Sunday Notes: Broadcast news, Shapiro Speaks!, Walker Speaks!, Roark Stinks!, and more!
The Blue Jays played the New York Yankees here on Sunday, losing in a big way, but at least providing us with something to actually stay inside and watch on a gorgeous Ontario afternoon. It was an ugly loss thanks mostly to the shellacking the Yankees gave to Tanner Roark (more on that below), and the fact that the Jays’ hitters were, like all hitters, not particularly effective against Gerrit Cole.
Cole racked up eight strikeouts over five innings, Roark allowed seven runs in just 2 1/3, Anthony Kay looked good over four innings, showing more of his new-ish cutter as he allowed a single run on two hits and two walks, and Buck Martinez gave us our first “Teoscarnandez” of 2021 on Sportsnet’s broadcast.
We should have heard Buck’s voice sooner this spring, of course. And it sure didn’t sound like Sportsnet has instructed him or Pat Tabler to pay any mind to the radio audience that’s now forced to listen to a simulcast of the game. But it was still nice to see.
Broadcast news
Speaking of broadcast stuff, Dan Shulman was not on the air with Buck and Pat today, but he will be eventually — as he explained in a rather interesting Twitter thread published just prior to Sunday’s game.
Shapiro speaks!
Jays president and CEO Mark Shapiro sat down for a 1-on-1 interview this week with my friend and former colleague, Kaitlyn McGrath of the Athletic. Because Kaitlyn did a great job, and because the piece is behind the Athletic’s paywall, I’m not going to go through the whole thing — there are bits on Nate Pearson, Mickey Callaway, Shapiro’s job status, and other topics of great interest that you should go over there and read.
One thing that didn’t come up in that piece is something that Shi Davidi of Sportsnet has reported here on Sunday: the fact that Shapiro is in “active conversations” about extending the contract of GM Ross Atkins, who currently in the final year of his deal.
It’s hard to argue that Atkins doesn’t deserve it, though I’m not so sure it’s a great message to send to be extending someone who was evidently a big backer of Callaway in Cleveland so soon after all those allegations have surfaced.
Anyway, here are some highlights from what Shapiro told the Athletic.
• On the club’s new player development complex
It fosters an environment where the players want to be here with the best nutrition possible and the best tools and technology and resources possible. And I think it’s one that’s going to attract people — staff and players.
Is it just me or do the Jays seem to basically want to build their own version of something like Driveline in-house? I couldn’t blame them if they did, given that they have no control over what goes on at the various baseball labs many guys go to during the off-season, and that they seem to be getting good results out of their increasingly hands-on approach (something I mentioned in Saturday’s piece).
• On Rogers Centre renovations (Or a new park)
What happened was there was a much larger-scale project that was being led by not just the Blue Jays, but more by Rogers and ownership. Understandably, the pandemic completely not just interrupted, but kind of stopped progress on that.
I would assume that once we get to a more regular and normal world and resumption of a more normal business climate, that some attention will be placed back on that. Because of the nature of that, though, I haven’t been able to focus on that.
Get that park built, baby. Building office towers no longer as viable because more people are working from home? No problem, make them condos instead and let’s go!
• On returning to Toronto
We’ve got fairly good information that the vaccine will be accessible to our players and other major-league teams in the next two to three weeks or month. So that if by the end of April or early May all of our players or the bulk of our players and staff are vaccinated and other teams are as well and Toronto is a safe place, it starts to feel like the reasons for us not to be there, the risks start to be mitigated. I would say that when we start to have that material progress that we see the vaccinations actually happening, we will start to formalize an ask.
Clearly the Jays are hoping this issue can be resolved as painlessly as possible, but count me among the doubters that it will. Canada’s federal government, unlike the provincial one here in Ontario, wants to at least try to appear as though they care as much about public health as they do ensuring the rich get richer. That’s an issue because the concerns that kept the Jays from hosting teams in Canada last summer, and the Raptors and the Canadian NHL teams from hosting US-based opponents this winter, haven’t exactly gone away. And, unlike Shapiro, I have a hard time seeing them go away just because a league gets vaccinated.
We don’t know enough yet to say with confidence that vaccines reduce asymptomatic transmission. The early news on that front at least appears to be good, but it doesn’t seem as though the government is ready to ease the quarantine rules for anyone who has been vaccinated just yet, and that’s likely the change that needs to happen before the Jays can even think of playing games here.
Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet discussed this topic in his most recent 31 Thoughts piece:
Quietly, the Canadian teams are hoping the 14-day cross-border quarantine can be lessened. One of the GMs wondered last week if trading for a vaccinated player would be an exception. I reached out to the Federal Government to find out, and got a no.
