TORONTO – During the sixth inning of Sunday’s game against the New York Yankees, after the Toronto Blue Jays briefly emerged from the dugout to salute the fans for their patronage this season, Carlos Villanueva lingered on the top step, flipped his hat, waved.
From a pending free agent, it looked as if he was saying goodbye, just in case.
“I think about it, it might be one of my last times I go here and give thanks to the fans,” the right-hander said Monday after word came that he was being scratched from his outing Tuesday due to his workload. “The last couple days, whoever wants my autograph, even though they might not know who I am some of them, (I) just give it out and show some type of appreciation.
“We play this game for the fans and I think a lot of us forget that sometimes because it’s a long and grinding season. But the fact that they still came out even though we didn’t have a very good season shows a lot and shows what they were expecting out of us. I hope they continue to show that support because I think this team is heading in the right direction.”
Whether or not Villanueva will be a part of things next season is an open question.
The right-hander and the Blue Jays have only briefly discussed an extension to this point, opting instead to table things until the off-season. The primary thing for him is an opportunity to pitch in the rotation from start to finish.
Determining his worth on the open market won’t be easy after he established career-highs in starts (16), innings (125.1) and strikeouts (122), and was an integral part of the club’s starting rotation after his mid-season addition. But having mostly pitched in relief in the majors, there isn’t enough track record to help predict that his effectiveness this season can be maintained over 30 starts for multiple seasons.
Villanueva also didn’t have the best September, allowing 24 runs in 26.2 innings over five starts, the last one Sept. 26 in Baltimore ending with three homers off him in a fifth inning he couldn’t escape. At least it was better than his previous outing in Tampa, when he allowed seven runs in 2.1 innings.
“That day in Tampa, I just had nothing, threw meatballs out there,” he said. “In Baltimore, the way I see it, I had good stuff that day. I thought I had a live fastball and my breaking balls were good. I was one pitch away from not having to answer any questions like this. It doesn’t always come out the way you script it. …
“It’s disappointing because you don’t want to finish that way, but in hindsight I look at the body of work of the whole season. I’m proud of what I was able to accomplish, and I’m very fortunate for the opportunity and support everyone provided.”
Manager John Farrell needed to convince Villanueva not to make his final start, eventually winning over the reluctant 28-year-old. Rookie Chad Jenkins will make his third big-league start in Villanueva’s place.
“What we discussed was more, it’s not worth right now to go out there just because of the long season it has been,” said Villanueva. “They mentioned Jenkins, and I agree. There is a lot of things the organization has to evaluate, I have no problem. Hopefully Jenkins is part of the solution as well because I think he is a good kid and can be very good.”
