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	<title>Toronto &#187; Toronto Blue Jays</title>
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		<title>Sean Reid-Foley Will Keep Competing</title>
		<link>http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/2018/08/23/sean-reid-foley-will-keep-competing/</link>
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		<pubDate>Thu, 23 Aug 2018 10:26:19 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Mike Passador]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Articles]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Featured]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Sean Reid-Foley]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Toronto Blue Jays]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/?p=16602</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[NEW YORK – Sean Reid-Foley is part of the youth movement that’s giving Blue Jays fans a reason to tune in down the stretch of a disappointing season. He&#8217;s one of the team’s best pitching prospects, and he has arrived appropriately adorned with a blue jay tattoo on his right forearm. (There’s also a cardinal, [&#8230;]]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>NEW YORK – Sean Reid-Foley is part of the youth movement that’s giving Blue Jays fans a reason to tune in down the stretch of a disappointing season. He&#8217;s one of the team’s best pitching prospects, and he has arrived appropriately adorned with a blue jay tattoo on his right forearm. (There’s also a cardinal, as those are his grandmother’s two favorite birds that she spots outside her house.)</p>
<p>Coming off a successful major league debut against the Royals with a line that read five innings, six hits, three runs, three walks and three strikeouts, Reid-Foley was kind enough to sit down for a quick chat with BP Toronto a day before his Saturday start against the Yankees.</p>
<p style="text-align: center">*****</p>
<p>When asked to describe himself as a pitcher, Reid-Foley opts for a meat and potatoes answer.</p>
<p>“I just want to go out every day and compete and give the team a chance to win and be a fun guy in the clubhouse, be a good teammate, have everyone’s back.”</p>
<p>It’s a respectable description, if a modest one. Reid-Foley’s repertoire is headlined by his fastball. He used it to good effect against the Royals and was <a href="https://baseballsavant.mlb.com/statcast_search?hfPT=FF%7CFT%7CFC%7CSI%7C&amp;hfAB=&amp;hfBBT=&amp;hfPR=&amp;hfZ=&amp;stadium=&amp;hfBBL=&amp;hfNewZones=&amp;hfGT=R%7C&amp;hfC=&amp;hfSea=2018%7C&amp;hfSit=&amp;player_type=pitcher&amp;hfOuts=&amp;opponent=&amp;pitcher_throws=&amp;batter_stands=&amp;hfSA=&amp;game_date_gt=2018-08-13&amp;game_date_lt=&amp;hfInfield=&amp;team=TOR&amp;position=&amp;hfOutfield=&amp;hfRO=&amp;home_road=&amp;hfFlag=&amp;hfPull=&amp;metric_1=&amp;hfInn=&amp;min_pitches=0&amp;min_results=0&amp;group_by=name&amp;sort_col=pitches&amp;player_event_sort=h_launch_speed&amp;sort_order=desc&amp;min_pas=0#results_pitchChart_name_656887_" target="_blank">willing to climb the ladder to challenge hitters</a>. The pitch topped out at a shade under 96 miles per hour and was responsible for seven of his 12 whiffs on the night. He also used it 57 times on that muggy Monday, combining to throw his curveball, slider and changeup 40 times.</p>
<p>While that’s his greatest strength by most accounts, Reid-Foley declined to put his arsenal in such stark terms.</p>
<p>“It’s night to night. You’ve got to adjust, it’s a game of adjustments. Whatever the night may be.”</p>
<p>That night called for fastballs. His changeup looked good in its limited usage, but on a night where Reid-Foley’s slider and curveball command were a little off, he primarily used his heater to get through the Royals lineup.</p>
<p style="text-align: center">*****</p>
<p>On Saturday, the Yankees were much less kind to the rookie, ambushing him for eight runs (six earned) on seven hits and three walks in 4 1/3 innings. It wasn&#8217;t the start that anyone was hoping to see from him, but Reid-Foley is all about competing and overcoming previous failures. That&#8217;s been the case <a href="https://soundcloud.com/jesse-goldberg-strassler-1/lugnuts-pitcher-sean-reid-foley-june-2nd" target="_blank">since his early years in pro ball</a>.</p>
<p style="text-align: center">*****</p>
<p>Looking at his minor league track record, a promising trend emerges: At every level where Reid-Foley has pitched in more than one season, his numbers the second time around are better by a comfortable margin.</p>
<p style="text-align: center"><a href="http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2018/08/SRF_Minors.jpg"><img class="aligncenter wp-image-16603 " src="http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2018/08/SRF_Minors.jpg" alt="SRF_Minors" width="599" height="196" /></a></p>
<p>When asked about some of the lessons he took from one year to the next in order to improve himself, Reid-Foley said that he’d solicit help from others to make sure he was on the right path.</p>
<p>“Just really learning about myself, learning more routines that will help me, really learning from other teammates, other starters, even bullpen guys and how they go about their business. Really just knowing how to go out and compete every day and be ready to take the ball every five days.”</p>
