DUNEDIN, Fla. – On their last day of spring training, the Toronto Blue Jays staged a glorified intrasquad game that included national anthems, in-game announcements and the opportunity to get weird.
Innings of one out and four outs. Hitting in and out of order. Baserunners put on as needed. Outs that went for hits and hits that went for outs. Everyone got their work in and bounced, bound for Toronto where workouts loom ahead of Friday’s Opening Day.
“There were a few firsts,” manager John Schneider, fresh off signing a two-year extension, said afterwards. “Just things that we wanted to see, a lot of little detailed things that were trying to look for. A little quirky but glad we got it in.”
Final box checked, the Blue Jays left Florida behind for the journey north with a couple of roster calls remaining ahead of Wednesday’s deadline. The final spot in the bullpen is down to intriguing Rule 5 pick Spencer Miles and side-armer Chase Lee, who can be optioned to triple-A Buffalo; while the last spot on the bench is between incumbent Davis Schneider, who has options remaining, and Leo Jimenez, who does not.
As always, there is an element of roster management at play, as the Blue Jays could open with both Miles and Jimenez, retain Lee and Davis Schneider in the system and see how it all plays out once the schedule gets rolling. If they go the other way, Miles would need to be put through waivers and returned to the San Francisco Giants if he goes unclaimed, while Jimenez would also need to be put on waivers, where he’s likely to be claimed.
All four were travelling to Toronto with the club, leading to a “couple of sleepless nights for those guys,” John Schneider said, while GM Ross Atkins explained that “when we have time, we like to use it” since “there’s always the potential of more information coming into the fold.”
Some of the considerations revolving around the bench decision is that the Blue Jays “probably have a little bit more depth in the outfield than you do the infield, that plays into it,” said John Schneider.
If Jimenez were to be claimed, prospect Josh Kasevich would be positioned as the next man up and while he impressed at camp, having a backup with big-league experience in the event of an Ernie Clement or Andres Gimenez injury makes some sense for a win-now team. The Blue Jays are weighing that against the power offered by Davis Schneider, who’s provided important impact in recent seasons and can cover second but not third or short.
“In terms of how I would use either one of them, Schneid would be similar to how he has been used in years past or last year and Leo we would probably target against left-handed starters,” said John Schneider.
The bullpen call is, in some ways even more complicated, as Lee is the more predictable option, an important consideration for the multi-inning, mop-up role the Blue Jays are envisioning.
But Miles is super intriguing with high-90s velocity and even though he’s very raw, having appeared in only 10 minor-league games over the past four seasons due to injury, finding a way to carry him all year could turn into a clever dice-roll on someone who in time could develop into a high-leverage arm.
Miles threw more than an inning three times in the spring, including two innings Wednesday versus Baltimore followed by a clean frame Sunday against Tampa Bay.
“I wish we had a little bit more time to see the recovery part of it, but just have been very clear with how we see that role unfolding for whoever it is,” said Schneider. “Letting them know the conversations that we have as a staff when that time comes in terms of bullpen availability and protecting some other guys, but still going out and trying to keep us in a game or help us win a game.”
As those considerations continue – and remember that the first iteration of the roster is very far from the last – the Blue Jays can set their sights on Friday’s opener versus the visiting Athletics.
Cody Ponce and Max Scherzer will join the team later this week after tune-up outings in Florida and they’ll be joined by Trey Yesavage, Jose Berrios and Shane Bieber, each opening the year on the injured list.
Eric Lauer, who’ll pitch Sunday’s series finale versus the Athletics, logged five innings Monday and comes away from camp most happy about the progress he made with his changeup, the least used of his five pitches at eight per cent.
“In-season you’re out there competing, trying to just get guys out, so to try to mix in your worst pitch is kind of hard to do – this is the time to do that,” he said. “Being able to throw it pretty much at any time has been very helpful as far as getting the reps in and seeing how hitters are reacting to it. That’s been the biggest thing for me, making sure that was coming along the way I wanted to so that I could actually use it in season as a weapon, probably in more specific ways.”
His plan is for “definitely more” changeups this season, he added. “I’m trying to get that up to probably 10 per cent, 15 maybe. The more even spread I can have throughout all my pitches, I think, the better everything’s going to play off each other.”
SHORT HOPS: Kazuma Okamoto played first base in the intrasquad game and the Blue Jays see him as their main option at the position on days Vladimir Guerrero Jr. starts at DH. Beyond him, John Schneider mentioned Ernie Clement as an option for first base, if needed.
• Nathan Lukes had a stressful end of camp the last few years, waiting to learn his fate. Not this year, as John Schneider approached him mid-table-tennis-game and confirmed that he was good. The addition of Jesus Sanchez may have seemed to complicate his usage this year, but the manager said, “there’s a clear pathway for them to both contribute, for sure. Really trying to get Sanch in against certain right-handed pitchers. … so looking for the right spots for him and then at the same time looking for the right spots for Nate.”
• The MVP of camp, Schneider said, is always the person who does the daily schedule, so congratulations to first-year major-league field co-ordinator Eric Duncan. As for players, “I’ll give you three,” he continued. “From a reliever’s standpoint, it’s Brendon Little. From a starter’s standpoint it is Max Scherzer – and he’ll love that I gave him that one. And from a position player’s standpoint, I’m going to go with Kaz, just for the adjustment that he’s going through coming over and how quickly he picked up on everything while still contributing and still showing the talent that he has. It’s not an easy task.”
And Daulton Varsho with five homers and .380/.426/.820 batting line? “Oh yeah, Daulton. I’m going to keep the carrot at the end of the stick in a contract year so he’s not getting all the awards right now. But he was pretty good.”
