TORONTO — Wednesday afternoon, while a frenzied scramble to find a regular season home — potentially homes — played out at levels of the organization above his head, Toronto Blue Jays manager Charlie Montoyo focused on the task at hand.
That would be preparing an MLB team for a season that begins in less than 48 hours. There’s a pitching rotation to finalize; a bullpen to assemble; a 30-man opening day roster due to MLB by Thursday at 12 p.m. ET. The Blue Jays may not yet know where they’re playing all of their games — but they do know they’ll be playing them. And that provides plenty of tasks for a coaching staff to focus on.
“Two days to go, not knowing where you’re going to play home games — I’ve never gone through something like this,” Montoyo said. “But I know, as a leader, if I’m looking at a leader and you see a leader panicking, that’s just not good. So, we’re not. The coaching staff is not. We’re working hard with these kids just to keep them in a positive mindset. That’s what we’re doing right now.”
Montoyo and the club’s front office made final decisions on that 30-man roster Wednesday, and informed players whether or not they’d made the team shortly before that night’s rain-shorted 2-0 exhibition win over the Boston Red Sox. The Blue Jays did not make those final decisions public, opting instead to announce the roster Thursday when the club has an optional workout scheduled at Tropicana Field ahead of Friday’s season opener against the Tampa Bay Rays.
Of course, most of it’s obvious. Only a few names on the very fringes of the roster stood to be impacted by Wednesday’s decisions, and with 30 spots up for grabs, the club had to make fewer tough calls than it would have at the end of spring training. This time around, the decision came down to whether the Blue Jays would carry 16 pitchers and 14 position players or an even 15 and 15 split.
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If it’s the latter, that could be good news for a swingman who missed out on a rotation spot, like Sean Reid-Foley or Thomas Pannone, or potentially one of Toronto’s non-roster invitees, like Justin Miller or Brian Moran. If it’s the former, that means the Blue Jays felt confident in their starting pitching getting deep into games over the first week of the season, and opted instead to carry some extra infield cover in non-roster invitee Ruben Tejada or an additional outfielder in Billy McKinney.
And things could always change on Thursday. At the club’s optional workout, Montoyo will be getting his first look this spring at Brandon Drury, who’s been on the injured list since the beginning of the month for undisclosed reasons. He never made it to Toronto when the team shifted its training camp to Rogers Centre, continuing to work out at the club’s spring training facility in Dunedin, Fla. instead. If Drury’s in game shape, he could draw in to the roster for opening day.
A decision will also be made Thursday on Lourdes Gurriel Jr., who’s been battling left side discomfort that developed during an intrasquad game earlier this week. Gurriel took batting practice ahead of Wednesday’s game against the Red Sox, and is scheduled to take live batting practice against Tanner Roark Thursday, after which he’ll be reassessed. Montoyo’s optimistic Gurriel will be available come opening day, but if this year has taught us anything it’s that little is ever certain.
What we do know is Chase Anderson will start the season on the injured list, but “should be ready sooner than we thought,” according to Montoyo. That opens a spot in Toronto’s rotation for one of Anthony Kay or Ryan Borucki, with the former slightly more likely to win the job than the latter. Both would be on turn for Sunday’s contest against the Rays and the Blue Jays have yet to name a starter for that game.
Trent Thornton’s also in Toronto’s rotation, and Wednesday’s outing against Boston — he looked sharp over three one-hit innings — lines him up to start Monday against the Washington Nationals, with Roark on turn for Tuesday’s matinee.
You’ll perhaps notice that the name Nate Pearson does not appear within those first five starts for the Blue Jays. And by now you’re surely aware that by leaving him off the roster for those first five games of the season, the Blue Jays can ensure he won’t complete a full year of major-league service in 2020, delaying his free agency until after the 2026 season.
This move is as obvious as it is heartless. Any prudent front office makes it. Particularly during a season in which their club is not expected to contend and has plentiful starting pitching options. And especially not during a season that could be cut short due to pandemic at any moment. If the Blue Jays rostered Pearson from opening day only to watch the season be wiped out, the Blue Jays would have blown a year of contractual control at both the beginning and end of his service clock.
It’s not what you want. And that the Blue Jays are even in a position in which they’re incentivized to keep one of the best young pitchers on the planet off their roster is demoralizing for all involved. Pearson loses out on valuable development time. The Blue Jays lose out on having an uncommonly talented pitcher contribute to their team. Fans lose out on watching him pitch. Baseball loses out on putting its best product on the field. Everyone loses.
But like the minor detail of where half the team’s games will take place this season, it’s just not something Montoyo can spend his energy on right now. His job is to keep the players he has positive, focused, and pulling in the same direction. It’s something he has quite a bit of experience with.
Remember, Montoyo spent nearly two decades managing in the minor-leagues. Seven of those seasons — more than 1,000 games — were spent at the helm of the triple-A Durham Bulls. That’s not an easy level to manage. No player truly wants to be there. Some are on their way up, upset they haven’t reach the big leagues yet. Some are on their way down, upset they’re no longer in the majors. Some are stuck in the middle, upset the game’s overlooked them.
Montoyo took those Bulls teams to the International League finals five times. He won a couple championships. He did it all while his son, Alex, underwent multiple open heart surgeries within his first year of life. Sometimes, Montoyo would fly to Arizona on off-days, spend less than 24 hours with his family, and return to Durham on another cross-country flight in time for the Bulls’ next game.
So, this? This is nothing.
“Honestly, I’ve gone through worse,” Montoyo said. “You just stay positive. This group’s so positive. You saw the game last night. We’re still going to play to win. Wherever that place is, we’re going to do that. I’m really proud of these guys. Nobody’s complaining. They’re just getting ready, working out, getting ready for the game tonight. And we’ll see where we’re going to play.”
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