A midweek stumble, Manoah vs. the Rays, All-Star selections, reliever rumours, Ryu's struggles, Atkins speaks, and more!
The 2021 Blue Jays stumbling in a series against a team they should have beaten I’ve heard about. But a fun game against the Rays? Now that sounds preposterous. So let’s talk about it!
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Three up, three down…
There’s too much fresh stuff to talk about to get too bogged down in the minutiae of the Jays’ midweek games against the Mariners, but I don’t want to let them pass without comment. So here’s a three up, three down for the whole series (with one up and down arrow for each game), followed by a regular one for Friday’s game against the Rays.
Tuesday (Jays 9 - Mariners 3)
▲ Marcus Semien and Bo Bichette
OK, so here I am lying right off the top by giving the up arrow for this one to these two combined. But with eight RBIs between the pair, Semien and Bichette were similarly instrumental in powering the Jays to victory in this one. Semien's two-run double in the second gave the Jays their initial lead. Bichette's three-run shot in the sixth untied the game after the unfortunate way Robbie Ray's night ended (more on that momentarily), and then an inning later Semien added his own three-run shot to put the game out of reach.
Bichette's overall numbers are still suffering a bit from his pedestrian May (102 wRC+), but his June was significantly better (137 wRC+), and he's been on a real tear lately — specifically, he had ten hits, including two doubles and the homer in this one, in his last five games heading into Friday night's action. Semien, who was officially announced as one of three Blue Jays voted into the All-Star Game on Thursday, has been even better, as he sported a 142 wRC+ for the season heading into Friday night’s game.
This Jays lineup is really good! They should be winning more games!
▼ Robbie Ray’s sixth inning
Once again Ray was brilliant for the Jays in this one. Once again they tried to push a pitcher a little bit longer than they probably should have in order to spare us the nightmare that is the bullpen. And once again it didn’t exactly go the way the team would have hoped. Granted, Ray was only at 71 pitches when he entered the frame, but he quickly gave up back-to-back singles to J.P. Crawford and Mitch Haniger, then, after striking out Kyle Seager, surrendered a game-tying three-run shot to Ty France. Those gut-punch moments are supposed to be the bullpen’s job!
Overall his line still looked mighty good — three runs over six on five hits and just a single walk with an impressive 10 strikeouts — but things got dicey for a moment, and it pretty easily could have ended up yet another bullpen-related loss. Even when things are going well for these Jays, the margin for error can seem awfully thin.
Wednesday (Mariners 9 - Blue Jays 7)
▲ Anthony Kay
Steven Matz, somewhat understandably, didn't quite have it in his first outing after spending more than two weeks on the COVID list. And Trent Thornton, somewhat expectedly, blew up for two runs in the fifth, shortly after the Jays managed to scratch their way back into the game. Enter Anthony Kay, who gave up a single to the first batter that he faced, then struck out three straight on his way to cleaning up Thornton's mess. He then gave the Jays three more strong innings, striking out two more, allowing one walk, and not giving up a single hit from there.
Kay has had his struggles this season, and it wouldn't have been any more unsurprising to see him come unglued than it was Thornton (or Patrick Murphy, who ended up taking the loss), but he did a great job here. He also now has 13 strikeouts in his last nine innings with just three walks and six hits. True, those games came against the Mariners and Orioles, and a rather left-handed Seattle club was probably an ideal lineup for him to face, but this was nonetheless an encouraging outing. Anything positive from the bullpen is these days! He earned a look in a tighter spot the next time, at the very least.
▼ The YouTube broadcast
I'll be honest, there was a point early in the game where I started writing about the YouTube broadcast as a potential up arrow. It was a change of pace from Buck and Pat. Some of the bells and whistles of the stats stuff were interesting. I liked the guys being miced up — catching Bo Bichette talking to Ty France about his swing, and how he's started to learn "that it's all about being on time with the upper body, the lower body follows," was pretty cool — and the defensive positioning graphic. I didn't find any of the many, many personalities commenting on the game specifically grating. But the whole thing was pretty overwhelming to sit through nine innings of. I understand that talking past the game a lot of the time is sort of the gimmick, but good lord, the game needs to breathe.
