The recent free agent signing of Shannon Stewart has created quite the log jam in the Blue Jays outfield.
Before the return Shannon Stewart to the Florida nest, everything looked like it was cut and dry. Alex Rios in right, Vernon Wells in centre and a platoon of Reed Johnson and Matt Stairs in left. The odd man out appeared to be Adam Lind, who has done just about everything he can in Triple-A, but doesn't have a spot on the 25-man roster.
Unfortunately for the hitters, the team likes to carry seven relievers meaning that there's not a lot of room on the bench which will consist of backup catcher Rod Barajas, infielders John McDonald and Marco Scutaro and one of the left fielders.
So what are we to read into the return of Toronto’s 1992 first-round pick? Well, there's no doubt that he can still hit. In 146 games last season with the Athletics, 'Stew' hit a solid .290 with 12 HR and 48 RBI. Those type of numbers would fit in very nicely on a Jays squad that had a lot of offensive holes last season due to injuries throughout the line-up.
There have been whispers out of Florida that Johnson's back problems, which limited him to just 79 games last season, have left him weak on his left side. This is why Stewart's signing might turn out to be a genius stroke. On a team where most of the roster spots have been preordained, this is the lone battle of the spring among position players.
Baby steps
Sure it was only 21 pitches to four minor-league hitters, but all signs were that closer B.J. Ryan, whose opening day status will have a major effect on the size and shape of the entire pitching staff, had a very positive outing as he recovers from 'Tommy John' surgery. He'll have another batting practice session on Sunday, a simulated game next Wednesday, and then he should be ready to make his Grapefruit League debut. That would make it approximately 47 weeks between pitches to major league hitters.
Now, I still don't think that they need to have Ryan ready to go by opening day, especially with the team opening the season on the last day of March at what should be a cold afternoon at Yankee Stadium. Last season's replacement closer Jeremy Accardo is more than qualified to hold down the fort in the opening series. The reason that I bring this up is that New York will be the only cold weather city that the Jays will play in over the first three weeks. When you factor in that the average temperature over the last five years on March 31st in New York City has been five degrees Celsius, does it really make sense to expose his arm to those conditions? Personally, I think not, but what do I know?
Prospects on display
Road games during the spring schedule are always good for players trying to make a good first impression. For first-round picks David Purcey (2004) and Travis Snider (2006), the Grapefruit League opener in Lakeland against the Tigers was the first chance for Jays fans (who happened to make the trek to central Florida) to get a look the two prospects. Purcey pitched a scoreless inning, striking out major leaguer Marcus Thames while Snider was 0-for-1 with a walk. Both these players will start the season in the minors. While Snider likely won't make his major league debut until late next season at the earliest, something tells me that we might see Purcey at the Rogers Centre at some point this season. His 1.23 ERA with 25 strikeouts in 22 innings with Scottsdale of the Arizona Fall League upped his stock after an injury-plagued 2007 with Double-A New Hampshire limited him to just 11 starts. With Gustavo Chacin's status still up in the air, the rotation is void of a left-hander and Purcey might be just the guy they are looking for.
Enough already
On the day that the Blue Jays opened their spring schedule, a sure sign that warm weather is not too far away despite the freezing temperatures in the Toronto area, the top three headlines on most websites had nothing to do with what is going on between the white lines. Instead, baseball news was dominated by the FBI opening an investigation into whether Roger Clemens committed perjury during his testimony in Washington, Barry Bonds' lawyers are going to make a request for a dismissal of the charges that he faces, and union boss Don Fehr considering allowing a reliable blood test for HGH. Am I the only one that is tired of all this blather?
