TORONTO – To gauge what their return meant to the Toronto Blue Jays, we asked a few players to complete the following sentence: Getting Josh Donaldson and Troy Tulowitzki back in the lineup is like …
“… a shot in the arm,” said centre-fielder Kevin Pillar. “It’s got a similar feel to when we got Tulo the first time and David Price (at the 2015 trade deadline). Obviously they’re a big part of this team but we’ve played the majority of the year without them, so getting them back is like adding two new, shiny toys to the mix.”
“… a blessing,” said first baseman Justin Smoak. “To have their presence day-in, day-out in the clubhouse, I can’t really explain it. They have their presence in the lineup, that’s one thing, but in the clubhouse they’re great. I told JD when he came in – he’s already mouthing off – I said, ‘Man, I was just glad to see that little white car you got pull up, it put a smile on my face.’”
“… the Toronto Blue Jays,” said second baseman Devon Travis. “The coolest thing is looking up at the lineup and seeing the boys back, it’s a full lineup, it’s exciting, man. Losing guys like JD and Tulo isn’t something you can replace but that is the time when everybody has to collectively step up as a group but when they’re back in the lineup there definitely is a different feel. I wouldn’t say it takes any pressure off, but let’s be honest, it’s two of the best players in the game and they’re back.”
[snippet id=3319157]
Back Donaldson and Tulowitzki are, activated from the disabled list before Friday’s 7-6 victory over the Texas Rangers after absences of 38 and 31 games, respectively, returning at a pivotal point of a star-crossed season to this point for their Blue Jays.
They were 4-12 when Tulowitzki strained his hamstring in Anaheim and joined Donaldson, recovering from a strained right calf, on the sidelines April 12, the team entering a period of extreme uncertainty.
“We very easily could have disappeared,” noted manager John Gibbons, but instead, even as additional injuries only amplified the attrition, the Blue Jays steadied, going 17-14 in the star shortstop’s absence, the club’s secondary players helping to partially dig the team out of its early-season hole.
“That’s what makes a team strong, is when core guys go down you have guys that can step in and hold the fort down until the guys come back and that’s exactly what they did,” said Tulowitzki, who singled and walked twice. “In the long run, that’s going to make us a better team. You’re not going to be healthy the whole year, come playoff time or crunch time or whatever it may be, you can count on those guys, whether it be pinch-hits, pinch-running or to give some of your guys blows. Those guys did a great job. They know we’re very appreciative of what they did, and that’s why they’re pros.”
Now, though, it’s go time, the Blue Jays offence intact save for Steve Pearce, and producing the way it was expected to. Donaldson, who doubled in his first at-bat, was back in the customary two-spot followed by Jose Bautista, Kendrys Morales, Smoak and Russell Martin, with Tulowitzki, Travis and Ezequiel Carrera set up in an enviable bottom third with the potential to produce the way it did during the best days of 2015 and ’16.
With a lineup so deep that the scorching hot Travis can reasonably bat eighth in it – it played out perfectly Friday as he came up with the bases loaded in the second and launched his second career grand slam – the Blue Jays won’t be bunting and squeezing and scratching their way to runs the way they’ve tried to at times in recent weeks.
“You won’t see much of that anymore,” Gibbons said, adding later: “Where we’ve been really successful in the past is when that bottom of the order is really good and rolls it around for the guys up top. Devon can contribute there. We’ll give it some time and if we need to make some adjustments, if we had to shake it up, we’ll shake it up. This is a starting point.”
The same can be said for the roster, which is still missing starting pitchers Aaron Sanchez, J.A. Happ and Francisco Liriano. While Sanchez’s timeline remains up in the air, Liriano headed off to triple-A Buffalo for a rehab start with the Bisons on Sunday, while Happ threw 56 pitches in a rehab outing for single-A Dunedin on Thursday and “felt really good” the day after, according to Gibbons.
[relatedlinks]
That’s important because the Blue Jays remain without a starter for Tuesday, when Happ is on turn, and they very well could activate him to face the Cincinnati Reds. The sense right now is that’s the team’s lean.
“If we decide to go that route, the thinking would be, there would be limitations but we might be able to get as much out of him as somebody else for a spot start,” said Gibbons. “That’s still up in the air right now.”
Quick and effective returns from Happ and Liriano would help stabilize a rotation in need of a couple more pillars. Despite allowing six hits and four walks Friday night, Mike Bolsinger kept the game under control over his 4.2 innings but it marked the 11th time a Blue Jays starter has gone fewer than five innings in the 36 games since Happ landed on the disabled list April 17.
Compounding that, the Blue Jays have had 11 five-and-dive starts with just 14 outings of at least six innings. As a result, the bullpen has logged 135.2 of the team’s 325 innings, an unsustainable load if the team hopes to keep its relievers fresh and strong over the course of the full season.
Still, with a 22-26 record, Donaldson and Tulowitzki back and more reinforcements on the horizon, the Blue Jays are in the best shape they’ve been in a for a long time.
“It’s still early,” said Tulowitzki. “I said that when we got off to a bad start, there’s so much time left and these guys did a nice job holding it together. No one ran away with the division, not like anybody does this early, but there’s definitely an opportunity out there. Hopefully with this veteran ball club we can make the most of it.”