Francis deserves first crack at vacancy
I’m worried about our rotation. Kevin Gausman’s hurt, Alek Manoah has disappeared again and Yusei Kikuchi hasn’t looked good. Does Bowden Francis have what it takes to step up?
Owen, Hamilton
We’re about to find out. Gausman threw a bullpen session on Saturday and remains optimistic he’ll be up to 75 pitches by opening day. That should be enough to avoid a stint on the injured list. But Manoah, dealing with a sore shoulder, likely won’t be as fortunate.
Francis deserves the first crack at any vacancy based on the 1.73 ERA he produced across 36 1/3 innings last season but there are questions about his ability to go through an order two or three times.
Stamina and maintaining fastball velocity is one factor. Another is Francis’s lack of an effective third pitch, which is why he has been experimenting with a new splitter. If that offering proves effective, Francis has a shot to make it as a starter.
The things that the front office says are getting hard to believe. We all heard Atkins when he promised he was going to be aggressive this off-season after another deflating first-round defeat. Am I the only one that feels the organization is stringing us along? Are they more interested in hot dog days than winning?
Robb
The Jays front office does seem to have an uncanny ability to make everything more difficult: Manoah’s demotion, Anthony Bass, the handling of José Berríos’s premature departure from a post-season game.
I’m not going to fault the Jays for taking a run at Shohei Ohtani but there’s something to be said for setting realistic expectations. Fans around these parts were allowed to believe that if the Jays didn’t end up with Ohtani they’d make a splash elsewhere by trading for Juan Soto or adding a big bat for the outfield.
There were ways the Jays could have at least insinuated a potential signing of Ohtani was a special case and, if the pursuit failed, they would be limited with what it could do elsewhere. The Jays instead chose secrecy, as they often do, and fans got themselves all worked up only to be let down.
I understand the frustration with the Jays’ dismal off-season. But it’s still worth pointing out that, even though this team isn’t as good as many of us thought it would be by now, they’re still favoured to emerge from the AL East with a wild-card spot. The sky isn’t falling, at least not yet.