SARASOTA, Fla. — It took only a few minutes Wednesday for Marcus Stroman to celebrate being named the Toronto Blue Jays Opening Day starter. Down 2-0 in the count to Mark Trumbo – making his first at bat of the spring – Stroman quick-pitched the 33-year-old, nine-year veteran.
Nice.
Throws strikes and he’s healthy. Those are the words manager Charlie Montoyo used when asked why Stroman will get the nod over, say, Aaron Sanchez. But then he quickly added he felt the same way about Sanchez, too, that in the end the decision came down to construction of the rotation. Nothing about messages being sent or rewards being doled out or fear of social media havoc.
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Montoyo said right-hander Matt Shoemaker will slot between Stroman and Sanchez, both of whom have similar styles and rely on sinking fastballs. The manager also made clear that left-hander Ryan Borucki has made the team – general manager Ross Atkins’ suggestion that Borucki could in fact start the season in triple-A was puzzling, considering that he made 17 starts last season and the Blue Jays aren’t exactly ripe in that area – while left-hander Clayton Richard is the fifth starter.
That would open the possibility early in the season that Richard could see duty out of the bullpen, which is where he could ultimately end up once Clay Buchholz is up to speed.
"It’s a day to day deal with him, we don’t know yet," said Montoyo, suggesting Buchholz, who signed on March 5, will be given all the time he needs in Florida to get ready.
"We know he can compete in the American League East," he said. "We’ve seen it."
These last two days have been significant for Montoyo, a kind of establishing of routines and maybe even flicking the switch. Opening Day is two weeks away from Thursday and Montoyo and his staff gathered Tuesday night to go over a set of goals they’d established for the first two weeks. Most have been reached, according to Montoyo. Asked what he still needed to see, he smiled and said: "Everybody stay healthy."
This has been a purposeful, process-oriented camp.
As I mentioned Tuesday, the only way a team being constructed for 2020 and beyond can win this season is to replicate what the Tampa Bay Rays did last season. For that to happen, somebody has to emerge as Blake Snell emerged in 2018 and only Stroman or Sanchez look to be even a long-shot to do so. This Opening Day start for Stroman is about as significant as the one Chris Archer made last season for the Rays, who eventually traded him.
But it is a reflection of how well things have gone so far in the first spring under Montoyo, at least as far as pitching goes. That the decision can be made taking into account pitching styles as opposed to health is a win. It is one of the game’s truths that once Spring Training begins only bad stuff can happen until Opening Day rolls around.
Yet two weeks to Opening Day and Vladimir Guerrero Jr.’s, strained oblique muscle is the only fly in the ointment. Work has been done, routines have been fashioned and there was even a wee, little, winning streak of eight Grapefruit League games which is apropos of absolutely nothing other than, in the words of Borucki, "giving us a little bit of energy… putting some smiles on some faces."
One of the real pluses of having the starting pitching stay true to form has been allowing No. 1 catcher Danny Janssen to establish his routine and rapport with the pitchers who are likely to break camp. One season removed from rocketing through three levels of the Blue Jays minor-league system, Janssen was quietly given the job this past weekend, when Montoyo slipped in his name in a conversation in Fort Myers.
Given the quantity of free-agent catchers with at least a little pedigree and track record – Martin Maldonado was on the market until recently – it would have been easy for the Blue Jays to hedge their bets in the same cost-effective manner they’ve used for pitching. The Blue Jays are diving into the deep, deep end of the analytical pool, and it is Jansen who has been trusted with the on-field keys to the car: those much-discussed, cheat-sheet, wrist-bands Blue Jays catchers will wear.
"They’re just there in case we get into trouble," said Janssen. "It varies. They can be individualized for us. It’s basically the lineup, and how we can best attack people to get back into counts. Mine can be different than Luke (Maile’s.) It’s whatever is most suitable for you when stuff hits the fan."
And don’t let these lazy days of spring fool you. As we speak, the baseball gods are taking aim at that fan. Stuff will be thrown, mayhem will break out, and it says a great deal that the on-field brains of whatever this is going to be will be a catcher who turns 24 on April 15. That is commitment to a plan, folks. There is more symbolism to that decision than who gets to start Opening Day.
