Not too long ago, Ryan Lavarnway was one of the better young players in professional baseball. Going into 2012, Baseball Prospectus’ Kevin Goldstien ranked him as the 98th best prospect in professional baseball, and the fourth best in the Red Sox system. But that was one injury and five years ago, and as the old saying goes, prospects will break your heart. Now, it’s 2016, and the 29-year-old catcher has been with six MLB organizations, the most recent being the Toronto Blue Jays.
The Ex-Yale player started the year with the Atlanta Braves’ AAA affiliate Gwinnett Braves, but was released on May 13th after getting off to a rough start and moving the wrong way on the depth chart. A couple of weeks of down time later, Lavarnway signed with the Blue Jays and made his way to AA New Hampshire. He became the starting catcher for the majority of the season, and then received additional time at designated hitter once Reese McGuire was acquired from the Pittsburgh Pirates in a mid-season trade. Lavarnway had a fairly successful season with the Fisher Cats, posting a .262/.357/.395 triple slash, or a .277 TAv. That’s a far cry from the .284/.360/.510 line he posted at his first stop at the AA level way back in 2011, but a successful season nonetheless.
This past weekend, Lavarnway competed with Team Israel in the World Baseball Classic qualifiers at MCU Park in Brooklyn, New York. He went 5 for 12 with two walks in the tournament, helping Israel advance to the next stage of the World Baseball Classic that will be held in March. When I asked Lavarnway about what it means to play for Israel, he mentioned wanting “to grow the game in Israel,” but that he was most looking forward to “[meeting] the guys around the game that [he has] played against and played with, and to get to know them a bit better.” He wanted to share moments with some of these players, instead of just talking about them.
He got one on Thursday night.
As the players lined up for the British, Israeli, and American national anthems, the Israeli players took off their caps as expected. But then something magical happened. They reached into their front pockets, grabbed yarmulkes, and put them on their heads while Hatikvah was sung by a group of middle school students from a school located just three miles away from where Ebbets Field used to stand. It is this unity that Lavarnway and his teammates were seeking in this experience. They all come from different backgrounds, but there is one thread that brought them together this past weekend: their Jewish identity and the ability to play for Team Israel under the WBC’s citizenship laws. Together, they were going to play to the best of their ability.
Of course, it’s not just the tournament for Lavarnway. He is still a member of affiliated ball, which could present some challenges; as a player trying to get back to the big leagues, Lavarnway has to balance working with pitchers on game plans with improving his own skills to impress big league clubs in hopes of moving up. However, he said he doesn’t let that impact how he goes about the game, citing that “at the end of the day it’s about winning, at every level.” He continued along that theme, saying that he “[goes] out there and [helps] whoever [he’s] working with, whether it’s Conner Greene or maybe a lesser status-ed prospect.” Lavarnway wants to “help them be the best they can be, and be the best I can be, and let everything else kind of just fall into place.”
There were plenty of scouts in attendance in Brooklyn throughout the weekend. You could probably guess which players they were there to see, and that list likely didn’t have Lavarnway on it. However, his contract with the Blue Jays organization will expire at the end of this season, and that means he will be heading to minor league free agency once again. This time around, Lavarnway will have some more accolades on his shelf to entice teams. Another good season in AA, and a weekend as a leader on the tournament winning Team Israel. For now, teams aren’t allowed to talk to players. That’ll happen once the World Series is over. When that happens, Lavarnway says he’ll tell them one thing; “I’m available.”
Lead Photo: Scott Kane-USA TODAY Sports