BILLY BALL
Outfielder got hurt in second MLB game while facing Jays
TORONTO — Billy McKinney has only been a part of the Toronto Blue Jays organization for a week but his whole big-league career has played out at Rogers Centre.
The 23-year-old outfielder, who was part of the return in the J.A. Happ trade, was called up by the New York Yankees after centrefielder Aaron Hicks was hurt in the season opener at Rogers Centre. McKinney got a hit in his first major-league at-bat the following day with a second-inning single to right field off Aaron Sanchez. A day later, however, he sprained his acromioclavicular joint at the top of his shoulder and bruised his ribs by crashing into the outfield scoreboard as he chased down a first-inning fly ball by Josh Donaldson.
McKinney left the game frustrated and feeling like he let his teammates down. He spent nearly six weeks rehabbing the injury and has yet to find a way back to the big leagues.
But, still, the memories of his “whirlwind” time in Toronto remain sweet.
“I’d say I was just having a good time regardless,” McKinney said this week. “Obviously you don’t want to get hurt but it’s all part of the game. It was an unfortunate event but you’ve got to get through it.”
McKinley, an Oakland Athletics first-round choice in the 2013 draft, is about two hours from the majors now, hitting .259 in eight games since joining the triple-A Buffalo Bisons.
“Swings hard, has got a lot of power, has got a lot of ability, athletic ability,” Bisons manager Bobby Meacham said earlier this week. “Runs well, throws well. He’s one of those guys that has a lot of tools.”
McKinney is a career .271 hitter in the minor leagues, though he averaged .226 in 56 games with the Yankees’ triple-A affiliate this season before he and infielder Brandon Drury were traded to Toronto for Happ, a former 20game winner. His new manager believes his stats don’t yet match his abilities.
“I’m excited to get him in the lineup as much as I can so we can just pull out as much ability as he’s got,” Meacham said.
The fact that the Jays did not trade veteran outfielder Curtis Granderson before Tuesday’s non-waiver trade deadline could delay a call-up for McKinney, though Jays general manager Ross Atkins said this week he expects the player to get his chance.
“There are a lot of players that we are looking forward to getting opportunities for,” Atkins said.
For now, McKinney is settling in with the Bisons. He has been traded at the deadline three times in his young career — including from the A’s to the Chicago Cubs in 2014 and from the Cubs to the Yankees in 2016 — so he knows the drill. And he kind of felt like he already knew his Bisons teammates, having played against the likes of Danny Jansen, Anthony Alford, Rowdy Tellez, Jonathan Davis and Tim Lopes for years.
“I know a bunch of the guys, thankfully,” McKinney said. “That helped a lot. They’ve been real easy and it’s been a good transition.”
He gave the ball from his first big-league hit to his parents, who weren’t there for his debut back on March 30. McKinney didn’t know he’d be joining the Yankees when he woke up that day. His parents, who were visiting his sister, weren’t able to get home to get their passports and cross the border in time.
McKinney hopes they will soon have a shot at a do-over.
“That was a special day, so Toronto already holds a special place in my heart.”