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	<title>Toronto &#187; Ezequiel Carrera</title>
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	<description>Comprehensive coverage of the Toronto Blue Jays</description>
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		<title>Underrated 2017 Feel Good Story: Ezequiel Carrera Excelling</title>
		<link>http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/2017/09/27/underrated-feel-good-story-of-the-year-ezequiel-carrera-excelling/</link>
		<comments>http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/2017/09/27/underrated-feel-good-story-of-the-year-ezequiel-carrera-excelling/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 27 Sep 2017 10:46:53 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Dave Church]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Articles]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Featured]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Ezequiel Carrera]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Steve Pearce]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Teoscar Hernandez]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/?p=13587</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[It&#8217;s been an interesting season for Jays outfielder Ezequiel Carrera. He began the year as the strong side of a left field platoon with Steve Pearce, mostly by default: the Jays hadn&#8217;t acquired anyone better to supplant the career backup. But a funny thing happened on the way to Pearce eventually assuming the full-time role. [&#8230;]]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>It&#8217;s been an interesting season for Jays outfielder Ezequiel Carrera. He began the year as the strong side of a left field platoon with Steve Pearce, mostly by default: the Jays hadn&#8217;t acquired anyone better to supplant the career backup. But a funny thing happened on the way to Pearce eventually assuming the full-time role. Pearce struggled and then got hurt, and Carrera had a solid season, much better than anyone could have hoped. He will finish the year with career highs in most offensive categories. He&#8217;s third among Jays regulars in tAV and OBP, and fifth on the team in WARP. Though no one would mistake him for an elite defender, he has played all three outfield positions, giving the Jays some flexibility on a team with far too many slow-footed defenders.</p>
<p>That Carrera has been benched probably isn&#8217;t a commentary on his performance, <a href="http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/2017/09/04/3-things-to-watch-for-against-the-red-sox-4/">as we explained previously</a>. It&#8217;s a names and numbers game. In a meaningless September, the prospects are going to play. The established stars are going to play. Carrera, a journeyman in the midst of his finest season, is neither. At 30, there&#8217;s probably no higher ceiling for him to reach, and no fans to appease by writing his name in the lineup every day.</p>
<p>Zeke&#8217;s career year is a feather in his cap, and could potentially have been a fun story in a more successful Jays year. One could look at him and see a fringe major leaguer, making good after being written off again and again, grabbing hold of a regular role despite the doubts and questions that have constantly surrounded him. The Jays have always tried to move on, to find a better regular to supplant him, but Carrera has always found at-bats and a roster spot during his time in Toronto.</p>
<p>Despite being a fixture on the team through two playoff seasons, Zeke isn&#8217;t a fan favourite. He&#8217;s quiet with the media, and his status as a backup prior to this season made him less visible. But he also doesn&#8217;t have something really identifiable as a skill, a calling card that would draw someone&#8217;s attention. Ask a fan what Zeke is good at, and you&#8217;ll probably get some furrowed brows as we try to figure it out. He doesn&#8217;t have the power of a Bautista or Donaldson, or the glove of a Pillar or Tulowitzki. He doesn&#8217;t hit for a high average, and isn&#8217;t the base-runner that Dalton Pompey was late in the 2015 season.</p>
<p>The Jays might try to knock Carrera down the depth chart again after this season. It&#8217;s easy to see why the team might look for a better solution. Despite the career year, there&#8217;s nothing really spectacular about Zeke. He&#8217;s not a star, a magnet for the attention of fans and front offices. He&#8217;s just fine. The team may not believe he&#8217;s as good as he showed this season, more a backup than a starter. There are other, bigger names that the team has to accommodate, and more immovable pieces ahead of him in the depth chart. &#8220;Left field&#8221; was the fallback for places the Jays could improve, and will likely be again.</p>
<p>Even in an outfield in flux, it&#8217;s easy to see where Carrera could get squeezed out. Needing some certainty, the Jays will probably bring Kevin Pillar back, living with a below-average bat for his reliable glove. Teoscar Hernandez should be given every chance to grab hold of an everyday spot. Steve Pearce, whose power plays better for a corner outfielder, will need his at-bats as well. Maybe Anthony Alford or Dwight Smith Jr. asserts themselves in spring training, forcing themselves into the conversation. Maybe the Jays spend to make the outfield a strength rather than a question mark.</p>
<p>Carrera will likely get to watch more games from the dugout as 2017 draws to a close, and that&#8217;s a bit of a shame. He was one of the few bright spots in a bad Jays season, someone who actually exceeded expectations. The team and fans may look to replace him, and that&#8217;s all well and good. But if he does come back, and has a spot in the lineup on opening day, maybe that&#8217;s fine too. As one of the few good things about this season, we should be open to the idea that he could surprise us again.</p>
<p><em>Lead Photo: Nick Turchiaro-USA TODAY Sports</em></p>
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		<title>Making a Case for Melvin Upton Jr. as the Starting Left Fielder</title>
		<link>http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/2017/03/16/making-a-case-for-melvin-upton-jr/</link>
		<comments>http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/2017/03/16/making-a-case-for-melvin-upton-jr/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 16 Mar 2017 10:54:13 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Andrew Munn]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Articles]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Dalton Pompey]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Ezequiel Carrera]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Melvin Upton]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Steve Pearce]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/?p=9491</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Thursday marks the halfway point between the Blue Jays’ first Spring Training game and Opening Day. With the second half getting underway, we are beginning to see more cuts, higher pitch counts, and a greater sense of clarity as to who’s winning the spring&#8217;s annual position battles. While some of these situations are beginning to [&#8230;]]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Thursday marks the halfway point between the Blue Jays’ first Spring Training game and Opening Day. With the second half getting underway, we are beginning to see more cuts, higher pitch counts, and a greater sense of clarity as to who’s winning the spring&#8217;s annual position battles. While some of these situations are beginning to sort themselves out, others take longer to develop. For the Blue Jays, the battle for starting left fielder appears to be stretching out longer than they would have liked.</p>
<p>Toronto&#8217;s left field situation is very murky. Currently, the job appears to be going to a combination of Ezequiel Carrera and Melvin Upton Jr., with Steve Pearce, Darrell Ceciliani, and Dalton Pompey still in the mix. There are talks of platoons and players splitting time between left field and other positions. Curiously, there has not been much talk about a single player winning the job outright. One of the players that could do this is Melvin Upton Jr.</p>
<p>Today, in true Spring Training fashion, we are going to play a meaningless game. The game is called, “Melvin Upton Jr. has a really similar offensive profile to another Blue Jay, try and guess who it is” (it’s only a working title):</p>
<table>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td width="170"><strong>Player (2004-2016)</strong></td>
<td width="27"><strong>Games</strong></td>
<td width="52"><strong><a href="http://www.fangraphs.com/library/offense/rate-stats/">BB%</a></strong></td>
<td width="51"><strong><a href="http://www.fangraphs.com/library/offense/rate-stats/">K%</a></strong></td>
<td width="46"><strong><a href="http://www.fangraphs.com/library/offense/iso/">ISO</a></strong></td>
<td width="71"><strong><a href="http://www.fangraphs.com/library/offense/plate-discipline/">Contact%</a></strong></td>
<td width="53"><strong><a href="http://www.fangraphs.com/library/offense/ops/">OPS</a></strong></td>
<td width="66"><strong><a href="http://www.fangraphs.com/library/offense/wrc/">WRC+</a></strong></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="170"><em>2004-2016 MLB Average</em></td>
<td width="27"><em>&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;</em></td>
<td width="52"><em>8.4%</em></td>
<td width="51"><em>18.1%</em></td>
<td width="46"><em>.155</em></td>
<td width="71"><em>80.3%</em></td>
<td width="53"><em>.737</em></td>
<td width="66"><em>100</em></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="170">Player A</td>
<td width="27">1469</td>
<td width="52">10.1%</td>
<td width="51">26.6%</td>
<td width="46">.158</td>
<td width="71">72.9%</td>
<td width="53">.723</td>
<td width="66">98</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="170">Player B</td>
<td width="27">824</td>
<td width="52">10.6%</td>
