Blue Jays built for 60-game sprint

TORONTO Don’t expect much talk of the long, measured grind of a major league baseball season in the Blue Jays clubhouse.

From the time the team hits the ground running today at the Rogers Centre in Toronto, through the 21/2 weeks allotted to prepare for opening day on July 24 and the 60-game season itself, the young Jays believe they’re ready for a sprint.

Not only that, Jays management believes that the team’s opportunity to be a contender has taken a leap forward because of the unique circumstances of the 2020 campaign.

“Our objective chances have improved,” Jays general manager Ross Atkins said during a conference call. “The fact that it’s a shorter season, we’re talking about how to maximize that. And with a younger team, there will be different opportunities.”

Whether that means the aggressive mindset of players such as Bo Bichette, Vlad Guerrero Jr., Cavan Biggio and others being a factor or the opportunity for manager Charlie Montoyo to employ innovative strategies, the Blue Jays see opportunity in the pandemic-abbreviated campaign.

After weekend workouts in Dunedin, Fla., the team intends to fly to Toronto some time Sunday night, with the first Rogers Centre workout slated for Monday. It will be a fast-track blitz to prepare for the opener and a season where every game has meaning.

“We’ve thought about the roster construction, the number of games that we’ll be playing, and the creative ways to maximize what we feel is a very versatile group, a dynamic group with a lot of upside,” Atkins said. “The way we’re thinking about it is that we’ll be in a position to potentially not overexpose some guys, while capitalizing upon some of the strengths, the diversity and the extremely athletic skill sets that we feel we have.”

Beginning the season with a 30-man roster will create opportunities for different approaches, something Atkins says “is in Charlie’s wheelhouse.” The emphasis will be aggression and forgoing the “tomorrow’s another day” luxury of a 162game season.

With even a modest-winning streak having the potential to rapidly thrust a team into contention, the mix of a no-fear group of young position players and a veteran starting rotation led by new ace Hyun-Jin Ryu certainly makes the Jays an interesting entry.

“I think teams are going to be thinking of the urgency of each win, the significance of each win in a shortened season,” Atkins said.

“There’s always the pull and tug of guys finding that rhythm and their timing, especially for hitters. Charlie’s always passionate about how to maximize the roster and keeping guys as primed as you possibly can.

“I think that could be a difference maker — how you maximize a 30-man roster.”

That the Jays are operating under different circumstances than their competitors is another area that Atkins thinks could work in his team’s favour.

In order to satisfy Canadian health authorities, the Jays intend to adhere to a health and safety protocol that’s far stricter than the extensive MLB recommendations.

And if the players stick to it, it could produce another edge — a working camp in a safer environment than most teams in the league.

“That has been very comforting to me, how seriously our players are talking about the virus,” Atkins said.

“In some cases, it comes from the sheer competitive desire to win ... in just talking about what it means to them for their potential to impact this team and the competitive advantage and the clear opportunity that we have.

“If we stay healthy, we’re increasing our chances to be more competitive. To hear that (mindset) from very young players to me is really encouraging.”

Though the Toronto portion of camp has been delayed by the wait for clearance from the federal government, the Jays got a jump in Dunedin with close to full-team workouts on the weekend.

Under the training camp plan, the Jays will stay at the Marriott hotel attached to the Rogers Centre and won’t leave the building. The team is still lobbying for clearance to play regular-season games in Toronto, a decision Jays president Mark Shapiro hopes will come in the next week or so.

At the Rogers Centre, Atkins said the roof will be open for workouts.

“We’ll be able to open it up, control a lot of things other teams can’t while we’re still getting sunlight and fresh air and keeping people in a very, very large building,” Atkins said.