Thursday (Mariners 7 - Jays 2)
▲ Yusei Kikuchi
Obviously not a Blue Jays player, but who else could get the up arrow here? It was his game. He was in control all the way.
His counterpart, Hyun Jin Ryu, once again was not.
In 12 starts last season, Ryu allowed three or more earned runs just three times. In 14 starts so far this season it has happened seven times already, including in five of his last six. Sportsnet’s Chris Black had an excellent Twitter thread on Friday about Ryu’s struggles, zeroing in on the two pitches that have eluded him of late — his changeup and his cutter — despite no noticeable change in terms of velo or spin.
Some highlights from that thread:
Oh, wait. This was supposed to be about Kikuchi wasn’t it? Anyway, I think Ryu will find it. Sooner than later would be good though!
▼ Tyler Chatwood
Chatwood probably wouldn’t have saved himself the embarrassment of this down arrow if he hadn’t so obviously bristled at being yanked before completing his disastrous ninth inning. But that definitely sealed it.
Chatwood went on the Injured List on Friday with a neck issue that sure smelled a lot like "right arm shittiness." Which is fine, and probably what he needs right now. Chatwood wasn't helping the Jays at the moment, but would be exactly the kind of guy you'd want to see them go after if he was let go by another club, so the "DFA him" stuff I've seen and heard from some fans is pretty silly. Still, he'll need to show a lot more consistency before he can be trusted again — even in a situation as relatively low leverage as the top of the ninth with the Jays trailing by three.
It's hard to believe he went five outings between the 15th and 23rd of June without allowing a hit or a run while issuing just one walk. He can recover again, and for real this time. He's not exactly the automatic disaster some fans seem to think he is. But he ain't that far off. It’s been bad.
Friday (Jays 11 - Rays 1)
Did I say above that this would be a regular three up, three down? Because it will absolutely not. That game was fun as hell. Here’s six up…
▲ Alek Manoah
Rookie Alek Manoah took a no-hitter into the sixth inning. He became the first Blue Jays pitcher to ever strike out seven straight batters. In the end he threw seven innings, giving up three hits and one walk, while striking out 10. It was no accident. Rays hitters swung the bat 56 times, whiffing on 23 of those — 41%. Everything was working, his command was there, his slider was filthy. He was phenomenal.
When I wrote about Manoah’s previous start I used a tweet that noted how he had come to the majors and simply pitched like a reliable mid-rotation starter. That’s still a fine long-term outcome for him, but he made it very easy to dream a whole lot bigger tonight.
▲ Vlad’s rocket
A bullet at 108 mph to the opposite field on an 82 mph breaking ball. The game was out of reach for the Rays at this point, but this is superhuman stuff from Vlad. We are extremely lucky that we get to watch this guy hit baseballs for the next several years.
▲ Springer moves up in the lineup, hits a dinger!
Charl E. Montoyo: Genius.
▲ Marcus Semien
I mentioned above that Semien is one of three Blue Jays who will be starters for the American League in the All-Star Game in a couple of weeks. He showed why once again in this one, with a walk, a couple of hits, a solo shot, two RBIs, and three runs scored, while playing his usually sturdy defence.
The other two Jays All-Star(ters) are Vlad and Teoscar Hernández, who had a heartfelt message of thanks for fans after he was a somewhat surprising selection.
Clearly fans are starting to see more and more what a great guy Teoscar seems to be, in addition to being an excellent player. That’s pretty awesome to see, considering what little regard so many had for him back when he was struggling badly at the plate and in the field. But more than that, what I think Teoscar’s massive vote total shows is the power and the immense size of the Blue Jays’ fan base. There’s no excuse for this team to ever dip below even the top five in payroll, frankly. And while they have certainly done better on that front in recent years, I think a real good way to really drive home what a financial force the Jays can be — to bring this back around to the player this up arrow is ostensibly about — would be to extend Marcus Semien.
