I rarely have much contact with Blue Jays players away from the ballpark. Sure we stay in the same hotels as the team on the road but, for the most part, the players are very stealth.
My list of conversations with players stands at just two since taking this job before the 1993 season.
I once shared a shuttle ride to the ballpark from the hotel in Arlington, Texas with reliever Pete Walker, who I found to be quite engaging and a very nice man. The other was with reliever Scott Schoeneweis, who walked past me sitting having lunch at an outdoor cafe and then doubled back to ask me, "Who are you, man? I see you everywhere we go". The chat was brief and had nothing to do with baseball, but was also quite funny.
With that in mind, I came across Jo-Jo Reyes waiting for his ride to the ballpark on Tuesday afternoon outside the team hotel in St. Petersburg, Florida. He had the look of a man heading off to his last supper. Making just his sixth start of the season for the Jays, it’s been well documented just how ineffective Reyes has been. And calls for his ouster from the rotation have been long and loud from the blogosphere.
The numbers heading into his latest start were substandard, to be kind. A 5.48 ERA in his first five starts, averaging just 4.2 innings per start, one ‘quality’ start, a 1.83 WHIP, and a MLB-high 19.2 pitches per inning. He was also on a streak of 23 starts since he last tasted victory back on June 13, 2008 while a member of the Atlanta Braves.
Over that span of futility, Reyes’ record was 0-11 with an eye-popping ERA of 7.23, an opponents’ batting average of .324 and a 1.85 WHIP. When pouring over those inflated numbers, one has to wonder why this pitcher was continuing to be handed the ball?
Thinking back to the earliest news coming out of spring training, Reyes’ name was brought up several times, with manager John Farrell and general manager Alex Anthopoulos providing glowing reviews of the 26-year-old left-hander in his first training camp with the Jays after arriving with Yunel Escobar from the Braves a year ago in the Alex Gonzalez trade. They liked his arm very much. But, unfortunately, Reyes was out of options and would have to be exposed to waivers if they tried to send him to the minors.
That wasn’t even being discussed at that time.
Tuesday night’s outing against the Rays however was solid enough for him to stay in the rotation in the short term. He allowed just one run over six innings on four hits and a single walk. Reyes was also able to cut down his pitch count to a more manageable 15.3 per inning. And he deserved a better fate than a no-decision when, quicker than you could say "Jo-Jo Reyes finally wins a start," closer Jon Rauch gave up a single to Ben Zobrist and a two-run, walkoff home run to B.J. Upton (his third career walk-off hit against the Jays).
Game, set, match with Reyes’ winless streak now at 24. Meanwhile, the Blue Jays’ bullpen saw their no-hits allowed streak snapped at 11.1 innings.
So, even though he didn’t win, Reyes didn’t lose and his performance will allow him to take the ball again next Sunday against the Detroit Tigers at Rogers Centre.
But the leash remains very short.
IF NOT JO-JO, THEN WHO?
If and when the sand finally runs out of Reyes’ hour glass, the options to replace him are few.
The obvious choice should be Brett Cecil, who underperformed and then sulked his way back to triple-A. While his first start with Las Vegas was forgettable (4.1 IP, 13 H, 10 ER), his second last Sunday was a little more encouraging (6.2 IP, 6 H, 3 ER). But he has given up five home runs in his two starts and I’m thinking Cecil might be in the minors for an extended stay while he gets it back together and rediscovers the five miles per hour that have disappeared off his fastball.
Next in line would be Brad Mills, who has a tight 2.18 ERA and an opponent’s batting average of .216 after five starts at triple-A. But he’s a case of "been there, done that" and Mills would just be a short-term solution.
They could dip down into double-A and tap the much-hyped Zach Stewart, who is 2-1, with a 2.64 ERA in five starts with New Hampshire. But the feeling is that with the big club a couple of years from serious contention, Stewart would be better served by making a slow and steady climb towards Toronto.
One pitcher who is being overlooked as a possible rotation replacement is currently in the Blue Jays bullpen: Carlos Villanueva. He has made 27 career starts over his first four seasons with the Brewers as a swingman.
He is a solid option, although Villanueva would likely also be just a short-term solution.
CATCHING UP WITH TRAVIS
Four games does not warrant a quick return to Toronto, but Travis Snider has used his short time in the minors to put up some nice numbers with triple-A Las Vegas.
He has seven hits in 13 at-bats, good for a .538 batting average and a big 1.300 OPS. He also has struck out just twice and walked six times with just one extra-base hit. I’m expecting, based upon John Farrell’s assessment that Snider needs to exhibit more of a "direct swing path," and that "those changes aren’t going to happen overnight," that Travis will have an extended stay in the land of loose slots.
Patience is being preached, something that hasn’t happened during Snider’s uneven big league career to date.