<p style="text-align: center"> *****</p>
<p>Competition was on the menu for most of the afternoon on Saturday, with the tone set in the first inning. The game began with a leadoff walk where Brett Gardner eventually won an eight-pitch battle that saw Reid-Foley working up and away. After striking out the menacing Giancarlo Stanton with a picture-perfect slider and retiring Aaron Hicks, Didi Gregorius strode to the plate. With his first pitch Reid-Foley dropped the shortstop to his knees with a 94 mph fastball that would’ve clipped his shin if not for some fancy footwork.</p>
<p>In the moment, it felt like Reid-Foley was going on the attack, forcing Gregorius to think about not getting so close to the plate, setting up more pitches high and away. Pitch two was a low fastball on the outside corner of the strike zone, while pitch three whizzed up and out of the zone off the plate, before Reid-Foley induced a swinging strike on a great changeup on pitch four. Pitch five was a fastball at the very top outer corner of the strike zone, decent pitch placement in a vacuum. But Danny Jansen had set up low and inside. Gregorius sent it over the wall in right center.</p>
<p style="text-align: center">*****</p>
<p>While the penchant for fighting back and overcoming lies mostly with Reid-Foley, he also noted some consistent themes imparted by the organization in his work through the various minor league levels.</p>
<p>“They definitely want you to be able to take care of yourself and always be putting yourself in the best situation whether it’s on the field or off the field – carry yourself as a professional. Number one obviously is be on time for everything, just little stuff like that that they really cement with you and you kind of live your life by it as you get older and you get around it a lot more.</p>
<p>“On the pitching side I’d say the fastball command – whenever you’re getting ahead of guys put them away or try to get three outs with your last pitches type of stuff – just little things. I mean obviously if it’s not your A-game that day it’s going to be a little tougher. Those are the days where you really have to trust what you’ve learned and be consistent. And especially have fun out there.”</p>
<p style="text-align: center">*****</p>
<p>Nobody other than the man himself can say whether he was trusting what he’d learned on Saturday, but it was not a day for Reid-Foley&#8217;s A-game, and he almost certainly wasn’t having fun. At least not until John Gibbons somehow elicited a chuckle on the mound before giving him the hook on a tough afternoon.</p>
<p>In the fourth inning, Giancarlo Stanton watched the same slider that struck him out in the first sail out of the zone for ball one. The second pitch, a fastball, fared no better. Reid-Foley tried to sneak a heater over the inside of the plate and paid dearly, as Stanton did what Stanton does. Miguel Andujar would later tag him on a changeup that started middle-middle, stayed there, and finished deep in the left field seats.</p>
<p>Beyond the hits he uncorked a pair of wild pitches, one of which would’ve been ticketed for the fifth row if not for the protective netting behind home plate. He was also undone by some poor play from his teammates, making him an true member of the 2018 Jays rotation. Danny Jansen airmailed a throw to second, allowing the runner to move to third and score on a sacrifice fly. Teoscar Hernandez got a poor read on a loping Stanton fly ball, dinging his pitcher with a single and a run allowed when Stanton would later come around to score. A Devon Travis throwing error would lead to another run later in the inning as well.</p>
<p>There was still some good to take away from the outing. Reid-Foley induced 10 swinging strikes and had some success in the game’s individual battles. He struck Gregorius out his second time up with a fastball that ran up and away. He had decent success working the top of the strike zone against lefties, aside from that one notable exception. The three batters who worked walks – Gardner, Aaron Hicks and Neil Walker – would be retired with ease in their subsequent trips to the plate, including strikeouts for Hicks and Walker. Reid-Foley, for all that might have gone wrong on Saturday, competed.</p>
<p style="text-align: center">*****</p>
<p>As for the rest of the season, Reid-Foley isn’t losing sight of the bigger picture. He’s got goals that go beyond fixing one crappy afternoon in New York.</p>
<p>“Just try to get better every day. I mean you can always learn up here, there’s so much more info that you have that you’re able to use. Don’t lose sight of what the actual dream is, of being a long-term big leaguer. And put myself and this organization in the best position coming into next year, finish out this year strong.”</p>
<p>Although it might have been cool for a rookie to see the various legends trotted out in Saturday’s pregame ceremony, it was otherwise a day to forget for the young pitcher. There are going to be better days ahead, where the games are fun and that long-term goal seems to be at his fingertips, if not within his grasp entirely. But there will also be more failures to learn from and struggles to overcome, as baseball tends to dole those out indiscriminately. If history suggests anything, though, it’s that Reid-Foley will keep competing &#8212; that he&#8217;ll find a way to learn from the present and come back stronger.</p>
