Mike Aviles says he isn’t worried about joining a franchise in the process of a managerial transition.
The 31-year-old infielder, whom Toronto acquired on Sunday in the transaction that saw minor league pitcher David Carpeneter go to the Boston Red Sox and Blue Jays manager John Farrell released from the final year of his contract, says he has no trepidations coming to a team that essentially just traded away its manager.
“John gets to go to Boston where it was his dream job,” Aviles told Jeff Sammut on Sportsnet 590 The Fan on Wednesday. “Now the Blue Jays don’t have a manager, but it works out in a good way because I know Alex (Anthopoulos) will do a great job of going out and finding a good manager that will help our team win.
“It works out both ways. You just have to find a guy that’s going to able to corral everybody and get us all on the same page.”
Aviles admitted that the trade was a bit of a surprise, but he had been bracing himself for a potential move after the Red Sox’ dismal season in which they finished last in the A.L. East.
“It’s still a little shocking to take in,” he said, “just the fact that I got traded for a manager pretty much, but everything has its reasoning. I’m excited because I’ve always liked watching the Blue Jays play and I get a chance to play with those guys, a lot of good young, talent so I’m excited to get around those guys and get cracking.
The former seventh-round draft pick in 2003 was traded by the Kansas City Royals to the Red Sox in 2011 for Kendal Volz and Yamaico Navarro.
Wanna thank #RedSoxNation for all the support, great city, team and fans! Loved my time there but now it’s time for a new chapter! #gojays — Mike Aviles(@Themikeaviles) October 21, 2012
Wanna thank #RedSoxNation for all the support, great city, team and fans! Loved my time there but now it’s time for a new chapter! #gojays
— Mike Aviles(@Themikeaviles) October 21, 2012
The Red Sox had their fair share of negative storylines in 2012, but Aviles refuted Bobby Valentine’s recent claim that David Ortiz quit on the Red Sox once they were out of playoff contention, using an injury as an excuse.
“If you look back at what was going on, he had an Achilles injury and he was trying to come back for the team,” Aviles said of Ortiz. “It was pretty evident he was hurt. Anyone who knows David Ortiz knows he’s not that type of person.”
On Sunday, Blue Jays general manager Alex Anthopoulos said he told Aviles he would be at the least a utility player in 2013 and depending on how the off-season went, could be a candidate for the starting second base job.
“In all honestly, I’ve never been handed a position in my entire life,” said Aviles. “I’ve always had to work for everything. I was drafted and only got signed for a thousand bucks, so I’ve always had to work my entire life for everything. I don’t expect anything to be given to me.
“I always play with a chip on my shoulder and the reason for that is I’ve always had to work for everything. I don’t play for the money. I play because I enjoy the game and so I always play hard. That’s just how I am. I’m a blue collar worker. I come to the field and I bend over backwards trying to win the game, whatever I gotta do to come out on top.”
He added the fact there is currently an opening at second base won’t change his preparation heading into the winter.
“Whether it’s like ‘hey, you’re going to be the starting second baseman’ or ‘you’re going to be the last guy off the bench,’ it’s not going to change the way I prepare all off-season and it’s not going to change the way I prepare during the season.”
The New York native was well liked during his time in Boston and said he can’t wait to get started with his new teammates.
Aviles joins a Blue Jays squad that is coming off disappointing year, missing the playoffs for an 18th consecutive season.
Still, he is encouraged by what he saw last year when he was an opponent.
“The first thing I thought was ‘man these guys are good’ … I felt the Blue Jays played us a lot tougher than most teams. Their offence I think is unbelievable because there’s a lot of young guys on that team and to have young guys on your team you usually don’t get the kind of power and speed that they bring to the table. You can tell when everyone begins to mature … you can tell that it’s going to be a good team.”
When the transaction occurred, the question ‘who will be the next manager for the Blue Jays?’ was on the minds of fans and media. Aviles, however, was concerned with something else.
“I’m not going to lie, the first thing I did when I found out I got traded, that night I went on the website and I looked at what numbers everybody had.”
He has worn 30, 13 and 3 during his career but those numbers all happen to be taken on the current Blue Jays roster.
“I was planning on calling the clubhouse guy and see what numbers are available … 99 is interesting,” Aviles added with a laugh, hinting at Canada’s affection for hockey and The Great One.