<td width="51">23.9%</td>
<td width="46">.168</td>
<td width="71">76.4%</td>
<td width="53">.700</td>
<td width="66">95</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p>For their careers, both of these players have provided slightly below-average offensive production. Both players have found success through hitting with above average power and drawing walks at an above average rate. They have been held back from further offensive success because they are both prone to swinging and missing, leading to poor contact rates and even poorer strikeout rates.</p>
<p>Player A, as you have probably figured out by now, is Melvin Upton Jr. The other is, err&#8230; well, it&#8217;s Justin Smoak.</p>
<p>Now, having an offensive profile such as Smoak is not be the greatest thing in the world for most players &#8211; however, there are two major differences between Justin Smoak and Melvin Upton Jr. While Smoak’s main calling card is his offensive production, one could make the argument that Upton’s hitting is the <em>worst</em> part of his game. Upton is one of the fastest players on the Blue Jays and has been an above average defender throughout his career. Both of these tools grade out better than the ones belonging to his currently suggested platoon partner, Ezequiel Carrera. It would be more optimal for the Jays to play Upton and his superior tools everyday, but one thing needs to happen first: he needs to hit well enough to warrant the takeover of a starting role.</p>
<p>Upton struggled to do that after the Jays acquired him last season, but there are signs of a light at the end of the tunnel. Upton was a solid major league player during his injury-shortened 2015 and 2016 first half. He was recently asked about this success <a href="https://theathletic.com/40077/2017/02/23/enigmatic-blue-jays-outfielder-melvin-upton-jr-yearns-for-daily-duty-in-2017/">an article from The Athletic</a>, where he provides this answer when asked about the key to his success:</p>
<p style="text-align: center">“Just a different attitude, man&#8230;They always say this game is 90 per cent mental. I kind of got back to myself, I’ll say that.&#8221;</p>
<p>While Upton isn’t clear about what he went back to, but perhaps we can take a look at his career numbers to get a general sense. There is a lot of noise, but also trends that could potentially be significant:</p>
<p><a href="http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2017/03/MUJ-Z-Swing-2010-2016.jpg"><img class="aligncenter wp-image-9507 size-full" src="http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2017/03/MUJ-Z-Swing-2010-2016-e1489550077205.jpg" alt="MUJ Z-Swing 2010-2016" width="450" height="337" /></a><a href="http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2017/03/MUJ-WRC-2010-2016-e1489548328890.jpg"><img class="aligncenter wp-image-9508 size-full" src="http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2017/03/MUJ-WRC-2010-2016-e1489550094991.jpg" alt="MUJ WRC+ 2010-2016" width="450" height="336" /></a></p>
<p>Upton’s <a href="http://www.fangraphs.com/library/offense/plate-discipline/">Z-Swing%</a> (a player&#8217;s percentage of swings on balls <span style="text-decoration: underline">inside</span> the strike zone) has trended along with his production over the past 7 years. He was a solid offensive player while with Tampa, then took a significant hit in production after joining Atlanta in 2013. This performance was followed with a bounce back in San Diego in 2015, before what appears to be another downtick in offensive production with Toronto in mid-2016.</p>
<p>While swinging at more strikes seems like the simplest of strategies in becoming a better hitter, it doesn’t tell the whole story. Take a look at Upton&#8217;s production last year, in comparison with his <a href="http://www.fangraphs.com/library/offense/plate-discipline/">O-Swing%</a> (a player&#8217;s percentage of swings on balls <span style="text-decoration: underline">outside</span> the strike zone) and Z-Swing%:</p>
<p><a href="http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2017/03/Upton-2016.jpg"><img class=" wp-image-9541 size-full aligncenter" src="http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2017/03/Upton-2016-e1489554140722.jpg" alt="Upton 2016" width="450" height="364" /></a><br />
<a href="http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2017/03/MUJ-WRC-2016-e1489554400571.jpg"><img class="aligncenter wp-image-9545 size-full" src="http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2017/03/MUJ-WRC-2016-e1489554400571.jpg" alt="MUJ WRC+ 2016" width="450" height="338" /></a></p>
<p>Upton’s Z-Swing% doesn’t do much to explain his 2016 season, as his production fluctuates wildly. However, take a look at his O-Swing%, most noticeably around the game 115 mark. It begins to steadily decline, coinciding with an increase in offensive production that occurred a couple of weeks after joining the Blue Jays. After an abysmal start, Upton began to turn things around, and showed signs that he may still be able to handle a full-time major league role.</p>
<p>Maybe he got back to his old self? In simplest terms that would be swinging at more strikes and less balls. While this seems very anti-climactic and more like a first day topic in Baseball 101, simply having an idea in mind is much different from actually implementing it. This is especially true for a player such as Upton, who historically has had swing and miss issues. By reversing the trends that caused him to struggle in Atlanta, even if it’s only by a marginal amount, Upton is improving on his weaknesses and cracking open the door for potential future success.</p>
<p>Given his recent struggles, it can be hard to see Melvin Upton Jr. producing at the rate of his former self. While his Swing% trends could signal a resurgence, they could also very well mean absolutely nothing, an example of the randomness that occurs in baseball. Can Melvin Upton Jr. be a productive starting outfielder for Toronto? The answer is a resounding maybe. Maybe Upton has rediscovered what made him successful in Tampa&#8230;or, maybe last year was a small blip in the middle of the decline of a solid major league career. Maybe Atlanta was a bad fit for Upton and his performance there should not be considered in projecting his future. Maybe Toronto will be equally unfit for Upton, and his performance will continue to decline.</p>
<p>A good Upton would mean a solid piece in the puzzle for Toronto, a left fielder who would complement the bottom of their lineup with some pop and some speed. While there&#8217;s no guarantee that Upton will be good, giving him the opportunity to do so may very well be the first step. It&#8217;s not as if there&#8217;s much certainty with his proposed &#8220;platoon&#8221; partner either, as Ezequiel Carrera is 25% worse against right handed pitchers than left handed pitchers in his career. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c-3vPxKdj6o&amp;ab_channel=kellyclarksonVEVO" target="_blank">Take a chance, make a change, and breakaway</a>.</p>
<p><em>Graphs via <a href="http://fangraphs.com">FanGraphs</a></em></p>
<p><em>Lead Photo: © Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports</em></p>
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		<title>How to Get the Most Out of Steve Pearce</title>
		<link>http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/2017/01/20/how-to-get-the-most-out-of-steve-pearce/</link>
		<comments>http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/2017/01/20/how-to-get-the-most-out-of-steve-pearce/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 20 Jan 2017 12:01:50 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Mike Passador]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Articles]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Ezequiel Carrera]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Justin Smoak]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Melvin Upton]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Steve Pearce]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/?p=8660</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Steve Pearce is one of the most unheralded signings of the offseason. It’s not hard to see why, given the contentious sentiment surrounding Toronto’s higher-profile negotiations, but Pearce was a nice get and he should help in multiple ways. A player who can play in either outfield corner, first base, and occasionally chip in at [&#8230;]]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Steve Pearce is one of the most unheralded signings of the offseason. It’s not hard to see why, given the contentious sentiment surrounding Toronto’s higher-profile negotiations, but Pearce was a nice get and he should help in multiple ways. A player who can play in either outfield corner, first base, and occasionally chip in at second or third is nothing to sneeze at. How the Blue Jays will deploy him in a crowded mix remains to be seen, though he does present a decent upgrade at at least one spot on the diamond.</p>
<p>The Jays, finally capitalizing on a cautious free agent market, brought back franchise icon Jose Bautista. That’s a nice move with fairly little risk involved and solves one problem spot in the outfield. Both John Gibbons and Ross Atkins have hinted at <a href="http://www.sportsnet.ca/baseball/mlb/gibbons-theres-chance-bautista-plays-first-base-blue-jays/" target="_blank">Bautista potentially playing some first base</a> this season, though Gibbons also referred to it as, “<a href="https://twitter.com/TAMacKenzie/status/821752982027038720" target="_blank">not something we’re really looking at.</a>”</p>
<p>Still, the smart money points to Bautista playing some infield and sharing the DH role with Kendrys Morales in addition to his outfield adventures. With Melvin Upton, Ezequiel Carrera, Steve Pearce, Dalton Pompey and any potential (i.e. hopeful) leftover lefties from the free agent market scrounging for playing time, it makes sense to open up right field from time to time.</p>
