Upton has 20-20 vision
Jays outfielder entered Wednesday one home run shy of 20 homers, 20 steals
The Blue Jays are expected to welcome back Jose Bautista on Thursday, after the right fielder spent the last two weeks on the disabled list with a sprained knee. But manager John Gibbons suggested that he will use Bautista as a designated hitter “quite a bit” upon his return as he eases into regular outfield duty.
That was likely music to Melvin Upton Jr.’s ears, as the 32-year-old outfielder — acquired by the Jays just a few days before the trade deadline — was just starting to look comfortable in his new threads thanks in part to the regular playing time afforded by Bautista’s absence.
Of course the Jays’ lineup is better with Bautista in it, but Upton, who collected just three hits in his first 28 at-bats as a Blue Jay, certainly seemed to benefit from his increased playing time.
He’s hitting .255 in the last two weeks with three homers and nine RBIs. Not all-star stuff, by any means, but a good deal better than his brutal start with his new club.
Gibbons said it often takes time for players to acclimatize themselves to a new team.
“I don’t care how long you’ve been playing, you go to a new environment you naturally want to get off to a great start and your tendency is you press to try to make things happen,” Gibbons said.
“In baseball that works against you, it always does. But I think the fact now he’s getting at-bats, he’s more comfortable out there.”
Despite how Michael Saunders has struggled badly since the all-star break, he still figures to be part of the Jays’ trio of starting outfielders, so at some point in the near future Upton will likely return to the Jays’ bench, where he will be used as an occasional pinch-hitter, pinch-runner and defensive replacement.
But Upton should still get enough at bats to hit at least one more homer, which would be something of a special milestone for the 12-year veteran.
Right now Upton is one homer shy of joining the 20-20 club — in terms of home runs and stolen bases — for the fourth time in his career and the first time since 2012.
He would be just the 32nd player in baseball history with at least four 20-20 seasons, joining the likes of Reggie Jackson, Rickey Henderson and former Blue Jay Shawn Green. The father-son duo of Bobby and Barry Bonds lead the way in the 2020 club with 10 seasons apiece, while eight Blue Jays have accomplished the feat, including Green and Jose Cruz Jr., the only players in franchise history in the 30-30 club.
“You know what, stealing bases has always been a part of my game,” Upton said earlier this week. “Home runs are hit or miss, man — it just all depends — but to have the opportunity to do it again, man, it’s pretty cool. Not many guys are able to do that nowadays.”
The rare combination of speed and power has always made 20-20 something of an elite accomplishment. But a post-Moneyball adjustment in the risk-reward analysis of stealing bases — essentially that the cost of making an out on the bases and losing a runner usually far outweighs the benefit of moving him up 90 feet — has made it even rarer. Last season only Manny Machado and Paul Goldschmidt joined the club, while in the previous three seasons combined only six players have done it. That used to be an annual total as recently as five years ago.
“The game has kind of gone a different way,” Upton said. “But honestly it’s something that I’ve kept a part of my game.”