<p><em>Lead Photo © Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports</em></p>
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		<title>Devon Travis Staying Healthy Amidst Ups and Downs</title>
		<link>http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/2018/08/21/devon-travis-staying-healthy-amidst-ups-and-downs/</link>
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		<pubDate>Tue, 21 Aug 2018 15:12:05 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Mike Passador]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Articles]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Featured]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Devon Travis]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Toronto Blue Jays]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/?p=16639</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[NEW YORK &#8212; Not much has gone right for the Blue Jays this season. They’ve gotten precious little from their supposed best players which is a real twisting of the knife given that the team spent its offseason putting together some quality depth. As good as those depth players may be, they just can’t replace top-level [&#8230;]]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>NEW YORK &#8212; Not much has gone right for the Blue Jays this season. They’ve gotten precious little from their supposed best players which is a real twisting of the knife given that the team spent its offseason putting together some quality depth. As good as those depth players may be, they just can’t replace top-level talent and tend to falter when they’re overexposed. And when almost all of your depth is overexposed, you end up out of the wild card race by the middle of July.</p>
<p>Surprisingly Devon Travis, the oft-injured second baseman, has been the healthiest he’s ever been this deep into an MLB season. The fact that he’s remained on the field in the one year that the Blue Jays have added reserve players that are capable of being more than black holes at second base has a twinge of irony to it, but both Travis and the team are happy that he’s still out on the field regularly.</p>
<p>BP Toronto caught up with Travis last weekend in New York to discuss his season, his health, and some of the year’s ups and downs.</p>
<p>The story on Travis is well told. He’s accrued a 3.6 WARP in his three-plus seasons in the league but has only played in 295 games. That’s out of 611 possible through Monday, August 20 which means Travis has only been on the field for 48 percent of Toronto’s regular season games since making his debut. He’s already played in 82 games this season, good for the second-most ever and he’s on track to beat his personal best of 101 barring another injury.</p>
<p>That said, it hasn’t been a breakthrough year. Travis has racked up -0.1 WARP so far this season and is posting the worst numbers of his career. Through 82 games he owns a slash line of .237/.284/.381 – all career-lows. There’s some poor BABIP at play but Travis has also seen some changes to his batted-ball profile. He’s hitting more ground balls than ever (51.2%) and fewer fly balls than ever (27.1%), meaning that he can’t really take advantage of a 14.8% HR/FB rate. Despite the down season portrayed by most metrics, Travis remains pleased with his recent work while acknowledging that it hasn’t been the smoothest of rides.</p>
<p><em>“It’s been a good year. Obviously off to a slow start but I’ve been able to rebound a little bit and kind of gather myself and get a nice little system of work back down and have something to build off of. It’s been nice. Yeah, not the start I was looking for but it’s been alright.”</em></p>
<p>Travis is right in that sense, as he has been a .259/.302/.404 hitter since June began and has managed to drive in 13 runs in 16 August games despite hitting just .235 for the month. Although they aren’t the numbers from his earlier seasons, he’s been getting better. He’s been getting some good luck with his batted-balls over that time, but he’s definitely going in the right direction.</p>
<blockquote><p>“Sometimes this game can give you things that sometimes there’s no explanation for – good and bad. Unfortunately for me the last couple of years it’s been bad.”</p></blockquote>
<p>Travis’ year began with an ugly slump as he hit just .148 over his first 18 games of the season, thanks in large part to a .190 BABIP. It resulted in him being demoted to Triple-A Buffalo. While it was expected that the team sent Travis down a level to find his game again, he says that wasn’t quite the case. There were no specific requests and no specific timeframe.</p>
<p><em>“They just said they wanted me to play more. That was really the bulk of it. Obviously I had gotten off to a slow start but, yeah, that’s all they said.”</em></p>
<p>Travis had appeared in 18 of the team’s 27 games when he was sent down on April 29, with Yangervis Solarte and Lourdes Gurriel impinging on his playing time with their strong play. The at-bats with the Bisons were regular but Travis didn’t have a great stint at AAA, hitting just .210/.234/.274 with only two extra-base hits in 62 plate appearances across 14 games. Did it help him get into some sort of rhythm or work out any kinks at the plate?</p>