What about this marriage has not been perfect so far? Don’t make Jays fans have to watch this guy play for another team!
▲ Randal Grichuk’s effort
Fortunately there were a couple of hits off of Alek Manoah in the seventh that ensured Francisco Meíja’s bloop double wasn’t the only thing that stood between him and a bit of history. But Randal Grichuk sure knew what the stakes were when that ball came off the bat. Or, at least, a fraction of a second afterwards. Good job, good effort. Wasn’t meant to be.
▲ A laugher against the Rays!??!?!
It wasn’t just smacking the Rays to the tune of six runs in the first two innings. It wasn’t just the way Manoah cruised, or Buck Martinez held it together when he said “balk Choi.” It wasn’t Brett Phillips (or is it Brent Philips?) throwing eephus pitches in the eighth inning (and Vladdy still controlling every aspect of his at-bat in order to work a walk). It was all of it, and more, and the opponent. The Rays have caused such nightmares for the Jays — both over the years and in this year specifically. Boy it’s fun to beat them.
More relief in store?
Pittsburgh’s closer Richard Rodríguez apparently is a Jays trade target.
Rodríguez is having a fantastic year, and the Jays’ need for relief help, coupled with Pirates GM Ben Cherington’s familiarity with the Blue Jays’ farm system, certainly makes this that people are going to find it easy to talk about. There are, however, some reasons to have reservations, despite the fact that Rodríguez has been elite at inducing weak contact, is in the middle of his second straight year with a sub-2.75 ERA and has been worth 1.2 fWAR through just 31 1/3 innings this season.
One reason for reservations? The fact that his K/9 rate is down from 13.1 last year (34 in 23 1/3 innings) to 7.8 (27 in 31 1/3). Another reason is the fact that he's been ridiculously good at keeping the ball in the ballpark, allowing just one home run so far this season, despite being one of the most fly ball heavy pitchers in the game.
That profile can work, but then you maybe worry about, um, this:
Now, other guys are making adjustments and still being successful in the way of MLB’s recent “sticky stuff” crackdown. Jordan Romano’s name comes to mind. But Rodríguez did allow three runs on four hits in his outing on Thursday. Granted, it was against a very hot Brewers team, and these things do sometimes just happen. But maybe a reason to keep monitoring a guy like this, rather than to jump at him.
And maybe a reason why an unconventional guy like Adam Cimber made even more sense.
Atkins Speaks!
Jays GM Ross Atkins sat down on a Zoom call with local members of the media this week to discuss the Corey Dickerson/Adam Cimber trade, Nate Pearson, Gabriel Moreno, the upcoming trade deadline and more. Here are some highlights.
On the Dickerson/Cimber deal
I know it’s been, like, almost nine years, but I can’t in good conscience call this “the Marlins trade.” Still, as I wrote earlier in the week, and said on Friday’s podcast, this was a tidy piece of business for the Jays.
Asked about how this particular deal came together, Atkins offered a sliver of insight into how front offices work.
It's just making sure that you're having very open conversations with every team, and keeping that dialogue going is exceptionally important. And in this case it was Joe Sheehan working closely with the (Marlins’) front office. I had several interactions with their front office as well, but Joe Sheehan and another employee for the Marlins really brainstorming this idea together that worked for both teams. And hopefully it will continue to.
Hopefully indeed! And it turns out that the Blue Jays are maybe more bullish on one of the players they acquired than much of the early analysis of the deal may have initially thought. Asked about what drew the club to Dickerson — a question that included the fact that Marlins’ personnel had suggested the Jays were asking about Dickerson as far back as the winter — Atkins explained:
The bat speed, the teammate, the character, the versatility. The overall track record. We've heard so much about the toughness. We know the teammate well — have a lot of people that have crossed paths with him, most specifically Charlie, and Dante Bichette as well. He's an interesting fit for us and we're certainly pleased to have added him to the organization and look forward to him getting past this injury and putting on a Blue Jays uniform.
