DUNEDIN, Fla. – The same logo that once covered John Axford’s pyjama pants now surrounds him in the Toronto Blue Jays’ clubhouse.
Axford, a native of Port Dover, Ont., grew up cheering for the Blue Jays. Soon after signing a minor-league deal with Canada’s only MLB team, he shared a picture that shows him wearing Blue Jays-branded pyjamas.
“It’s what I grew up with,” he said. “It’s what I was a fan of my entire life growing up.”
Christmas morning 1994 in Port Dover, Ontario. Decked out in my @BlueJays gear! Somehow, I am happier now than I was in this picture! Beyond excited for this opportunity!!! pic.twitter.com/zdJcxrXW83
— John Axford (@JohnAxford) February 11, 2018
Once Axford agreed to terms with the Blue Jays, his parents found the photo and sent it to him.
“I actually forgot about those pyjama pants in that photo until they sent it to me,” Axford said. “It was pretty amusing, even to myself.”
Axford’s coming off a tough 2017 season that saw him miss extended time with a shoulder injury then post a 6.43 ERA with 17 walks in 21 innings for the Oakland Athletics. That said, he averaged 95 m.p.h. last year and his shoulder now feels strong.
Fellow Canadian Russell Martin was certainly pleased to see Axford join the Blue Jays. “I like that guy,” he said. “Another good Canadian boy. Put another one on the list.”
This wasn’t the first time Axford talked with the Blue Jays; the sides were in contact about a potential minor-league contract in 2015 before he signed a non-roster deal worth $2.6 million with the Colorado Rockies. This time, the deal came together and Axford gets to live a childhood dream.
“I always thought it’d be something kind of special and cool to play the back end of my career for the Jays,” he said.
BIAGINI BELONGS
Joe Biagini doesn’t have any guarantees of making the Blue Jays’ opening day roster, but his first two seasons in Toronto have given him confidence that he belongs at the MLB level.
“The first year you’re just trying to convince yourself you belong there,” Biagini said. “The second year, you kind of say ‘OK, I’m used to it now, I do belong here.’”
Gradually, Biagini settled down and stopped trying to prove himself in 2017.
“You go ‘Oh, I actually kind of do belong here and I’m going to start actually expanding my horizons in terms of what kind of player I want to be and how I want to improve.’
“The third year is now putting it together.”
As Biagini enters his third season with the Blue Jays, he’s being stretched out as a starter to provide rotation depth behind Toronto’s top five. While he could begin the 2018 season at triple-A Buffalo, chances are he’ll get plenty of shots to put it all together at the MLB level.
32 ON THE SLEEVE
The Blue Jays will wear a commemorative ‘32’ patch honouring Roy Halladay’s legacy this season, starting in spring training. The two-time Cy Young Award winner died in a plane crash Nov. 7, but left a meaningful legacy in Toronto.
“It means a lot,” manager John Gibbons said of the patch. “He should be recognized. It’s a tragedy. I don’t know anybody that ever came across Doc that didn’t love the guy. He wasn’t an easy guy to get to know, but you loved everything about him because he was a gentleman, he was a standup guy and in the profession we’re in he was the best in the game. It’s a nice honour, but it’s still very sad.”
PHILLIES ADD HUTCHISON
Three seasons ago, Drew Hutchison was the Blue Jays’ opening day starter. Now he’s a member of the Philadelphia Phillies after signing a minor-league deal with an invite to big-league spring training.
“He’s a guy that we’ve long admired. We think there’s some untapped potential there,” Phillies GM Matt Klentak said. “We have a bunch of young starters that are cutting their teeth at the big league level, and Drew will come in and compete with that group.”
The 27-year-old spent the 2017 season pitching for the Pirates’ triple-A team, and he posted a 3.56 ERA with 124 strikeouts compared to 57 walks in 159.1 innings.
BLUE JAYS NOTES
• The Blue Jays could use Yangervis Solarte at shortstop if needed, but view him more as a second baseman or third baseman who could fill in at short. “I don’t think that’s his true spot,” Gibbons said.
• Reliever Jake Petricka’s throwing off flat ground as scheduled while he recovers from an off-season elbow operation, but the Blue Jays assigned him to minor-league camp for the time being.
• Curtis Granderson’s early impressions of the roster? “It seems like this organization has a very deep 40-man with guys that can play multiple positions and be inserted anywhere.”
[relatedlinks]
