Jays poised for an off-season of infield wheeling and dealing
The Toronto Blue Jays’ infield, with all the intrigue and possible plot lines, is worthy of a Agatha Christie novel.
There are so many different scenarios that could unfold next season or even this off-season and not even general manager Ross Atkins knows how it’s all going to break down.
First off, Brandon Drury, whom the Jays acquired from the Yankees as part of the J.A. Happ deal, has told Atkins he would like to play third base every day.
“He loves third base and he thinks he can be elite there and we agree with him,” said Atkins. “We feel like if he got the chance to do it on a daily basis, he could be a special third baseman.”
There’s one problem with that: a certain 19-year-old waiting in the wings. The Jays will promote mega-prospect Vladimir Guerrero Jr. early in the 2019 season to the big leagues and how do they not play him at third? Drury, 26, was limited to 26 games in the big leagues last season because of migraine problems and a hand injury, though Toronto’s front office remains high on him.
“(You mean the guy) who swings very hard and usually makes contact?” said Atkins, when asked about Guerrero. “He’s been great this off-season. He’s fun to talk about. Every time his name comes up, I have a smile on my face. Performance (in the Arizona Fall League) is obviously a part of it, but the teammate, person, how much he loves baseball is really exciting for the game.”
If the Jays decide to put Drury at second, where does that leave Devon Travis, who seems to be the forgotten man in the Toronto infield? The injury-prone Travis played a career-high 103 games last season and can still be an offensive force.
And there’s the question of first base. The Jays picked up Justin Smoak’s option and the 31-yearold brings solid defence and pop. He had a Gold Glove-calibre season in 2018 and tied for the team lead in home runs (25), while leading the team in RBIs (77) and OBP (.350). But Smoak is not part of the team’s rebuild plan and the Jays would like to see 23-year-old Rowdy Tellez come into camp and pick up from his fine September.
Tellez had a difficult last couple of years with his mom’s illness (she died of brain cancer Aug. 19, just weeks before her son made his major-league debut), but sparkled when he was called up in September, hitting .314 with an OPS of .943, including nine doubles and four homers in 23 games. In his first 40 plate appearances, he had 10 extra-base hits, tying former catcher Taylor Teagarden for the most in that span by any ballplayer since 1913. A likely scenario would see the Jays trade Smoak, who has an expiring contract, to a contender later in the season if Tellez continues to show he can hit at the MLB level.
“This off-season’s huge for (Tellez),” said Atkins. “The shape that he comes into camp and how prepared he is to show us, to force our hands, my hope would be that he would have the chance to force his way onto the team somehow, some way.”
Then there’s the question of where Lourdes Gurriel Jr. plays. He can play short and second. But if veteran infielder Troy Tulowitzki is healthy, the Jays will put him back at short (given his hefty contract, there’s almost no way they can trade him), leaving Gurriel as a glorified utility player. There are also Aledmys Diaz and Richard Urena to consider.
With all that depth, the Jays will likely trade some infield assets at some point down the line, perhaps sooner than later. But there’s so many ways the infield could shake out.
“We’re excited about the depth that we have and we’d prefer not to subtract from it, but it certainly could be an opportunity for us. We have infield depth, we have outfield depth, we have catching depth and I can see a scenario where we use some of that to acquire pitching,” said Atkins.
AROUND THE DIAMOND
The Jays want two of their catching prospects — Danny Jansen and Reese McGuire — to grow into the job next season and reports have surfaced the Jays are willing to eat a portion of the $20 million Russell Martin is owed in 2019 to facilitate a trade. Martin turns 36 in February and is coming off a .194 batting average, but still has some pop and is a good defender. However, he did not seem to be in a good place mentally at times last season. The New York Mets might be interested in Martin. Atlanta Braves general manager Alex Anthopoulos, formerly of the Jays, is also looking for a catcher ... The Jays have hired Hideaki Sato to scout Japan, first reported by Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.