Blue Jays grappling with ins and outs of roster management as season comes to a head

TORONTO — Leo Jimenez immediately understood the assignment as he came off the field after the top of the 11^th inning Friday night. He was due up second behind Vladimir Guerrero Jr. in the bottom half and the St. Louis Cardinals were clearly going to intentionally walk the four-time all-star, so the rookie shortstop prepared himself to advance the runners.

Bunting has never really been in Jimenez’s tool-kit — he has one sacrifice in 1,593 minor-league plate appearances — but since arriving in the big leagues, “I've been trying to make it part of my game because I know it's going to be very important for me individually and also in trying to help my team win,” he explained.

That’s precisely what he did, threading the needle on a bunt into the Cardinals’ wheel-play defence, beating out the throw for a single and setting the stage for Alejandro Kirk to deliver the walk-off hit.

“I always try to make sure that I'm doing that in early work, some bunt sessions with (first-base coach) Mark Budzinski so I can put that into my game for next year,” Jimenez said Saturday before he was scratched due to a right index finger contusion suffered while taking grounders ahead of a 7-2 Toronto Blue Jays win over the Cardinals. “When I took the first pitch (Friday), I saw that they were working the wheel play and the middle's going to be open so I was very confident about laying the bunt down.”

Now, that Jimenez was called on to bunt in the 11^th while Joey Loperfido wasn’t in nearly the identical situation the previous inning is, in part, demonstrative of how the Blue Jays must manage a far more diverse set of player needs on their roster than in recent years.

While Jimenez is working on his bunting, Loperfido, who left Saturday’s game in the fifth inning with left adductor muscle discomfort after stopping awkwardly on a third-inning double, has been working on some adjustments at the plate. In letting the outfielder swing away in Friday’s 10^th, there was the strategic element of “you have three chances to get a base hit with him, George (Springer) and Nate (Lukes),” said manager John Schneider, “but also, it's like, yeah, Joe, let's go, have a good at-bat here, at the very least try to get him over, but try to walk them off. And you want to see those guys in those spots for sure.”

Loperfido is also practising laying down bunts with Jimenez and Will Wagner and Schneider suggested that even Addison Barger could be called upon to do it in certain situations.

“Trying to get them to understand where they're going to fit within the lineup and what they're going to need to do to help a team win, we're trying to focus on that,” he said.

At the same time, there are needs for the rest of the roster to consider, too.

Take Jose Berrios and the rest of the rotation, who have been given an extra day of rest between outings this month between off-days and strategic spot starts. The ace right-hander allowed one run — a Jordan Walker solo shot in the third — over seven dominant innings in his latest gem and perhaps it’s no coincidence that a strong stretch of pitching dating back to early August correlates to pitching on extra rest in six of his last eight outings.

Kevin Gausman, who topped out at 98.5 m.p.h. in a strong outing Friday night, pointed to the benefits of having an extra couple of days before taking the mound, as the Blue Jays are being deliberate and measured with their veteran players, which Berrios appreciates.

“It's more about recovery," he said of how the extra rest is helping him. “It's not about my velocity because today, also my last outing, I've been throwing 90-92. But because I've got better recovery I can better handle and command my pitches. No matter if it's faster or slower, just try to throw quality pitches with conviction.”

The measured approach also applies to position players like Daulton Varsho, who jammed his right shoulder diving for a Zach Neto single Aug. 23 and has been dealing with lingering swelling and soreness since. A collision at first base with Pete Alonso of the Mets earlier this week exacerbated things so Schneider is giving him time to get through it.

“It's been unique for sure,” Schneider said of balancing the different demands across the roster. “A year ago, it's just like, what are we doing to win? We're still doing that. But different guys are going to have different questions. Young guys are going to have different anxieties, different adjustments.”

In between the two extremes of veterans seeking to get through the season as healthy as possible and rookies trying to acclimate are players with some experience either trying to adapt or build.

Davis Schneider, for example, the sparkplug contributor a year ago who fell into a deep rut in June only to begin emerging from the funk earlier this week with a two-run triple versus the Mets on Tuesday, needed runway. On Saturday, he enjoyed his first multi-hit game since July 21, hitting his first home run since June 22, a solo shot in the third, capping the decisive four-run sixth with an RBI single and adding another base hit in the eighth.

“My mindset is always the same, I’ve just been missing pitches that I should be able to handle,” Schneider said of what’s changed for him. “I feel like I’m seeing the ball a little bit better lately. I’m still working hard in the cages with our coaches, that never changes, but I’m seeing the ball a little bit better lately.”

Alejandro Kirk added a run-scoring groundout in that pivotal sixth and an RBI single in a two-run seventh, when Guerrero cashed in a Nathan Lukes triple for his 500^th career RBI — the fastest to reach the plateau in team history — and scored his second run of the game after walking in the sixth.

The balancing act is inherent to the reset the Blue Jays undertook at the trade deadline.

“The veteran guys kind of said, ‘OK, this is an opportunity for us to show the way a little bit,’ not just with their play or their effort, but with the conversations that are being had,” said Schneider. “They've been awesome. It was a weird kind of flip overnight to where we weren't where we wanted to be and guys like Kevin, Chris (Bassitt), Jose, Varsh, Vlad, George (Springer), Chad (Green), it was like their time to just hold steady a little bit and they've been outstanding. I can't really speak highly enough of what they've done, how they've competed and how they've taught the guys along the way.”

Benefits to be reaped, the Blue Jays hope, in the years to come.