Donaldson, dead arm and the value of communication

Steve Phillips

TSN Baseball Insider

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General managers hate surprises, but that’s exactly what Ross Atkins got when the Blue Jays season started with Josh Donaldson struggling to throw the ball across the infield after fielding ground balls. 

From my experience, it looked like his arm was killing him and he was protecting it when he threw the ball. He was pushing the ball instead of cutting it loose. Donaldson has an above-average arm when healthy.

It seemed like manager John Gibbons was a bit caught off guard by the throws. He checked in with Donaldson in the dugout during the game. Donaldson claimed he had “dead arm” and no pain. Dead arm is real. It’s a condition where the arm doesn’t hurt but it has no strength and thrown balls have little or no carry. The good news is Donaldson said he felt no pain while swinging the bat.

Gibbons pulled Donaldson off the field the next few games to let his arm settle down. Since his return to the field his throws have been a bit better. He still isn’t 100 per cent, but he is playable.

The lesson to be learned here is that communication is critical. Somewhere there was a lapse in the process. Often times players are just tough and don’t want to disclose aches and pains because they want to stay on the field. Or they don’t want to be considered soft.  Or they want to be in the lineup for Opening Day and are afraid if they complain that they may not get the joy of the experience. Donaldson is as tough as they come and never wants to leave the field. 

Players teach managers and general managers how to treat them. If a guy tends to try and play through pain or not share his health status he may have to be protected from himself in the future. A potential outcome could be that when a player says he is ready to take the field again, the manager may give him an extra day or two off to make sure he isn’t rushed back.

As in most situations, if there’s a problem better communication is the answer. Donaldson is far too critical to the Jays’ success to not be on the exact same page about how he feels.

Stanton rides the rollercoaster

Yankees outfielder Giancarlo Stanton has already ridden the baseball rollercoaster in the first week of the season.

He homered in his first at-bat of the season and delivered two dingers in his first game as a Yankee. A few days later, in his first Yankee home game, he went 0 for 5 with five strikeouts.  He had the platinum sombrero; one better (or worse) than the golden sombrero (four strikeouts).

He received all kinds of cheers for his homers from the Yankees’ fans who travelled north of the border to watch the Jays and Yankees in the first series of the season. Then he got booed after his fourth and fifth punch outs in the home opener. That’s right; Yankee fans have already booed their biggest off-season acquisition and reigning NL MVP. 

It seems unfathomable that could happen this soon in his tenure, but it is New York. Fans communicate with players differently in the Big Apple. When a player underperforms the fans boo instead of just not cheering. Stanton handled it well but he has to be stunned that the honeymoon ended so quickly. He homered in his first at-bat of the second game in the Bronx and changed boos to cheers. But he did toss his bat down in way that screamed, “Take that, Yankee fans.” 

Fans need to understand that booing players doesn’t serve as motivation. It adds pressure. Stanton would tell you that he struck out five times because he tried too hard in the home opener. He wanted to do too much. He needed to relax more and not try as hard. Booing does not lead to relaxation. Plus, boos don’t just affect the player they are directed at. Every teammate feels it too. They think they might be next.  It makes everyone feel more pressure. 

Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge has two homers so far and catcher Gary Sanchez has one. In fact, they both homered in the same game in New York that Stanton did. Judge’s second homer came against the Orioles, who he already had 12 homers against in his short career. Judge has now hit 58 homers in 189 games and he is the fastest to that mark. 

The big three of the Yankees, whom some refer to as Mt. Crushmore, Legion of (Aaron) Boone or Slam Central Station, has a chance to surpass 150 homers as a trio this year. They are all just heating up in anticipation of the weather doing the same. Sure, they’ll strikeout a ton, but it will be worth it as they’re always a pitch away from going deep. 

Didi Gregorius has already proved that the lineup is deeper than just the big three. Gregorius hit two homers and drove in eight runs in the home opener. In fact, Stanton left eight runners on base and Didi drove them all in. He's the first shortstop to have an eight-RBI game since Nomar Garciaparra in 2002. He’s the first Yankees shortstop ever with eight RBI in a single game. He is also the first player ever with eight RBI in a home opener, regardless of position or team, according to the YES Network broadcast.

Greg Bird is expected to be back in June to play first base after he recovers from ankle surgery. That will add even more power to the lineup. So far, 22 of the 37 runs the Yankees have scored via the home run. I believe they will set a record for the highest percentage of runs scored via the round tripper. They may set a record for strikeouts too, but it won’t matter. 

Ohtani delivering on the hype

Remember when everyone was concerned about Angels DH/pitcher, Shohei Ohtani? Many believed he should be sent to the minor leagues because of poor spring training performance. I wrote last week that nothing about his slow spring training changed my evaluation of this young superstar. Thank goodness the Angels didn’t send him down.

