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	<title>Toronto &#187; Spring Training</title>
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	<description>Comprehensive coverage of the Toronto Blue Jays</description>
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		<title>The Shapes of Their Lives: Blue Jays Spring Training Stories to Follow</title>
		<link>http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/2017/02/22/the-shapes-of-their-lives-blue-jays-spring-training-stories-to-follow/</link>
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		<pubDate>Wed, 22 Feb 2017 15:24:25 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Nick Dika]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Articles]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Featured]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Spring Training]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Stories]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/?p=9092</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[I don’t need to tell you that spring training is a lot more of a snooze-fest than how it is presented. Given the structure and pace of the games, the most competitive thing MLB players do after reporting to camp is golf. And unfortunately that includes the World Baseball Classic, too. So while spring training [&#8230;]]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>I don’t need to tell you that spring training is a lot more of a snooze-fest than how it is presented. Given the structure and pace of the games, the most competitive thing MLB players do after reporting to camp is golf. And unfortunately that includes the World Baseball Classic, too.</p>
<p>So while spring training might not be the exciting return of baseball that we hope it would, don’t worry; it does signify that real baseball is less than two months away. And like any team, the Blue Jays do have a few stories worth following this spring, stories that don’t involve Jose Bautista playing only three innings at a time.</p>
<h4>Position Battles – Left Field and Marcus Stroman’s Best Friend</h4>
<p>Given the many veteran players on the Blue Jays roster, Toronto enters camp with very few starting positions available to be won over the course of spring training. With the lineup and rotation almost entirely locked in, only two major positional battles remain: Who will play left field and who will be Marcus Stroman’s new best friend?</p>
<p>While Aaron Sanchez and Stroman will remain entrenched atop the Blue Jays’ staff, an alleged <a href="http://www.sportsnet.ca/baseball/mlb/stroman-still-friends-sanchez-despite-speculation/">offseason falling out/drifting apart</a> has left the position of Stroman’s best buddy vacant. The battle for the left field job will revolve around which of the Jays’ in house options (Ezekiel Carrera, Melvin Upton Jr., Dalton Pompey, Darrell Ceciliani) can provide value on defense and at the plate. The battle for the best friend position will centre on which player posses the strongest social media engagement and grasps Stroman’s <a href="http://bluejayhunter.com/2016/04/marcus-stromans-tweets-as-inspirational-posters.html">many core philosophies</a>, such as “if you don’t grind, you don’t shine”.</p>
<p>Ideally, in an effort to optimize the 25-man roster, a left fielder like Dalton Pompey or Melvin Upton Jr. could also fill the Stroman best friend vacancy. That way, the team can avoid carrying someone exclusively to serve in the best friend role (like Josh Thole), and use the roster spot on another reliever instead. Shi Davidi is reporting from camp that it is believed Devon Travis and Steve Pearce currently have an inside track on the best friend job.</p>
<h4>Josh Donaldson’s Right Calf</h4>
<p>The only thing more terrifying to a Blue Jays fan than not selling beer in the 500- level seats is hearing that Josh Donaldson is injured. And that is exactly what we heard last week when Donaldson tweaked his right calf doing some “sprint work”. Everything we’ve heard sounds like it isn’t a big deal and the calf will be completely healed before the regular season starts. Unlike past spring training injuries to Michael Saunders, and Maicer Izturis, it is not believed that the spring training facilities themselves acted as accomplices in straining Donaldson’s calf. While the prospect of an injured Donaldson is legitimately terrifying, we shouldn’t get too worked up just yet.</p>
<h4>John Gibbons’ Contract Extension</h4>
<p>What has two consecutive League Championship appearances and no long-term contract to show for it? This guy (points to Gibby).</p>
<p>If it were up to me, I’d file this under the spring storylines you don’t need to worry about. Even if John Gibbons were signed to a Sea Org-esque billion-year contract, he would be just as likely to lose his job if the team were to start underperforming. It really doesn’t matter how long the manager is under contract.</p>
<p>As Gibbons was signed to a series of one-year rolling contracts under the previous regime, he’s used to working with some degree of uncertainty. I wouldn’t mind working year-to-year either if I was getting paid something in the million dollars-per-year range. Well, at least until I found out what they were paying Buck Showalter to not use Zach Britton.</p>
<p>The self-represented Texan (is there anything more John Gibbons than that?) doesn’t seem the least bit worried about his contract status, even with the conspiracy theory that <del>future-manager</del> player development adviser, Eric Wedge, is lurking in the shadows of the Bobby Mattick Complex in Dunedin.</p>
<h4>Rule 5 Watch: Glenn Sparkman</h4>
<p>Wouldn’t it be amazing if every December, there was a draft that took place and you just pick up a free 1-win reliever for next year’s team? That’s kind of what it feels like after Joe Biagini sauntered into our lives. Come for the cheeky comedy, stay for the four-pitch repertoire!</p>
<p>A year later, we are all hoping that Glenn Sparkman will be this year’s Joe Biagini. The odds of hitting on a Rule 5 draft pick are long. Hitting on two Rule 5 picks in two years is even longer. Sparkman will be someone to watch this spring, as he needs to show enough to make the opening day roster and remain on it all season long. Given the recent additions of the effective-but-soft-tossing J.P. Howell and Joe Smith, having another bullpen arm that can throw over 90 mph would go a long way in making the Jays’ a competitive team in 2017.</p>
<h4>How Committed to the First Basemen Are We?</h4>
<p>Aversion to Justin Smoak playing first base is the great unifier in the Blue Jays’ community. Whether or not you have a problem with Jose Bautista, think the bullpen acquisition of J.P. Howell was a savvy move, or believe that Kendrys Morales is a decent replacement for Edwin Encarnacion, there’s one thing everyone seems to agree on: Justin Smoak might not be that great.</p>
<p>We are all a little bit scared of Smoak getting at-bats on the strong side of a first base platoon. Even if you think his defense makes up for some of his deficiencies and that the Jays’ other lineup pieces means he won’t kill them (all good points), watching Smoak strike out 35 percent of the time and lumber around the bases like a young Adam Lind has Jays’ observers watching this spring to see who might be able to sneak into the first base mix and relegate Smoak to a utility role. And speaking of young players…</p>
<h4>Organizational Philosophy</h4>
