Can’t get enough
Jays’ apparent obesssion with infield depth a tad puzzling
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — A few observations from the first day of the MLB winter meetings:
The first Blue Jays-related rumour surfaced courtesy of Bill Brink of the Pittsburgh
Post-Gazette, suggesting that the Jays are interested in Pirates’ utility guy Josh Harrison — a very good player who would give Toronto more infield depth. The Jays have already acquired two infield depth players this off-season in Gift Ngoepe from the Pirates and Aledmys Diaz from the St. Louis Cardinals. The Angels got Shohei Ohtani and the 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. Infield depth can put a team right over the top. Apparently. According to the Jays.
In other first-day winter meetings news, new Yankees general 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 media. Boone made a beeline to the registration desk.
An hour later, 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, 1,932 miles 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 absolutely tearing up the Mexican Pacific Winter League with Charros de Jalisco, hitting .457 in 16 games with a 1.073 OPS and .444 OBP, two home runs and six stolen bases in 70 at-bats.
Tearing up the Winter League obviously 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 a solid — perhaps even exceptional — major-league outfielder.
There’s also a YouTube video of him making a highlight reel catch in centre field for Charros. 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,” said Atkins, when asked about the outfielder’s play in Mexico.
The way the Jays outfield is set right now for 2018, Atkins will probably try to get another everyday player either via free agency (Lorenzo Cain?) or trade (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. Bar- ring 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 AL East.
But Alford’s performance in Mexico is promising, and the great thing about his being there is that it was he (according to an interview he did with MLB.com) who asked the Jays (through Gil Kim, the team’s director of player development) if he could play winter ball, not the other way around. A former U.S. college football standout, Alford is ranked No.38 on the Baseball America top 100 prospects list. He’s only 23 and because of his football background — is a late-bloomer.
Back at the Swan and Dolphin, more baseball managers, front office executives and reporters arrived at the Swan and Dolphin Resort arrived. Former Blue Jays pitcher and broadcaster Jack Morris walked through the lobby lounge shaking hands. At 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. Atkins was not expected to arrive until later Sunday night, though he did respond to a text question. When asked if Stanton and Ohtani going to 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 down here this week. Not an Ohtani or Stantonsize splash, but something to give Jays’ fans some hope.