Storen’s arrival adds flexibility to Jays’ staff
Reliever could close or set up, and he could allow Sanchez to fight for rotation spot
Drew Storen was at home watching Making a Murdereron Netflix — “I’m obsessed, just like everybody else” — Friday night when he got a call from Mike Rizzo, the general manager of the Washington Nationals, telling him he had just been traded to Toronto.
“I kind of figured he wasn’t calling to wish me a Happy New Year,” Storen quipped in a conference call with reporters Saturday afternoon.
In Storen, a right-handed reliever who has at various times served as the Nationals’ closer, the Blue Jays add a much-needed veteran to the back of their bullpen. To do so they part with speedy outfielder Ben Revere, who was deemed expendable with the expected return to health of Michael Saunders, who missed almost all of last season with a knee injury.
“The thing about Michael Saunders and Ben Revere on the same team is that they’re both everyday players,” explained Jays general manager Ross Atkins. Dalton Pompey, Toronto’s young outfield prospect, is also in the mix to compete for a starting spot or serve as a capable backup.
So unlike the binge-worthy, docu- mentary series that counts Storen among its ardent viewers, there is little mystery to unravel in Friday’s trade. The Jays dealt from an area of depth to fill an obvious hole.
The deal also requires the Jays to send a player to be named later to Washington, while the Nationals sent an undisclosed amount of cash Toronto’s way — presumably to offset some of the $1-million to $2-million difference between Storen’s and Revere’s projected salaries in this, their final year of arbitration. Both players will become free agents next season.
One of the trade’s ripple effects, though, is an increased likelihood that Aaron Sanchez will compete for a spot in the Jays’ starting rotation. The 23-year-old righty was groomed as a starting pitcher throughout his minor-league career, but was thrust into a late-inning bullpen role out of necessity. There is some concern that continuing to pitch in relief could hinder his long-term development as a starter.
“There aren’t a lot of success stories with guys who pitch late in a bullpen and then transition to the starting rotation,” Atkins said, citing the tendency for relievers to shrink their pitch repertoire and even alter their delivery in a max-effort, short-inning role.
But Atkins stopped short of offering a definitive plan for Sanchez. He likewise skirted a question about whether Storen will serve as the team’s closer or set up the incumbent, Roberto Osuna. Atkins left open the possibility that Osuna — who, like Sanchez, also pitched as a starter in the minors — could be stretched out as a starter in spring training. “We feel so much better about having options now,” Atkins said. “That’s really all I can say about that.”
For his part, Storen said he didn’t care where the Jays decide to use him. “No matter what, any of those last nine outs are important,” he said. “Whatever they want me to do I’m just going to go out there and do my job.”
The 28-year-old Indiana native — who as a kid occasionally served as a bat boy for the Montreal Expos when they were on the road — had a tumultuous six-year career in Washington. He was occasionally dominant — 43 saves in 2011; a sparkling 1.12 ERA in 2014 — but also endured his share of struggles, including in the 2012 postseason when he blew a ninth-inning lead in the decisive fifth game of Washington’s division series against St. Louis.
In 2015, after a terrific first half as the Nats’ closer, Storen was bumped out of the role when the team acquired Jonathan Papelbon at the trade deadline. Following the demotion, Storen struggled. His secondhalf ERA ballooned by nearly two runs and his season ended in frustration when he broke his thumb after slamming a locker door following his second blown lead in as many nights against the division-rival Mets.
But the 28-year-old says his struggles had nothing to do with Papelbon’s arrival.
“It’s easy to draw conclusions and think it was some anger or whatnot, but it was far from that,” he said. “For me I think it was just a workload situation.”
As the closer, Storen said, he always knew when he would be used and rarely warmed up without pitching in a game. The setup role was less predictable. “Instead of getting those couple days off you’re kind of constantly treading water — which is absolutely the nature of being in the bullpen — but it is a tough transition when you go halfway through the year doing that and then have to make that switch.”
While Revere’s departure leaves the Jays without an obvious leadoff hitter — particularly given that second baseman Devon Travis is expected to start the season on the disabled list — Atkins said it’s not a major concern. “We don’t have the prototypical, classic leadoff hitter after subtracting Ben, but at the same time feel very good about our opportunities to score a lot of runs.”