<p>A couple of potential offseason downgrades to the roster have many openly wondering when some of the Blue Jays minor league players will be able to answer the bell and help the big league club. With memories of Roberto Osuna fresh in our minds (and Miguel Castro tucked away in Colorado to help us forget the counterpoint), many are asking when the next batch of early- twenty-something’s can come up and take playing time away from Justin Smoak or Aaron Loup.</p>
<p>Under Alex Anthopoulos, the Blue Jays organizational philosophy was to use every asset available to improve the Major League team. Roberto Osuna had already locked down 56 major league saves BEFORE he <a href="https://twitter.com/GideonTurk/status/834115649169420288" target="_blank">got his braces put on</a>.</p>
<p>Fearing a Justin Bieber-like breakdown from one of the Jays’ top prospects, Mark Shapiro favors a more deliberate and gradual approach to player development. This spring, we will find out how committed the new regime is to slow and steady progress with players like Rowdy Tellez and Sean Reid-Foley, both of whom could challenge some of the less-than-productive veteran players for jobs should the executive team allow it to be so.</p>
<p>So there you have the stories to watch. And even if you’re already bored to death with spring training baseball and baseball coverage, here’s to the start of another season!</p>
<p><em>Lead Photo: Jonathan Dyer-USA TODAY Sports</em></p>
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		<title>Artificial Turf Wars Ep. 44: A Canadian Classic</title>
		<link>http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/2017/02/17/atw-episode-44-canadian-training/</link>
		<comments>http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/2017/02/17/atw-episode-44-canadian-training/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 17 Feb 2017 11:00:47 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Artifical Turf Wars]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Articles]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Podcast]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Aaron Sanchez]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Artificial Turf Wars]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Bullpen]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Free Agency]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Spring Training]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[WBC]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[World Baseball Classic]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/?p=9053</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Greg Hamilton, coach and director of national teams for Baseball Canada, stops by to discuss Canada&#8217;s World Baseball Classic team. He details the selection process for the roster, the need for a blend of youth and experience, and how the team reacted to the absence of so many top players. Greg and Josh also break [&#8230;]]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Greg Hamilton, coach and director of national teams for Baseball Canada, stops by to discuss Canada&#8217;s World Baseball Classic team. He details the selection process for the roster, the need for a blend of youth and experience, and how the team reacted to the absence of so many top players. Greg and Josh also break down the last couple weeks of Blue Jays news with a look at the Joe Smith and Mat Latos signings, Aaron Sanchez&#8217; being let loose, and the loss of the latest &#8220;Catcher of the Future.&#8221; Finally, they answer listener questions and give a Do-Over to their good buddy, Rob Manfred.</p>
<p><strong>Podcast</strong>: <a class="powerpress_link_pinw" title="Play in New Window" href="http://d1at8ppinvdju8.cloudfront.net/9/826/show_9826433_2017_02_17_05_11_20.mp3" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Play in new window</a> | <a class="powerpress_link_d" title="Download" href="http://d1at8ppinvdju8.cloudfront.net/9/826/show_9826433_2017_02_17_05_11_20.mp3" rel="nofollow">Download</a></p>
<p><a href="https://itunes.apple.com/ca/podcast/blue-jays-plus-podcast/id705699884?mt=2"><img class="alignnone wp-image-63" src="http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2016/03/itunes1.png" alt="itunes" width="168" height="62" /></a><a href="https://soundcloud.com/turfpod"><img class=" wp-image-9054 alignleft" src="http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2017/02/soundcloud.jpg" alt="soundcloud" width="123" height="60" /></a><br />
&nbsp;<br />
Follow the guys on twitter: <a title="@coolhead2010" href="https://twitter.com/coolhead2010" target="_blank">@coolhead2010</a> and <a title="@JoshuaHowsam" href="https://twitter.com/JoshuaHowsam" target="_blank">@JoshuaHowsam</a>.</p>
<p>Intro music is Slow Burn (<a href="http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Kevin_MacLeod/" rel="cc:attributionURL">Kevin MacLeod</a>) under <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/" rel="license">CC BY 3.0</a>.</p>
<div><strong>Podcast Email</strong>-<a href="mailto:artificialturfwars@baseballprospectus.com" target="_blank">artificialturfwars@baseballprospectus.com</a> Please drop us a line if there is a guest you&#8217;d particularly like us to interview, to submit a question to <strong>Stump the Josh</strong>, or to simply give us feedback on the podcast. We&#8217;d love to hear from you!</div>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
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		<title>What We Already Know About the 2016 Blue Jays</title>
		<link>http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/2016/04/05/what-we-already-know-about-the-2016-blue-jays/</link>
		<comments>http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/2016/04/05/what-we-already-know-about-the-2016-blue-jays/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 05 Apr 2016 10:20:05 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Nick Dika]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Articles]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Foul Territory]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Edwin Encarnacion]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Gavin Floyd]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Jose Bautista]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Roberto Osuna]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Spring Training]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Tickets]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/?p=1046</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The beginning of the regular season is always full of the stories that emerged throughout spring training. Some of these stories hint at breakthroughs, adjustments, and developments that have the potential to bode very well for the 2016 Blue Jays; Aaron Sanchez has developed his secondary stuff and put on weight (so why are we [&#8230;]]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>The beginning of the regular season is always full of the stories that emerged throughout spring training. Some of these stories hint at breakthroughs, adjustments, and developments that have the potential to bode very well for the 2016 Blue Jays; Aaron Sanchez has developed his secondary stuff and put on weight (so why are we criticizing Pablo Sandoval?), Tulo has a new leg kick, Michael Saunders is finally healthy, and Marcus Stroman wants to be the ace of the staff. Now, if you’re like me, spring training is all the definitive proof you need. If you can do it in March when you’re still rusty from winter vacation, why couldn’t you keep it up throughout the regular season?</p>
