TORONTO – As the Toronto Blue Jays returned home for the first time since trading Josh Donaldson, the 18,034 fans at Rogers Centre got a look at a roster in transition.
With Donaldson gone, the days of overpowering the opposition with league-leading offences and swagger to match seem more distant than ever.
In Donaldson’s place? Julian Merryweather – eventually. It’s a reasonable return given how poorly Donaldson’s season went, but hardly an exciting one. The right-hander underwent Tommy John surgery this past spring and the Blue Jays can’t even name or discuss him until after the season because of baseball’s waiver rules.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr.’s seemingly ready to take over at third, but baseball’s top prospect won’t arrive in Toronto this year despite an exceptional minor-league season. While many of Guerrero Jr.’s triple-A teammates will join the big-league team Tuesday, he won’t play in the majors before mid-April of 2019, when the Blue Jays will have assured themselves of an additional year of team control. It’s the right move given baseball’s service time rules, but there’s nothing fun about keeping such a talented player out of the majors.
With Donaldson and Guerrero Jr. both elsewhere, it’s easy to focus on who’s not here, and as a result this roster has an in-between feeling entering the second-last homestand of the season.
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Regardless, the games continue, and this homestand began with a 7-1 loss to the Rays and a frustrating return to action from Marcus Stroman. The Blue Jays were optimistic that Stroman’s blister had healed to the point that he could pitch without restrictions after two and a half weeks of rest. Instead, it resurfaced and the Rays took advantage.
“I couldn’t do what I wanted to out there, so it was pretty frustrating,” Stroman said. “They made me pay with pitches I didn’t put in the right spots.”
Starting for the first time since August 17, Stroman lasted 1.2 innings and allowed four runs on six hits. That led to an unintentional bullpen game against the experts on the matter, the Rays.
The Blue Jays had been about to start using a six-man rotation, partly because Stroman, Aaron Sanchez and Marco Estrada have all battled physical issues of late. Now that Stroman’s blister has returned, the Blue Jays will likely prioritize the long view instead of rushing him back.
“That’s probably what’s going to happen,” Gibbons said. “I would recommend that, to be honest with you. I don’t know yet, in all fairness to him, but it’s clearly affecting him. No doubt. I’ve seen enough of the kid (to know).”
As for Stroman, he’ll re-assess his finger Tuesday in the hopes that he can keep pitching down the stretch.
“I like to compete and I don’t like sitting,” Stroman said. “I only get to play once every five days to begin with, so being out there every fifth day is a priority and something that I always want to do. I hate being on the DL. I hate watching. I hate not being out there. It frustrates me and kills me inside.”
Ryan Borucki, Sam Gaviglio and Sean Reid-Foley now round out the rotation, and if the Blue Jays shut Reid-Foley down after a couple more outings to manage his workload, Thomas Pannone could resume starting.
In some ways, the Blue Jays are taking a similar approach with their position players. This in-between month might become something of a tryout, with the front office watching to determine who fits into next year’s plans and who’s disposable. One way or another, the Blue Jays appear poised to be active in trades over the winter, and this month should create clarity ahead of the off-season.
Take the infield, for example, and let’s assume that Guerrero Jr.’s getting everyday at bats at third for most of next year. That leaves the two middle infield positions for the group of Aledmys Diaz, Lourdes Gurriel Jr., Brandon Drury, Yangervis Solarte, Devon Travis and Troy Tulowitzki. Those players won’t all be healthy at once, of course, but Bo Bichette’s on his way up and Russell Martin might play some infield, too. Many of those infielders have drawn trade interest this year, and it stands to reason that some of them will be dealt.
It’ll be nearly as crowded in the outfield down the stretch, especially if Anthony Alford arrives Tuesday, as expected. The addition of Billy McKinney already cut into the playing time of Kevin Pillar, Randal Grichuk and Teoscar Hernandez, and more outfielders will complicate that further even if the incoming wave of prospects are mainly in Toronto to acclimate to the major-league environment.
Simply put there’s not enough playing time for everyone, which gives this month in limbo a little intrigue. For the players, jobs are at stake. For the front office, these games offer critical information about what the next era of Blue Jays baseball might look like.
