TORONTO – From here on they all count.
After wrapping up their Grapefruit League schedule with a 13-7 win over the Philadelphia Phillies on Monday, the Blue Jays have two days off during which they’ll set their opening day roster and travel to New York in anticipation of a series with the Yankees. Finally, a chance to showcase a much-improved roster in games that count.
First, though, the Blue Jays have to attend to the final business of spring. With multiple roster spots still in flux, there are decisions to make before boarding the charter to New York. But until there’s more clarity on the status of George Springer, who had a follow-up MRI on his sore oblique Monday, the Blue Jays aren’t tipping their hand.
And then there’s a bigger-picture question. Was this spring a success?
Given that closer Kirby Yates will miss the season with Tommy John surgery and that Springer may well open the year on the injured list along with Nate Pearson and Thomas Hatch, the answer is far from a resounding "yes." That’s a lot of talent on the sidelines.
But there were certainly positives for those inclined to view things more optimistically – the impact Springer and Marcus Semien appear to have made in the clubhouse, for instance, or the encouraging performances from Alejandro Kirk, Tim Mayza and T.J. Zeuch.
From his vantage point in the Blue Jays’ dugout, Charlie Montoyo prefers to focus on the positives. Despite the injuries the team sustained, Montoyo considers this the best spring he’s ever been a part of because of the improvements he saw on pitching and defence.
"Just the work that we did, how much better we got,” Montoyo said. “(Pitching coach) Pete Walker telling the pitchers to throw strikes. Our defence made the plays. Of course, we got some guys hurt, but other than that everybody got better."
After his outing Monday, Zeuch revealed that he made the team, though his role remains unclear for now. At this point, one rotation spot has yet to be spoken for with Zeuch and Trent Thornton seemingly the leading contenders for the opportunity. A bullpen game also remains in play for the Blue Jays, potentially as soon as Saturday at Yankee Stadium.
But with Joe Panik and Mayza due to be added to the 40-man roster, two players will have to come off of it as well. The Blue Jays will free up one of those spots by moving Yates to the 60-day IL, but to create the second spot they'll have to remove Reese McGuire, Breyvic Valera, or both. Meanwhile, left-hander Francisco Liriano did not make the team, and was instead released.
This time of year, that’s simply the cost of doing business and there’s still a chance that those players would clear waivers, allowing the Blue Jays to stash them on their five-player taxi squad or at their alternate site.
Of course, those are the details. Regardless of how those final few decisions play out, it’s worth remembering that the 26-man roster can and will change. Within a few days, more moves will be required. Within a few months, a significant portion of the roster will have turned over.
In many ways, that's a good thing for the Blue Jays considering some of their most important players are likely to begin the year on the sidelines (Pearson is playing long toss, while Hatch is playing catch). But it would be naive to think more injuries won’t surface as the season progresses. They’re inevitable.
With that in mind, the most pressing question isn’t whether the Blue Jays had a successful spring. Regardless of how you answer that question, it’s over, and far bigger challenges await.
Now it’s time for 162 games in 185 days, unprecedented workload increases for pitchers and high expectations for a team that just spent record amounts in free agency. In a way, it sounds a little daunting. But for a young Blue Jays team that will hit its way out of trouble from time to time, it might also be a lot of fun.
"Adding the players that we added, the confidence is really high," Montoyo said.
