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When you’re buried in the standings and trying to find at-bats for players in order to see how the pieces fit, a miscue or two from Teoscar Hernandez in centre field is the least of the Toronto Blue Jays’ worries at this point. TSN Baseball Reporter Scott Mitchell checks in with news and notes on the Jays.

TORONTO — From struggling to handle left field to being given a chance to patrol one of the most important positions on the field on a regular basis, Teoscar Hernandez’s tour of the defensive spectrum has been anything but usual.

Last September, Hernandez looked to be on his way to becoming a full-time DH due to his obvious struggles in left field for the Toronto Blue Jays, but a winter of hard work in the Dominican Republic had him in a much better place early on in 2019.

He looked at least capable of being a competent corner outfielder, an assessment that was backed up by the numbers.

In 703.2 innings in left last year, Hernandez posted an ugly minus-11 Defensive Runs Saved and was both objectively and subjectively one of the worst outfielders in baseball.

An off-season of work and some newfound confidence later, Hernandez posted a plus-1 DRS in 295.1 innings before being demoted to Triple-A Buffalo on May 16.

The reason wasn’t defence.

He simply couldn’t hit.

When he was bussed back to Buffalo, Hernandez was carrying a sorry .189/.262/.299 slash line with just three home runs in 39 games.

The exciting power the 26-year-old had showed was gone.

But the Blue Jays saw an opportunity for Hernandez to get some centre field reps — a position he played frequently while coming up in the Houston Astros system — in the minors, while also trying to make an adjustment to help cut down on his strikeouts.

Eighteen games later — nine of them as a centre fielder — Hernandez was recalled Wednesday, and is surprisingly being given an opportunity to become the everyday guy in centre.

“We wanted him to go back and get more accustomed to centre field,” Jays GM Ross Atkins said. “The offensive performance, we thought he would benefit from a bit of a reset and he was trying to make a small offensive adjustment, so it was more about giving him Triple-A reps to do that.

“I would expect the run tool to play (in centre field). He’s as fast as Mookie Betts and has the ability to do it. I think it’s just the assertiveness and the aggressiveness that’s where the development opportunity is.”

On the surface, it’s a curious decision given the recent history of Hernandez looking generally lost in the outfield.

But without a natural centre fielder who can hit on the roster, this is more about finding at-bats and hoping Hernandez can produce offensively.

If he doesn’t hit, it won’t matter where he’s standing on the outfield grass.

Rediscovering the power stroke that allowed him to hit 22 homers in 2018, leading to a slightly above average offensive season overall with a 107 wRC+, is what matters.

The problem, however, was that Hernandez struck out in 21 of his 73 at-bats during his two-plus weeks in Triple-A, so the jury continues to be out on both sides of the baseball.

Apparently the reports the Jays were getting from Bisons manager Bobby Meacham were positive.

“He used to play centre field before and, according to Bobby Meacham, he played really well and that’s why he’s in the big leagues today, playing centre field,” Jays manager Charlie Montoyo explained.

“His approach (at the plate) needs to be better and not swing at bad pitches.”

It’s likely not going to be pretty, but when you’re buried in the standings and trying to find at-bats for players in order to see how the pieces fit, a miscue or two from Hernandez in centre is the least of the organization’s worries at this point.

NOT ALFORD’S TIME

Each and every time there’s an outfield move, the screams for Anthony Alford start up again.

Approaching his 25th birthday next month, Alford has never really been given a chance to prove himself at the major-league level, being handed 32 plate appearances over 18 games in parts of three seasons.

The issue is his minor league body of work hasn’t been much better.

On the heels of a .656 OPS in 105 Triple-A games last season, Alford again stumbled out of the gates in 2019.

Since the calendar flipped to May, Alford has started coming around, posting a .272/.348/.427 slash line with a pair of homers and four stolen bases over the last 27 games.

The Jays want to see that continue, rather than rush him back to the big leagues and undo all the progress if he struggles once again.

“No opportunities are given,” Atkins said. “They’re earned. And, typically, performance is a large part of that. He’s missed a ton of time due to how he developed as an amateur and because of the injuries and we’ve tried to expedite that, but when his performance becomes consistent, he’s a great piece.”

The organization is holding out hope Alford will put things together, but his stock has taken a big hit and he’s no lock to be a piece to this rebuild puzzle.

But he will get a chance to sink or swim at some point.

“His name came up,” Montoyo said. “He just needs to spend a little more time in Triple-A. It’s time to see what Teoscar can do again, but Anthony’s going to get his chance, for sure.

“He’s doing well right now, so let’s keep him doing well and then, of course, he’s going to get his chance. There’s no timeframe, but he’s close.”

JAYS WORSE THAN EXPECTED, DEADLINE LOOMS

Marcus Stroman calling the Blue Jays’ clubhouse “not a fun atmosphere” due to all the losing isn’t a big deal to Atkins.

That’s, of course, what he’s going to say publicly, but the GM is used to Stroman being Stroman.

“We don’t expect people to be having celebrations after losses,” Atkins said. “We don’t expect people to call it fun, either. Marcus is a very honest and upfront person and wasn’t feeling it was positive at the moment. Our group, our core group, I think you guys have been around them and seen they’ve been steady, the atmosphere’s been steady, Charlie’s done an incredible job of staying exceptionally positive. We’ve obviously had a tough stretch.

“I haven’t seen any signs of guys pulling back in terms of effort and fight.”

After losing all six games on their most recent roadie, the Jays returned home and beat the New York Yankees on Tuesday, but owning the third-worst record in baseball isn’t what Atkins expected.

“No, we didn’t expect to be where we are,” Atkins said. “We thought we’d be in a better position at this point.”

It may get worse before it gets better.

With the draft over, front office attention around baseball now shifts to the trade deadline, and the Jays are expected to be heavily involved with three of the more interesting trade chips on the market in Stroman, Aaron Sanchez and closer Ken Giles.

Now that the August waiver trading period has been abolished, things could move quickly, but it’s new territory for everyone involved.

“It’s hard to say,” Atkins said. “I would say that is more likely than not because of it being one deadline, but at the same time, there aren’t things that are already occurring, there aren’t deals that are happening. It doesn’t seem to be that the market’s brewing up in a quick way, but I would expect it to move sooner this year than it has the last couple.”​