<p><em>“I don’t think it hurt. Gave me a little bit of extra fire, that’s for sure. But I don’t think it hurt.”</em></p>
<p>So while his campaign still contained the usual speed bump, Travis has been able to stay off the DL (so far) for the first time in his Blue Jays career. His injury history is long for a player with fewer than four seasons of work.</p>
<p>A strong rookie season was derailed by a left shoulder injury that eventually required exploratory surgery in September. That November, Travis went under the knife again to correct Os acromiale, a condition where lack of ossification essentially left him with an accessory bone in his shoulder. The recovery process pushed his 2016 debut until the end of May. While he made it into the postseason that year he would sustain a right knee bone bruise in Game 1 of the ALDS and aggravate the injury in the first game of the ALCS. He underwent knee surgery to remove a small flap of cartilage in November. Travis was off to a nice start in 2017 but would be felled by another bone bruise in his right knee in early June which led to yet another surgery. It’s been rough.</p>
<p>He’s taken some time off because of a root canal, a sore knee, a sore foot and some rumored back discomfort around the trade deadline but has managed to avoid the DL so far in 2018. It’s something he attributes more to good fortune than any changes in his routine.</p>
<p><em>“Honestly man it’s luck. Sometimes this game can give you things that sometimes there’s no explanation for – good and bad. Unfortunately for me the last couple of years it’s been bad. Just staying on top of my work and having a little bit of good luck on my side.”</em></p>
<p>If that’s the case then those around the Blue Jays have to be pleased with his luck even as he tries to re-find his footing as a quality second baseman. After years of waiting for Travis to get out of the infirmary while Ryan Goins and Darwin Barney soaked up at-bats, this year it’s been the extras who have pushed Travis for work. Even with Solarte and Gurriel nursing their own injuries, the Blue Jays appeared to put the pressure on with their acquisition of Brandon Drury at the trade deadline. The glut of capable middle-infielders had many wondering whether or not another transaction to clear the logjam was on the way, and the fact that Travis did have to sit out a few games in the run up to July 31 didn’t slow the speculation. Currently it’s Richard Ureña who is picking up time at second base when Travis needs the day off.</p>
<p>With the addition of Drury, that made for four players capable of playing second that made their Blue Jays debut this season with Solarte, Gurriel, and Gift Ngoepe as the others. Although it might seem like those sorts of moves can leave one looking over their shoulder or affect the relationship between people battling for the same spot, Travis doesn’t see it that way.</p>
<p><em>“I don’t even think it’s really something that you think about too in depth, you know? Whenever your name is in that lineup you’ve got to go out there and make the most of your opportunity. Obviously it’s heightened a bit more when there are other guys that can play the same position as you but we’re all in this as a team and we all push each other to be as great as we can be, understanding that our goal every day is just to win ball games.”</em></p>
<p>The winning has been infrequent but Travis has been able to stay available while his main competitors are saddled with various injuries. For three seasons the story was that Travis would be a serious producer as long as he could stay on the field, only for him to struggle while dealing with minor ailments this time around. If Travis has turned the corner with his injury luck and can recapture his form, the Blue Jays will be able to boast one of the better second basemen in league. But that appears to be happening in piecemeal for the time being. As for the rest of the way, Travis’ top goal is one you might expect.</p>
<p><em>“Just stay healthy. That’s it. Just finish the season, put together a nice little streak with the boys, win some games and have a little fun.”</em></p>
<p><em>Lead Photo © Peter G. Aiken</em></p>
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		<title>Billy McKinney is Looking Forward to The Next Chapter of his Career</title>
		<link>http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/2018/08/20/billy-mckinney-is-looking-forward-to-his-next-chapter/</link>
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		<pubDate>Mon, 20 Aug 2018 14:00:09 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Mike Passador]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Articles]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Featured]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Billy McKinney]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[New York Yankees]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Toronto Blue Jays]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/?p=16599</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[NEW YORK &#8211; Billy McKinney made his MLB debut on March 30, 2018 at the Rogers Centre. On March 31, he crashed into the left field wall and sprained the AC joint in his left shoulder. It would be his last taste of the big leagues until Saturday afternoon. Fittingly, McKinney made his Blue Jays [&#8230;]]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>NEW YORK &#8211; Billy McKinney made his MLB debut on March 30, 2018 at the Rogers Centre. On March 31, he crashed into the left field wall and sprained the AC joint in his left shoulder. It would be his last taste of the big leagues until Saturday afternoon.</p>
