Upton will be one of Jays’ irregulars in left
The metaphor for Melvin Upton Jr. is a tuning fork, prong-skinny and vibrating on the pitch, looking to break for a stolen base.
He swiped 27 of them last year, albeit just a seven-pack after being traded to Toronto from San Diego.
“I’ve been the same player for a number of years, man. I know how to steal bases. That’s one of the things I bring to the table and I know that. My job is to get on base and to disrupt pitchers. If I can break his concentration and he’s worried about me, maybe he gives my teammates better pitches to hit.”
The thing is, Upton has to get on base before pilfering and that has been a chronic problem. Over 57 games and 165 plate appearances with the Jays, he hit just .196. Dating back to 2007 with the Rays, Upton has struck out 150 times or more in every full season, for a career whiff record of 26.6 per cent. Toronto had issues last year putting the ball in play and, collectively, doesn’t accentuate speed on the base paths or picking a pitcher’s pocket. Stolen bases hold sidebar significance for a long-ball-proficient club.
Yet left field, or part of it, is apparently Upton’s to lose coming out of spring training, if in a platoon capacity with Ezequiel Carrera, possibly Steve Pearce, and maybe even Dalton Pompey if he can re-establish his bona fides with a captivating performance at the World Baseball Classic. Otherwise, it’s a square hole looking to be stuffed with round pegs, which speaks primarily to management’s failure in resolving their outfield dilemmas over the winter.
“I’m not too worried about that,” Upton was saying Thursday morning about his strikeout baggage, before Toronto’s 6-4 win over the Phillies, an afternoon that opened for the 32-year-old with, yup, a strikeout looking and a solid single to right, after which he came in to score on a sacrifice fly by Darwin Barney. That was merely the second hit of the spring for Upton, who is dragging a .167 average.
“Strikeouts — just another out,” he contended. As if.
“At the same time,’’ he continued, “I was doing just fine before I came over here, playing every day. I think the strikeouts and the way things happened at the end of the year are a product of me not playing as much as I was before. But I knew the situation coming in, so it’s nobody’s fault. It’s the hand I was dealt and I had to deal with it the best way I could.’’
Which is as far as Upton will go, expressing displeasure over his role.
Manager John Gibbons was fairly definitive yesterday while contemplating left field for 2017: Upton likely platooning with Carrera. Who, by the way, is 4-for-10 in the exhibitions here.
On Thursday, Carrera started in right and hit behind Upton, connecting for a single.
You know what a platoon usually signifies: No player good enough or trusted enough for the everyday job. Gibby demurs.
“It can be good. It can be beneficial. Melvin, he’s always hit left-handers really well. That’s what he did well for us last year when we brought him over.
“And Carrera, we like what Zeke’s been doing. He’s actually had some crazy splits. He’s been better against lefties himself. But it’s in him to hit righties.”
That’s the conundrum with an Upton/Carrera tandem. They don’t match well because Carrera hit better against lefties last season too: he had a slash line of .339/.372/.452 versus portsiders; .218/.307/.320 against starboard pitchers.
Upton would dearly love that everyday gig but he hasn’t done a whole lot down here thus far to seize it.
“It has nothing to do with the field and the plate,” he insists, still on the subject of striking out too much. “It’s just a matter of playing, period. Some guys need reps.”
Upton is a payroll-friendly Jay, at least. The Padres reportedly ate about $17 million of his contract — he’s a free agent at the end of the season — with $16.45 remaining on it for 2017 and Toronto’s financial commitment to Upton mostly paid off last year.
Then there’s the Steve Pearce factor. The right-handed hitter, signed as a free agent in December, has essentially been a part-time player for most of his decade-long major league career, yet he’s mentioned as occasional left-field deployment though the plan is to platoon him at first base with Justin Smoak.
“Oh yeah, Pearcie can be out there too, and then play some first base,” Gibbons said. “We’ll see how it shakes out.”
Still recovering from elbow surgery to his throwing arm last September, Pearce is being blended in gently, limited to DH duties. He’s targeted to play defensively around March 19. “He’ll start playing first primarily, then the outfield,” Gibbons said.
First is where Pearce admits he’d be most comfortable. “I pretty much came up as a first baseman. So, comfort-wise, I’d say first base because I’m more familiar with it. I don’t really care, as long as I can get my bat in the lineup.”
But sharesies, that’s a tough gig. “The hardest job in all of sports is to be a platoon guy,” Pearce maintained.
“To not know when you’re playing, just thrown in at random times. It’s a crap shoot. You’ve got to stay prepared. That’s why guys who can hit .240 coming off the bench, that’s a darn good number.” Pearce is a career .254 hitter. Upton is a career .243 hitter with some pop in his bat — he smacked 20 homers last year, four as a Jay.
But is this where he wants to be? Is he an unhappy camper?
“Honestly, I haven’t thought about that either. All I know is I’m here. I’m a Blue Jay.”