“Scientific evidence is clear that the COVID-19 vaccines approved for use in Canada are highly effective at preventing illness,” wrote Martin Begin from Health Canada. “However, there is still limited evidence on whether someone who received a COVID-19 vaccine is still able to transmit the virus…. Vaccinated travellers who are arriving in Canada must follow mandatory quarantine and testing requirements, including a 14-day quarantine, to protect themselves and others from COVID-19. Vaccination does not replace this requirement and it is not an element for consideration at this time in relation to quarantine exemptions.”
Still, I don’t think the NHL is giving up hope. If it happens, there are going to be a lot of angry snowbirds.
This NHL issue is definitely something to watch for baseball fans, because if they get an exception for vaccinated players, it only stands to reason that the Jays should get one for vaccinated opponents as well.
The good news, I suppose, is that if the league can get everybody vaccinated and it becomes clearer that vaccinated people aren’t spreading COVID, there’s not much of an argument for keeping the Jays out. Until that happens, though, they’re probably going to have to remain in the states.
• On whether players will get vaccinated
I think there’s motivation on everyone’s part to operate in a world where we’re not as distanced and not as disconnected and not as subject to rigorous protocols. Our players have done a phenomenal job adhering to those protocols. And I think the proof’s been in the outcomes. I think they’re looking forward to being able to have more normalcy in their lives, so there is motivation.
Ken Rosenthal wrote about the loosening of protocols in his latest piece, noting that the NBA will be offering expanded benefits to players who’ve been fully vaccinated.
“Among the items in a memo the NBA sent to its teams, players who get vaccinated no longer will be required to quarantine following exposure to COVID-19, undergo PRC tests on days off and wear masks at their practice facility,” he writes. “They also will be permitted to dine in outdoor restaurants and entertain four guests on the road without prior testing. The new protocols take effect once 85 percent of players and staff are fully vaccinated.”
If MLB does something similar, you’d best believe players are going to be motivated to get the jab. One wonders what the Canadian government will think of those protocols.
• On Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
In many ways, what was thrust upon him was unfair. And not something that he asked for or wanted. I think we’re just seeing it happens for different players at different rates. We’re seeing the maturation of Vladdy. It’s never been beyond the expectation that he could be a star player. I think we still have that expectation for him. Part of what he’s gone through will help to facilitate that happening and that can happen as soon as this year or certainly in the next few. But it’s been encouraging to see both what he’s done, how hard he’s worked over the offseason and to see that pay off this spring.
I don’t have anything particularly insightful to add here, but man, it’s been great this spring remembering how fun the idea of what Vlad can be really is. Shapiro’s right that our expectations were probably out of whack, and I think in an era where Juan Soto or Fernando Tatis Jr. didn’t exist — and we’re rated as lesser prospects than Vlad two years ago — the narrative up to this point might have been a little different. Whatever the case, it feels this spring like the worst is very possibly over. And how incredible would it be if that turned out to be the case?
• On the next winter’s free agent market
It’s part of what we told George Springer when we signed him, like, “We’re not done with you and with Marcus.” We expect to keep adding and the next time to do that in a big way would be the trade deadline and the time after that would be next offseason in free agency. And that free-agent market next offseason is one we’ve kept our eye on. It’s an impact market and so we want to make sure that we maintain some flexibility, as well, for that offseason.
They’ve mentioned it so much at this point that it would be a disappointment if they didn’t go out and do something major next winter. Sometimes that’s easier said than done, so I’m not so sure about that as a PR strategy. As a baseball strategy, however, hell yeah! Do it!
• On Alejandro Kirk
It’s a combination of a very unique and elite mental makeup that he’s got. He’s able to slow the game, he’s got that low pulse that it just doesn’t speed up on him. He’s more relaxed at the plate and defensively than most players you see when they transition, particularly a player that goes from A ball to the major leagues. Combining that with some elite skill sets, particularly offensively, that’s a good combination for pushing a guy at a pace that most other people would be challenged to handle.
The Blue Jays clearly love Kirk. You just don’t hear stuff like this about guys who are battling for a backup catcher position. Every day it becomes harder to see the Jays keeping Kirk off the team. A better question might be: When does he become their number one?
For the record, on that point, they seem to really like Danny Jansen, too.
In fact, when asked to name a player on the Jays’ roster that people don’t talk about enough, Shapiro singled Jansen out.
• On Jonathan Davis
Shapiro also singled Jonathan Davis out in his answer about guys who aren’t getting talked about enough.
