Despite the apparent gap in the relationship between Marcus Stroman and the Toronto Blue Jays, it would appear the latter side is taking steps to try to repair what seems to be something of a damaged relationship.
Speaking to reporters on a conference call from Dunedin, Fla., Blue Jays president Mark Shapiro spoke glowingly of Stroman.
“He’s the kind of player we want in our clubhouse,” Shapiro said. “He’s highly competitive, highly athletic and a big part of what we’ve accomplished here over the last four or five years.”
Stroman was among one of the varied topics Shapiro discussed Tuesday, but the polarizing 27-year-old and his maturity – or lack thereof –was among the most conversed subjects.
“I think he is one, whether he feels that way or not,” said Shapiro when asked if he believed Stroman could be relied upon as a veteran leader. “Hopefully the way he competes on the mound will be a model for some of our younger players.”
Stroman has made for much deliberation since spring training started, when he explosively declared his disappointment over not get getting offered a long-term deal from the Blue Jays, and also because of his Twitter account, which he most recently used to call out MLB for the large amount of still unsigned veteran free agents.
Despite all this, Shapiro says he isn’t paying attention to what Stroman is putting out there on social media.
“I’m not really spending energy and time thinking about that,” Shapiro said of Stroman’s Twitter activity. “If we’re spending time looking at one player’s tweets, then we’re wasting time that we could be spending trying to build a championship organization. So no it honestly doesn’t bother me. That’s just wasted energy thinking about that and spending energy and time on that. Social media is the ultimate challenge for an individual player. I think it’s up to that player as a man to manage his own social media, the benefits as well as the potential challenges and pitfalls that come with that.
“Do we spend our time worrying ‘are 80 per cent of the tweets positive and 20 per cent negative?‘ Just take care of building a championship team. If we build a championship team, most of those tweets are going to be really positive and that’s all that really matters. Anything that distracts us from doing that is wasted energy.”
Reinforcing this statement, Shapiro also said he wants players to embrace their individualism.
“I want players to feel free to say what they believe and what they think,” said Shapiro. “I think if our clubhouse is strong enough, those players handle that culture and that environment on their own. That accountability and ownership of what this team looks like, who we are and what we stand for. The way we handle ourselves, the kind of teammates we are. Those players handle it. A player can say anything they want and how it impacts our team and our environment is handled within that clubhouse.
“While we’re still young and we’re maybe not there yet, we’re a long way towards being there. It’s not that those comments are said, it’s how they impact within that clubhouse. Not how they impact me. Not how they impact Ross [Atkins]. How they impact in that clubhouse. I feel like players should be free to express their individual feelings and thoughts.”
The Blue Jays have a lot of personalities in their clubhouse, but none, perhaps, as strong as Stroman’s, whom Shapiro appears to be extending an olive branch to.
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