Dickerson was drafted by the Rockies in 2009 and played his first three big league seasons in Colorado — including 2013, when the elder Bichette was the hitting coach — before being traded to the Rays for German Márquez and Jake McGee in 2016. His trade value has, uh, dropped a little bit since then. But that’s certainly an interesting little fact, given that the Jays have been pursuing him for a while, and evidently weren’t simply acquiring him as ballast to get Cimber.
How will Dickerson fit into the Jays’ outfield picture once he’s off the injured list?
Well, I think the ability to play first base, as with Lourdes Gurriel going to first base (Wednesday) certainly helps. And we'll have to continue to think about other versatility options. But when you do have the platoon effect, it makes it a lot easier not just for the starts, but in-game, and guys potentially not getting four to five plate appearances every day, but a lot of guys potentially getting two plate appearances every day. At least that many. Obviously there will be guys that are just out there every day, but balancing that and putting guys in positions to be even more successful is where we're trying to get. And depth is obviously important, as we've seen this year already.
Hell yeah, man. Rays it up.
Speaking of the whole trading-for-an-injured-player thing, Atkins said that there was good news in terms the timeline for Dickerson’s return.
Fortunately what we've learned over the last 24 hours has been exceptionally positive, because now we have all of the subjective comments that he's giving us. His views, and how he's feeling. Things that we didn't have prior. And that has all been exceptionally positive. So, optimistic about a return to play. We learned as much as we could on paper and from talking to the Marlins' medical staff, and historically learning everything we could about him to ensure that he could be a piece for us moving forward, and we're optimistic that he will be putting on a uniform in Buffalo or Toronto and wherever else we're playing this year.
So there’s that. For what little anything the Jays say about injuries is worth!
At least in the immediate term, though, Cimber is the really important piece here. Atkins explained what drew the club to their new submariner.
The consistency of it, really. Just the elite soft contact, elite ground balls, strike-throwing ability, pitching in multiple roles. Being someone who was at some point very much a specialist right-on-right to developing into someone who could throw multiple innings and has really worked hard to attack left-handed hitters. His upshot fastball — his, really what we see as elite weapons in the four-seam, two-seam and slider — were very attractive, in addition to it being a unique look for our bullpen.
And all this for Joe Panik and a prospect nobody had ever heard of? Giddy up.
Speaking of Panik…
On what happens at third base now that Panik’s gone
Part of that trade was our confidence in how well Santiago Espinal has played, and then the performance of Kevin Smith and Breyvic Valera in Triple-A. Kevin Smith has been, as we talked about last week, just an exceptional highlight for (us), and I could be happier for him, just how hard he's worked. He's exceptionally driven. Those pieces, or the different pieces of the equation, helped us make that decision. Excited for those guys and hope that we have an opportunity for them. But in the short-term we have a great opportunity for Espy and for Cavan.
“Confidence in how well Santiago Espinal has played” is a weird way of saying “need to get Joe Panik the hell away from the manager who kept playing him too much.” But either way. It works.
On the club’s remaining needs
Similar as we spoke a week ago. The run prevention category will take up the bulk of our focus. At the same time, if there's a way for us to become more balanced in our lineup, whether that be another left-handed hitter, or just a different style or approach, we'll be open to it. As well as run prevention with defence — if there's opportunities there we will be open to that as well. I feel like there's going to be more opportunities for us and very hopeful that we'll be able to execute on them, but feel like we're in a good position because of the shape of our and the state of our farm system and the support of Rogers and Mark Shapiro to continue to make this team better. As I've said — I believe I said a week ago — I feel that our players have earned that. That Charlie Montoyo and this staff and our players have earned the right for us to continue to complement this group, and we'll work hard to to do that.
Just relievers will be fine, thanks! OK, and maybe another starter or two. Seriously though, while it’s easy to get carried away after a fun game like the one on Friday night, the reality is that we’re seeing some pretty significant flaws in the Rays and the Yankees of late, and the Red Sox probably (god willing) aren’t quite as good as they’ve played so far. The Jays are not the best team in the American League East right now, but they’re not many tweaks away. Go get some more damn help.