<p>Fittingly, McKinney made his Blue Jays debut in New York, batting leadoff against his former team on a sunny Saturday where the Yankees honored their 1998 championship team. His placement atop the lineup card that day surprised him “a little bit” but he was thankful for the opportunity.</p>
<p>It’s been a winding road for the outfielder, a former first-round selection who had now been traded three times with just two major league games under his belt. While it means he hasn’t yet found a team that is willing to rule him untouchable, it also means that multiple teams have deemed him a player worth pinning hopes on in the future. That non-traditional path is something that McKinney recognizes, and his take was in keeping with his appreciative tone throughout the pregame media scrum.</p>
<p><em>“I guess I’ve kinda had a different path through my career, being traded a few times, but it’s been an honour to be a part of it and it’s really nice being a part of organizations that value me. So I’m really appreciative, especially to the Blue Jays for this opportunity, being here. Just looking forward to the new journey and the next chapter of my life.”</em></p>
<p>This trade did feel more unique than the previous two, when he was a prospect who would one day impact the big club’s plans. This time McKinney had earned a spot on the Opening Day roster. But after initial word of the deal it was old hat for a player who knows what it’s like to get dealt. When asked if things felt different this time with him having made his debut and been on the cusp of making the big leagues full-time, McKinney concurred.</p>
<p><em>“A little bit. Being so close to the big leagues makes it a little different because you can kind of taste it, so it’s pretty cool to be in that scenario but it’s the same aspect of packing up your stuff, meeting a new team, meeting the new guys and just getting to know your teammates. It’s all the same once it gets to that part.”</em></p>
<p>Given the Yankees’ heavy involvement in numerous trade deadline rumors it eventually dawned on McKinney that he could be part of a package going the other way, though it took some time for that feeling to settle in.</p>
<p><em>“I wasn’t thinking so but when I got scratched from one of our games in July I kind of had a feeling that day that it was going to happen and I got a text from (Brandon) Drury to ask if I’d heard anything, so that’s when I kind of had a feeling that it was going to happen.”</em></p>
<p>The Blue Jays are thought to have one long-term player currently in the outfield with Randal Grichuk, but there are question marks about the two remaining spots down the line. While Dwight Smith Jr., Anthony Alford and Dalton Pompey have all risen the ranks to suit up for the Jays in the past, it was the newcomer who got the call when Luke Maile was placed on the paternity list.</p>
<blockquote><p>“I guess I’ve kinda had a different path through my career, being traded a few times, but it’s been an honour to be a part of it and it’s really nice being a part of organizations that value me.”</p></blockquote>
<p>Although McKinney was the new kid on the block as he strolled into the clubhouse before Friday night’s game, Bisons bag in tow, it wasn’t all new. Sean Reid-Foley, Danny Jansen, and Tim Mayza were among the Jays to extend a welcome and greet a player that they’ve shared the field with over the last month. Having some semblance of continuity should help McKinney adjust to his new team.</p>
<p><em>“It makes it a little easier. They’ve helped me. I don’t want to be the new guy getting in the way so I just try to stay behind the scenes and get to know all the new guys. But yeah, having Danny and Sean here is really nice and they’re great players but also great people so it’s really been a joy getting to know them, being in the organization, and I’m looking forward to playing with them in the future.”</em></p>
<p>Because his time in Buffalo has coincided with the arrival of Vladimir Guerrero Jr., you can be sure the subject came up in conversation. McKinney says he’s been extremely impressed by watching Vlad but is equally impressed by how mature he is off the field, calling him “a great player and a great person” as well as a “guy you really want to root for.”</p>
<p>As for his own work, one thing that McKinney’s shown at the Triple-A level this year is increased power. In 2017 he’s hit 16 home runs in 306 plate appearances between Scranton and Buffalo after hitting double digits only twice in his other minor league stops: 10 in 276 plate appearances in Triple-A in 2017 and 10 in A+ as a member of the Athletics organization back in 2014. This year the power has been obvious, but it’s also come as his on-base numbers slide. Showcasing that pop is not something that McKinney has put more emphasis on, however.</p>
