DUNEDIN, Fla. – The test facing the Toronto Blue Jays looks hard enough on paper. Between now and the end of spring training, they must fill out their starting rotation without Marcus Stroman, whose season ended before it began when he tore his ACL in a fielding drill Tuesday.
But on a personal level, the challenge is even harder for many Blue Jays. The loss of Stroman stings, not only because of what he brings on the mound but because he’s genuinely well-liked by his teammates. Aaron Sanchez felt sick to his stomach the moment he saw his best friend and roommate go down.
WATCH LIVE: Marcus Stroman will address the media on Wednesday morning to discuss his injury and missing the 2015 season. Catch it live on Sportsnet, Sportsnet 590 The Fan and right here on sportsnet.ca at 9:00 a.m. ET.
“It’s a devastating blow, for sure. I watch how hard this dude works day in and day out,” an emotional Sanchez said. “I think we’re all taking it hard. I’m taking it a bit harder, obviously you guys know the relationship that I have with him, but it’s one of those things. Tough times don’t last, tough people do.”
Like Sanchez, Daniel Norris could be relied on in the starting rotation now that Stroman’s expected to miss the 2015 season. But he was too shaken by his friend’s injury to contemplate the opportunity that could be opening for him and Sanchez.
“This goes beyond baseball for me,” Norris said. “This is a brother to this team, a brother to me. I’m concerned about his health and I want to make sure he’s OK. Whatever happens after that happens. That’s the least of my worries right now.”
The injury was completely unexpected for the Blue Jays given that Stroman was taking part in a routine fielding drill.
“It’s almost dis-belief,” Norris said. “It’s just really hard to hear for such a good dude. I’ll definitely shed a tear for him. It’s tough. You don’t want to believe it. All you can do is pray. I told him ‘hey man, I’m going to pray for you.’”
The visions that Sanchez and Stroman had of pitching the Blue Jays to the playoffs together have been put on hold. It’ll be another year before Stroman returns, and — there’s no denying it — Toronto’s chances of contending have diminished for as long as he’s sidelined.
“We wanted to do it side by side. Now things have changed,” Sanchez said. “It’s a devastating blow, but we’ve got to come together as a team and move on.”
Doing just that has become priority number one for an organization that was already vulnerable to pitching injuries. GM Alex Anthopoulos says the Blue Jays expect to fill Stroman’s rotation spot internally, with Sanchez, Norris and Marco Estrada the primary candidates for two open starting roles. Manager John Gibbons didn’t say how he intends to replace Stroman’s innings, but he made it clear that he’ll miss the right-hander’s exuberance.
“It’s terrible news,” Gibbons said. “It’s terrible for the kid — he’s going to lose a year — and it’s tough for the team. He’s one of our go-to guys. He really came into his own last year and we expected him to have a big, big year. It’s unfortunate, but we have to move on. It opens up an opportunity for somebody else. Professional sports can be a cruel business, but I’m sure he’ll bounce back as strong as ever and go on to have a great, great career.”
In the meantime, the Blue Jays will be much better off if other young arms can start great careers of their own in Stroman’s absence. Sanchez’s change-up isn’t considered as advanced as his fastball and curveball at this stage, and the Blue Jays have a need for him in the bullpen, but he looked sharp in his most recent outing and has the upside to pitch atop a rotation. The Blue Jays want Norris to continue attacking the zone and refining his command, but his chances of breaking camp in the rotation jumped Tuesday. Both have many supporters.
“Daniel Norris is an incredible pitcher. Aaron Sanchez is an incredible pitcher,” R.A. Dickey said. “Marco Estrada has the ability to pitch in the big leagues and have a good year. We’ve got pieces that can step in, and it’s important that we don’t panic. I think we’re of that ilk. I think we’re going to be OK. But it certainly in the moment is a very sad thing.”
And as catcher Dioner Navarro says, “I don’t think you’re going to be able to replace Stroman.” Not after a season in which he flashed frontline stuff while posting a 3.65 ERA with 111 strikeouts and 28 walks in 130.2 innings. In fact, attempting to replicate those numbers could do more harm than good for Sanchez and Norris.
“It’s important that they don’t feel any additional pressure,” Dickey said. “Everybody knows what’s at stake, so helping them to feel comfortable and not pushing them to be something that they’re not, or to speed things up, or to become something that they’re not really meant to be.”
Anthopoulos downplayed the chances of a deal, explaining that there are few appealing trade options this time of year (Cole Hamels’ contract pays him $23.5 million through 2018, which presumably rules out a deal with the Philadelphia Phillies). The free agent market is similarly thin this time of year.
“You move forward,” Anthopoulos said. “It’s all you can do. We’re going to play the season. There’s going to be a lot of opportunities for some of the other guys to step up, but no doubt to lose a guy like Stroman’s a significant loss for us.”
It was emotional day for the Blue Jays and Russell Martin acknowledged as much when he fielded questions in the same place he had complimented Stroman’s stuff just one day earlier.
“You just felt the energy change when everyone saw it happen,” Martin said. “It’s a blow. Nobody likes it. Everybody feels down after that.”
But with the freak accident and its emotional aftermath soon to be behind them, the Blue Jays can only focus on finding solutions. It’s clear they expect to compete despite the injury. The Blue Jays’ chances of reaching the playoffs undoubtedly took a hit Tuesday, but they can be sure none of their rivals will ease up, regardless of who’s pitching in Stroman’s place.
“Baseball’s not going to feel bad for us,” Martin said. “We still have to go out there and compete and get things done.”
