DUNEDIN, Fla. – It’d be an understatement to say a lot has changed for the Toronto Blue Jays since 2009. Back then Cito Gaston managed the team, which still wore black and blue. Roy Halladay was their best pitcher and Jose Bautista was a journeyman utility player who hit ninth more than he batted anywhere else.
Since then, a lot has changed for Marc Rzepczynski, too. It was on that 2009 team that he debuted in impressive fashion, posting a 3.67 ERA in 11 starts. But 11 years, 506 appearances and seven teams later, he’s back where it all started: in the home clubhouse at TD Ballpark trying to earn a roster spot on the Blue Jays.
“It feels like a long time ago,” he said in an interview this week. “I was 23. I’m 34 now. Just coming back from where I was to now, knowing the difference of being a starter to being a reliever. You look back on it and our jerseys were different, our colours were different, our team was different.”
Long gone are Adam Lind and Aaron Hill, the breakout players from that 2009 team. Now the emerging stars on the Blue Jays are at least a decade younger than Rzepczynski, who faced Vladimir Guerrero Sr. seven times and struck him out twice. At 34 years old, Rzepczynski is now the oldest player in the room.
“I know,” he said. “That’s the one part that’s the biggest difference.”
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The only member of the 2009 Blue Jays to appear in the majors last year was Edwin Encarnacion. Rzepczynski, who posted a 5.04 ERA in 45 appearances for the Diamondbacks’ triple-A team in 2019, signed a minor-league deal with the Blue Jays last month in the hopes of making it back to the majors himself.
One of the few people remaining from Rzepczynski’s first stint in Toronto will have a say in whether that happens. More than a decade after helping the left-hander rehab a finger injury, Blue Jays pitching coach Pete Walker is again watching him closely.
“His stuff was great then. It looks like it’s still there now,” Walker said. “I’m trying to get him as many appearances as he can to show us what he can do.”
There’s certainly opportunity in Toronto’s bullpen, which offers little certainty beyond closer Ken Giles, The Blue Jays will carry eight relievers on their 13-man pitching staff, and while Thomas Pannone has the advantage of a 40-man roster spot, no left-handers can be considered sure things.
With a career ground ball rate of 59.7 per cent and a lifetime 3.89 ERA, Rzepczynski has a long track record of success. Yet, his walk rate has spiked considerably in recent years, and his strikeout rate dropped last season when he pitched 44.2 innings for the Reno Aces (he struck out 36 while walking 28). On paper, he’s a few years removed from his best work.
Regardless, roster decisions are for the likes of Walker and manager Charlie Montoyo. As someone who has been around the business of baseball long enough to be traded five times and released three times, Rzepczynski keeps his own focus narrow.
“One, enjoy where you’re at,” he said. “And focus on today.”
“Don’t make the roller coaster too big,” he continued. “After a bad outing, don’t over-analyze it. After a good outing, don’t be too happy about it. The next day could be (the) complete opposite.”
After all these years, Rzepczynski knows that much from experience. There are no guarantees, of course, especially not for a minor-league invitee. But with a strong finish to this spring or a bit of good fortune, he could have the chance to add to his big-league resume back where it all began.
“I’ve been with a lot of teams, thrown a lot of games, been in a lot of situations,” he said. “It’s coming back full circle now.”
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