Talent is the most important factor on every MLB roster, but depth of talent is a major factor as well.
When general managers put together their rosters in the off-season, they try to build in depth because they know every baseball season is a war of attrition. Every team is bound to be tested by injuries, large and small. The idea is to have as much talent on the active roster as possible for as many games as possible.
Every franchise spends significant money on their training, strength and conditioning, and medical staffs. The goal is to keep the players on the field, because the best ability for any player is their availability.
The Blue Jays are being tested by health issues in a significant way so far this season. GM Ross Atkins built a roster to protect losses in the starting rotation. The Jays initially rostered eight healthy legitimate starting pitchers, which should have been enough to cover the season. They even added Max Scherzer during spring training to make it nine starters. That should have been enough.
But the injury bug has been contagious. The Blue Jays currently have four starting pitchers on the injured list. Trey Yesavage is working his way back from shoulder impingement. Jose Berrios has a stress fracture in his elbow. Shane Bieber has elbow inflammation that he has dealt with the entire off-season, into spring training and now into the regular season. Cody Ponce injured his ACL in his first start of the season and is done for the year.
Atkins moved quickly and signed lefty starter Patrick Corbin to help fill in the gaps until the staff gets healthy. Corbin is a serviceable starter who won’t shut anybody down, but he can at least keep the Jays in games.
Toronto has suffered injuries on the position player side as well.
Addison Barger sprained both ankles, Alejandro Kirk fractured and dislocated his left thumb, and George Springer broke his left big toe. None of these injuries are season-ending, but they are certainly critical.
A team can’t win a division in April but the can lose one. The Blue Jays need to find a way to survive all the injuries and keep the top of the division within arm’s length. They are undermanned and it’s nobody’s fault – it’s just baseball.
All injuries are not created equal
The beauty of baseball is that each year is the same and yet so different. There are peaks and valleys, hot streaks and cold streaks. There are always injuries, but some are more debilitating than others.
For instance, the injury to Yesavage is not the same as the injury to Ponce. Yesavage has a chance to be an ace, while Ponce is more of a number four or five starter. The injury to Springer is not the same as an injury to Myles Straw would be. Springer is part of the heart and soul of the team. In many ways, we saw how the team played their best when Springer was his best.
The loss of Kirk is significant because he is one of the best pitch callers and framers in the game. Plus, his bat is a real weapon in the Jays’ offence because he is such a clutch hitter who is an excellent with two strikes. Barger blossomed into a left-handed hitting run producer last season. Nathan Lukes is a good player, but he can’t truly replace Barger.
The Jays are currently 7-10, which doesn’t feel great but it could be worse. The Yankees (10-8), who started the season hot, have lost seven of their past 10 games. The Jays are just three games behind Tampa Bay (10-7).
While they are rehabbing their injured players, the Jays need to steal wins wherever they can.
The reality is that the Blue Jays weren’t playing all that well even before the injuries. Many of the fundamental challenges from previous seasons have flared up again this year: poor baserunning, bad decision making, and poor situational hitting.
Those mistakes become even more costly when the roster is depleted by injuries. The Jays needed to play cleaner baseball even when they were at full strength, so those issues are more critical now.
Atkins working the phones
I give Atkins a ton of credit for how he is working the phones. He moved quickly to sign Corbin, who was home and working out on his own.
The trades for Tyler Fitzgerald from the Giants and Lenyn Sosa from the White Sox were both excellent pivots. Both players are more than serviceable and can help weather the storm. Fitzgerald has been optioned to the minors, but will help again at some point in Toronto.
Even the fact that Eloy Jimenez was in Buffalo and available for a call-up when Springer went down was excellent general managing. Most veterans who are signed to minor-league deals and have spring training invites negotiate an opt-out clause in their contract, so, if they don’t make the major-league team on Opening Day they can be free to shop themselves around. Jiminez did not have such a clause, which allowed the Jays to maintain control over his contract until he was needed.
For the time being, the Jays need to find ways to win games. Each day can deliver a different type of game and need from the team. They have to tighten up their fundamentals and make teams beat them, instead of beating themselves. Players need to step up, and they need to really play as a team.
Every game they win now helps keep them close to the division leader and ensures that the hole they have to climb out of when they do finally get healthy isn’t so deep.
You find out way more about a team’s character when they deal with adversity than when things are going well. I believe in the character of this team. We saw what they were made of last season.
The Jays were 26-28 on May 27 last year, then went 68-40 the rest of the way. The Jays have a good chance of having Yesavage, Barger, and Springer back before the end of May. There is an outside chance that Bieber and Berrios could also return by then.
Reinforcements are on the way. Hopefully, it won’t be too little, too late.
