TORONTO – No matter how many problems the Toronto Blue Jays may have at a given time, they’ve been able to count on Hyun-Jin Ryu not being one.
The ace left-hander’s consistency and reliability, traits his team has come to depend on every turn of the rotation, made his walking around the mound uncomfortably before signalling to the dugout such a jarring sight in Sunday’s 1-0 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays.
Ryu had been in control for 3.2 innings when he delivered an innocuous-looking changeup that Manuel Margot sent to centre field for a base hit. He crouched down after the ball touched green, gingerly walked around and then used his finger to summon help. After a quick chat on the mound, he headed to the dugout with what the team said was a minor right glute strain.
“I can’t say what I was thinking,” said manager Charlie Montoyo.
His frustrations quickly abated when Ryu underwent some tests that revealed the issue wasn’t serious. “I don’t think it’s an injury,” Ryu said through interpreter J.S. Park, adding that he plans to begin preparations for his next start Monday as he would under normal circumstances.
“Right now I don't feel any irritation at all,” he said, adding later. “It shouldn't be a situation where I get put on the IL.”
As long as that holds, it will be a major relief for the Blue Jays, who are already facing an increasingly urgent defensive problem on the left side of their infield as they await the returns of George Springer and Teoscar Hernandez.
Both were to play in an alternate training site game Sunday, said Montoyo, who is “optimistic” Springer will be ready for Tuesday’s opener against the Washington Nationals. Hernandez’s timeline is murkier as he returns to action after contracting COVID-19.
Losing Ryu would have really muddled their pitching as they’re currently running a modified three-man rotation thanks to two off-days last week and two more this week. “There’s a good chance,” Trent Thornton starts Tuesday’s opener against the Nationals, said Montoyo, and don’t be surprised if Milone follows. Having another hole Saturday against Atlanta, Ryu’s next turn, would have been tough to fill.
Beyond Thornton, the options start getting complicated for the rotation. Anthony Kay, optioned Friday when Tyler Chatwood was activated from the injured list, must remain on option for 10 days unless someone hits the IL, while Tanner Roark is away from the team on emergency family leave.
Top prospect Nate Pearson, meanwhile, got up to 51 pitches during a start against Miami’s alternate training site team Saturday night, so he won’t be an option any time soon, either.
All of which underscores Ryu’s importance.
“After we took him out, right away they told us what it was and so (the concern) didn't last that long,” said Montoyo. “Later somebody came out and said, 'That isn't as bad as we thought.' So that made me feel good right away.”
As they sort that out, the Blue Jays also have to decide how to deal with the ongoing defensive struggles of Bo Bichette at shortstop and Cavan Biggio at third base. Both got a break of sorts Sunday – Bichette was at DH, allowing Marcus Semien to slide in at short, while Cavan Biggio played right field with Santiago Espinal at third – but they face the delicate tight-rope walk of not overweighing a relatively small sample of play against the rising cost of giving them more runway.
“They're mentally tough, they have been since I have met them,” said major league coach John Schneider, who rose through the farm system with both players. “Our goal for them is that when things are tough is to let them figure it out a little bit. There are times where we're going to try to give them a blow physically, or mentally like any player. But when the stuff is kind of hitting them a little bit, they're pretty good at responding in a positive way. You don't want to beat a dead horse, so to say, and just keep doing the same thing. Every now and then we'll get them a blow but for the most part, they're going to grind through it.”
If the offence was providing enough cover for the miscues, it would be easier for the Blue Jays to tolerate the growing pains for a shortstop with only 87 big-league games of defence and a second baseman learning the hot corner at the MLB level.
But it’s not right now, which has made recent slip-ups all the more glaring. On Sunday, their only run came when Espinal cleverly punched a 1-2 Josh Fleming changeup into centre.
“I was just trying to get the ball in play,” said Espinal, whom the Rays shifted once the count got to two strikes. “I saw the infield was in … He made a good pitch, but I made a good swing on him, too.”
Semien’s presence on the roster, of course, changes the dynamic, as he’s a proven, MVP-calibre shortstop, and if Bichette doesn’t come around, the pressure will grow on the Blue Jays to make a switch. An interesting suggestion from Sportsnet colleague Jeff Blair was to move Semien to third and Biggio back to second, his natural spot, but when Semien signed, the Blue Jays asked him which position he’d rather play and second base was his answer.
Wonder if we ever seen Semien at 3B, Bo at SS and Biggio back at 2B? Semien played more games in MLB at 3B than 2B before making move to SS full time. Don’t know the analytics on this but wonder if it would result in net better defence without the optics of moving Bo in season?
— Jeff Blair (@SNJeffBlair) April 25, 2021
Ultimately, there’s no alignment for the trio in which someone isn’t out of place, so there’s going to have to be some internal improvement for the Blue Jays to overcome the defensive problems.
“It's a slippery slope a little bit,” Schneider said of balancing the development of players with the need to win. “It's funny when you look at these guys, Cavan with his on-base percentage, and Bo and Vlad (Guerrero Jr.), pretty dynamic offensive players, you forget how young they are because of how good they are sometimes. With that, you take the really good part and then at times, you have to understand that there's still going to be some development, whether it's defence, base-running, whatever it is for any player. So it's a little bit of being patient from us as a staff and just on us to make sure that they're continuing to not just prepare themselves for a game, but also to try to get better with specific things."
The benefits of crisp defence were on display Sunday, as Espinal, Semien and Joe Panik provided a tight infield. Pivotally, Panik made a sliding grab on Manuel Margot’s grounder to end the eighth and strand the tying run.
Still, credit for Sunday’s win, which gave the Blue Jays two of three at Tropicana Field, however, goes to relievers Tim Mayza, Chatwood, Ryan Borucki, David Phelps and Rafael Dolis, who delivered 5.1 innings of two-hit, one-walk relief behind Ryu.
Chatwood escaped a two-on, none-out jam he inherited in the fifth and the Rays didn’t threaten after that, either, as the bullpen continued its impressive start to the season.
“Most of our guys are one-inning guys, but because they have enough rest, I could go four outs, so I was thinking four outs the whole time,” said Montoyo. “Mixing Mayza and Borucki in the middle and making sure that Phelps and Chatwood face the righties. But the good thing about all these guys that they can face righties and lefties, so that makes it easier. The one thing I didn't want to do is for anybody to throw 40-something pitches. It was about four or five outs and get them out.”
Ryu felt bad about dumping that much work on the bullpen, but called the decision to exit early a good one, avoiding making a minor matter much more severe. The Blue Jays may not quite have 99 problems, but they’re certainly relieved Ryu ain’t one.