<p>However, while I want to pencil in Troy Tulowitzski for 60 bombs and Aaron Sanchez for a 2.00 ERA over 30 starts, some of the baseball intelligentsia insist differently. They throw around buzzwords like “sample size” and “quality of competition” like it&#8217;s completely meaningless that all of above mentioned spring accomplishments weren’t achieved while also being hung over (we’ve all seen bags under the players eyes on photo day) and tired from golfing. So while I vehemently disagree that we can’t draw conclusions from early on, with the season now underway, there are still some things that we can definitely know about the 2016 Toronto Blue Jays now that camp has broke and the season has begun.</p>
<h4>Edwin and Jose’s Agents Won’t Have a Lot of Work to Do In Season</h4>
<p>With Edwin refusing to negotiate in season and Jose setting his demands and not budging, it looks to be a pretty easy summer for Paul Kinzer and Jay Alou. Talk about not earning your 10%. It’s probably closer to 5% with Jose though; he seems like a tough negotiator. They may want to get in their cottage time now, their workload will most likely amp up at the end of the season.</p>
<h4>Conner Greene Is Making Daniel Norris Look Like Pete Incaviglia</h4>
<p>You probably thought we said goodbye to the organization’s handsome, charismatic pitching prospect at the deadline. But if you melted for the van-dwelling Daniel Norris, your heart just may explode for actor slash model Conner Greene. Despite possessing similar numbers at Double A (and in social media followers), Greene has taken over top spot as Toronto’s most babe-ly prospect of the past decade. With Norris on the Detroit DL and Greene on Anger Management, Greene is making everyone forget about the organization’s former golden boy. Oh, and apparently he’s touching the mid 90s too.</p>
<h4>Save Your Signing Bonus, Youngsters</h4>
<p>You’re a star amateur baseball player. You’re young, you’re talented and you’re on top of the world. You don’t want to spend wisely; you want to start a Yoenis Cespedes-style car or pony collection. But be forewarned &#8211; there’s no certainty the gravy train will last forever. Just ask some of the Buffalo Bisons. The Jays have three former top prospects starting the season at triple A: Jesus Montero, Tony Sanchez, and Dominic Brown. In addition, a couple other first round picks are currently on the fringy side of the major league roster in Justin Smoak and Gavin Floyd. Don’t get me started on Max Pentecost. Looking good in a uniform isn’t worth what it used to be. Here’s hoping one of these guys is the next Edwin Encarnacion or Jose Bautista just in case the Jays can’t afford the current Edwin Encarnacion or Jose Bautista. If only every waiver claim worked out so well.</p>
<h4>Roberto Osuna was not Interested in Making Money, Now he is</h4>
<p>According to comments he made last month, Roberto Osuna is still more interested in being a relief pitcher than a starter. It seems Osuna, who is barely 21, was just going through the defiant phase that most teenagers and young adults experience – rebelling against the authority of his front office staff that want him to buckle down, work hard and fulfill his potential. Now <a href="https://twitter.com/arturomarcano/status/716627727680462848" target="_blank">he has changed his mind</a> and decided he wants a bigger paycheck. You no longer need to worry that his three pitch arsenal and lack of platoon split will to go to waste.</p>
<h4>Gavin Floyd May Not Have the Front Office in His Pocket</h4>
<p>As Jays fans across the country eagerly waited for an opportunity to find fault in the new front office, the chance to charge them with nepotism in roster construction arose when Gavin Floyd, who may or may not be represented by Ron Shapiro (seriously, I’m not totally sure. ), was considered the favorite to land the fifth spot in the rotation. In the end though, the brain trust wisely sent Floyd to the bullpen while Aaron Sanchez begins the year in the rotation. It seems that Jays fans like me who were just pining for a reason to hate on the new front office (I don’t do well with change) will have to wait another day. Gavin Floyd and his elbow made of Popsicle sticks are in the bullpen where they belong. For now.</p>
<h4>Dynamic Pricing is Annoying</h4>
<p>If you’ve tried to buy tickets for opening weekend, you’ll notice that the usually 30-40 dollar outfield seats are now going for 45-50 on BlueJays.com. The Jays will nobly tell you they are trying to combat selling tickets on the secondary market. That’s because the team is doing their best to turn their own ticketing system into a secondary market for tickets &#8211; raising and lowering their prices to reflect demand. Remember all that talk of Mark Shapiro “bringing the front office into the 21<sup>st</sup> Century”? Everyone thought this meant some new interoffice computer systems and more work from home days. No one said it would be at the expense of the fans. If StubHub North isn’t enough of a slap in the face to longtime Jays fans who showed up during the barren years, now they have to wait in overly long lines to both purchase and expel any beverages they buy at the stadium.</p>
<h4>Jose Bautista May Be in Bad Shape</h4>
<p>Much has been said and written about Jose Bautista’s dedication to fitness and off the field training. This spring we saw that athleticism called into question when Jose and the Philly <a href="http://www.cbssports.com/mlb/eye-on-baseball/25514650/watch-jose-bautista-vs-phillie-phantic-in-outfield-hijinx" target="_blank">Phanatic went mano e mano in Clearwater</a>. The results showed the Phanatic as surprisingly agile and athletic for someone carrying so much weight in his green midsection. More importantly, there may be reason for concern as Jose Bautista might be in far worse shape than we are all being led to believe given his inability to best the Phanatic in any type of challenge aside from handstands.</p>
<h4>We Still Need to Talk About Dunedin</h4>
<p>While Florida Auto Exchange Stadium and the Bobby Mattick Training Centre were able to make it through spring training without adding another Major League regular to their kill count, Mark Shapiro has stayed on message that Toronto’s spring training facilities are in need of updates or relocation. We know that Shapiro is a fan of modernizing organizations and someone who places a premium value on player nutrition. A facility with a few microwaves and a freezer full of hot pockets simply isn’t good enough for the players on the 40-man roster (although its perfectly fine for non-roster invitees). And the new hires from Duke aren’t going to be able to stop someone from tripping on a sprinkler either.</p>
<p>While it may still be early, but that doesn’t mean we can’t learn anything about the year ahead for the Blue Jays. The next six months will be full of ups and downs, known and unknown. Just remember that sometimes if you leave spring training without answers, it&#8217;s just because you aren’t asking easy enough questions.</p>
<p><em>Lead Photo: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports</em></p>
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		<title>Artificial Turf Wars Ep. 2: This Goose is Cooked</title>
		<link>http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/2016/03/11/artificial-turf-wars-ep-2-this-goose-is-cooked/</link>