On Nate Pearson
Oof. The oft-injured star pitcher is once again injured, and he and the team are trying to everything they can to find some answers about his balky groin that might allow them to prevent the recurring injury he keeps suffering there from recurring.
It's starting to feel as though there could be something underlying, the nature of this reoccurrence. But at the same time we still have no evidence of that after multiple opinions. There is the potential of it — we have one more opinion that we're seeking. I can't remember if it's on Friday that that will occur. But still optimistic that he is going to return to pitching. He's of the mindset that he will be pitching again soon. Are there things that we can do in the short-term to help him finish this season? Will there need to be things done, potentially, in the long-term? Depends upon, as we look for anything that could be underlying that there has been no evidence of to day. So he's in a good place mentally. Obviously not perfect. He's frustrated. But I think he's coping with it well and dealing with it well and very hopeful to be pitching again.
Definitely some vagueness there. As best I can tell, I’d say that the “things done, potentially, in the long term” kinda sounds like it could mean surgery of some sort. Asked directly about a potential surgical solution here, Atkins explained:
That would just depend on the continued information that we gather. So we'll see. If there is something that we find that is underlying, then you would have to consider a procedure versus conservative treatment.
So it’s possible he could need surgery, but they don’t really know on what, because they can’t find any sort of underlying problem causing the recurring injury. Do I have that about right?
That’s frustrating stuff, obviously for Pearson himself more than anybody. The fact that they think he may pitch again soon, though, is at least good. And, as I’ve written before, could end up giving him a path to help the Jays’ bullpen this year before returning to a starting role next season.
Yes, he Pearson needs to keep starting. I interacted someone on Twitter here on Friday who said the Jays need to stop fooling themselves and convert him to a reliever already. My response was: Should they have converted Roy Halladay into a reliever when he struggled in the early part of his career? Or Chris Carpenter when he kept on getting hurt? Big time talents like that — and that’s what Pearson is, or could be — need to be given every possible chance to become a frontline starter. They are so incredibly valuable.
On the imminent catching logjam
I'm glad we're in this situation. Can't say enough about the job the Reese has done. It's not just the fact that he's hitting above .300 and has, I believe, a mid-.700s OPS. He's done an exceptional job catching and throwing and blocking. One of the best caught stealings (last week) in a huge moment, getting Starling Marte with nobody out in the ninth inning down one or two runs, I believe, with a 1-7 to second base. He has really been exceptional defensively. He's done a great job with our staff. So I'm so glad we're in that situation. He's really stepped up for us and gotten some very timely hits and some big hits to turn the lineup for us. So, we'll see.
I think Jano has certainly earned the right to be on this team. Although he's struggled offensively, we believe so much in the person, the teammate, the character, and what he brings all around. And Alejandro has obviously earned the right with his balanced approach to the game and exceptional offensive performance. So, we'll see. We're going to have some decisions on our hands, not only for the short-term but also long-term with our roster as we balance out with Riley Adams and Gabriel Moreno. And Riley will probably hit a double and a bomb tonight to make it even more challenging. That would be great if he did that. No pressure. But I'm glad we do have that situation in a position that many times I think many organizations find themselves searching for solutions in that area.
This Zoom call happened on Wednesday. Adams did hit a double, but failed to homer. He, clearly, is going to end up back in Buffalo sooner or later. And it sounds like Danny Jansen won’t be there with him.
It’s cool that the Jays really love Jansen, and I’m sure there are many reasons to. But really? I’d love to see it work here for him, but we’re talking about a guy who lost a ton of time last year to a guy who had never played above High-A, and who for the time being has basically lost his job to Reese McGuire. Not exactly the sparkling CV it was when he arrived in the majors as a Top 100 prospect.
One theoretical option here: there will be an opening for a catcher on the Jays’ Double-A team for the next little while, as Atkins relayed some bad news about breakout prospect Gabriel Moreno.
