TORONTO – The cruel realities of roster management and contractual control that kept Neil Wagner from the roster spot he deserved during spring training have now been remedied by his recall to the Toronto Blue Jays.
The hard throwing right-hander essentially arrived at spring training this season with no chance of making the team unless someone was injured simply because he still had options remaining, while several relievers, including the now designated for assignment Jeremy Jeffress, were out of options.
Players without options can’t be demoted without clearing waivers, giving them a leg up in the jockeying for big-league jobs because clubs don’t want to risk losing them for nothing.
“I knew I was going to have outpitch guys who didn’t have options,” Wagner said Thursday, a day after making his season debut with two shutout innings. “I still didn’t think I’d get sent out as early as I did, but they needed innings for those guys and that’s how it happened.”
The machinations “definitely” left Wagner frustrated after he posted a 3.79 ERA in 36 games last year, striking out 33 in 38 innings. Still, the 30-year-old understands that allowing himself to become jaded would be nothing but a detriment.
Wagner collected two saves in two appearances at triple-A Buffalo before his promotion Wednesday.
“I tell my wife all the time, I love the game of baseball, and I hate the business of baseball,” he said. “You’ve got to make sure to separate the two and don’t let the business side detract from your love of the game.
“As much as you hate it, as much as you don’t want to be optioned, the reality is you’re there and if you go down and put up a six you’re not going to come up. You have to focus on what you need to do, treat it like it’s the big-leagues to you and do the best you can.”
Manager John Gibbons echoed those sentiments. When reassigning him to minor-league camp during spring training, he told Wagner that he “deserved to make the team” but the club wanted to give the pitchers who were out of options a longer look.
Gibbons praised Wagner for not letting it get to him.
“You can accept it and make the most out of it and be ready to go when we need somebody or you can pout, feel sorry for yourself, think you’re getting screwed and go down there and don’t perform, now the time comes we need somebody, if you’re not performing it might be somebody else (that comes up),” said Gibbons. “But he’s the ultimate professional. He’s paid his dues, nothing has ever been handed to him, and he’s a late bloomer is what he is. He understood that. He’s probably one of the most focused guys you’ll find in there.”
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REPLAY BLUES: The Blue Jays apparently missed a chance to overturn an incorrect out call on a pick off of Ryan Goins on Wednesday because they didn’t have access to the right video feed.
That was manager John Gibbons’ explanation for why he didn’t get word from the dugout to challenge the play. Coaching assistant Sal Butera handles the Major League Baseball-supplied replay equipment and is responsible for the decision on whether to challenge or not.
“The angles he got, he did the best with what he got,” said Gibbons. “You don’t get every feed in the place. He looked at what he had available and made his best judgment.”
A replay on the Rogers Centre videoboard clearly showed that Goins was safe, but Butera didn’t get access to the same shot in time. The replay system supplies 12 raw feeds to each team, but apparently some glitches remain.
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RIDING IZTURIS: The starting job at second base still belongs to Ryan Goins, but with Maicer Izturis currently on a good run at the plate, manager John Gibbons wants to run with him as long as he can.
“I’m not ready to say that,” when asked if second base had evolved into a platoon. “Izturis gives you some offence and some defence. Goins is a defensive specialist, we think he’s going to hit enough. He’s off to a slow start but we expect him to improve. Right now we’re just playing the hot hand.”