		<comments>http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/2016/03/11/artificial-turf-wars-ep-2-this-goose-is-cooked/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 11 Mar 2016 12:54:29 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Artifical Turf Wars]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Articles]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Podcast]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Aaron Sanchez]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Do-Over]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Goose Gossage]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Jose Bautista]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Marco Estrada]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Marcus Stroman]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[R.J. Anderson]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Spring Training]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Tampa Bay Rays]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/?p=230</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[R.J. Anderson of Baseball Prospectus stops by Artificial Turf Wars to discuss the Tampa Bay Rays as part of the AL East Division preview series. The guys also discuss Jose Bautista&#8216;s contract situation, Marco Estrada&#8216;s health, Aaron Sanchez&#8216; great stuff, Josh&#8217;s notes from Dunedin, and the one year anniversary of Marcus Stroman&#8216;s &#8220;season-ending&#8221; injury. The [&#8230;]]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a title="R.J. Anderson" href="https://twitter.com/r_j_anderson" target="_blank">R.J. Anderson</a> of <a title="Baseball Prospectus" href="http://www.baseballprospectus.com/author/rj_anderson/" target="_blank">Baseball Prospectus</a> stops by Artificial Turf Wars to discuss the Tampa Bay Rays as part of the AL East Division preview series. The guys also discuss <a title="Jose Bautista" href="http://www.baseballprospectus.com/card/card.php?id=32570" target="_blank">Jose Bautista</a>&#8216;s contract situation, <a title="Marco Estrada" href="http://www.baseballprospectus.com/card/card.php?id=47658" target="_blank">Marco Estrada</a>&#8216;s health, <a title="Aaron Sanchez" href="http://www.baseballprospectus.com/card/card.php?id=67107" target="_blank">Aaron Sanchez</a>&#8216; great stuff, Josh&#8217;s notes from Dunedin, and the one year anniversary of <a title="Marcus Stroman" href="http://www.baseballprospectus.com/card/card.php?id=70371" target="_blank">Marcus Stroman</a>&#8216;s &#8220;season-ending&#8221; injury. The guys then take some listener questions and then give a &#8220;Do-Over&#8221; to <a title="Goose Gossage" href="http://www.baseballprospectus.com/card/card.php?id=22635" target="_blank">Goose Gossage</a> for his insane, Jose Bautista-fueled rant.</p>
<p><strong>Podcast</strong>: <a class="powerpress_link_pinw" title="Play in New Window" href="http://s3.amazonaws.com/btr.shows/8/440/show_8440087_2016_03_11_05_18_17.mp3" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Play in new window</a> | <a class="powerpress_link_d" title="Download" href="http://s3.amazonaws.com/btr.shows/8/440/show_8440087_2016_03_11_05_18_17.mp3" rel="nofollow">Download</a></p>
<p><a href="https://itunes.apple.com/ca/podcast/blue-jays-plus-podcast/id705699884?mt=2"><img class="alignnone wp-image-63" src="http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2016/03/itunes1.png" alt="itunes" width="125" height="46" /></a></p>
<p>Follow the guys on twitter: <a title="@coolhead2010" href="https://twitter.com/coolhead2010" target="_blank">@coolhead2010</a>, <a title="@JoshuaHowsam" href="https://twitter.com/JoshuaHowsam" target="_blank">@JoshuaHowsam</a> and <a title="@CWSherwin" href="https://twitter.com/CWSherwin" target="_blank">@CWSherwin</a></p>
<p>Intro music is Slow Burn (<a href="http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Kevin_MacLeod/" rel="cc:attributionURL">Kevin MacLeod</a>) / <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/" rel="license">CC BY 3.0</a> via creative commons license.</p>
<div><strong>Podcast Email</strong>-<a href="mailto:artificialturfwars@baseballprospectus.com" target="_blank">artificialturfwars@baseballprospectus.com</a> Please drop us a line if there is a guest you&#8217;d particularly like us to interview, to submit a question to <strong>Stump the Josh</strong>, or to simply give us feedback on the podcast. We&#8217;d love to hear from you!</div>
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		<title>Non-Roster Invites In Blue Jays Camp: The Pitchers</title>
		<link>http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/2016/03/10/non-roster-invites-in-blue-jays-camp-the-pitchers/</link>
		<comments>http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/2016/03/10/non-roster-invites-in-blue-jays-camp-the-pitchers/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 10 Mar 2016 13:55:04 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Steve McEwen]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Articles]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Featured]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[David Aardsma]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Non-Roster Invitees]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Pat McCoy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Rafael Soriano]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Spring Training]]></category>

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		<description><![CDATA[Every year at spring training, there there are a numbers of non-roster invitees (NRIs) that may seem surprising; some are there more as instructors and mentors while others are projects returning from injuries or just looking for another shot at the big leagues. This year the Blue Jays have 29 players in camp who aren’t on [&#8230;]]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><em>Every year at spring training, there there are a numbers of non-roster invitees (NRIs) that may seem surprising; some are there more as instructors and mentors while others are projects returning from injuries or just looking for another shot at the big leagues. This year the Blue Jays have 29 players in camp who aren’t on the 40 man roster &#8211; twelve pitchers and seventeen position players. Fourteen (eight pitchers, six hitters) of these players have some major league experience while the remaining eighteen players comprising of minor league fodder mixed in with legitimate prospects.</em></p>
<p><em>Over the next three days, BP Toronto will be breaking down these NRIs into three groups &#8211; veteran pitchers, veteran hitters, and prospects &#8211; and assessing their odds of making the opening day roster.</em></p>
<p>Without further ado, let&#8217;s get to the veteran pitchers in camp looking for a job.</p>
<p><strong><a title="David Aardsma" href="http://www.baseballprospectus.com/card/card.php?id=45369" target="_blank">David Aardsma</a> – Right Handed Relief Pitcher</strong></p>
<p>PECOTA Projection: 41.2 IP, 4.00 ERA, 4.72 DRA, 8.7 K/9, 3.7 BB/9</p>
<p>Aardsma, the guest on the <a title="debut episode of Artificial Turf Wars" href="http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/podcasts/artificial-turf-wars-episode-1-david-aardsma-debuts-and-dingers/" target="_blank">debut episode of Artificial Turf Wars</a>, was as one of the best college pitchers during his time at Rice University. An eventual first round draft pick, he is most remembered as the Mariners closer in 2009 and 2010. During that time, Aardsma posted a 2.90 ERA and saved 69 games. Following those two terrific years, he struggled with injuries. After undergoing hip labrum surgery and then two Tommy John procedures he managed to throw only 71.1 innings with an ERA of 4.54 between 2011 and 2015. Finally healthy, Aardsma’s 2015 was spent with the middling Braves where he posted a 4.70 ERA in 30.2 IP and struck out 35 with a fastball that sat 91-92 MPH. He was excellent at the start of the year, posting an ERA of 1.80 over the first 20 innings, but over his final ten innings his ERA was an abysmal 10.13.</p>
