Fan apathy caused by off-season inactivity

I’ve been a diehard fan since 1999. It was Carlos Delgado and Roy Halladay that did it for me, my two all-time favourite Jays. This spring, my level of fandom is the lowest it’s ever been and I have no interest in watching spring training games, listening to podcasts and reading articles. Am I alone on this island? Are you finding readership levels up or down? I still follow all the same Jays people on Twitter and I know one day it’ll be back.

Phil, Halifax

The two comments I’ve been hearing the most over the last couple months have been complaints about an ineffective off-season and people like Phil who consider themselves to be big fans but can’t seem to get excited about the upcoming season.

There’s no hard data to back that up. Readership levels at the Star seem to be mostly in line with previous years. People still care, just maybe not as much as they did before, and there does seem to be a sense that the interest in this group is starting to wane.

A strong showing over the first two months should boost the walkup crowds, but the apathy can be directly tied to the lack of big offseason moves and big-name prospects to get excited about. Toronto has failed in each of its last two trips to the post-season and there hasn’t been a big trade or signing that has helped people believe again.

A lot went right for four members of the rotation last year. They put up some of their best numbers and stayed healthy. But somebody is bound to fall off. Who do you think is the most likely to get worse?

Gordon, Toronto

I don’t question the talent, I question the staff’s ability to stay healthy. Gausman has tossed at least 175 innings while making 31plus starts in each of the last three seasons. Chris Bassitt is coming off a season in which he reached 200 innings for the first time. Yusei Kikuchi is coming off a career-high workload while José Berríos already has racked up a lot of mileage with 1,213 1/3 career innings.

If I’m forced to pick one guy who falters for reasons beyond health, it would be Kikuchi, if for no other reason than his performance has been up and down throughout his career so it might be a mistake to just assume he can replicate 2023.

Why does Santiago Espinal seem to be a lock to make the team? I would think there’s better options than him with the younger guys. He’s had enough chances. He had one good half-season.

Bev, Ottawa

Seniority, positional versatility and depth. The bigger question to me is why are Isiah-Kiner Falefa and Espinal on the same roster? They aren’t the same player, but their skill sets are similar enough that when combined they become redundant. Similar things could be said about Ernie Clement, which brings us to the next question …

Ernie Clement is out of options but he has done nothing but perform at every opportunity. How will he fit with this infield mess? Red, Fredericton, N.B.

Clement cannot be sent to the minors without first clearing waivers. If the Jays move Espinal elsewhere via trade, Clement will make the team. If Espinal sticks around, Clement would have to be the one moved because even a team as obsessed with utility players as the Jays are can only carry so many.

If it were up to me, I’d move on from Espinal and keep Clement. Then again, I never would have signed Kiner-Falefa in the first place.