<p>How the team divvies up the playing time at the corners is worth looking into. <a title="Ezequiel Carrera and the Need for Another Outfielder" href="http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/2017/01/17/ezequiel-carrera-and-the-need-for-another-outfielder/" target="_blank">None of the in-house options can be trusted against right handed pitching</a>, and that will be compounded with Kevin Pillar’s similar struggles. It would seem that Upton, a sound defender and a decent hitter against lefties in his own right, will get all of the starts against southpaws. It’s an odd spot, as all of the candidates perform better against left handed pitching with the exception of Pompey and his incredibly small sample size. The team has created several redundancies without acquiring a complementary fix: there are four right shoes and no left ones.</p>
<p>You’d think that one is still available (Brandon Moss, namely), but it remains to be seen if outside help is on the way given budget constraints and the team’s weird affinity for Carrera. Pearce could see some starts in left or right, but given the lack of a pure platoon opportunity it doesn’t look like that will be his main role.</p>
<p>Later on in the clip above, Gibbons was non-committal when asked whether newcomer Pearce would be his primary first baseman. Edwin Encarnacion and his 74 starts at first are gone, and it’s been thought that Pearce would form a platoon with Justin Smoak, with the holdover switch hitter getting most of the at-bats against righties as well as his usual late-inning defensive replacement work. Morales and now Bautista might get some spot duty there as well, but Pearce and Smoak are the main characters for now.</p>
<p>Pearce obviously will get at bats against left handed pitchers, presumably coming at the expense of Smoak given the abilities of Toronto’s outfielders. Surely you have to give Smoak some at bats (<em>hint: you don’t- you don’t even have to keep him on the roster, if push comes to shove</em>), so he’ll take the other half of the platoon.</p>
<p>That would be fine and dandy if Smoak performed better against righties than Pearce. Smoak’s career righty splits (.224/.316/.403), compared with Pearce’s (.245/.322/.406) seem to suggest that he shouldn’t be getting regular work in that situation either. One would hope that common sense prevails, but we’ve been subjected to separate leadoff stints for Ben Revere and Kevin Pillar, so it’s no slam dunk.</p>
<p>On the defensive side of the ledger, there’s no real reason to prefer Smoak either. While defensive metrics can be fickle, Pearce has a career +12 DRS and +8.9 UZR in 1,585 innings at first base. In 6,007 innings at first, Smoak has produced -16 DRS and +0.6 UZR. To be fair, 2013 exists as a massive outlier with -8 DRS and a -4.2 UZR, but even discrediting the anomaly, defense hardly seems to be a feather in Smoak’s cap.</p>
<p>The only real (and very real) reservation that the team should have in regards to Pearce is his durability. He underwent season-ending elbow surgery in September and was given a recovery timetable of 4-6 months, meaning he may miss a chunk of spring training. On top of that, Pearce has never appeared in more than 102 games, which he did in 2014 with Baltimore. Asking a player who has sustained elbow, hamstring and oblique injuries since 2015 alone to take on a full workload may be a bit of a stretch. The team could work to get him some time at DH, though Morales, Bautista and any half-days for Josh Donaldson should be the priority there.</p>
<p>Still, Pearce is, at present, the Jays’ best option at first and a passable option in left against right handed pitching. The injury concerns will probably keep the Jays from giving him regular at bats out of left field, instead Voltroning some kind of ineptitude out of Carrera and Upton.</p>
<p>Pearce is a player with some degree of versatility and a bankable skillset: he mashes left handed pitching. It’s a handy profile that makes him a fit on just about any roster, and it’s now up to the Jays to make the most of his presence. Making him the primary first baseman is a start, and a sprinkling of time in the outfield wouldn’t hurt. The Jays did well to acquire an eminently useful guy like Pearce. Finding him adequate playing time while keeping him healthy will be the challenge.</p>
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		<title>Ezequiel Carrera and the Need for Another Outfielder</title>
		<link>http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/2017/01/17/ezequiel-carrera-and-the-need-for-another-outfielder/</link>
		<comments>http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/2017/01/17/ezequiel-carrera-and-the-need-for-another-outfielder/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 17 Jan 2017 12:30:05 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Joshua Howsam]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Articles]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Featured]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Dalton Pompey]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Ezequiel Carrera]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Melvin Upton]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/?p=8592</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[It’s no secret that this has been a trying offseason. After the Jays made their quick strike to sign both Lourdes Gurriel and Kendrys Morales, things ground to a halt. It then wasn’t until the Winter Meetings that the team signed Steve Pearce. While that move was a good one for the club, it was [&#8230;]]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>It’s no secret that this has been a trying offseason. After the Jays made their quick strike to sign both Lourdes Gurriel and Kendrys Morales, things ground to a halt. It then wasn’t until the Winter Meetings that the team signed Steve Pearce. While that move was a good one for the club, it was met with disappointment from the fanbase because it meant that Edwin Encarnacion was definitely not coming back, not matter how much his market fell (watching him sign with the team that knocked them out of the ALCS didn’t help). Even when it finally seemed like a ray of light had shone through the darkness with <a title="Report: Bautista “Nearing Deal” with Blue Jays" href="http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/2017/01/16/report-bautista-nearing-deal-with-blue-jays/" target="_blank">news of a Jose Bautista contract</a>, it&#8217;s been accompanied by 36 hours of “when will this actually become official.”</p>
<p>With all of that, it can be hard to look ahead to the next move, but look ahead we must, because this team isn’t quite finished yet. The standard school of thought seems to be that the Jays will now <a href="http://www.sportsnet.ca/baseball/mlb/deal-jose-bautista-far-reaching-impact-blue-jays/" target="_blank">shift their focus to depth and their relief corps</a>, but that seems premature.</p>
<p>The Jays are lucky to have things more or less settled at eight of the nine offensive positions, but the outfield still needs help. Kevin Pillar is locked into centre field, and assuming Bautista eventually signs, he will be safely placed in right. The issue is with the apparent duo in left.</p>
<p>This all stems from the presence of Ezequiel Carrera. Ezequiel Carrera should not be on the big league roster.</p>
<p>This isn’t to disparage the man they call Zeke. He made great strides last year to become a viable major leaguer. He improved his defence dramatically, rating as an above-average outfielder for the first time in his career (by every available metric). There’s also no denying that he was a standout performer in the postseason, hitting .303/.343/.515 when much of the lineup was struggling to do much of anything.</p>
<p>That’s a very good fourth outfielder.</p>
<p>The problem, however, is that Carrera can’t hit against right-handed pitching.</p>
<p>This may seem counter intuitive considering that Carrera hits from the left side, but he hit just .218/.307/.320 against righties in 2016, following a line of .266/.318/.357 in 2015. Now, Upton hasn’t been any better, hitting .235/.281/.379 the last two years against same-side pitching.</p>
<p>The difference is that everything that Carrera does <em>well</em>, Melvin Upton Jr. can do better. Upton hits for more power. He’s a better overall hitter against left-handed pitching. He plays better defense in the corners. He’s a better base stealer. Simply put, Melvin Upton is a better player than Ezequiel Carrera.</p>
<p>If Carrera and Upton’s struggles were against southpaws, it wouldn’t be as big of an issue. Carrera could stick around as an occasional sub and pinch runner and his <a href="http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/2017/01/12/toronto-blue-jays-arbitration-tracker/" target="_blank">$1.1625M arbitration-avoiding contract</a> would be a fine value. But approximately 3/4s of all plate appearances for a regular player come against right-handed pitchers. That’s way too many at-bats to give away.</p>
<p>This means that the Blue Jays need another outfielder. Sadly, this also means that Carrera has to go. The roster only holds so many spots and he adds nothing that Upton doesn’t already provide.</p>
<p>The Jays need someone who can hit against right-handed pitching, but they also need someone who can handle the position defensively. With Bautista’s limitations in right field, having a good defender in left would allow the team to shift things around to help mitigate the aging slugger’s lack of range. Steve Pearce can&#8217;t really be counted on to be this option, as his outfield range is limited and he has never shown the health to handle everyday work (since he&#8217;ll also get every AB vs LHP at first base&#8230;and vs RHP if he <em>can</em> stay healthy).</p>
