Air Maile catches Jays, Mariners by surprise
Backstop flashes strong arm with ailing Martin on shelf, masking sluggish offence
If the rocket that catcher Luke Maile threw to Ryan Goins early in the Blue Jays’ 3-2 walk-off win over the Mariners on Sunday looked familiar — a strike that sent Seattle’s speedy Jean Segura back to the dugout after a failed attempt to steal second base — that’s because he’s been making a habit of it.
Maile, starting for the 10th time as a Jay with Russell Martin on the disabled list, made a similar play one day earlier, nailing the Mariners’ Guillermo Heredia.
Those are the plays Maile was brought in to deliver. When the Jays parted ways with catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia earlier this year, manager John Gibbons said the club was looking for someone to help more defensively — and hopefully hit better than .040.
Cue Maile, who has made plays look effortless on a regular basis. The 26-year-old said he’s been working on his throwing accuracy in particular.
“The throws I’ve been making are definitely some of my better bolts, but the accuracy, I came into spring training really trying to work on that and had a pretty successful spring training when it came to at least hitting my target,” said Maile, who was in the mix for a starting job with the Tampa Bay Rays before the club made moves that led to his release.
The key is simply in the exchange, he said — getting his right foot down quickly and the ball out of his glove to throw as fast as possible.
“I don’t want to say I rely on my arm, but I have a good arm, and if I can get those two things in place I know the rest will take care of itself,” Maile said.
Manager John Gibbons — a catcher in his playing days — called Maile “money” on Sunday, adding he was particularly impressed by his ability to catch notoriously fast runners who get good jumps.
“If it’s a little high or a little wide, even with a good throw those guys are probably safe, but he’s putting it in that area. Gets some pretty good, quick tags down, too,” Gibbons said.
Solid defence has masked the fact that Maile has produced even less at the plate than Saltalamacchia did — hitting .032 after Sunday’s 0-for-4.
“The nice thing I’m really encouraged about — and it’s something I haven’t always done as a young player — is my defence has not only maintained itself, but I feel like it’s stepped up a notch, even throughout this tough time at the plate,” he said.
Martin is a big fan of Maile’s game, especially those highlight-reel throws. “Sniper. I like that. I like seeing it. It fires me up, man,” he said.
Martin — out with nerve inflamma- tion in his left, non-throwing shoulder — resumed baseball activities on Friday, including throwing in the outfield and swings off a tee.
The main issue now, he said, isn’t pain but fatigue. Martin took several days off to rest the shoulder after he was placed on the DL on May 8. Then the Jays’ medical staff started putting him through strengthening tests, all of which he said he has passed so far.
“When it was tired, I couldn’t pass any of those tests. There was no strengthening because it was just not functional.”
The hard-working catcher remains hopeful he will be back in the lineup after the minimum 10 days.
“To not do anything is probably the toughest thing for me,” he said. “Energy’s never been an issue.”