Ex-Toronto prospects could help A’s in ’22

MESA, Ariz. — Kevin Smith was heading out for team stretch at the Blue Jays’ spring complex in Dunedin, Fla., when he learned the news. Kirby Snead was relaxing in the clubhouse, readying to throw a bullpen session. Zach Logue was about to play catch when a coach called him over.

Roughly 24 hours later, all three were in manager Mark Kotsay’s office in the A’s spring facility in Mesa, prospects included in the trade package Toronto sent to Oakland for third baseman Matt Chapman.

“We found out about 10:45 a.m., and then I was on the phone with (the A’s) saying I wanted to get over here as quick as I could,” Smith said.

Smith, a left-side infielder, and Snead, a left-handed reliever, made brief debuts with Toronto last year. Logue, a lefthanded starter, spent most of 2021 at Triple-A. All three are in the A’s major-league camp and could compete for roster spots. Pitcher Gunnar Hoglund, a first-round pick last year and the fourth player in Oakland’s return for Chapman, is rehabbing from May 2021 Tommy John surgery.

“My agent and a couple people have said, this has been the land of opportunity for a lot of people,” Logue said of the A’s. “I’m trying to look at it that way.”

The trade of Chapman, a two-time Platinum Glove winner, leaves an obvious absence in the A’s infield. His defense is unlikely to be replicated but must be replaced. Kotsay said there are a few candidates in Oakland’s camp. Friday, Smith drew the start at third base in the A’s Cactus League opener.

Smith, 25, has primarily been a shortstop but in the past year has seen time at third base. In his 18-game call-up to Toronto, Smith played 78 of 89 defensive innings at third with one error in 20 chances.

“It’s tricky,” Smith said of the move. “At short, you’ve got to attack everything. At third, if you’re playing in or if it’s just a hard-hit ball, sometimes you have to drop-step, sometimes you go backward a little bit. So it’s just those different angles and getting used to that.”

A fourth-round 2017 draft pick, Smith hit .302 with 25 homers in A-ball in 2018. He played at Double-A in 2019 and batted .209, striking out in more than a third of his at-bats. He returned from the canceled 2020 minors season to hit .285 with 21 home runs in 94 games at Triple-A last year. Smith said he tried changes to his approach in 2019 and “sometimes you’ve got to take steps back to go forward.”

Smith’s description of himself as a hitter: “I like to do damage, man. I like to get pitches that I can crush and put some good wood on them. I like to run around the bases. So I try to be as dynamic as I can.”

Logue, too, improved last year. In 2019, the left-hander posted a 4.10 ERA and 3-7 record in 19 games (18 starts) at Double-A. That offseason, Logue took part in a Blue Jays “velo camp” aimed at increasing fastball velocity. He worked on honing lower-half movements. His fastball, which had hovered around 90 mph, added about 2 miles per hour.

Logue, 25, said he also added a cutter in 2020 to bridge the gap between his fastball and his changeup and slider. He posted a 3.67 ERA and 12-4 record last year in 25 games (24 starts) at Double- and Triple-A. His rate of 10.4 strikeouts per nine innings marked a jump from his career rate of 7.6 per nine, while he issued just 27 walks in 125 innings.

“Once I found the right (cutter) grip for me, it actually came along pretty quickly and became a pretty good weapon,” Logue said. “So I had four pitches, also with a little uptick in velocity with the fastball, which I think contributed to that a lot.”

Toronto added Logue to its 40-man roster in November, but free-agent signings of Kevin Gausman, and Yusei Kikuchi crowded its rotation.

“It would have been tough for me to break through with the Blue Jays given where they are right now,” Logue said. “I’m hoping personally this will be a little bit more of an opportunity for that.”

Kotsay said Logue’s pitch mix and three-quarter arm angle compare to A’s left-hander Cole Irvin and the A’s will “give (Logue) his opportunity to throw” this spring. Snead, Kotsay said, will “compete for a bullpen spot.”

Snead, 27, posted a 1.58 ERA in 36 outings at Triple-A last season, with 57 strikeouts in 40 innings. He debuted with seven relief outings for the Blue Jays, using a sinker and slider and mixing a changeup to righthanded hitters. One of Snead’s first calls after the trade went to A’s pitcher A.J. Puk — his former college teammate at Florida. Snead said he’s “just excited and ready to get to work.”

“He’s a low three-quarters reliever, a lot of sinkers, a lot of sliders,” Puk said of Snead. “He’s got good stuff and he can come into any situation and get the job done.”