<p>Obviously there aren’t a lot of players on the market who fit that bill. The Jays apparently <a href="http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2016/12/blue-jays-have-considered-trading-for-andrew-mccutchen.html" target="_blank">kicked the tires on Andrew McCutchen</a>, but that went nowhere. They’ve also been rumoured to have e<a href="http://www.espn.com/blog/mlb/rumors/post/_/id/31500/mlb-rumor-central-blue-jays-interested-in-curtis-granderson" target="_blank">xpressed interest in Curtis Granderson</a> and <a href="http://www.cbssports.com/mlb/news/mlb-hot-stove-trade-rumors-rockies-blue-jays-talking-blackmon-stroman-deal/" target="_blank">Charlie Blackmon</a>.</p>
<p>With the Bautista signing, however, the Jays likely can’t afford to be swimming in those expensive pools. Whether you believe the payroll budget is $160M or $165M, the Jays don’t have enough for a star. Thankfully, there are a couple of players that could fit the bill.</p>
<p>The first guy this team should be going after is Angel Pagan. The former Giants centre fielder has had his troubles staying healthy the last few years, but he wouldn’t be asked to shoulder a starter’s workload. He’s not young by any stretch (he’ll play the entire year at 35), and he can’t play centre anymore, but the metrics liked his work in left field. More importantly, he can more than handle his own against righties; He hit .282/.352/.414 against them last year, with a .286/.339/.412 line for his career.</p>
<p>Additionally, Pagan is a switch-hitter, which helps if Bautista or Pillar needs a day off against a left-hander, or if the opposing team is bringing in specialists late in the game. And because of his health issues, Pagan shouldn’t cost too much money.</p>
<p>If the Jays can’t get Pagan or anyone like him, they should still try to trade Carrera (he seems unlikely to clear waivers). That’s because they potentially have someone better sitting in AAA: Dalton Pompey.</p>
<p>Pompey hasn’t exactly shown much during his brief MLB career, with a line of just .218/.282/.416 against righties (though that’s still better than Carrera thanks to the slugging), but because he was rushed to the majors in 2014, we tend to forget that Pompey is only 24 years (and will be for the entire season). Throughout his minor league career he has shown himself to be a very patient hitter who can make solid contact, even showing a little pop every now and then. He has also turned into a weapon on the basepaths and he has the range of a plus centre fielder (with +5 DRS in just 21 games) in a corner. You’re getting a player with Ezequiel Carrera as his floor, with a ceiling of so much more.</p>
<p>Ideally Pompey would be playing every day in Buffalo (which is why going outside the organization is the better play), but it has reached a point in his development that it&#8217;s time to weigh the needs of the big league club against his future prospects. This club is built to win now and if he can help, Pompey needs to be with the major league team.</p>
<p>Whether it’s Pagan, Pompey, or someone we don’t even know is available, the simple truth is that the Jays cannot enter the season with the status quo in the outfield. This lineup is oh-so-close to being very, very good again, and to stop short would be a disservice.</p>
<p>Go get it done, Messrs. Atkins and Shapiro.</p>
<p><em>Lead Photo: © John E. Sokolowski-USA TODAY Sports</em></p>
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		<title>Recap: Blue Jays 5, Rangers 3; Toronto Holds on to Take 2-0 Series Lead</title>
		<link>http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/2016/10/07/recap-blue-jays-5-rangers-3-toronto-holds-on-to-take-2-0-series-lead/</link>
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		<pubDate>Fri, 07 Oct 2016 21:35:06 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Nick Dika]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Articles]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Recaps]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[2016 Playoffs]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Edwin Encarnacion]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Ezequiel Carrera]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[J.A. Happ]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Kevin Pillar]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Texas Rangers]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Toronto Blue Jays]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Troy Tulowitzki]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/?p=7327</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The Blue Jays are heading home with a 2-0 series lead in their ALDS matchup against the Texas Rangers. With a 5-3 win in Game two this afternoon in Arlington, the Jays have put themselves in the best position possible ahead of Game three Sunday night at the Rogers Centre. No one expected this afternoon’s [&#8230;]]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>The Blue Jays are heading home with a 2-0 series lead in their ALDS matchup against the Texas Rangers. With a 5-3 win in Game two this afternoon in Arlington, the Jays have put themselves in the best position possible ahead of Game three Sunday night at the Rogers Centre.</p>
<p>No one expected this afternoon’s game to be the laugher that Game one turned out to be and it most definitely wasn’t, with the Rangers mounting a late rally that had the Blue Jays use every high leverage reliever at their disposal to lock down the game.</p>
<p>For the second game in a row, the offence that had disappeared for most of September reappeared at Globe Life Park, providing the Jays’ pitching staff with a five run cushion, albeit in the most unexpected of ways. Unless you expected Kevin Pillar and Ezekiel Carrera to go yard off of Texas co-ace Yu Darvish, the former on a pitch that was closer to his eyeballs than it was the strike zone. More predictably, Troy Tulowitzki and Edwin Encarnacion contributed home runs of their own.</p>
<p>Despite not being as dominant as he was throughout the course of the regular season, J.A. Happ was able to limit the Rangers to one run over five plus innings pitched. Happ racked up 84 pitches and surrendered nine hits but consistently worked his way out of jams with runners on to keep the Blue Jays in control before handing the ball over to the bullpen.</p>
<p>The Rangers have become known for mounting late season comebacks this season and as John Gibbons started to dip into his bullpen it looked for a moment as if they may be ready to author another one this afternoon. The Rangers’ propensity for late inning comebacks and the Blue Jays’ sometimes shaky (and currently ailing) bullpen made for a nerve-racking ending to a hardly fought game.</p>
<p>Francisco Liriano, entered the game in the eighth inning with a three-run lead, but after surrendering a leadoff double and walk around an Elvis Andrus fly ball, he was struck in the back of the head/neck. It is unclear exactly where the ball struck the Jays’ lefty, but it was reported by <a href="https://twitter.com/ScottyMacThinks/status/784495142891687937" target="_blank">TSN’s Scott MacArthur</a> that he was taken to a local hospital. Fingers crossed that Liriano is alright and that the move is only precautionary.</p>
<p>The horrific play ended with Rangers on the corners and a 5-3 Blue Jays’ lead. This made John Gibbons call on Roberto Osuna &#8211; who left Tuesday’s Wild Card game with a shoulder issue of his own &#8211; in order to preserve the Blue Jays’ lead.</p>
<p>Osuna was absolutely fantastic and locked things down for a five-out save, throwing 31 pitches in the process.</p>
<p>Other Notes:</p>
<h4>Sportsmanlike Conduct</h4>
<p>One of the more civil exchanges that we’ve witnessed between these two baseball teams occurred in the bottom of the third inning this afternoon at Globe Life Park. When Russell Martin discarded his mask while making a play on a pop up in foul territory, Rougned Odor picked it up and returned Martin his mask after the play. With all of the bad blood, bad fans and stupid behavior that surrounds the Jays/Rangers rivalry, it’s nice to see that these teams and players can indeed be civil with each other.</p>
<h4><strong>Injuries Mounting</strong></h4>
<p>Devon Travis was scratched minutes before the game with what is being described as “right knee irritation”. Roberto Osuna had to come out of the game on Tuesday and Francisco Liriano today. Joaquin Benoit is inactive and Josh Donaldson is likely still battling his hip injury, amongst other things. Thankfully, pitching with a herniated disk in his back seems to be absolutely no problem for Marco Estrada, but in any case, the Blue Jays are battling injuries to many of their key contributors. Hopefully Liriano is okay, and the travel day gives the rest of the ailing Jays an opportunity to rest and recover, as much as they possibly can.</p>
<h4><strong>Controversial Replay Call Goes Toronto’s Way</strong></h4>
<p>Ian Desmond&#8217;s decision to break for home after hesitating momentarily on an Adrian Beltre ground ball with one out in the seventh inning resulted in as close a play as you will ever see. While Desmond may have beat the tag at home (the umpires deemed replay evidence inconclusive), his risky decision cost the Rangers. With the infield back and a four run lead, the Blue Jays were conceding the run. Desmond’s initial hesitation hurt the Rangers and allowed the Blue Jays to sustain their four-run cushion heading into the eighth inning.</p>
<h4><strong>What it Means Going Forward</strong></h4>
<p>Game three of the ALDS goes Sunday night in Toronto, with Aaron Sanchez (15-2, 3.00 ERA) taking on Colby Lewis (6-5, 3.71 ERA). Toronto heads home with a 2-0 stranglehold on the series, but we don’t have to look too far back to see how easily that type of lead can vanish. Anything can happen in a five-game series and don’t be surprised if and when it does.</p>
<p>While it might feel like the right time to start giving it to the Rangers and their fans, the job isn&#8217;t done just yet. The always-wise Tao of Steib reminds us:</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">There are some boastful witticisms I&#39;d like to share, but I recall that those guys won game 1 last year.</p>
<p>&mdash; Tao of Stieb (@TaoofStieb) <a href="https://twitter.com/TaoofStieb/status/784191789502701568">October 7, 2016</a></p></blockquote>
