Blue Jays notebook: Stroman’s knee now feeling ‘a lot’ stronger

The latest edition of Blue Jays This Week features Hazel Mae and Mike Wilner talking about the reasons behind the signing of Jarrod Saltalamacchia and why Blue Jays fans will be excited to watch Kendrys Morales play.

TORONTO – Marcus Stroman says his left knee feels ‘a lot’ stronger now that he’s more than a year removed from the ACL tear that cost him most of the 2015 season. He expects that added strength to translate to improved performance in 2017.

“Having a stronger landing leg? That’s a big deal,” Stroman said last week at the Blue Jays’ Winter Tour. “It’s going to allow me to do a lot of things: velocity, go deeper into games, be more accurate. I take pride in my body and it’s at a point now where I can take some huge strides this year.”

Stroman said he feels ‘unbelievable’ thanks to his off-season training regimen and ready for an ‘extremely large’ workload in 2017. Only 10 MLB pitchers logged more regular season innings than Stroman last year, his first full season as a big-league starter. The right-hander completed 204 frames (plus 11.1 more in the playoffs) to set a career high.

Stroman will again be asked to log lots of innings in 2017, starting at the World Baseball Classic when he’ll start for Team USA. Another 200-inning season would go a long way toward helping the Blue Jays return to the playoffs, where they’ve been eliminated in each of the last two ALCS.

“We’re not satisfied with where we’re at,” Stroman said. “We want to go further.”

BUILDING A BENCH
The Blue Jays’ bench continues taking shape with the addition of Jarrod Saltalamacchia on a minor-league deal. Assuming Saltalamacchia’s Toronto’s backup catcher he’ll join Darwin Barney as a regular in the Blue Jays’ dugout. Against left-handed pitching Justin Smoak and Ezequiel Carrera also project as bench players, while Melvin Upton Jr. and Steve Pearce could see bench time against righties.

That seemingly leaves no room for Ryan Goins, who’s now out of minor-league options for the first time in his career. The Blue Jays would have to pass the utility player through waivers to send him to the minor leagues, at which point National League teams might consider claiming the affordable, versatile 28-year-old. Those decisions are at least a couple of months away, though, and dilemmas like this usually have a way of working themselves out.

[relatedlinks]

ARBITRATION EVOLUTION
Pitcher wins have driven starting pitcher salaries in arbitration for four decades. Could that be changing?

A few observers say starting pitcher wins don’t matter quite as much as they did, say, 15 years ago. That’s not a unanimously held belief—some strongly oppose the idea—but a relevant one nonetheless. The explanation that may make the most sense? Wins still help pitchers as much as ever, yet are no longer a prerequisite for big paydays. For evidence, look no further than Shelby Miller, who made $4.35 million as a first-time eligible pitcher last year despite a 6-17 platform season.

More notes on the always fascinating arbitration process:

  • Jared Hughes of the Pirates obtained a $650,000 raise despite having just four holds in 2016, setting a record for middle relievers in his service class with fewer than five holds. While holds are still a major driver of middle relief salaries, Hughes pitched in 67 games with a 3.03 ERA, setting up his $2.825 million salary.
  • Bryce Harper’s one-year $13.625 million deal with the Nationals sets up a massive payday in 2018, his final season before free agency. Harper could surpass $20 million with a big platform year, something no player has done on a one-year arbitration deal. (Regardless of where Harper lands, Josh Donaldson should surpass $20 million when he goes through arbitration for the final time next off-season.)
  • Stroman will argue his arbitration case against the Blue Jays over a $300,000 difference ($3.4 million vs. $3.1 million). Considering how well Stroman’s comeback story and big game history could play before a panel, some observers say the right-hander’s in a position of strength.

    • When submitting content, please abide by our submission guidelines, and avoid posting profanity, personal attacks or harassment. Should you violate our submissions guidelines, we reserve the right to remove your comments and block your account. Sportsnet reserves the right to close a story’s comment section at any time.