Hit, if not his heart, is in Toronto
Outfield prospect made his debut at Rogers Centre with Yankees
Billy McKinney has only been a part of the Blue Jays organization for a week but his whole big-league career has played out at Rogers Centre.
The 23-year-old outfielder was called up by his former team, the New York Yankees, on the second day of the season to take Aaron Hicks’ roster spot, after the centre fielder was hurt on opening day. McKinney made his major-league debut at Rogers Centre on March 30. It’s where he got his first majorleague hit, a second-inning single to right field off Aaron Sanchez. And it’s where, a day later, 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 firstinning 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.”
McKinney, an Oakland firstrounder in the 2013 draft, is about two hours from the majors now, hitting .259 in eight games since joining the Tri- ple-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 J.A. Happ. 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.
While the road back to the big leagues might be clearer in Toronto than with the Yankees, the fact the Jays did not trade veteran outfielder Curtis Granderson before Tuesday’s trade deadline could delay a call-up for McKinney, though Jays GM Ross Atkins said 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 — from the A’s to the Cubs in 2014, from the Cubs to the Yankees in 2016, and from New York to Toronto this year — so he knows the drill. And he felt like he already knew his Bisons teammates, having played against the likes of Danny Jansen, Anthony Alford, Rowdy Tellez and more for years.
“That helped a lot,” McKinney said. “They’ve been real easy and it’s been a good transition.”
He gave the ball from his first big-league hit in March to his parents, who weren’t there for his debut. 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 have a do-over sometime soon.
“That was a special day, so Toronto already holds a special place in my heart.”