TORONTO – Earlier this week, when the Toronto Blue Jays acquired Adam Cimber and Corey Dickerson from the Marlins, the newcomers were understandably the focal points.
A submariner, Cimber has already shown how well he keeps opposing hitters off-balance, while Dickerson, now in Buffalo with his new teammates, will provide much-needed left-handed power once healthy.
A less obvious consequence of the trade was what it would mean for Santiago Espinal, but the Blue Jays showed confidence in the 26-year-old by trading fellow utility infielder Joe Panik to Miami and Espinal has made the most of the opportunity so far. He collected two hits in Saturday’s 6-3 win over the Rays at Sahlen Field, including his first career home run, a two-run shot in the sixth inning that gave the Blue Jays some much-needed breathing room.
“It was actually one of the best moments of the year,” manager Charlie Montoyo said afterwards via Zoom. “Just because of the situation, who we’re playing, and who did it. Everybody loves Espy because this kid works every day. He’s always ready … He was a big part of this win.”
By the time he got back to the dugout, Espinal could barely hear what his teammates were telling him because they were making so much noise while celebrating.
“It was amazing to see my teammates jumping and screaming,” he recalled. “It was a special moment. I couldn’t hear anything because it was so loud.”
On the season, Espinal’s now hitting .304/.355/.402 thanks to a contact-first approach that forces opposing defences to make plays. Granted, that success comes across the relatively limited sample of 110 plate appearances and some good fortune on batted balls appears to be helping, but if he can even come close to keeping this up while also providing above-average defence on the infield, the Blue Jays will be thrilled.
“He’s elite,” starter Ross Stripling remarked afterwards. “He really is. I compare him to Enrique Hernandez, Kike, who I had in Los Angeles. You can put him anywhere in the infield, or with Kike the outfield as well, and you just know he’s going to make the routine plays every time and probably a really awesome play almost every game and it feels like Espy does that.”
Of course no one’s counting on Espinal to lead the Blue Jays’ offence, especially at a time that the top of the order continues producing. Batting in the cleanup spot for the second consecutive game, George Springer hit his fifth home run of the season, this one a solo shot that landed 403 feet over the left field wall to lead off the second inning.
Since returning from the injured list June 22, Springer has quietly produced as well as ever while regaining his timing at the plate. Small sample caveats apply again here, but there’s been a lot of hard contact behind his .250/.390/.583 slash line.
On the mound, Ross Stripling continued his run of strong starts by allowing just one earned run over 5.2 innings. The right-hander struck out five while allowing just three walks and two hits on a day his ERA dropped to 4.06.
From there, the Blue Jays turned to the bullpen and enjoyed scoreless outings from Cimber and Tim Mayza before Jordan Romano allowed two runs to score in the ninth. With the win, the Blue Jays arrive at the halfway point of their season with a 43-38 record, having gone 10-3 over their last 13 games and looking forward to further reinforcements before long.
As he looks ahead at the second half, Montoyo believes the Blue Jays are capable of more than they’ve shown so far.
“We’ve got to keep pitching and we’ve got to keep catching it,” Montoyo said. “We are going to hit, so that’s the main deal. You’re going to win in this league with pitching and defence. That’s just what it is.”
After an encouraging rehab outing Friday, Rafael Dolis is nearing a return and could be activated as soon as Sunday. Considering there will be days Romano is unavailable, the return of Dolis is significant as the front office continues seeking upgrades in further trades.
Though Ryan Borucki isn’t quite as close as Dolis, he felt good after throwing 25 pitches off the Sahlen Field mound Saturday morning and a rehab assignment could be on the schedule next week.
In the meantime, the Blue Jays are making it work with what they have, combining contributions from stars and depth players the way all good teams must.
“The talent speaks for itself,” Stripling said. “You’re getting production from guys you don’t even necessarily think of.”
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