LAKELAND, Fla. — The hope, when the day began, was that Alek Manoah would throw a bullpen session, but since his right shoulder is still sore, the Toronto Blue Jays revised that plan. The bullpen session will have to come later. Until then, there’s no point rushing an arm that doesn’t feel quite right.
Officially, no one is ruling anything out, but the calendar tells a clear story. With just three weeks remaining before opening day and no plan to get off a mound, it will be extremely difficult for Manoah to build up to game readiness by the time the regular season begins.
The news regarding Kevin Gausman was a little better, with manager John Schneider saying the 33-year-old is “trending in a good direction” after playing catch Wednesday and Thursday. A long-toss session is slated for Saturday with a bullpen session possible “this weekend or early next week.”
But even if that all goes according to plan, Gausman will have limited time to build up, so it’s far from certain he’s able to open the season in the starting rotation, either, and an opening day assignment seems even less likely. All of which to say, the Blue Jays now need Bowden Francis more than ever.
Whether Manoah opens the season on the sidelines, Gausman does, or both need extra time, the 27-year-old Francis is a leading candidate to be part of the Blue Jays’ solution in the major-league rotation. Others are in the mix too, including Mitch White, Paolo Espino and Wes Parsons, but it’s Francis who may be best positioned to earn a spot.
“Bowden for sure has put himself in that conversation,” Schneider said Thursday. “He’s definitely put himself right in the middle of it … so far, so good for him.”
Facing the Detroit Tigers at Publix Field Thursday evening, Francis encountered some early trouble. He allowed an infield hit to Parker Meadows and an opposite-field single to Riley Greene before walking Spencer Torkelson and hitting Mark Canha with a pitch.
At that point, a mound visit from Danny Jansen helped him reset.
"Just slow the game down a little," said Francis. “(Then) I just got synced up. My body just kind of adapted. It took care of itself. I just kept trusting it and manifesting, staying good mentally and breathing good and staying present. Not letting it blow up.”
From there, he recovered quickly, escaping the inning with a strikeout and a double play. Afterwards, the game flowed more smoothly for Francis, who pitched 3.2 innings of one-run baseball while allowing one walk and three hits. He struck out five while generating seven swinging strikes and topping out at 95.8 m.p.h. All told, an encouraging outing.
While Francis has yet to start a game in the major leagues, he has pitched as many as 128 innings in three different minor-league seasons, giving him valuable experience. As this outing neared its end, he asked Blue Jays decision-makers to stay out on the mound.
“Keep pushing it,” said Francis, who was initially acquired along with Trevor Richards for Rowdy Tellez three years ago. “I was asking Pete (Walker, the pitching coach) to get some more batters in there. I know that pitch count was going up, (but I was) staying hungry and kept pushing for more.”
As for Manoah, it’s been 10 days since he made his lone Grapefruit League appearance. But after an off-season in which he received PRP injections in his shoulder, the Blue Jays are choosing to be deliberate with his progress.
“Letting it calm down a little bit, and then getting back to throwing,” Schneider said. “Hopefully that’s sooner rather than later. We’re taking it day by day. (It’s not that he) can't pick up a ball but he just didn't feel comfortable going off the mound.”
Asked whether Manoah is expected to be available to break camp with the team, the manager conceded there are bigger priorities in play.
“We’ll see,” Schneider said. “We’re more just worried about him just getting right. If it is opening series, great. If it’s not, then that’s fine, too. We’ll know a lot as this week ends and he gets the ball back in his hand.”
Meanwhile, Yariel Rodriguez (back) continues making progress with plans to face hitters on Saturday and plans to get into games not long afterwards. Prospect Ricky Tiedemann responded well to fielding drills and will start against the Phillies in Clearwater, Fla. Saturday.
But neither Rodriguez nor Tiedemann is considered a realistic candidate to break camp with the big-league team. That creates opportunity for others, and Francis continues to make the most of every chance he gets.
If he keeps this up for another three Grapefruit League starts, he may well be starting in the majors after that.
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