<p><script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p>
<p>It&#8217;s as true today as it was yesterday.</p>
<p><em>Lead Photo: Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sport</em></p>
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		<title>Ezequiel Carrera: King of the Wall-Scrapers?</title>
		<link>http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/2016/09/14/ezequiel-carrera-king-of-the-wall-scrapers/</link>
		<comments>http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/2016/09/14/ezequiel-carrera-king-of-the-wall-scrapers/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 14 Sep 2016 11:17:36 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Mike Passador]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Articles]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Ezequiel Carrera]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/?p=6579</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Ezequiel Carrera is currently in his sixth Major League season. He has 931 career plate appearances; 834 at bats. He has 10 home runs. Five of those have come this year; none bigger than Monday night’s solo shot to the leftmost point of left field. It hung in the air, dragged those extra inches over [&#8230;]]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Ezequiel Carrera is currently in his sixth Major League season. He has 931 career plate appearances; 834 at bats. He has 10 home runs. Five of those have come this year; none bigger than Monday night’s solo shot to the leftmost point of left field. It hung in the air, dragged those extra inches over the wall, by either the cumulative willpower of the entire Rogers Centre, or the collective gust created by the entire 100 Level inhaling simultaneously. Either way, it cleared the wall and the Jays won.</p>
<p>Again, Carrera has 10 career home runs. Had an oracle foretold a pinch hit dinger in the eight inning, Carrera is hardly the first name you’d guess. Smoak, maybe. Navarro too. But spry and sprightly Zeke? Unlikely.</p>
<p>In appreciation of Carrera’s general passability as a fourth outfielder and Monday’s wall-scraper, I’m going to look back at his homers this season to see just how close they were to staying in the yard. For a light hitting player like Carrera to have five home runs, you’d assume that most resemble the “just enough” effort that earned Toronto a much needed win. I dove into <a href="https://baseballsavant.mlb.com/statcast_search?hfPT=&amp;hfZ=&amp;hfGT=R%7C&amp;hfPR=&amp;hfAB=17%7C&amp;stadium=&amp;hfBBT=&amp;hfBBL=&amp;player_lookup%5B%5D=485567&amp;hfC=&amp;season=2016&amp;player_type=batter&amp;hfOuts=&amp;pitcher_throws=&amp;batter_stands=&amp;start_speed_gt=&amp;start_speed_lt=&amp;perceived_speed_gt=&amp;perceived_speed_lt=&amp;spin_rate_gt=&amp;spin_rate_lt=&amp;exit_velocity_gt=&amp;exit_velocity_lt=&amp;launch_angle_gt=&amp;launch_angle_lt=&amp;distance_gt=&amp;distance_lt=&amp;batted_ball_angle_gt=&amp;batted_ball_angle_lt=&amp;game_date_gt=&amp;game_date_lt=&amp;team=&amp;position=&amp;hfRO=&amp;home_road=&amp;hfInn=&amp;min_pitches=0&amp;min_results=0&amp;group_by=name&amp;sort_col=pitches&amp;player_event_sort=start_speed&amp;sort_order=desc&amp;min_abs=0&amp;xba_gt=&amp;xba_lt=&amp;px1=&amp;px2=&amp;pz1=&amp;pz2=&amp;ss_gt=&amp;ss_lt=#results_zone_name_485567_" target="_blank">his Statcast page</a> and downloaded the data from his home runs to see how it all breaks down.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h4>Homer No. 1: <a href="http://m.mlb.com/video/?content_id=620900983&amp;c_id=mlb" target="_blank">4/24 vs. Oakland’s Eric Surkamp</a></h4>
<p>The clip starts out with Pat Tabler saying “he’s gonna get a fastball.” Carrera didn’t miss, depositing his first of the year 399 feet away into the seats in right center. Off of a lefty no less, Carrera’s home run left the bat at 104 miles per hour at a 31.2˚ angle. This one was anything but cheap.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h4>Homer No. 2: <a href="http://m.mlb.com/video/?content_id=813104383&amp;c_id=mlb" target="_blank">6/14 vs. Philadelphia’s Zach Eflin</a></h4>
<p>Hit with an exit velocity of 130.3 mph at an angle of 43.5˚, Carrera turned on an Eflin fastball that broke right back into the middle of the plate. While it was hit just 350 feet, there was little doubt that it was gone considering how much the ball was pulled.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h4>Homer No. 3: <a href="http://m.mlb.com/video/v829770783/torbal-carerra-launches-a-solo-homer/?query=ezequiel%2Bcarrera" target="_blank">6/18 vs. Baltimore’s Yovani Gallardo</a></h4>
<p>Gallardo left a fastball up and away and Zeke turned on it, smashing it 406 feet into the bleachers in right center. With an exit velocity of 104.2 mph at a launch angle of 23.8˚, this one got a courtesy jog out of Adam Jones but was never in doubt. Again, not a cheapie.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h4>Homer No. 4: <a href="http://m.mlb.com/video/?content_id=897836283&amp;c_id=mlb" target="_blank">7/5 vs. Kansas City’s Chris Young</a></h4>
<p>Carrera deposits a high fastball just shy of the first deck facing in right center for his fourth home run of the year. Smoked at 106.9 mph and with a launch angle of 22.9˚, this was a bullet that was crushed 415 feet. No doubt about this one either.</p>
<p>So no, when Carrera connects, he&#8217;s not just hitting them to the perfect spots of the park. Except for Monday, when something magical and deeply unlikely happened.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h4>Homer No. 5: <a href="http://m.mlb.com/video/v1160736183/tbtor-carrera-pinchhits-a-goahead-solo-home-run/?c_id=mlb" target="_blank">9/12 vs. Tampa Bay’s Brad Boxberger</a></h4>
<p>This one is the definition of “just enough.” With an exit velocity of 97.4 mph and a launch angle of 40.02˚, Carrera’s fifth home run of the season landed 340 feet away and <em>just</em> over the fence. ESPN’s home run tracker has the ball clearing the wall <a href="http://www.hittrackeronline.com/detail.php?id=2016_2876&amp;type=hitter" target="_blank">in just three ballparks</a> as well as some less generous velocity, launch angle, and distance data (I’ve used Statcast data for all homers above to keep things consistent).</p>
<p>Five home runs with nary a “Swing and a Drive,” but Carrera has actually capitalized on potential home run pitches up (and sometimes out) of the zone:</p>
<p><a href="http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2016/09/CarreraHomers.png"><img class=" size-full wp-image-6580 aligncenter" src="http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2016/09/CarreraHomers.png" alt="CarreraHomers" width="250" height="300" /></a></p>
<p>Carrera had just enough muscle to push a Brad Boxberger fastball over the fence and once the adrenaline subsided it got me thinking about the difference between a win and a loss in big moments like that. Thinking about the alternate timelines where the wind is blowing just enough to turn a flyout into a homer, a loss into a win, an extra win into a playoff berth, so on and so forth until the entire course of baseball history is changed.</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Zeke&#39;s audition tape for Dancing with the Stars. <a href="https://t.co/pHzglwi4gY">pic.twitter.com/pHzglwi4gY</a></p>
<p>&mdash; Ian Hunter (@BlueJayHunter) <a href="https://twitter.com/BlueJayHunter/status/775500941990789124">September 13, 2016</a></p></blockquote>
<p><script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p>
<p>Just last week, Justin Smoak came about a foot shy of crushing a grand slam in the top of the ninth even though it’ll live on as a lowly F7 to end the game.</p>
<p>#ShouldOf used Carrera.</p>
<p><em>Lead Photo: Nick Turchiaro-USA TODAY Sports</em></p>
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		<title>Ezequiel Carrera Deserves to Be a Full-Time Outfielder</title>
		<link>http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/2016/07/04/ezequiel-carrera-deserves-to-be-a-full-time-outfielder/</link>
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		<pubDate>Mon, 04 Jul 2016 11:27:40 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Matt Gwin]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Articles]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Featured]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Ezequiel Carrera]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Toronto Blue Jays]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/?p=4218</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The latest update on Jose Bautista&#8217;s injury wasn&#8217;t good. As the Toronto Sun put it, &#8220;Injured Jose Bautista not close to returning to Blue Jays&#8220;. For the most part, that&#8217;s not a good thing, but there has been one bright spot: Ezequiel Carrera. As the regular right fielder, he&#8217;s performed rather well, and now has [&#8230;]]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>The latest update on Jose Bautista&#8217;s injury wasn&#8217;t good. As the Toronto Sun put it, &#8220;<a href="http://www.torontosun.com/2016/07/01/injured-jose-bautista-not-close-to-returning-to-blue-jays" target="_blank">Injured Jose Bautista not close to returning to Blue Jays</a>&#8220;. For the most part, that&#8217;s not a good thing, but there has been one bright spot: Ezequiel Carrera. As the regular right fielder, he&#8217;s performed rather well, and now has a .275 TAv and 0.7 WARP on the season.</p>
<p>If you’d told me that at the beginning of the season he&#8217;d get consistent playing time, I’d have been very concerned. Heck, just two weeks ago, I <a href="https://twitter.com/Matt_Gwin/status/745343108259315712">vehemently dismissed his placement in the lineup</a>. But with each additional game, the Ezequiel Carrera that is on a 2.7 WARP pace is looking increasingly real.</p>
