Mark Lowe adored his experience with the Toronto Blue Jays, but couldn’t turn down the opportunity he was offered from the Detroit Tigers as a free agent.
The 32-year-old relief pitcher signed a two-year deal worth $11 million this week to become the primary eighth-inning setup man out of the bullpen for veteran closer Francisco Rodriguez.
“We had some contact with the Blue Jays,” Lowe said Wednesday on The Jeff Blair Show on Sportsnet 590 The Fan. “It wasn’t anywhere in the same range as the other teams that talked to me. You want to go to the team that wants you the most.”
Lowe established himself as a valued commodity on the free agent market after a strong 2015 campaign with the Blue Jays and the Seattle Mariners, going 1-3 with a 1.96 ERA, 61 strikeouts, 12 walks, and just four home runs allowed over 55 innings.
“I knew that (the Blue Jays) were going to be good,” Lowe told co-hosts Jeff Blair and Stephen Brunt. “(However) I didn’t know the clubhouse and the city were going to be on fire. It was probably the most enjoyable time I’ve ever had in my career.”
Lowe developed into a bit of a fan favourite towards the end of his Blue Jays tenure as the veteran pitcher appeared to be one of the more eccentric figures during the team’s clubhouse celebrations, constantly throwing beer in his teammates’ faces.
“I was just texting (Chris) Colabello last night. He was telling me congrats. I will always root for (Toronto) unless I’m playing against you. Unless I’m playing Toronto in the playoffs, then I’ll want to get beer thrown all over me.”
Despite some concern among the Blue Jays fan base after losing pitcher David Price and other key contributors from the 2015 club in free agency, Lowe expects Toronto be a contender in the American League again next season.
“If you look at the lineup, not much – if anything – will change,” he said. “A couple of changes in the starting pitching but the Blue Jays have so many good young pitchers. The guys in the bullpen, remember we lost (Brett) Cecil against the (Texas) Rangers, the arms down there are incredible. Bo Schultz throws 100 mph. He’s a power arm.
“In my eyes they love the game of baseball. They love to learn and they got great experience last year. You can’t teach that. It has to come and fortunately a lot of guys got that for the first time.”
