
Jose Bautista and Edwin Encarnacion are set to become free agents at the end of the 2016 season. A decision to sign one, or both, to long-term deals will determine how the team is set up for years to come. Both sluggers were instrumental in the Jays’ post-season push last year — Bautista’s infamous bat flip in Game 5 of the ALDS instantly became an iconic image for the franchise — and neither show signs of slowing down despite their ages (Bautista is 35 and Encarnacion is 33). “It’s a no-brainer we want to keep them,” new team president Mark Shapiro said. “The sentiment is there. We’ve expressed that to both guys.” Bautista told The Canadian Press he’d like to be a Jay for life. At the Winter Meetings, Encarnacion’s agent set an Opening Day expiration date on contract talks.
4. THE CLOSER
Young Roberto Osuna emerged as Toronto’s closer halfway through the 2015 season, saving 20 of 23 chances with a 2.58 ERA. But the back end of the bullpen got crowded when the Jays got Storen in January. Storen had 43 saves for Washington in 2011, started 2012 on the disabled list and shared the closer’s role for the last three seasons. Gibbons says they’ll have to battle for the high-leverage job over training camp. “Storen’s done that and has been very good at it, but Osuna did a great job for us. So we’ll see,” Gibbons said. “We’ll let that one play out in spring training.”
5. THE LEADOFF MAN
Toronto lost speedy outfielder Revere in the trade for Storen, but centrefielder Kevin Pillar is confident he could fill that void. Pillar, who was successful on 25 of his 29 stolen-base attempts last year, batted .278 with a .314 on-base percentage through 159 games in his first full major-league season. While his on-base numbers aren’t striking, Pillar isn’t too concerned, especially if reigning American League MVP Josh Donaldson is batting second. “I promise you with Josh hitting behind me I’ll get some better pitches to hit,” Pillar said.