Blue Jays finalize position player side of roster, pitching decisions remain

CLEARWATER, Fla. – The new year began for catcher Brian Serven with a month-long trip through the transactions vortex. His journey went like this:

Jan. 5 – Waived by the Colorado Rockies after the signing of Jacob Stallings and claimed by the Chicago Cubs;

Jan. 11 – Designated for assignment by the Cubs after the acquisition of Michael Busch and Yency Almonte in a trade with the Los Angeles Dodgers;

Jan. 16 – Claimed on waivers by the Toronto Blue Jays;

Jan. 29 – Outrighted off the 40-man roster by the Blue Jays after the signing of Yariel Rodriguez and assigned to triple-A Buffalo.

For a 28-year-old coming off an injury-marred season that led to the first two surgeries of his life in the span of a couple months, all the tumult could easily have been unsettling. But by the time his situation stabilized with the Blue Jays, “I was elated because it was a team with expectations,” Serven recalled Sunday. “I came into the clubhouse and from Day 1, it had a different buzz to it than what I’m used to. It was amazing.”

Serven put his head down, hustled relentlessly to learn an entirely new set of pitchers and was prepared to serve as depth at Buffalo until an errant pitch from Pirates righty Carmen Mlodzinski fractured the pisiform in Danny Jansen’s right wrist March 13. That opened a path to the big-leagues and on Saturday, manager John Schneider told him he’d made the team.

“Excited. Happy,” Serven said of his initial thoughts upon hearing the news. “It was a long off-season. Didn't really know what my situation would be. Came here and I told Schneid and Ross (Atkins, the GM) from the beginning, my goal was to get better, prove something to myself because last year I was battling injury, compete and learn the guys. Obviously, you never want to see one of your teammates go down or get injured. But my job now is to hold down the fort and do what I can to help everybody win and get better.”

The Blue Jays filled out the rest of their bench Sunday with utilitymen Ernie Clement and Davis Schneider plus slugger Daniel Vogelbach, Schneider revealed following a 2-0 loss to the Philadelphia Phillies.

Decisions still remain on the pitching side although it appears Kevin Gausman, who will start Monday’s spring finale against the Pirates in Bradenton, Fla. will be ready to make his first turn of the regular season.

But likely injured-list stints for Jordan Romano and Erik Swanson leave two spots available in the bullpen, with length being a consideration for how the Blue Jays decide to backfill. Nate Pearson, Zach Pop, Wes Parsons and Yariel Rodriguez are on-the-40-man roster options in the mix.

Both Vogelbach and Serven must be added to the 40-man roster and the Blue Jays only have one spot open, so some roster juggling lies ahead, too. They’ll also have to assign several players still in camp, Alek Manoah among them, and decide on next steps for Joey Votto, who rolled his ankle last week and needs more time to build up. That reopened a pathway for Vogelbach that seemed to have closed when the future Hall of Famer initially arrived.

The situation still sets up machinations to come, although the Blue Jays clearly see value in carrying Vogelbach’s impressive power and experience as a pinch-hitter off the bench with Votto’s timeline uncertain. They could have gone with outfielder Nathan Lukes, who played well enough to make the team, but seemingly weren’t willing to cover a gap without an impact lefty option.

“Definitely want him in against certain pitchers, especially right-handers, whether that’s to start or an option off the bench that can control the zone and do damage,” John Schneider said of Vogelbach. “I think it complements what we have already really, really well. His track record is really good. And excited to have him the person with the group.”

There is far less surprise about Davis Schneider, who gave the Blue Jays a pivotal jolt late last season, and Clement, whose “game has evolved so much in the last year,” said John Schneider. “Hitting the ball with authority, defensive versatility, bases, just everything. … Forced our hand, really. He’s played really well.”

So, too, has Serven, seizing an opportunity he didn’t expect to have.

He feels for Jansen, whom he praised with Alejandro Kirk for being generous with him, Payton Henry, who signed a minor-league deal in December, and the rest of the catchers who were in camp – “I’d bounce questions off them about pitchers and what they like to do and all that,” Serven said – and knows from experience the misery of fighting through injuries.

Serven’s season came to an end after a July 29 collision at the plate when a “kid slid into home head-first and grabbed my glove with his arm as he dove and ripped the ligament off the thumb.”

Surgery followed and once fall hit, he underwent double-sports-hernia surgery to repair a couple of tears that bothered him all year long.

“It was not pleasant,” said Serven. “Getting in a stance and having to pop out of that for a runner stealing, say you block a ball and try to get up, it was rough. Everything I did that was rotational hurt.”

That helps explain why he struggled in a small sample of 11 games with the Rockies and 38 games with the triple-A Albuquerque. After months of rehab, he feels healthy and ready for an opportunity he didn’t expect, but is now before him.

“It feels validating,” said Serven. “The hard work and all that we put in, it’s a rewarding feeling knowing that all that hard work's paying off.”