<p><em>How he fits:</em> Aardsma is likely mostly just depth in the bullpen should they need him, and he can provide some decent innings for the Blue Jays as long as he isn’t over exposed.</p>
<p><em>Chance of Making the Opening Day Roster:</em> 3.5/5</p>
<p>If Soriano (below) isn&#8217;t healthy, Aardsma should have a leg up on Steve Delabar for the final bullpen spot, who seems far removed from the pitcher who made the 2013 AL All-Star team.</p>
<p><strong><a title="Scott Copeland" href="http://www.baseballprospectus.com/card/card.php?id=66520" target="_blank">Scott Copeland</a> – Right Handed Swingman</strong></p>
<p>PECOTA Projection: 118.3 IP, 5.05 ERA,5.13 DRA, 4.5 K/9, 3.2 BB/9</p>
<p>In with a bang and out with a whimper is the best way to describe Copeland&#8217;s 2015 with the Blue Jays. In his first start with the team threw seven innings of six hit, one run ball, then gave up seven runs in his following 1.1 innings. A control specialist, Copeland doesn&#8217;t have a lot of upside and has already been on and off the 40-man once and cleared waivers.</p>
<p><em>How he fits:</em> For a guy who is 1o-12th  on the organizational starting chart he is fine, but a lot will have to go wrong for Copeland to ever make it back to Toronto.</p>
<p><em>Chance of Making the Opening Day Roster:</em> 0/5</p>
<p>Unless the rotation is hit by a meteor in ST, Copeland has no chance of making the team.</p>
<p><strong><a title="Scott Diamond" href="http://www.baseballprospectus.com/card/card.php?id=57790" target="_blank">Scott Diamond</a> – Left Handed Starting Pitcher</strong></p>
<p>PECOTA Projection: 122.7 IP, 4.89 ERA, 5.19 DRA, 4.0 K/9, 2.3 BB/9</p>
<p>The Blue Jays decided to bring in a soft tossing lefty who relies on control and mixing pitches. No, it’s not Mark Buehrle. A veteran of 58 major league starts, the Canadian-born Diamond has posted a respectable 4.43 ERA over 343 innings. While he has never been a strikeout pitcher, he has produced very solid strikeout to walk ratios. His best season came in 2012 when he posted a 3.54 ERA for the Twins while striking out batters at a 12.6 percent rate and walking less than five percent of all batters. To accompany his strong control stats he also posted a 53.4 percent ground ball rate.</p>
<p><em>How he fits:</em> He is a quality depth and a spot start candidate who will probably be in line to get starts before someone like Copeland.</p>
<p><em>Chance of Making the Opening Day Roster:</em> 0/5. Much like Copeland there would have to be four or five serious injuries in the rotation for him to get his shot.</p>
<p><strong><a title="Roberto &quot;Fausto Carmona&quot; Hernandez" href="http://www.baseballprospectus.com/card/card.php?id=33548" target="_blank">Roberto (Fausto Carmona) Hernandez</a> – Right Handed Swingman</strong></p>
<p>PECOTA Projection: 15 IP, 5.01 ERA, 5.30 DRA, 5 K/9, 3.4 BB/9</p>
<p>Hernandez is yet another depth piece for the Blue Jays rotation. Formerly an All-Star with the Cleveland Indians under his alias Fausto Carmona, Herhandez is probably the best of the non-roster starters brought to camp. Despite declining velocity, he has posted a very respectible 4.19 ERA in 249 innings over the past two seasons. This is entirely due to his ability get good sink which makes him a sure bet to post a ground ball rate greater than 50 percent.</p>
<p><em>How he fits:</em> Likely the 9<sup>th</sup> man in line should a starter go down, he could provide some quality long relief outings out of the bullpen.</p>
<p><em>Chance of Making the Opening Day Roster:</em> 1/5</p>
<p>Hernandez likely has no shot at making the opening day rotation, but he gets one point for his ability to provide help in relief.</p>
<p><strong><a title="Wade LeBlanc" href="http://www.baseballprospectus.com/card/card.php?id=51959" target="_blank">Wade LeBlanc</a> – Left Handed Swingman</strong></p>
<p>PECOTA Projection: 34.7 IP, 4.27 ERA, 4.56 DRA, 6.5 K/9, 2.6 BB/9</p>
<p>LeBlanc is a 31 year old veteran with 446 innings in his big league career who spent last season in Japan. Another soft tossing left hander, he never has shown a terrific ability to command the ball or strike out batters. In addition to not having any sort of defining characteristic as a starter, he doesn’t have much of an identity or path to playing time in the bullpen. For LeBlanc’s career he has a triple slash of .313/.368/.532 against left-handed batters, so <a title="Aaron Loup" href="http://www.baseballprospectus.com/card/card.php?id=60619" target="_blank">Aaron Loup</a>’s injury concerns don’t appear to help his chances.</p>
<p><em>How he fits:</em> Depth starter at AAA to keep the Buffalo Bisons owners happy. Maybe he gets called up if the Jays need a long man who they don’t mind losing on waivers, but that&#8217;s really his only value.</p>
<p><em>Chance of Making the Opening Day Roster:</em> 0/5</p>
<p>There is just no chance. LeBlanc is even behind Copeland on the depth chart.</p>
<p><strong><a title="Patrick McCoy" href="http://www.baseballprospectus.com/card/card.php?id=56074" target="_blank">Patrick McCoy</a> – Left Handed Relief Pitcher</strong></p>
<p>PECOTA Projections: 57.7 IP, 4.65 ERA, 4.93 DRA, 5.8 K/9,  3.3 BB/9</p>
<p>One of the few true lefty relievers in camp, Pat McCoy has one of the clearest paths to the majors of any non-roster invitee. With Aaron Loup dealing with flexor tendon issues and possible extended time off, the Blue Jays will need another lefty. McCoy throws 91-92 mph and has a decent slider, but is relatively unproven at the major league level, with only 14 career major league innings under his belt. While his Triple-A ERA isn&#8217;t great by traditional standards (4.03 in 89.1 innings) either, he has been used against right-handers and left-handers which doesn’t suit him entirely. Where he excels is as a lefty specialist, or LOOGY; against lefty minor leaguers he allowed an OPS of .593 in 2015 and .575 in 2014. To go along with this dominance he throws 91-92 and has a useable slider.</p>
<p><em>How he fits:</em> McCoy could either be a left handed specialist or a long man for the Blue Jays. In AAA he was used in multiple innings fairly regularly.</p>
<p><em>Chance of Making the Opening Day Roster:</em> 3/5</p>
<p>There is a strong chance that with a solid spring McCoy could be chosen as the temporary second lefty out of the pen while Loup recovers from injury.</p>
<p><strong><a title="Brad Penny" href="http://www.baseballprospectus.com/card/card.php?id=524" target="_blank">Brad Penny</a> – Right Handed Starting Pitcher</strong></p>
<p>PECOTA Projections: 104.3 IP, 4.66 ERA, 4.93 DRA, 4.5 K/9, 2.8 BB/9</p>
<p>Easily the most experienced non-roster pitcher the Jays brought in, Penny is a veteran of nearly 2000 MLB innings. Despite his age (38 in May), Penny still throws in the low 90’s with a sinking fastball. However, while he has spent plenty of time in his career on big league rosters, Penny hasn’t truly seen regular duty in the majors since 2011 when he posted an ERA over 5.00 in 31 appearances. Since then, Penny has flipped between the bullpen and starting for the Giants, Marlins and White Sox. From 2003 to 2007 he was a very solid pitcher for the Dodgers and Marlins putting up a 3.72 ERA over 911 innings. That may not sound that impressive, but because baseball was just starting to come out of the steroid era, the 3.72 ERA was actually 15 percent above league average.</p>
<p><em>How he fits:</em> Yet another AAA starter who will provide depth for the Blue Jays should they be targeted by a sociopath who removes arms.</p>
