Charlie Montoyo sat in the visitor’s dugout in Fort Myers on Sunday, unaware that up the road in Clearwater, the Philadelphia Phillies were still talking about the day he used four outfielders in a Grapefruit League game against Bryce Harper. Twice, no less. But just before Montoyo’s Blue Jays would go on to beat the Minnesota Twins, Montoyo suggested people stop thinking he’d reinvented the wheel or was trying to pick the most-ballyhooed event of the spring as a means of sending a message.
“It’s just looking at the data,” said Montoyo, the Blue Jays manager, who on Saturday had Eric Sogard trot out from third base to the outfield for Harper’s much-heralded first two at-bats of the spring, both of which were walks. “He’s not the biggest fly-ball guy, but knowing the situation — his first at-bat — you know he’s going to be looking to drive the ball.”
The Phillies sense of surprise was surprising in of itself, since it was in Clearwater last spring where Phillies manager Gabe Kapler started shifting infielders around in some cases pitch to pitch with the other team’s minor leaguers in the game. It was a whole lot of game-planning for guys with uniform numbers in the 80s in games that didn’t mean anything and it was a harbinger: the Phillies, one of the most stationary defensive teams in baseball in previous seasons, shifted 22.1 per cent of the time, the 10th-most frequent figure in the game. By mid-August, in fact, the Phillies had employed more defensive shifts than they had in their entire two previous seasons.
[snippet id=4071101]
By comparison, the Blue Jays shifted 13.7 per cent of the time in 2018, which left them 21st in the Majors. The Houston Astros led the way with 37.3 per cent and right behind them at an even 30 per cent was the Tampa Bay Rays, for whom Montoyo was the bench coach. (Interestingly the Chicago Cubs, managed by the normally shift-happy former Rays manager Joe Maddon, shifted just 5.1 per cent of the time, the third-lowest figure in the Majors.)
Montoyo has pledged that the Blue Jays will be more aggressive defensively, and the organization has surrounded him with like-minded people. Among the ways it’s manifested itself is more purposeful play behind the plate, with quick throws behind the runner a first building block towards a greater awareness of holding runners. Montoyo said that he told pitching coach Pete Walker this weekend that it was time to incorporate more of that commodity into the game, something the organization has spent the past three years discussing without much effect. As Montoyo notes: “I was a third base coach and the moment you have a coach saying ‘be careful, be careful’ … that’s a good thing.”
One thing Montoyo is concerned about as he gets this team thinking situationally in the field is that his pitchers retain their focus on quality pitches. He shook his head when asked if he worried pitchers might subconsciously or, for that matter, consciously start pitching along with the shift. “Nah, the pitcher should just pitch,” Montoyo said. “Moving position players around … that has to have nothing to do with how you pitch inside or outside.”
Is that a philosophical belief?
“No,” Montoyo said quickly. “It’s [got] nothing to [do] with what [I] believe. I’ve seen it.”
Still, some Blue Jays pitchers are at least intrigued by pitching to help the shift. Ryan Borucki, who had his best outing of the spring on Sunday (and let’s cut the B.S.: Ryan Borucki needs to be on this Opening Day roster) said: “As we get deeper into the games mean more, yeah, I might start to be a little more conscious [of] where guys are and pitch to the shift. But right now … we’re just learning a lot of stuff. I haven’t pitched with the shift a lot to this point in my career. Right now I think I just need to pitch my game.”
NOW TWEET THIS
In which we wonder if Elvis Luciano can channel the spirit of Aquilino Lopez … weigh in on the status of a former Jays pitcher now with the Cardinals … stand at attention with Charlie Montoyo … wonder about a world where Scott Boras might no longer call the shots …
• Not a huge fan of this but right now it’s difficult to see the Blue Jays going with less than eight relievers especially if they want to carry the 19-year-old arm of Rule 5 pick Elvis Luciano
• There are too many players in baseball with the peer currency of Adam Jones and if it’s true he signed for one-year and $3 million with the Diamondbacks? Man, that’s going to raise hackles in clubhouses around Florida and Arizona #MLBPA
• First noticeable difference in a Charlie Montoyo team: standing at attention outside the dugout for the playing of the national anthems is mandatory. The Jays seldom had a third let alone their full team outside the dugout for anthems #attention
• Jonathan Erlichman will be in the dugout as the Rays process and analytics coach. James Click, VP of baseball operations, said during a telecast this week that it helps ensure “we’re on the same page, from the front office down.” Erlichman interned with the Jays in 2012 #newera
[relatedlinks]
• Bryce Harper’s contract is a watershed for agent Scott Boras: with Jose Altuve already signed through 2023, his future marquee free-agents are Gerrit Cole (after this season) and Kris Bryant (after 2021). Boras’ winter meetings sessions won’t be the same #passthebaton
• The Padres sold out their Home Opener on Monday – last Monday, the earliest date in the last 10 years #mannyhappyreturns
• You will hear a lot of talk about Vladimir Guerrero Jr.’s, weight but there is a fine line: there is a correlation between body size and type and swing and a drastic change can have profoundly negative impacts #balance
•Remember Brett Cecil? The former Blue Jays left-hander has had to remake his delivery after losing 42 pounds (!) this off-season after hitting 248 last year and will be life and death to make the roster. He has two years and $15 million left on his contract #changeup
[snippet id=4235507]
THE ENDGAME
It’s too dramatic to say that closer Ken Giles saved or maybe even resurrected his career when he was traded to the Blue Jays by the Houston Astros at the trade deadline but one thing’s certain: he changed the dialogue around him a bit by improving the quality of his stuff. Who knows? Stepping out of the pennant drive spotlight might have actually helped.
Giles posted quality of contact numbers with the Blue Jays that were the best of his career, and credits the Blue Jays coaching staff for “being patient with me, while letting me go out and compete.” Giles made mechanical alterations on the fly after joining the Blue Jays, something that would have been difficult to do with a team with the priorities of the Astros and the result was interest in his services at the winter meetings. Translation? The Roberto Osuna trade may not yet be complete.
Jeff Blair hosts The Jeff Blair Show on from 9 a.m.-Noon ET on Sportsnet 590/The Fan