<p>I’ll willingly admit that, in hindsight, the Carrera at leadoff comment was born out of ignorance. Having seen him play, and the gist of the sabermetric stat line, he looked no different than last year. He still has no power and has a regression-able BABIP.</p>
<p>However, as the sample sizes have increased, there’s a lot more to like when one takes a deeper statistical dive. So much so that he should probably be a starter, even after Jose Bautista comes back. Let me explain.</p>
<p>Of some importance: Zeke has crossed <a href="//www.fangraphs.com/library/principles/sample-size/“">the threshold for walk rate and strikeout rate stabilization.</a> At 10.1 percent, he’s posting a career best walk rate, and at 16.4 percent, he’s posting an incredibly improved strikeout rate.</p>
<p>Sometimes this happens because a hitter is getting pitched poorly. This is generally reflected in said hitter’s <a href="//www.fangraphs.com/library/offense/plate-discipline/“">Zone%</a>, which calculates the number of pitches that the hitter has received in the strike zone. That is not the case with Ezequiel Carrera, who, with a Zone% of 50.6%, is somewhat below his career average but at the same level as 2015. Ergo, it&#8217;s not a cause for concern. Here, you can see the lack of difference visually:</p>
<p style="text-align: center"><a href="http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2016/07/ZekeZonePercent.gif"><img class="aligncenter wp-image-4302" src="http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2016/07/ZekeZonePercent.gif" alt="ZekeZonePercent" width="400" height="400" /></a></p>
<p>Carrera is getting more pitches low, but the same percentage in the zone versus 2015. What has changed is his swing selection, which you can see here:</p>
<p style="text-align: center"><a href="http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2016/07/ZekeSwingPercent1.gif"><img class="aligncenter wp-image-4309" src="http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2016/07/ZekeSwingPercent1.gif" alt="ZekeSwingPercent1" width="400" height="400" /></a></p>
<p>There&#8217;s a lot more blue around the edges; Ezequiel Carrera is swinging at substantially fewer pitches outside the zone. At an outside swing rate of 21.4% in 2016, Zeke is 4.5 percentage points below his career average and 8.4 points below 2015. In fact, if you reduce the the minimum to 150 plate appearances, he has <a href="http://www.fangraphs.com/leaders.aspx?pos=all&amp;stats=bat&amp;lg=all&amp;qual=150&amp;type=15&amp;season=2016&amp;month=0&amp;season1=2016&amp;ind=0&amp;team=0&amp;rost=0&amp;age=0&amp;filter=&amp;players=0&amp;sort=4,a" target="_blank">the 12th lowest outside swing rate in MLB</a>. The result is the much improved strikeout and walk rates.</p>
<p>You may recall that another Blue Jay had a similar walk and strikeout rate improvement last season: Ryan Goins. In the month of August, as the regular second baseman, Ryan Goins put up a 18.6% walk rate; <a href="//www.fangraphs.com/leaders.aspx?pos=all&amp;stats=bat&amp;lg=all&amp;qual=y&amp;type=8&amp;season=2015&amp;month=8&amp;season1=2015&amp;ind=0&amp;team=0&amp;rost=0&amp;age=0&amp;filter=&amp;players=0&amp;sort=9,d”">the third highest rate in baseball</a>. Unfortunately, that “improvement” hasn’t shown up this season, and therefore it could be reasonable to question Carrera. However, there’s a rather important difference between the changes that the two players made. In the case of Goins, <a href="//www.brooksbaseball.net/h_tabs.php?player=572365&amp;time=month&amp;startDate=08/01/2015&amp;endDate=08/31/2015&amp;s_type=16”">he stopped swinging altogether in the month of August</a>. That worked at first, but later became a problem for him. Pitchers aren’t ignorant to the fact that Ryan Goins isn’t a very good hitter, and, in the months that proceeded, they threw him more pitches in the zone. His lack of hitting prowess made it difficult to adjust.</p>
<p>The difference with Carrera this season is that rather than not swinging at pitches altogether, he’s been selective. Namely, Zeke has shown an ability to recognize the low breaking balls, and lay off of them. Here’s his swing rate at breaking balls this year compared to last year:</p>
<p style="text-align: center"><a href="http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2016/07/ZekeSwingPercentBreaking.gif"><img class="aligncenter wp-image-4340" src="http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2016/07/ZekeSwingPercentBreaking.gif" alt="ZekeSwingPercentBreaking" width="400" height="400" /></a></p>
<p>In 2015, low breaking balls really hurt Ezequiel Carrera. In 2016, he hardly swings at them. In fact, he has gotten <a href="//www.brooksbaseball.net/h_outcome.php?player=485567&amp;gFilt=&amp;&amp;time=month&amp;minmax=ci&amp;var=swing&amp;s_type=16&amp;startDate=01/01/2016&amp;endDate=07/03/2016”">progressively better at laying off the breaking pitches each month</a>. In April he swung at 36% of breaking balls; in May it was 31%; in June it was 13%.</p>
<p>Making contact has never been Carrera’s issue; he had been above average at that throughout his career. Instead, it’s been pitch selection. He always swung away at too many bad pitches, and gave up valuable on base points in the process. That’s not the case this season, as he has a .378 OBP.</p>
<p>Now here&#8217;s the kicker: when you couple together the pitch selection improvements with Ezequiel Carrera&#8217;s solid defense in left and right field, he could easily be an above average player this season. As was mentioned earlier, his current pace is for 2.7 WARP over 600 plate appearances; average is roughly 2.0 WARP.</p>
<p>The concern would be that pitchers will adjust to Zeke, and that it will hurt his results. My guess is that rather than testing him with breaking pitches, pitchers will try to overpower him with fastballs on the corners. Ezequiel Carrera doesn&#8217;t have very much power, but he can make contact. Opposing pitchers will have to be rather precise to beat him.</p>
<p>For the time being, that means very little in the way of managerial decisions, as he has no real competition outside of Junior Lake. But, once Jose Bautista comes back, the Jays will find themselves with four outfielders deserving playing time: Bautista, Carrera, Michael Saunders, and Kevin Pillar. Either Saunders or Carrera probably *could* play centre field, but they shouldn&#8217;t, so that position isn&#8217;t changing. That leaves two corner outfield spots for three players, which is actually a blessing in disguise.</p>
<p>As it stands, two of those three remaining outfielders are:</p>
<p>A. Horrid defenders.<br />
B. At least somewhat brittle.</p>
<p>In fact, at their current paces, over a full season, Jose Bautista and Michael Saunders would be worth -15 runs and -10 runs on defense, respectively. That makes Bautista the second worst outfielder in MLB, and Saunders the 12th worst. Ergo, Carrera is a defensive upgrade over either. Concurrently, Justin Smoak has been a very poor offensive first baseman, and hasn&#8217;t performed particularly well on the defensive side either.</p>
<p>All of the above issues can be mitigated by reverting Smoak to a pinch-hitting role, and having Bautista and Saunders take over his time in the 1B/DH rotation. Both would play in the outfield,  but would get more opportunities to rest their legs. In their place, splitting time between LF and RF, would be Ezequiel Carrera. Even if you call Carrera an average defender in the corner outfield spots (he&#8217;s likely better than that), that&#8217;s a marked improvement over Saunders and Bautista.</p>
<p>Will the Jays follow through with that plan? Possibly. Gibby has shown a willingness to get creative at times and this would certainly qualify. Another potential alternative is to put just Jose Bautista in Justin Smoak&#8217;s current spot, depending on the extent of his injury. If neither of those is the solution, then they&#8217;ll need to find something else. Ezequiel Carrera has established himself as a valuable piece of this Blue Jays&#8217; outfield so far, and deserves the playing time. Of course, there&#8217;s always the possibility that the league adjusts to Carrera. But since Carrera is seeing the ball better and his improvements haven&#8217;t solely been based on an approach change, his success won&#8217;t go away quite as easily. He deserves a shot at being a full-time outfielder for the rest of the season, and the Jays have the opportunity to give it to him.</p>
<p><em>Lead Photo: Evan Habeeb-USA TODAY Sports</em></p>
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		<title>Backup Plan: Examining the Jays&#8217; Bench</title>
		<link>http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/2016/06/08/backup-plan-examining-the-jays-bench/</link>
		<comments>http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/2016/06/08/backup-plan-examining-the-jays-bench/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 08 Jun 2016 10:48:43 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Dave Church]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Articles]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Darwin Barney]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Ezequiel Carrera]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[josh thole]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Ryan Goins]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/?p=3434</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The Blue Jays&#8217; bench isn&#8217;t great. To anyone who&#8217;s watched the team the last couple of years, this is not a shock. With a lot of money invested in high-end players, the Jays have generally bargain-hunted and worked the edges, taking chances on Quad-A players and filling the empty spaces from within rather than spend [&#8230;]]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>The Blue Jays&#8217; bench isn&#8217;t great. To anyone who&#8217;s watched the team the last couple of years, this is not a shock. With a lot of money invested in high-end players, the Jays have generally bargain-hunted and worked the edges, taking chances on Quad-A players and filling the empty spaces from within rather than spend a lot of effort to fill out the roster.</p>