Unfortunately the worst of luck. Just a very unfortunate hit by pitch that caught him in the wrong spot of his thumb that has caused a very minor fracture that potentially involves also a minor subluxation, which will mean some time down. We're still getting our arms around whether a procedure will be necessary or not, whether it will be an intervention or not, but will be most likely that he will have weeks down from that fracture.
Not great news, especially for those who were hoping to see Moreno in this year’s Futures Game. (The Jays will be represented by Austin Martin in that one, which is plenty fun in its own right.)
As for the situation in the majors, I’d be happiest with McGuire and Kirk getting those spots, and Adams and Jansen splitting time with the Bisons. The way they talk about Jansen makes me doubt that’s going to be the way it shakes out though.
Could a trade be the best solution here?
Sure, I think that can present itself. But we are not calling teams and telling them that we are trading our catching. We are in a good position, and when you're in a strong position and have an area of depth that oftentimes does occur.
Kirk — who homered in a rehab start for Trenton/Buffalo on Friday night — would certainly be an intriguing trade chip for the Jays to use and would clear this all up fairly easily. But they’d sure better be right about Moreno if they’re going to do that.
On Julian Merryweather
It's just being built up as he continues his bullpen progression. He's throwing bullpens, everybody's progression is a little bit different, and as we get him built up and ready to pitch in games, whether that is in the next two days, or if it's a little bit longer than that, we'll see. It really is just based on the tolerance.
I think we’re going to have to see a lot from Merryweather before anyone trusts him to not be gone in a flash again. But I’m damn ready to see it already!
On the team’s first three months
I can't say enough about the group and the morale and the effort. I feel very good about that. I feel very good about the guys coming together, how they're viewing one another, how they're viewing themselves as a piece of the solution, with a very team-first approach to things. The win-loss record we wish was different. And we do have control over that, it's not just bad luck. We've missed some opportunities, and some of it's been defence, some of it's been approach, and some of it's been pitching. I think a lot of heat came down on our bullpen — a lot of those same guys were performing exceptionally well for us at the start of the year. We've seen a small bounce back from some of them in recent days. Obviously Romano and Timmy Mayza, they've just been exceptional for us and really steady. I think overall there's a lot of talk about the difference between our win-loss record and the run differential, and there is something to that, there is something to what we think this team is capable of and what will in the end be. I think if we can stay healthy, continue to play the way we've played over the last five or six days for an extended period of time, look to complement this team to the best of our ability, add some pieces that are internal — not just look for external. Excited about Dolis, and Ryan Borucki, and Julian Merryweather, and other coming back into the fold. Getting Nate Pearson back pitching again. So, I feel the state of the organization's in a great place and I feel very good about the effort that's put forward, and exceptional about the potential of this team.
Yes, yes, sure, sure. Tick tock, though, man.
On Marcus Semien
He just puts a smile on my face. I think Marcus is so good for baseball. He's been exceptional for us. He is a calming, steady influence, not only from the first minute that he walks into the clubhouse, but when he taps his bat on the plate, too. And when he toes it up at second base. He's been exceptional defensively, he's a very, very stable decision-maker — good decision-maker offensively and defensively. And that doesn't happen by chance, it doesn't happen just because he's played the game for a long time, he works really hard at it, and that has been a great influence. Not something that I feel that our young players needed, but I feel like something that they are truly benefitting from in a significant way. Everything that we had heard about him was exceptionally positive, and he has far exceeded our expectation with the things that I've mentioned.
Top image: Screengrab via MLB.com/Sportsnet
Love Semien, and agree on bringing him back. But I find your constant lobbying to extend him odd given the circumstances and your past understanding on these matters. How exactly would the Jays get Semien to sign at this point in the season with the huge uncertainty looming for both sides in free agency and the next CBA?
I would love to see Semien re-signed, but he is going to have many suitors if he chooses free agency. What about Ray as well? The real issue here though is that Grichuk should've caught the ball.....he was there! Balk Choi...too good to be true!