DEAL FOR WHEELS
Next up for team is to swing trade for pitching help
Trade with Padres for speedy veteran Melvin Upton Jr. gives Blue Jays some insurance in the outfield. But the dealing won’t stop there.
It turns out the Blue Jays first asked about Padres outfielder Melvin Upton Jr. back when Jose Bautista kicked the right field wall in Philadelphia and suffered turf toe, forcing him to the disabled list.
So after waiting until Bautista returned, the Upton trade may have seemed dormant and unnecessary.
Bautista returned to the active roster Monday and played a full game against San Diego, racing around right field like a dog chasing a frisbee. Nevertheless, Jays GM Ross Atkins pulled the trigger for Upton, sending 19-year-old right-hander Hansel Rodriguez to San Diego. And the Jays are reportedly on the hook for just $5.6 million of the remaining $22 million Upton is owed through 2017.
Upton is insurance for Atkins. Considering that the Jays will be facing free agency at the end of the season from position players Edwin Encarnacion, Bautista and Michael Saunders, the presence of Upton, controllable as he is for one more year with previous experience as an everyday player, lessens any sense of panic or desperation in negotiations when the off-season begins.
That may also be part of the reason they extended first baseman Justin Smoak through 2018 on the recent West Coast trip.
“We’ve been, since Day 1, since Mark took over, we’ve been consistent in saying we’ll do anything and everything to improve the team every day,” Atkins said. “We felt like (Upton) would have complemented us well back then. It just got to the point that the acquisition cost was right.”
Manager John Gibbons downplayed what the presence of Upton Jr. meant to his other four outfielders. He warned against comparing it to last July’s acquisition of Ben Revere from the Phillies. The two players are similar in many ways, with speed, defence and the ability to hit at the top of the order. While Upton may be the better player, Revere may be the better teammate. Upton reportedly has had issues with managers and teammates in the past, but has never been in a clubhouse with this group — Josh Donaldson, Troy Tulowitzki, Bautista and Russell Martin — that is largely self-governed.
“He’ll get some lefties,” Gibbons began describing his vision of Upton’s role. “We’ll see how he’s playing. He’ll get some righties, too. He’s a great athlete, good defender. He’ll do some things late in the game I would think. He’s having a nice year, so we think he’ll add something.”
The Jays are now blessed with five outfielders, while just four men cover off second base, third and shortstop. Ryan Goins remains in the minors, while Darwin Barney handles backup at all three infield positions and also showed he can play left field. The Jays player most affected by the trade may be fourth outfielder Ezequiel Carrera, who some feel has already reached his “best before” date.
This is what the Jays positionplayer rotation looks like at this point in time. A revolving DH can give Gibbons added flexibility. Specifically, Upton can give any of Bautista, Kevin Pillar or Saunders a night off. If Bautista is the DH, as he is set to be on Wednesday in the Padres series finale, Encarnacion can play first with Smoak on the bench. Given good health for the remainder of the position-player group, there does not seem to be much playing time for Carrera.
The Jays are down to seven relief pitchers in the bullpen. To make room for Upton, right-hander Ryan Tepera was optioned back to Tri- ple-A Buffalo. That leaves the Jays with 12 pitchers and 13 position players. They have mostly gone with eight relievers, back to seven for the foreseeable future. It’s an easy decision as long as the rotation continues to go deep into starts. Plus, among the relievers, there are more definable roles right now. It’s been an evolution, with Roberto Osuna closing, Jason Grilli handling the eighth and the other five sharing middle innings.
“It makes it tougher, but you should be able to survive with seven (relievers),” Gibbons said.
Atkins insists this trade is not a substitute for the failed Jay Bruce deal with the Reds for Michael Saunders that looked all but agreed upon before one of the other players failed a physical. Like Upton, Bruce had a guaranteed year (2017) and would have been insurance against free agency.
“Every player’s different, but (the similarity is) that we’re adding depth and control at a price that we’re comfortable with,” Atkins said. “But those are two different players.
“We’re not done. If there’s a way to make our team better we’re going to do it and it doesn’t mean that it can’t be another position player. There would have to be some subtraction and that would make that very difficult to do. Really our team is too good offensively and defensively to do that.”
But the reality is that in the final six days before the Aug. 1 deadline, it becomes mostly about pitching — a starter, a reliever — anything that makes the Jays better, according to the GM.
“We talked about a lot of potential deals with (the Padres),” Atkins said.
“They have interesting pitching as well. We talked a lot with many organizations. There’s not one team we haven’t contacted. We’ve contacted all 29 on several occasions, in some way and there are five to 10 teams we’re talking to on a regular basis. Now it’s mostly focused on pitching.”