<p><em>Chance of Making the Opening Day Roster:</em> 0/5</p>
<p>There just are too many pitchers ahead of Penny at this time to give him a legitimate shot of even light hope to make the team.</p>
<p><strong><a title="Rafael Soriano" href="http://www.baseballprospectus.com/card/card.php?id=1182" target="_blank">Rafael Soriano</a> – Right Handed Relief Pitcher</strong></p>
<p>PECOTA Projection: 38 IP, 3.92 ERA, 4.54 DRA, 7.8 K/9, 2.9 BB/9</p>
<p>Probably the most notable name on this list, Rafael Soriano was one of the best relief pitchers of the last decade. With a career 2.89 ERA (an astounding 44% above league average), one might begin to wonder how he is only a non-roster invite. The reason is that after a fantastic first half in 2014 (0.97 ERA at the all-star break), he imploded down the stretch to the tune of a 6.48 ERA over the second half. He lost his closing job to current Jays reliever Drew Storen, then went unsigned until midway through the 2015 season. Eventually the Chicago Cubs took a chance and Soriano threw only six innings with poor results before a shoulder injury ended his season. Reports are that he was throwing well in the Dominican Winter League, leading to the Blue Jays inviting him to camp.</p>
<p><em>How he fits:</em> If he regains his old form he provides terrific depth to the Blue Jays bullpen in much the same way <a title="Ryan Madson" href="http://www.baseballprospectus.com/card/card.php?id=31537" target="_blank">Ryan Madson</a> did for the Royals last season.</p>
<p><em>Chance of Making the Opening Day Roster:</em> 4/5</p>
<p>If the reports out of the Dominican are accurate, and if he can sort out his visa issues and actually show up to camp, there is a very good chance that Soriano could beat out the remaining candidates for the last spot in the bullpen.</p>
<p>Despite a decently large group of non-roster pitchers in camp, the only three who have much of a shot are Soriano, Aardsma, and McCoy. And without the injury to Aaron Loup, this list would be even smaller. There just aren&#8217;t a lot of jobs open for Blue Jays pitchers this spring.</p>
<p><em>Tune in tomorrow for Part Two where we will be taking a look at the non-roster positional players in camp.</em></p>
<p><em>Lead Photo: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports</em></p>
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		<title>The 9 Most Significant Spring Training Transactions in Blue Jays History</title>
		<link>http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/2016/03/08/the-nine-most-significant-spring-training-transactions-in-blue-jays-history/</link>
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		<pubDate>Tue, 08 Mar 2016 14:57:31 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Andrew Arnold]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Articles]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[The 9]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[David Cone]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Free Agency]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Rance Mulliniks]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Spring Training]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Trades]]></category>

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		<description><![CDATA[The 9 is a monthly list series that will take a look at interesting parts of Blue Jays history, with an attempt to throw in a fun fact or two for every entry. Why nine? Well, there are nine innings and nine players on the field, so it seemed like a proper baseball number. Without [&#8230;]]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><em>The 9 is a monthly list series that will take a look at interesting parts of Blue Jays history, with an attempt to throw in a fun fact or two for every entry. Why nine? Well, there are nine innings and nine players on the field, so it seemed like a proper baseball number. Without further ado, here is this month&#8217;s issue.</em></p>
<p>It&#8217;s finally time for spring training. All the free agents have signed, and the team is ready to do battle with the players they have in camp. There are a few position battles yet to be sorted out, but for the most part, the 2016 Toronto Blue Jays roster is fairly close to being set. Two fights still being waged recently had a new name thrown into the hat, as Rafael Soriano was signed to a minor league contract to compete for the last spot in the bullpen, and Domonic Brown was brought in to compete for the fourth outfield spot. For the last few years though, big Blue Jays transactions in spring are uncommon.  However, historically the Jays have added some pretty nice pieces to their team after camp had opened.  So with that in mind, let&#8217;s take at a look at the 9 most significant spring training transactions in Blue Jays history:</p>
<p><strong>9. March 30, 1993 &#8211; Darrin Jackson acquired from the San Diego Padres for Derek Bell and Stony Briggs</strong></p>
<p>After 1992 World Series hero and starting left fielder Candy Maldonado signed with the Chicago Cubs, the Toronto Blue Jays were left with a hole in left field going into the 1993 season.  24 year old Derek Bell had been the team&#8217;s 4th outfielder in 1992, but the team wasn&#8217;t confident he was was ready to step into a starting role on contending team, so they traded for &#8220;proven veteran&#8221; Darrin Jackson. He wasn&#8217;t flashy, or all that good, but Jackson had played 155 games in 1992 and hit 17 home runs.  He would start on opening day after beating out fellow veteran journeyman Darnell Coles,  but would play very poorly with the team, as is evident by looking at his slash line of .216/.250/.347.  He would appear in only 46 games with the Jays before being traded for Blue Jays great Tony Fernandez.  Derek Bell, on the other hand, would immediately become a starter in San Diego and go on to carve out a decent enough career for himself, even getting some MVP votes in the 1995 season. On its surface, this trade looks quite bad for the Jays, but since they were eventually able to flip Jackson for a rejuvenated Tony Fernandez &#8211; a key figure in the 1993 world series run &#8211; it&#8217;s hard to view the move as a total loss. That&#8217;s why it makes this list.</p>
<p><em>Fun Fact:</em> Derek Bell had been the Jays top prospect going into the 1989 season, and again prior to 1992. After one so-so season as the fourth outfielder, Toronto gave up on him and sent him packing. It was a fairly shocking trade at the time, and Bell turned out to be a much better player than Darrin Jackson in the end, which really surprised no one. However, the Jays viewed Bell as a lazy player, and it was a reputation that followed him his entire career. In 2002 he famously was released with 4.5 million left on his Pirates contract after leaving the team in spring training because they told him he had to battle for his starting position after putting up terrible numbers the previous year. He never played again.</p>
<p><strong>8. March 19, 1992 &#8211; Alfredo Griffin signs as a free agent</strong></p>
