Fifth spot in Blue Jays rotation Borucki’s to lose

Steve Phillips

TSN Baseball Insider

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The Toronto Blue Jays recently signed starting pitcher Clay Buchholz, which means they now have six legitimate candidates for five starting spots.

Marcus Stroman, Aaron Sanchez, Matt Shoemaker, Clayton Richard and Ryan Borucki all have the jump on Buchholz as he plays catch up in spring training. Even though the 34-year old righty had been throwing at home while waiting to sign a contract, he isn’t quite game-ready.

He will need to go through a progression of bullpen sessions, live batting practice, a simulated game and then a real game. He won’t likely have enough time to get stretched out in order to be a starter by Opening Day (March 28 against the Detroit Tigers at Rogers Centre). 

Convention will likely be thrown out the door from now on in this new analytical age of baseball. We will see infield shifts, four outfielder configurations, relievers used in creative ways and the use of openers. The Blue Jays will likely use Stroman and Sanchez as conventional starters, but beyond that they will likely piece together the rest of the rotation. Of the remaining starters, only Borucki has a chance to be a part of the rotation three years from now. Shoemaker, Richard and Buchholz are placeholders. 

The season will likely begin with Shoemaker and Richard in the rotation. The Jays would like Borucki to join them, but he’s going to have to start throwing more strikes after averaging a walk per inning so far, which is unacceptable. There are no scholarships in baseball.

Borucki, who turns 25 on March 31, showed himself to be an effective young starter last season, but he will have to prove it again this year. He doesn’t have overpowering stuff and therefore must work ahead in the count in order for his sequence of pitches to work. 

The fifth spot in the Jays rotation is Borucki’s to lose. And he will lose it if his command of the strike zone doesn’t improve. The Jays will send him down to fix his game in the minor leagues. 

Whether Buchholz takes that spot in the rotation remains to be seen. He has a long history of health issues, so Toronto can’t force his readiness for the season. If he isn’t ready, I expect the Jays to go with an opener and likely use the bullpen to get through a game or two the first couple times through the rotation. 

Travis sidelined again

Poor Devon Travis. Honestly, there is nothing worse for a club or a player than when a player’s body gives out on him before he has a chance to fulfill his potential or even just to get a chance to see what he can do.

We were teased by Travis’ hitting ability in 2015-16. He looked like a top-of-the-order table-setter who could play solid defence. He looked like the Jays’ long-term answer at second. 

But the 28-year-old’s knees have given out on him. He has had surgery on both knees and has rehabbed, desperately trying to get back on the field. He has endured the proverbial punch in the gut numerous times, feeling so close to regaining his health only to suffer pain and inflammation once again.

When players can’t play, they become invisible. They feel it. It’s not personal.

Unfortunately, the game waits for no one. Other players are now passing Travis by. 

In the meantime, the Jays will just move on as though he doesn’t exist.

Maybe one day his body will co-operate. Travis would like one shot at not being the Invisible Man. I hope he gets it. 

MLB, players union ponder rule changes

Despite all the rancour about free agency and the collective bargaining agreement this off-season, the MLB Players Association and commissioner’s office have continued discussions about rule changes in the game. That’s a good sign that there is still a level of co-operation despite the frustrations of players and their leadership. 

Commissioner Rob Manfred has made pace-of-play changes a priority for his vision of the game. He has added the 20-second pitch clock in spring training games to familiarize pitchers with it for the future. He has also proposed a rule that would force pitchers (both openers and relievers) to face a minimum of three batters when they enter a game. He wants the number of mound visits reduced in both 2019 and 2020 and, to expand active rosters by one player to a 26-man roster in time for the 2020 season.

The commissioner also wants to increase the minimum time an injured player must spend on the injured list, bumping up to 15 days from the current 10-day list that’s been in place since the 2017 season.

I don’t love all of the proposed rule changes, but I’m sure glad the two sides have open lines of communication. A work stoppage due to a labour dispute is the last thing the game needs. 

That being said, I’m adamantly opposed to any of the rule proposals that change the competitive nature of the game. I have no problem with making a pitcher work more quickly or getting hitters to stay in the batter’s box. I have no qualms with the pitch clock. Limiting mound visits is not a big deal either.  

I do have problems, however, with any rule that ties the hands of the manager when he’s trying to win a game. Forcing a pitcher to face three hitters upon entering a game doesn’t allow the manager to strategically utilize his roster. You can’t ask the manager to win the game but then say, “Oh, and you can’t do this, this and that.” Managers should have the right to use their personnel in any way they see fit.  

I feel the same way about defensive shifting. There has been chatter about possibly eliminating creative defensive configurations because some say it slows down the pace of play and limits the offensive production in the game. Baseball is a game of adjustments. If moving infielders and outfielders around the field gives a manager the best chance to win, then he should have the right to do that. Opposing hitters can counter that tactic by hitting the baseball the other way.  

One rule I am in favour of is the proposal to reduce the active rosters in September from 40 players to 28. The fact that clubs play all season long with a 25-man roster and in September the roster can expand to 40 is bizarre.

I understand that the minor league season ends around Sept. 1 and teams need to carry a taxi squad of extra players to protect against injury. But the actual games should be played with a level playing field where each manager has the same number of players available to him. Small-market teams shouldn’t be disadvantaged because they can’t afford to call up as many players as a large market team can. 

SPITTING SEEDS

-Last year, the Washington Nationals had the quietest, most disconnected clubhouse I have ever seen. Players all sat at their locker stalls with their heads down, looking at their phones and iPads. No one talked. This year, the music is playing and players are smiling and chatting. They all seem so relaxed. Rather than pointing to the losses of Daniel Murphy and Bryce Harper as the reason for the positive change in the clubhouse, Nationals players and management credit the new acquisitions of Brian Dozier, Kurt Suzuki, Yan Gomes, Patrick Corbin and Trevor Rosenthal for the new refreshing energy. Look out for the Nats this year. 

-Keep an eye on two young St. Louis Cardinals pitchers: starter Jack Flaherty and reliever Jordan Hicks. Flaherty struck out nine Phillies batters in four innings on Tuesday, including seven in a row. He has power stuff and great make-up. As for Hicks, his two-seam fastball was clocked at 103 mph and he’s the hardest thrower in the game. He has worked hard to improve his slider so as to produce more swings and misses. It seems to be working as he has gotten six outs but has seven strikeouts – one of his whiffed hitters reached base on a wild pitch. Now that is efficiency.

-New Phillies slugger Harper should expect a call from Manfred’s office in response to his statement that he will be calling Mike Trout to encourage the Los Angeles Angels superstar to sign with Philadelphia in the future. Harper’s proclamation is a violation of MLB’s tampering rules, prohibiting a player to publicly or privately covet a player currently under contract with another club. He will likely get a slap on the wrist this time.  

-Recent reports indicate that each team’s lineup must now be submitted to the commissioner’s office before they are released to the public. In a statement, the league said, “We are updating a number of our procedures to reduce integrity risks associated with the expansion of sports betting in light of the Supreme Court’s ruling last May. One new procedure is that we now ask clubs to submit starting lineups in a uniform fashion in order to reduce the risk of confidential information being ‘tipped.’” MLB and MGM Resorts International formed a partnership last November. This new procedure will allow MGM to analyze the lineups so they can set lines to maximize profits on betting. This is another example of MLB taking care of its partners.