He has made one start so far and showed well above average stuff. His fastball topped out at 99 and he showed a devastating split-finger fastball. He got a win in his first start for the Angels. He is also hitting .429 and has two homers, including a blast to deep centre field against former Cy Young Award winner Corey Kluber.

I love Ohtani’s poise and athleticism. Nothing seems to bother him. He’s playing with a ton of pressure on his shoulders as he is not only representing Japanese baseball but is also a pioneer as a two-way player. The other thing he has shown is tremendous speed. He rates among the top 10 fastest running players in baseball. That is amazing. He’s an extraordinary talent. He is fitting in with his teammates very well, as he shared a good laugh with them as they gave him the silent treatment after his first home run.

It is funny how Ohtani is getting so much attention on the same team as the best player in baseball who never seems to get enough recognition. It seems more people check on how Ohtani does each night than care about Mike Trout’s performance.

I love how the Angels are using him. I think they should resist the clamouring for him to get more at-bats. Many are saying he should hit on the days that he pitches, instead of using a DH. I’m of the belief that if a player is thriving in a role or with certain usage, a team shouldn’t get greedy. Maybe Ohtani is thriving because of how he is being managed. Changing it can throw off the whole dynamic and results. 

Spitting Seeds

- The stats for Aaron Sanchez (0-1, 5.40 ERA) and Marcus Stroman (0-0, 7.20 ERA) aren’t overwhelming in the early going, but I’m actually enthused by what I’ve seen. They both look healthy and the ball is coming out of their hand free and easy. They are both still shaking off some rust. Sanchez’s blister problem hasn’t been an issue and he’s building up endurance and stamina after missing most of last season. The shoulder inflammation that nagged Stroman in spring training seems to be behind him. His stuff looked good in his first start but he needs better command. The good news is that the Jays are 4-3 and their two best starters are going to be much better. 

- Rangers third baseman Adrian Beltre doubled in the second inning on Thursday, which was hit No. 3,054 in his career. That hit moved him past Rod Carew for 24th all-time, which makes him the all-time hits leader for a player from Latin America. His single in the eighth inning on Thursday tied him for 23rd all-time with Rickey Henderson. If Beltre, who is 38, plays two more years he could climb as high as 10th all-time, passing Twins manager Paul Molitor (3,319 hits). Beltre could pass Cal Ripken (3,184 hits) by the end of this season.

- Colorado Rockies outfielder Charlie Blackmon signed a six-year, $108-million extension with the club. He was slated to be a free agent after the 2018 season. His new deal is really a four-year deal with two player options. The deal is for $108 million guaranteed but could grow to $116 million with some incentives. Blackmon’s signing is interesting in that it is a reaction to this past off-season. He would have been 32 after the season, heading to free agency. We saw how clubs were reluctant to sign older players to five-year extensions, so Blackmon decided to get his now. The sixth-year player option in his extension is for just $10 million because it is an acknowledgment of his older age at that point. The other thing Blackmon avoids is the analytical debate about Coors Field. If he went to free agency, other clubs would have challenged his real value outside of Colorado. It would have likely devalued him to the Rockies as well. Next in line in Colorado is third baseman Nolan Arenado.

- This all makes me wonder if Josh Donaldson will have a similar awakening about his free agency. Maybe there is a deal ­­– between a super mega-deal and a market that bottoms out because of injury or age – that he can make with the Blue Jays. Would Donaldson consider a three-year, $90-million deal with two player options at $15 million per year with escalators based upon MVP voting?  It would end up being a five-year $120 million guarantee with a chance to make more. Just a thought.

- It has been a rocky start for new manager Gabe Kapler of the Philadelphia Phillies. Kapler was hired for his unique attachment to the new analytics in the game. He’s a numbers guy who touts his communication skills. He was booed on Thursday when he was introduced at the home opener. So far, Kapler has yanked a starter from a game in which he was dominating and had thrown only 68 pitches, brought in a pitcher from the bullpen who had not thrown a warm-up pitch, didn’t play his starting catcher or centre fielder in the season opener and used 21 pitchers in the first 28 innings of the season. Plus, his right fielder was positioned so shallow that Mets shortstop Ahmed Rosario tripled over his head on Wednesday, driving in the game-winning runs. An unnamed Phillies player was quoted as saying, “We will be okay if the manager stays out of the way.” Other than that, it has been a great start for Kapler as the manager in Philly. Kapler is going to do it differently, but he better succeed more than he fails because players, fans and front offices don’t like different if it doesn’t equal winning.