<p>34 year old light-hitting utility infielders are not normally thought of as meaningful pick-ups, but in much the same vein as the previous entry on this list, any transaction made by a championship team is likely to be looked upon favorably after the fact. In Griffin&#8217;s case, he&#8217;d already been a Blue Jay fan favorite for 6 seasons in the 1970s and 1980s. Manuel Lee had been the starting shortstop for 1991, but had not played very well. Eddie Zosky (remember him?) was slated to take over the starting spot for 1992, but after performing terribly in spring training at the plate and in the field, it was decided he needed to get more seasoning in the minors. That&#8217;s why Griffin was brought in to back-up Lee at short and Alomar at second. Griffin held that job for 2 seasons (backing up Dick Schofield/Tony Fernandez and Alomar in 1993) and performed the way you&#8217;d expect a light-hitting back-up middle infielder to perform; he held his own defensively when called upon, while not proving to be very effective at the plate. Griffin retired after 1993, with his last moment on a baseball field being standing on deck to watch Joe Carter&#8217;s World Series winning drive to left field clear the fence.</p>
<p><em>Fun Fact:</em> Let&#8217;s be honest, Griffin was kind of bad. Known for playing fairly decent defense, he was an historically terrible hitter, finishing his career with a .249/.285/.319 slash line. So he didn&#8217;t hit for average, didn&#8217;t walk, didn&#8217;t hit for any kind of power, yet somehow managed to play in 1962 games. For players who had at least 7000 plate appearances at the major league level, his OBP is dead last&#8230;of ALL-TIME (the .319 slugging is 3rd worst, the batting average 5th worse). Yet amazingly, he just kept getting starting starting jobs, even somehow managing to somehow block future all-star shortstops (Tony Fernandez, Walt Weiss, and Jose Offerman) at three different stops in his career.</p>
<p><strong>7. March 15, 1978 &#8211; Rick Bosetti Acquired from the St. Louis Cardinals for Tom Bruno.</strong></p>
<p>During the expansion season of 1977, no one Blue Jay played more than 60 games in center field.  Going into the following spring training, no one appeared poised to grab the job, so the Jays pulled the trigger on a trade for 24 year old Rick Bosetti, who had played center for parts of the previous two seasons in St. Louis. He would immediately be installed as the Blue Jays starter, a role which he held for two seasons. A decent fielding outfielder, Bosetti&#8217;s .645 OPS in 1978 was hardly ideal, but for a team that managed to win only 58 games, it was certainly good enough to keep him in the line-up every day. For a new franchise that was desperately seeking some level of stability, simply being able to take the field every day made Bosetti a valuable Blue Jay, and earned him a spot on this list. He would be out of baseball by 1982, and has served as the mayor of Redding, California and is currently running for the California District State Assembly.</p>
<p><em>Fun (or Just Plain Weird) Fact:</em>  Bosetti was kind of weird.  He is on record as stating that it&#8217;s his goal to urinate in every baseball stadium in America.  It makes sense for a visiting player to want to mark his territory in some way in an unfamiliar ballpark, but this seems to be taking it to the extreme.</p>
<p><strong>6. March 29, 1994 &#8211; Mike Huff acquired from the Chicago White Sox for Domingo Martinez</strong></p>
<p>Possibly the least recognizable name on this list for Blue Jays fans, Mike Huff nonetheless was incredible for the Toronto Blue Jays in 1994 after being acquired at the end of spring training. Left field had been a position of weakness for the Blue Jays for much of 1993, and with Rickey Henderson returning to Oakland, the Jays were looking to add depth for the 1994 season. For this reason, Toronto shipped out first baseman Domingo Martinez (who would never play another game in the major leagues) for the four-year veteran, Huff. He finished the strike-season with a .304/.392/.449 slash line, with his OPS of .842, third on team behind Paul Molitor and John Olerud, but <em>ahead </em>of Joe Carter and Roberto Alomar. Suffice it to say, the Blue Jays were happy they made this move, despite the incredible disappointment of the year, both in terms of team success and a league wide strike. Unfortunately, Huff couldn&#8217;t replicate the success of 1994, ultimately losing his starting spot part-way through 1995 to Shawn Green. He was out of baseball entirely by the end of the 1996 season, but for one half season in 1994, the Blue Jays had a very very good left-fielder by the name of Mike Huff.</p>
<p><em>Fun Fact:</em> Despite the fact he started 80 out of 115 games in 1994, Huff didn&#8217;t win the job out of spring training. In fact, the opening day left fielder was actually some prospect by the name of Carlos Delgado. Delgado would struggle a bit at the plate and a lot in the field, and was eventually sent down to make way for Huff to begin his improbable run. We all know Delgado as the great first baseman he eventually became, but many of us likely forgot that the two-time defending World Series champions opened the following season with Delgado on the team, and in the outfield.</p>
<p><strong>5. March 15th, 1978 &#8211; Rico Carty acquired from the Cleveland Indians for Dennis DeBarr</strong></p>
<p>Carty was acquired on the same day as Bosetti. 38 years old at the time, Carty was still considered a pretty good hitter, having played very well for the Indians the past few seasons. Playing exclusively as the DH, he would be the best hitter in the Jays line-up by a fair margin for most of 1978, slugging 20 home runs for the team in 104 games with an OPS of .850. For his part, Dennis DeBarr, who had played 14 games in middle relief for the Blue Jays in 1977, would never play in the majors again.</p>
<p><em>Fun Fact</em>: Rico Carty apparently liked Toronto. With him hitting as well as he was, the Blue Jays traded Carty to an Oakland team hoping to finish with a winning record (they wouldn&#8217;t; they played terrible ball over the last month and a half and finished well below .500). He clearly held no ill feelings, as he would sign with the Jays in the following offseason anyway, finishing his career with one more season as the Jays DH. Uniquely, he had played AAA ball for the Toronto Maple Leafs as part the the Brewers organization in 1963. There&#8217;s a legend that while a member of the Maple Leafs, Carty hit two home runs in the same at bat, hitting one after the umpire had called time, but followed it up by hitting another one on the next pitch anyway.</p>
<p><strong>4. April 6, 1995 &#8211; David Cone acquired from Kansas City Royals for Chris Stynes, David Sinnes and Tony Medrano.</strong></p>
<p>This could have easily been number 1 on this list, had Cone not have been traded to the Yankees right before the trade deadline of the same year, as he was almost certainly the best player the Blue Jays ever picked up in Spring Training. To be fair, it&#8217;s also a slight misnomer; Cone was certainly traded for during Spring Training, but since the offseason started with baseball still mired in a strike, there hadn&#8217;t really been any transactions made up until that point. 1994 was a terrible season for the Blue Jays, so hoping to make the best of their second chance to defend their 1993 title, the Jays struck a deal for the the 1994 Cy Young Award winner, Cone. Hopes were high, as this team still had the core nucleus of the 1993 World Series championship team; Roberto Alomar, Joe Carter, John Olerud, Devon White, Paul Molitor, Pat Hengten, Juan Guzman, Duane Ward and Mike Timlin were all still Blue Jays. Cone would prove to be every bit the player Toronto hoped for, as he would go 9-6 with a 3.38 ERA with the Blue Jays, but the high expectations were misguided, as the Blue Jays sat in 5th place. Eventually, they traded Cone to the wild-card bound Yankees, where he&#8217;d go on to help the Yankees to earn the first ever American League Wild Card and win game four of the World Series as a member of the Evil Empire.  But for half a season, the Jays were treated to some of the best pitching in all of baseball. Going the other way were Chris Stynes, who was rated the Blue Jays 9th best prospect at the time of the trade (he would go on to have a 10 year career, mostly as a back-up), Tony Medrano, a career minor leaguer, and David Sinnes who would spend only one year in the Royals organization before retiring from the game at age 24.</p>