<p>The suspension to Chris Colabello and injuries to Devon Travis and Troy Tulowitzki threw a wrench into the Jays&#8217; plans for this season, but injuries and ineffectiveness from players are a part of life in baseball. We certainly saw that last season, with Michael Saunders, Jose Bautista, Travis and Tulowitzki among the offensive regulars who missed time after getting hurt. It was those injuries that led to the Jays getting players like Ben Revere, Cliff Pennington, and Darwin Barney to fortify the roster.</p>
<p>Though the Jays have been quiet on the trade front so far, there&#8217;s a lot of season left, and if they&#8217;re close at the deadline they may well look to improve their reserves. With roughly a third of this season gone, let&#8217;s examine the Jays&#8217; current bench situation, and see how they can improve it.</p>
<h3>The Numbers</h3>
<p>Teams usually need at least three backups for defensive purposes: a catcher, an infielder, and an outfielder. Given that Darwin Barney replicates and eclipses a lot of Ryan Goins&#8217; skills, one could easily argue that they could ship out Goins (or Barney) and not lose much. But is replacing Goins with a pitcher an improvement? Given the Jays&#8217; struggles in the bullpen, perhaps. But the Jays&#8217; starting staff is also fifth in baseball in innings pitched. The problem with the bullpen (which we&#8217;re not going to spend time on here) is not quantity, but quality. They don&#8217;t need more options- they need better options. So we won&#8217;t explore a three-man bench.</p>
<p>What about five guys? Do the Jays need more players off the bench, to add additional skills and versatility? They have a lot of premium offensive players in their everyday lineup: Jose Bautista, Josh Donaldson, Edwin Encarnacion, Troy Tulowitzki, and Russell Martin are (or have the reputations as) great hitters, and will be in the lineup almost every day. Devon Travis and Michael Saunders are solid regulars, who will probably get some days off. That&#8217;s seven out of nine spots right there, leaving Kevin Pillar and Justin Smoak. Smoak is hitting very well so far this season, and without Colabello, has no platoon partner at first base any more. So there&#8217;s no platoons, and we have only Pillar as an obvious pinch-hitting opportunity. With that in mind, another bench player probably wouldn&#8217;t be that useful, given the assumed depth in the lineup. Since we&#8217;re sticking with four bench guys, who should we change out?</p>
<h3>The Options</h3>
<p>Thole&#8217;s spot, much to the collective chagrin of Jays fans, is probably safe. It&#8217;s unlikely that the Jays will change Dickey&#8217;s catcher in the middle of the season, and cut Thole loose without an airtight solution. The fact is there aren&#8217;t any ready replacements out there. The internal options aren&#8217;t enticing, and have never caught the knuckleball. The only other knuckleball catchers in baseball are in Boston, and intra-division trades during the season are rare. Though Blake Swihart, who caught knuckler Steven Wright earlier in the season, is now playing left field, he&#8217;s still relatively young, and the Jays aren&#8217;t going to give up what Boston would want for him. We&#8217;ll have to grit our teeth and bear with Thole, for the days Dickey catches. At least R.A. has been better since the calendar turned to May. If there&#8217;s a injury, I&#8217;d expect the Jays to go get someone who could passably resemble a regular catcher.</p>
<p>Carrera&#8217;s spot is interesting, and would be a more natural fit for a right-handed bat, given that he usually subs for the left-handed hitting Michael Saunders. Jays fans perhaps pine for Red Sox outfielder Chris Young, who would be an ideal fit as a fourth-outfielder type, but he&#8217;s much too expensive for Toronto. Getting Darell Ceciliani and Dominic Brown in the off-season was good insulation against the nightmares of last season happening again (Remember the Goins-Carrera-Valencia outfield?), but they too are left-handed. Ceciliani outplayed Carrera and Brown in the spring, but his having an option and the team&#8217;s familiarity with Carrera (for better and worse) made his demotion to Buffalo inevitable, even with Ceciliani being a better defensive outfielder. Carrera has been used as a defensive replacement for Saunders, and as a pinch-runner, but he&#8217;s not very good at either of those things, he&#8217;s just the best of what the Jays have. Given that Carrera has torn the cover off the ball so far, they probably won&#8217;t change his spot now, but it&#8217;s certainly worth monitoring going forward.</p>
<p>So we come to the infielders, Goins and Barney. Both accomplished defensively, both below average hitters (usually), with Goins having a couple more defensive positions in his history, and Barney having a longer track record of success. As we discussed previously, this is where we could look at making the change, since there&#8217;s not a lot of sense in keeping both of them once everyone&#8217;s healthy. Both of them being good defensively is fine, but there isn&#8217;t really a need for a regular defensive replacement. Tulowitzki, Smoak, and Donaldson are all fantastic defenders, and Travis isn&#8217;t a liability. You only really need one of them, for when Tulowitzki, Travis, or Donaldson needs a day off. Barney has a longer track record, and has hit much better this year, so the Jays should look to keep him over Goins.</p>
<p>But who, or what, do they replace Goins with? The best option would be someone who could pinch-hit, as that is the obvious gap in the Jays&#8217; bench right now. Though the Jays have a lot of premium offensive players, Kevin Pillar is not one of those, and he should be pinch-hit for in crucial situations. And on days where one of those elite players is sitting, someone like Thole or Barney is in the lineup, and represents another opportunity for a better bat to take a crucial late inning appearance. Last year, the Jays had Chris Colabello, Danny Valencia, or Justin Smoak as potential power threats in the late innings. This year, they haven&#8217;t really had that, which has been noticeable with the offense performing below expectations. They could have kept Jimmy Paredes after getting him from Baltimore, which would have avoided this problem, as he had an obvious potential role as a late-inning bat. None of the current options are appealing as a hitter, as Barney and Carrera probably aren&#8217;t as dangerous as their numbers suggest.</p>
<p>Internally, the Jays have some interesting names at AAA Buffalo: players like Andy Burns, Jesus Montero, or Dominic Brown would be potential late inning bats. Brown is a left-hander (like Carrera), and hasn&#8217;t hit well at Buffalo this year, so he&#8217;s probably not an option. Burns was a popular name at the end of spring training, has hit lefties capably this year (a .765 OPS against them at Buffalo), and would offer some defensively flexibility, playing second, third, and the corner outfield spots. He didn&#8217;t get much of a chance with the Jays earlier this season, so maybe it&#8217;s time to give him another look. Montero would slide into the Colabello role nicely, as someone who could play first base and offer some power potential. He is another lefty masher, though he has hit both sides well in the minors this season. A frustrating note is that the Jays have had potential solutions to this problem in-house, and let them go free: Danny Valencia last season (he would have been very useful during the offensive swoon early on), and Paredes several days ago.</p>
<h3>The Verdict</h3>
<p>The lack of a dangerous reserve bat is something that has hurt them at times this year with how many close games they&#8217;ve been in, though not as much as the offense under-performing as a unit. Swapping Goins for someone a little more dangerous with the stick would help them some, as Goins doesn&#8217;t offer anything unique in the construction of the team. Once Tulowitzki comes back, I&#8217;d expect them to send Goins down for someone like Jesus Montero or Andy Burns. My preference would be Burns for the positional versatility, though Montero does have some of that post-prospect shine still on him, and there&#8217;s always the chance he figures it out and becomes something more, like Colabello did last season. Hopefully the Jays pull the trigger on that and give John Gibbons a little more ammunition, both in filling out a lineup card and those close, late games that they seem to keep having.</p>
<p><em>Lead Photo: Winslow Townson-USA TODAY Sports</em></p>
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		<title>Coming Up Short: Ezequiel Carrera&#8217;s Hidden Problem</title>
		<link>http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/2016/04/27/coming-up-short-ezequiel-carreras-hidden-problem/</link>
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		<pubDate>Wed, 27 Apr 2016 10:08:22 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Greg Wisniewski]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Articles]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Foul Territory]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Ezequiel Carrera]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Satire]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/?p=1941</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Ezequiel Carrera has had a journeyman&#8217;s career in baseball, even though he&#8217;s only 28 years old. &#8216;Zeke&#8217; as many of his Blue Jay teammates call him, has played for five different organizations in five MLB stops. For many of those games he has been in the outfield with a lot on his mind. Carerra has [&#8230;]]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Ezequiel Carrera has had a journeyman&#8217;s career in baseball, even though he&#8217;s only 28 years old. &#8216;Zeke&#8217; as many of his Blue Jay teammates call him, has played for five different organizations in five MLB stops. For many of those games he has been in the outfield with a lot on his mind. Carerra has been playing with a hidden, perceived disadvantage for a long time. Though an accomplished athlete on the outside, on the inside he has been tormented by trying to overcome his mistaken perception that he has incredibly short arms.</p>