Jonathan Davis is a guy that if you’re not pulling for JD, then you don’t respect, admire and appreciate what makes players and people special. Special teammate, special person, elite work ethic. He’s a guy that, I’m not sure people don’t talk about enough, but a fan couldn’t potentially grasp how special a human being and person he is, and teammate he is, and how he could make us better, not just on the field, but off.
I’ll just put this here *EYES EMOJI*.
Walker speaks!
More quotes!
Back on Friday, Blue Jays pitching coach held a 30-minute media session on Zoom, which touched on a huge number of topics and individuals. Some highlights!
• On Tanner Roark
Tried to make some adjustments at the end of the year, and then really took it into the off-season. Came back this spring on a mission. Definitely using his lower half a little bit more. The velocity seems to have ticked up a little bit — in a more comfortable spot for him, I'm sure, where he can get his fastball in on some of those right-handers and left-handers now. He feels confident in it. I definitely see a change in his mindset. I think he feels really good about where he's at right now, which is great. I know he was frustrated with last year and looking to rebound, for sure, and be an impact guy for us. So, so far so good. He's actually been throwing strikes, he's been getting inside, a little more life on the fastball, and his secondary stuff's been good. I know the fourth inning kind of got away from him the other day, but I feel very good about where he's at and I know he does too.
Uh, yeah. Just so we’re clear, Walker said all this before the disastrous start to Sunday’s Roark outing.
To be fair, Roark looked better in the second, and should have been out of the third before Thairo Estrada took him deep, but you can’t call his day anything but ugly.
The Jays have continued to be positive about Roark this spring, and until this point there wasn’t too much reason for them not to be. But they’re seeing everything we’re seeing, and I suspect that the amount of rope he’s going to get isn’t going to be long — certainly not if he’s as bad as he’s been over the last couple of outings.
What should have been the final out of the third inning on Sunday — a pop fly to left-centre off the bat of Kyle Higashioka that George Springer should have taken, and Cavan Biggio couldn’t get to — ended up being ruled a single. All three of the runs that followed, therefore, ended up on Roark’s ERA, pushing it to 8.44 over 10 2/3 innings this spring. That’s a little unfair to him, but there’s only so much lipstick we can try to put on this pig.
That’s the attitude he basically has to have about an outing like that, but Roark has to be at least a little bit worried about his job at this stage.
I included a quote about Roark in Saturday’s Atkins Speaks! piece that I think is worth revisiting.
“We feel, every day that goes by, better and better about him being closer to that '18/'19 version than the 2020 version,” Atkins said. “But we'll see. We've got to be thinking about how we can get better every day, and this season, when he is out there against the AL East, will really be the telltale.”
What I didn’t say when I first wrote about this quote, because I didn’t want to be unfair to Ross by putting words in his mouth, was that I thought for sure at one point that he was going to say something like “We’ve got alternatives” before catching himself.
Whether that’s what Atkins was about to say or not, it’s true! They do have alternatives. And it may not be long before they start thinking about which one is best to take Roark’s spot.
It would be better if this wasn’t the situation. You honestly hate to see the guy struggle. Thing is, you also hate to have to keep watching the guy struggle. There’s a difference.
• On T.J. Zeuch
It's a big, big change, to be honest with you. I know last spring didn't go so well for him. He was leaving some of those sinkers up, velocity was down a little bit. Was definitely struggling physically, mentally, just trying to figure things out. But I've talked to him in the last couple of years, and I've kept him focused on his game and the way the sinkerball has seemed to have been disappearing in baseball. It's definitely come back. I think with the adjustments in the swing, guys handling the ball up a little bit better as well, they're a little bit more vulnerable and susceptible to that sinker. So I think he feels a lot better about where he fits in. You start to second guess where you actually fit in in the game, I'm sure, when you're a sinkerballer the way it was going. But obviously with his stuff, the results he's getting, he's got power to his sink right now and I think, mentally, he's extremely confident. I love the way he's going about his business. He certainly looks like a major league starter.
Zeuch has one strikeout in seven spring innings this year. He struck out three in 11 1/3 innings last year. I don’t want to be a broken record on this, and I definitely don’t want to be anti-Zeuch — I’d love to see him be able to make it work — but I have no idea how anybody thinks such little swing-and-miss is going to be tenable.
The guys at that end of the spectrum in terms of strikeout rate are simply not successful. Among guys with at least 10 innings pitched last year, Zeuch's 6.4% strikeout rate ranked last. The rest of the bottom 10: Robert Dugger, Jeff Samardzija, Daniel Castano, Joey Gerber, T.J. McFarland, Adam Cimber, Ivan Nova, Tom Eshelman, and Dakota Bacus. Not exactly a list you want to be on.
