The Toronto Blue Jays have World Series aspirations as they kick off the 2016 regular season.
The team came oh-so-close last year, winning their first division title since 1993 before falling short to the eventual-champion Kansas City Royals in the ALCS, and the Blue Jays are confident they have the talent, depth, and chemistry to make another run at the title.
However, the AL East appears to be tougher this year. The Boston Red Sox got better, the New York Yankees added a big bullpen piece, while the Tampa Bay Rays offer a strong combination of elite young starting pitching. strong defence, and a batting order loaded with depth.
The Blue Jays will get their first look at the Rays, a popular pre-season pick to challenge for a playoff spot, when they kick off the 2016 season with a four-game set at Tropicana Field.
Here’s what to watch for:
Sunday, Apr. 3 – 4:05 p.m. ET
Marcus Stroman vs. Chris Archer
Monday, Apr. 4 – 7:10 p.m. ET
R.A. Dickey vs. Drew Smyly
Tuesday, Apr. 5 – 7:10 p.m. ET
Aaron Sanchez vs. Jake Odorizzi
Wednesday, Apr. 6 – 1:10 p.m. ET
J.A. Happ vs. Matt Moore
The chase for 200 innings begins:
With David Price departing in free agency, Marcus Stroman has become the de facto ace of the Blue Jays.
The 24-year-old right-hander is set to make the first Opening Day start of his MLB career (he will be the first 5-foot-8 Opening Day starter since 1971, according to ESPN’s Jayson Stark) on Sunday and he is expecting a big season overall following a dazzling performance — in a brief stint — to end the 2015 season while miraculously returning from a severe knee injury that occurred in spring training.
“I want to be the guy that the team counts on every single time I go out there to get a win,” Stroman told Sportsnet’s Arden Zwelling over the off-season. “I want to be a guy to throw 200-plus innings.”
It’ll be fascinating to see how Stroman performs in his first full season as a starting pitcher considering that he has never exceeded 131 innings at the big-league level.
He has the make-up, stuff, and arsenal of pitches to perform admirably in the role.
How will Encarnacion perform?
One of the biggest narratives throughout spring training focused on Encarnacion’s future with the Blue Jays, but that kind of overshadowed another story involving the Blue Jays slugger.
Encarnacion has been dealing with an oblique injury and he did not participate in any big-league game action with the Blue Jays throughout all of spring training.
However, he is making good progress, taking part in a few minor-league games earlier this week, and Encarnacion is expected to play on Opening Day as the designated hitter while batting in the cleanup spot.
Encarnacion, who has dealt with various injuries throughout his Blue Jays’ tenure, hit .277/.372/.558 with 39 home runs last season and should once again post monster numbers, barring he’s healthy, in his contract year.
Will Sanchez’s spring dominance carry into the season?
The Blue Jays’ most positive development throughout the spring has undoubtedly been the performance of pitcher Aaron Sanchez, who won the fifth starter’s job in the rotation over Gavin Floyd, Drew Hutchison, and Jesse Chavez.
Sanchez not only added 20 pounds to his frame in order to improve his durability, but offered an electric spring training performance with improved command, going 2-0 with a 1.35 ERA, 19 strikeouts, three walks, and one home run allowed in 20 innings.
You never want to put too much stock in spring numbers, but the Blue Jays starter impressed many around the league, which was evident when Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports wrote that an MLB scout was of the belief that Sanchez would be an Opening Day starter for “half the teams in the majors.”
The current plan is for Sanchez to transition to the bullpen later in the season in order to manage his innings, so it’ll be must-see TV every time the 23-year-old right-hander takes the hill early in the season.
How will new-look bullpen perform?
Roberto Osuna is back in the closer’s job, beating out newcomer Drew Storen, and Brett Cecil will be an important late-inning reliever as a left-hander, but otherwise the bullpen has almost entirely new personnel from the end of the 2015 season.
Most of the attention in spring training has gone towards the back-end of the bullpen, but it will be worth monitoring how some of the less-heralded relievers such as Arnold Leon and Joe Biagini perform early in the season.
Why? There’s an extra reliever on the roster right now with Marco Estrada opening the season on the disabled list, so Biagini and Leon are likely battling for one spot as soon the veteran starter is activated, which is expected to take place on Apr. 10.
The Jays initially had Ryan Tepera in the competition, but he was optioned after the club signed veteran lefty Franklin Morales to a one-year contract on Saturday. Morales provides far more stability as the second left-hander in the bullpen behind Cecil.
Jays have struggled at The Trop
The Blue Jays’ recent lack of success at the Rays’ stadium, which is one of the least impressive buildings in all of pro sports, has been well documented.
Toronto has only won three series at Tropicana Field over the last three seasons and went 3-6 overall in Tampa Bay last season.
The Blue Jays have gone 2-2 in each of their past two four-game series in Tampa Bay and the club is hoping for a better result this time around.