<p><em>Fun Fact:</em>  Most of us remember the <em>other </em>time the Blue Jays traded for David Cone. In 1992 the Jays picked him in August (how the heck did he clear waivers?!) and went on to win the World Series. At the end of that season, Cone decided to sign with the Kansas City Royals for three years/$18 million, making him the highest paid pitcher in the game at the time.  In 2015, another former Cy Young winner named David made his way into our hearts in a mid-season trade, only to leave and become highest paid pitcher in the the game at the end of the season. The contract? seven years/217 million. What a difference 22 years makes in terms of player salaries. Wow.</p>
<p><strong>3. March 16, 2000 &#8211; aquired Brad Fullmer in a three team trade (David Sequi going to the Rangers/Lee Stevens going to the Expos)</strong></p>
<p>In a rare trade that featured both the Toronto Blue Jays and Montreal Expos, the Blue Jays traded for Brad Fullmer in March of 2000, the last year before Rogers would take over ownership of the team from Interbrew. The Texas Rangers sent power hitting but defensively flawed and strike-out prone Lee Stevens to a Montreal Expos team hoping to contend, the Blue Jays sent slick-fielding, good hitting David Segui and his $4.3 Million contract to the Rangers, and the Expos send a 25 year old, mostly unproven first baseman to the Blue Jays. Brad Fullmer was by far the youngest, cheapest, and least accomplished of the three players involved, but would go on to have the best 2000 season of them all, hitting 32 home-runs and posting an .898 OPS as the Blue Jays full time DH. The 2000 Blue Jays had seven players who hit 20 home-runs, including four who hit more than 30, so Fullmer&#8217;s season is kind of lost in the shuffle, but he was very, very good that year, and cost significantly less than the guy for whom he was traded. He would play one more season as the Jay&#8217;s DH before being traded to the Angels, but Fullmer&#8217;s 2000 season is one of the best seasons by a DH the team has ever had.</p>
<p><em>Fun Fact:</em> This trade was pretty interesting for a variety of reasons. For one, all three teams traded only a first baseman (although most reports indicate that Blue Jays sent cash Texas&#8217; way as well). For another, David Segui had only recently joined the Blue Jays when he was dealt. Only half a game back of Boston for the wild card spot in July of 1999, the Blue Jays traded for Segui to bolster an already pretty great offense. He would play well the rest of the way, the Jays would score a team record number of runs, but they would finish 11 games back of the Wild Card. He actually re-signed with the Blue Jays in January before they traded him in March.</p>
<p><strong>2. John Mayberry Sr. Aquired from the Kansas City Royals for cash on April 3rd, 1978.</strong></p>
<p>The third move made by the new Jays franchise for a starting position player during spring training of 1978, Mayberry was a former two-time All-Star who had finished second in MVP voting in 1975. His stock had dropped since then, as he finished both the 1976 and 1977 with batting averages in the .230s. In fact, his coach, Whitey Herzog, had actually blamed him for the team&#8217;s 1977 ALDS loss to the Yankees (he struck out a lot, made errors and even arrived late to a game), so the team didn&#8217;t really want to keep him. Waiting until almost the start of the season, the Blue Jays managed to pick Mayberry up for just cash, and immediately plugged him in as their starting first baseman. While he was never able to regain his former glory, Mayberry nonetheless proved a valuable player in the middle of the team&#8217;s order for the next few seasons, even managing to hit 30 home runs in 1980. He played five seasons in Toronto, and even spent some years as a coach in their system following his retirement.</p>
<p><em>Fun Fact:</em> Mayberry&#8217;s son, John Mayberry Jr. is currently in the Tigers training camp trying to crack the roster.  He has played for a variety of major league teams, including a short stint in Toronto in 2014, making John Mayberry and John Mayberry, the only father and son pairing to both suit up for the Blue Jays to this point (unless we count Prince Fielder&#8217;s apparently legendary adolescent batting practices in Toronto).</p>
<p><strong>1. Rance Mulliniks: acquired from the Kansas City Royals for Phil Huffman on March 25, 1982</strong></p>
<p>Rance Mulliniks was drafted as a shortstop, but had languished in the minors, spending only parts of five seasons in the big leagues. Already 25 and running out of options, the Blue Jays saw something they liked, picking him up for pitcher Phil Huffman. Huffman hadn&#8217;t played with the big league club since 1979, a year in which he lost 18 games due in large part to being fairly terrible, so he was easily expendable. Mulliniks was immediately moved to third base (a position occupied on his former team by some guy named George Brett) as the left-handed side of a platoon with Garth Iorg. . Rance immediately proved he could handle the position defensively, and his offense started to come around as well, especially his ability to get on base, as he would end his Jays career with an OBP of .365. The platoon would last until 1987, when Iorg retired and Mulliniks was moved to DH to make room for Kelly Gruber. Mulliniks played 11 years as a member of the Toronto Blue Jays, and in only one of them, his first year in 1982, did the Blue Jays have a losing season. He played an integral part on the first Blue Jays playoff team, and was able to gain a ring in his final season with the club in 1992. This is one reason why he&#8217;s first on this list. The other is that Phil Huffman never played a game for the Royals big league club, and was out of baseball by the end of 1985, having pitched only 4.2 innings since the trade. Basically, this ended up being possibly the most lopsided trade in the history of the Blue Jays (non-Jose Bautista for Robinzon Diaz division).</p>
<p><em>Fun Fact:</em>  Rance Mulliniks was slow his entire career, and obviously even slower late in his career. Of some surprise, then, is that he actually hit the first inside the park home room ever at the Skydome. On July 11, 1991, as a 35 year DH, Mulliniks &#8220;sprinted&#8221; around the bases after a drive off of Kevin Brown in a 2-0 victory for the first place, playoff bound Blue Jays over the Texas Rangers.  It would prove to be the last home-run of his career.</p>
<p>So, there you have it. Nine players that the Jays picked up late in the offseason, after the sounds of spring had already started.  You may have noticed that the most recent player on this list was acquired in the year 2000. It&#8217;s been a long time since the Jays have made any significant Spring Training moves, so hopefully Soriano, Brown, or even another addition over the next few weeks can make an appearance on a future issue of &#8220;The Nine&#8221; as key late moves for the eventual 2016 World Series champions.</p>
<p><em>Lead photo: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports</em></p>
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