• On Hyun Jin Ryu and his velocity uptick
I just think the curveball is a little bit sharper, there's more separation between the fastball and changeup, he can get that cutter to where he wants to and doesn't feel like he has to force it, it's just coming out a little bit easier. I think it's easier for him to reach those velocities now, where he had to kind of reach back dig deep a little bit last year. But the ball seems to be coming out very well and, again, I think it just enhances all of his pitches when he feels his full strength, to be honest with you. And I think that's where he's at right now.
That is clearly excellent news, and here on Sunday, with the Jays choosing to shield Ryu against a Yankees team that he’ll be facing on opening day, his solid spring continued.
• On Steven Matz
We've been hiding him. It's just the way it lined up and who it lined up against, but he actually threw extremely well his last outing. His velocity is still there in the mid-90s. Tremendous movement on his pitches. His curveball, changeup — secondary stuff has been outstanding. Better than expected, to be honest with you. Watching video and watching the action on the ball last year, the stuff has been really good. We've adjusted some things in his approach, but he's on the top of his game right now, I think, from a confidence standpoint. It's really where it needs to be. So he's excited about where he's at. We are too. And anxious to get him back out there in a regular game.
On Saturday, the day after Walker had this to say, Matz went out and threw five innings against the Phillies, strikeout out six and walking none, while allowing just one run on five hits. Arden Zwelling of Sportsnet produced a great deep dive on Matz following his start.
We need to be careful getting too excited about spring performances, but it sure would be great if this could continue!
• On Alek Manoah
I guess I don't want to put a timeframe on it, but he's definitely more advanced than I thought. Watching him work, watching him go about his business, he is a competitor, which is extremely impressive when you watch him between the white lines out there. He gets after it. And for a big guy he repeats well, he throws strikes, he comes after hitters, he's got power to his fastball, he can sink it, he's got kind of a varying breaking ball that's really effective. Definitely there's always room to improve and get better, and obviously we saw what he can do when he's at his best against the Yankees the other day. So if he could continue to do that he's going to be really good. I'm excited about it.
But yeah, am pleasantly surprised at where he's at in his development already. Obviously he's pitched effectively at the major college level. Hasn't had a lot of professional experience. Still has a ways to go there. But definitely excited about him and his future about us. A timeframe, I wouldn't want to put anything on it right now. But he certainly looks like he can help.
LOOKS LIKE HE CAN HELP.
We had some discussions that are private, of course, but the things that I could say here are just basically keep doing what you're doing. Obviously (he and Simeon Woods Richardson have) been very impressive. They're still here. They're on the other side of the complex, but they're still here. It's not like we sent them off somewhere else, so I'll still get to see them and talk to them, and work with them. But they are special pitchers, they have tremendous upside. I think the biggest thing is, when you have some mild success in the short term in spring training, that you don't get too far ahead of yourself and think that it's going to be that easy. Because it's not. There's going to be some rough points for sure moving forward.
For Alek, if he could get seven strikeouts out of the nine outs that he got consistently he'd be pretty good, but that's not realistic either. I think it's just understanding that this is a small glimpse of what they can do, and that they've got to continue to work hard, continue to put up numbers, continue to be great teammates and not get too far ahead of themselves where all they're doing is looking at who's going up and who's going down and when am I going to get my shot. You get sidetracked. So just staying in the moment, continuing to refine their stuff, and when they get their opportunity make the most of it.
• On Julian Merryweather
He's actually feeling good. He threw a couple of sides that were awesome. He's going to pitch in a sim game on Sunday and throw two innings. So, again, he's like Trent. Once these guys get out there and throw multiple innings in major league game, all of the sudden we can look at them a little differently and there's possibilities of how we can fit them in. It's just to get them on a regular routine, a regular schedule, get them in major league games, and then we can continue to evaluate.
The Sunday sim game that Walker was referring to is now in the books, and apparently it went well.
• On Francisco Liriano
He's one of the great people in baseball, to be honest with you. He's so easy to work with. Accepts any role, even when he was here the first time. He's throwing ball very well. He might not have the velocity that he had a few years back, but his secondary stuff is outstanding — his changeup and slider. He's willing to take the ball any time. He can get left-handers out and he's good against right-handers because of that changeup. So, he's someone who still has some quality pitches left in that arm, and he's been great for us so far. I don't know exactly — again, we're still trying to figure out how things are going to work in building our staff, but he's been very effective this spring and he's resilient as well.
Walker sounded really genuine in his praise of Liriano the person. You love to hear it. Especially since it seems like Liriano is likely going to have a job in the Jays’ bullpen, at least to start the year.