Don’t let a hot bat go cold
Schneider’s reward for game-winning homer? A return to Jays’ bench
The Blue Jays had a plan and they decided to stick with it.
No, we’re not talking José Berríos and the asinine decision to remove him from the fourth inning of a scoreless American League wildcard game. This is about the lineup.
After Davis Schneider homered during his first game Sunday, his reward the next day was a seat on the bench. When he stole Tuesday’s game from the Astros with a tworun homer in the ninth, his prize was the same.
There were three or four different ways the Jays could have inserted Schneider into the starting lineup for Wednesday’s series finale in Houston. They didn’t choose any of them, opting instead to sit Schneider’s hot bat because they didn’t like the matchup against right-hander Cristian Javier.
That would make sense if this piece was about former free-agent target Robbie Grossman, a hitter known for his production against left-handers (.808 on-base-plusslugging percentage against lefties versus .692 against righties). But Schneider is not Grossman and nothing in his track record suggests he can only hit lefties.
Prior to Schneider’s arrival last year, his numbers against righthanders were better than they were against lefties. The 25-year-old posted a 1.011 OPS against righties at Triple-A compared to a .916 OPS against southpaws and he had similar splits the previous season.
Through 59 games in the majors, the numbers flipped. Schneider has a 1.298 OPS against lefties and an .841 OPS versus righties, but the sample size is small and the gap should narrow over time. Regardless, the .841 is elite; no qualified Jay had a higher number against righthanders in 2023.
Schneider isn’t a lefty specialist, he’s just moonlighting as one because the Jays front office failed to make the appropriate additions this off-season. Instead of signing a proven fourth outfielder who has thrived in that role before, they handed the job to Schneider and essentially told him to fit in.
That would be fine if they allowed Schneider to use the opportunity as a springboard to a more meaningful role but that has yet to happen, with his only two starts coming against left handers. Perhaps that’s because this team has not yet advanced to the point where it’s handing out playing time based on merit, it’s handing out playing time based on contracts.
The Jays didn’t give Isiah KinerFalefa $15 million (U.S.) and Kevin Kiermaier $10.5 million to sit on the bench. They paid them a lot of money to be everyday players, or close to it. Changing their minds now would be admitting defeat. That’s not going to happen in the second week of the season. Heck, it might not happen in the second month.
That’s unfortunate because this isn’t about sitting an in-his-prime Josh Donaldson or Jose Bautista in favour of the kid who had a good game. Kiner-Falefa, who started at third on Wednesday, has a career .653 OPS against righties. Daulton Varsho has a .731 mark, Kiermaier .735 and Cavan Biggio .741.
Schneider’s performance during his brief major-league run has been better than all four and yet the Jays can’t find a spot for him less than 24 hours after he played hero versus Hader?
To be fair, the Jays had reasons Wednesday that went beyond Javier’s right hand. Schneider recently admitted that high fastballs are his “kryptonite” and a 92.6-m.p.h. four-seamer is Javier’s featured pitch.
That would have been a factor, but it doesn’t account for any groove Schneider might have been feeling on the heels of Tuesday’s success, nor does it account for how poorly the others have been hitting recently.
Compare that strategy with the one being implemented in New York. Prior to a game against the Astros on Friday, Yankees manager Aaron Boone announced that the recently acquired Jon Berti was expected to make his debut the following day.
Later that night, Oswaldo Cabrera went 4-for-5 with three RBIs. Instead of sticking with the plan, Boone switched things up and started Cabrera the following day over Berti. Cabrera responded by hitting a tying two-run homer in a game the Yankees went on to win.
One of these teams appears to be operating with a sense of urgency. The other not so much. The Yankees entered Thursday’s games in first place with a 6-1 record while the Jays were 3-3.
The Jays’ offence isn’t good enough to rest on its laurels and expect everything to work out. In order for this team to contend for an AL East title and make a deep run through the post-season, it’s going to need contributions from players it didn’t expect.
Maybe Schneider is that guy, may- be he’s not. But, based on the al- ternatives, he performed well enough last year and has started this season on a hot enough run that he deserves an opportunity.