<p>&#8220;People always talk about my speed as one of my talents,&#8221; says Carrera as he begins to tell his painful story, &#8220;but for me it was always more about needing that extra step to get closer to the ball.&#8221;</p>
<p>He pauses, and then begins to reveal the story of a difficult youth back in Venzuela. &#8220;One of the children, Ramon, he would always make fun of me. He would poke and prod me and call me &#8216;Caiman&#8217;. I would try to get him back and I would be swiping at the air. That boy, and others, they could hold me so far away by just putting their hands on my forehead and straightening their arms out. I was &#8216;Caiman&#8217;. The alligator. I was six or seven years old, but I knew I was not normal.&#8221;</p>
<p>Carrera has developed a reputation for being a speedy outfielder, but his misplays are often of the same variety. The ball hits his glove, often in the heel, because he has overrun the baseball. Learning more about his past, one comes to realize that plays like this aren&#8217;t a fluke.</p>
<iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/GuML7c4FLfk" width="500" height="280" frameborder="0" ></iframe>
<p>In this clip, we can see that Ezequiel Carrera does not know how long his arms are.</p>
<p>Not sure it&#8217;s true? Here&#8217;s another play where Carrera sticks his arm out too far and the ball hits the heel of his glove.</p>
<iframe src="http://m.mlb.com/shared/video/embed/embed.html?content_id=223898183&amp;topic_id=6479266&amp;width=500&amp;height=280&amp;property=mlb" width="500" height="280" ></iframe>
<p>How is this possible? How could a man be under such an overwhelmingly strange perception?</p>
<p>&#8220;For many years it was my secret shame. I would hear the taunts of &#8216;Little T-Rex&#8217; in my head and I would hold back. I would not pass the potatoes at the dinner table, worried that people would see I could not reach.&#8221;</p>
<p>He goes on to say his problems were even worse on the field. &#8220;I am so embarrassed by my misplays,&#8221; says Carrera. &#8220;Often I blacked out just before the catch. I am just running at top speed and then the roar of the crowd brings me back,&#8221; he says of the daily trauma he used to endure while playing.</p>
<p>You can see an extreme example of one of his lapses in consciousness here.</p>
<iframe src="http://m.mlb.com/shared/video/embed/embed.html?content_id=133755283&amp;topic_id=6479266&amp;width=500&amp;height=280&amp;property=mlb" width="500" height="280" ></iframe>
<p>While the announcers are quick to blame the sun, surely this is evidence of one of the panic moments that plagued him for much of his career.</p>
<p>&#8220;I could not bring myself to watch the replays, Ezequiel admits, &#8220;it was just too painful. I could not bear to see my little T-Rex arms fail me again and again.&#8221;</p>
<p>You would think that such a large mental block would require some kind of radical treatment or therapy to overcome. Instead it all changed one day, in the most unlikely place, on a shopping trip.</p>
<p>&#8220;One day Jose Bautista asked me who took me suit shopping back when I was a rookie, and I did not know what he was talking about. Now, I have him to thank forever. Not for the suit. It is itchy and I do not like the colour. But for what happened in the store. The man came to me to measure for the jacket, and I became nervous. I told him it might be difficult to fit me and he smiled and said athletes were not a problem. Being an athlete wasn&#8217;t what worried me, but I stayed silent.&#8221;</p>
<p>&#8220;When he read out the sleeve measurement to the tailor and said &#8217;33 inches,&#8217; I was shocked. I asked him if he was sure that was right, since it seemed very long. He said it was about average. Tears came to my eyes. Average. My arms did not resemble an alligator&#8217;s after all!&#8221;</p>
<p>Sure, it hasn&#8217;t all been smooth sailing. &#8220;Sometimes I start to sprint for the ball, and then I catch a glimpse of the &#8217;33 inches&#8217; written on my wrist, and I realize, too late, I have been betrayed by my insticts, and overrun the ball again.&#8221;</p>
<p>In this clip you can see Ezequiel pull his arm back at the last second, trying to adjust to his new reality while simultaneously holding down a job in the Major Leagues.</p>
<iframe src="http://m.mlb.com/shared/video/embed/embed.html?content_id=613539483&amp;topic_id=6479266&amp;width=500&amp;height=280&amp;property=mlb" width="500" height="280" ></iframe>
<p>Finally though, for Carrera, the light has gone on. He has a new perception, not unlike the man with 2D vision who was cured by <a href="http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20120719-awoken-from-a-2d-world" target="_blank">watching a 3D movie</a>. Freed from the limitations of his own mind, Carrera has been able to make great leaps forward, and great leaping catches.</p>
<iframe src="http://m.bluejays.mlb.com/shared/video/embed/embed.html?content_id=617690483&amp;topic_id=8877962&amp;width=500&amp;height=280&amp;property=mlb" width="500" height="280" ></iframe>
<p>Carrera smiles a lot when he talks about the diving catch. He knows that he can finally &#8216;reach&#8217; his full potential.</p>
<p><em>In case you somehow couldn&#8217;t figure it out, this is not at all real, and all of the quotes above are completely fictional.</em></p>
<p><em>Lead Photo: Nick Turchiaro-USA TODAY Sports</em></p>
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		<title>Recap: Blue Jays 6, Athletics 3; Zeke Goes Big on Bobblehead Day</title>
		<link>http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/2016/04/24/recap-blue-jays-6-athletics-3-zeke-goes-big-on-bobblehead-day/</link>
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		<pubDate>Sun, 24 Apr 2016 20:16:11 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Molly Tissenbaum]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Articles]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Recaps]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Ezequiel Carrera]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Josh Donaldson]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/?p=1966</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[In an attempt to give the rotation a little bit of a rest, Drew Hutchison was called up from Buffalo to make his first start of the season for the Blue Jays this afternoon. He has made 3 starts this season for the Bisons, and has racked up 20 strikeouts and a 4.11 ERA. He [&#8230;]]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>In an attempt to give the rotation a little bit of a rest, Drew Hutchison was called up from Buffalo to make his first start of the season for the Blue Jays this afternoon. He has made 3 starts this season for the Bisons, and has racked up 20 strikeouts and a 4.11 ERA. He did the job today though, going 5.2 innings, giving up just two runs on two solo homeruns. He struggled a bit with his command, walking four, but did what was necessary to get this team a win. </p>
<p>On the offensive side of things, it was the Ezequiel Carrera show early on. He singled in the first, then he led off the third inning Ezequiel Carrera a solo homerun. The Blue Jays offense followed suit when Justin Smoak, Kevin Pillar, Darwin Barney, and Jose Bautista strung singles together to score four runs. Bautista then added to the total when he homered in the bottom of the 4th inning, bringing his tally to four on the year. </p>
<p>After Jesse Chavez gave up a home run to Chris Coghlan to cut the lead to three, Brett Cecil, Drew Storen, and Roberto Osuna shut the door to preserve the win. Drew Hutchison got the win (1-0), and Roberto Osuna got the save (6), bringing the Blue Jays back to .500 on the year at 10-10.  </p>
<h3>Top Play of the Game by WPA</h3>
<p>With the A&#8217;s leading 1-0 heading into the third, Ezequiel Carrera crushed a solo homerun to tie the game. The blast increased the jays chances of winning by 12.2 percent (.122). He finished the game 2 for 4 with an RBI. </p>
<h3>Bottom Play of the Game by WPA</h3>
<p>There weren&#8217;t many big negative swings in this game, as the &#8220;worst&#8221; play of the game came all the way back in the bottom of the first inning. With runners on the corners, Troy Tulowitzki struck out to end the inning, which decreased the chances of winning by 4.8 percent (-.048). They were unable to cash in on a lead off single by Carrera and a walk by Bautista. </p>
<h3>Carrera Stays Hot</h3>
<p>In last night&#8217;s game, Ezequiel Carrera went 4 for 5, and scored 3 times and stole a base. He continued swinging the hot bat this afternoon, going 2 for 4, with his first RBI of the season. In both games, Carrera had 5 total bases. </p>
<h3>Martin injured</h3>
<p>During the tough loss Friday night, Russell Martin left the game with neck spasms. We were told that he was removed as a precaution, but then today he was a late scratch in favour of Josh Thole. This will be a situation to monitor, as Josh Thole is not someone who should be playing every day for a team that considers itself to be contenders. </p>
<h3>No Bobbles on Bobblhead Day</h3>
<p>It was Josh Donaldson Bobblehead day in Toronto, which saw his mother appear to throw out the first pitch. He also collected his Silver Slugger Award in front of a sell-out crowd chanting &#8220;M-V-P.&#8221; It was a nice moment for the star to share with his family. </p>
<h3>Up Next</h3>
<p>The Blue Jays welcome the White Sox to Rogers Center for a 3 game series starting tomorrow night. The Blue Jays will send Marcus Stroman to the hill for his 5th start of the season. The White Sox have yet to announce who their starter is for tomorrow evening. </p>
<p>Lead Photo: Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports</p>
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