<p><em>“No. Me getting hurt early in the year it kind of felt like I lost my whole spring training that I worked for all offseason. In that aspect I felt like I was getting back to myself throughout the year and trying to get back to the player that I still am. I’ve had a few balls go out for me and that’s nice, I’ve also had some get caught so it’s all part of the game and I just try to hit the ball hard every day. If it goes out, great, if not it’s just part of it.”</em></p>
<p>McKinney is right to feel that way, as his walk and strikeout numbers have remained fairly consistent – it’s a batting average that’s coming in lower than ever before as a function of poor luck on batted balls which is driving the OBP dip. McKinney posted a .245 BABIP with the RailRiders in 2018 and is just at .222 in his brief stint with the Bisons after never posting a BABIP below .277 in any stop at the minor league level.</p>
<p>While the injuries and a bit of bad luck have slowed his momentum, McKinney has also used the opportunity to soak things in as an observer and get a sense of what it’s like for players to ply their craft at the highest level as he prepares to launch his own career as a professional at the highest level.</p>
<p><em>“You know, I sat around and watched for the last few years, just watching these guys, how they go about their business, how they work, and just how a true big leaguer goes about their business and I just try to emulate that as much as possible. I try to play my game obviously but going about things the right way is my goal.”</em></p>
<p>And for the record, McKinney has no ill will towards the Rogers Centre wall that put him on the DL and eventually landed him with the Jays.</p>
<p>“No, no, nah,” McKinney says through a light chuckle. “Like I said it holds a special place in my heart. Unfortunately I got hurt but thankfully I’m healthy now and I’m ready to roll and looking forward to the future.”</p>
<p>McKinney’s first day in a Blue Jays uniform was a mixed bag. He drew a walk but was picked off of first. He drove in two runs with a bases-loaded single but was thrown out at third trying to capitalize on an error in right field, though the misplay did allow a third run to score. It ended with a single in the ninth and more good than bad. His former standing as a top-flight prospect plus the potential for him to get significant playing time in September and beyond is something for Blue Jays fans to watch as they too look forward to the next chapter.</p>
<p><em>Lead Photo © Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports</em></p>
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		<title>Dwight Smith Jr. Has a Place on the Blue Jays in 2019</title>
		<link>http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/2018/06/22/dwight-smith-jr-has-a-place-on-the-blue-jays-in-2019/</link>
		<comments>http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/2018/06/22/dwight-smith-jr-has-a-place-on-the-blue-jays-in-2019/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 22 Jun 2018 10:32:21 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Brendan Panikkar]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Articles]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Dwight Smith Jr]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Toronto Blue Jays]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/?p=16142</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The Toronto Blue Jays outfield situation is going to look a heck of a lot better in 2019 compared to what it is right now. That&#8217;s not to say the current outfield is bad. But there are going to be some outfield spots opening up for 2019, and maybe even a trade or two this offseason. [&#8230;]]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>The Toronto Blue Jays outfield situation is going to look a heck of a lot better in 2019 compared to what it is right now. That&#8217;s not to say the current outfield is bad. But there are going to be some outfield spots opening up for 2019, and maybe even a trade or two this offseason.</p>
<p>The Blue Jays currently have the following outfielders on their 40-man roster:</p>
<ul>
<li>Anthony Alford</li>
<li>Curtis Granderson</li>
<li>Randal Grichuk</li>
<li>Teoscar Hernandez</li>
<li>Steve Pearce</li>
<li>Kevin Pillar</li>
<li>Dalton Pompey</li>
<li>Dwight Smith Jr.</li>
</ul>
<p>We&#8217;ve seen all eight of these outfielders for at least some duration during the 2018 season. Beyond this year, you can all but guarantee Granderson and Pearce are gone: The platoon got off to a great start, but it all kind of fell apart when Pearce injured his oblique. Dalton Pompey may remain in the organization for depth purposes, but his future with the Blue Jays is very much in doubt, especially following his most recent stint with the big club and eventual injury. Unfortunately for the Mississauga native, it&#8217;s unlikely he&#8217;ll factor into the Blue Jays&#8217; plans for much longer.</p>
<p>That leaves Alford, Grichuk, Hernandez, Pillar, and Smith Jr. as the Jays&#8217; outfielders heading into the offseason, barring any trades this deadline. If anyone is moved this deadline or offseason, it would likely be Pillar. Grichuk&#8217;s recent string of post-disabled list success has made Blue Jays fans realize that he is actually a good and useful outfielder. In an ideal world, Hernandez will get at-bats at designated hitter a few times a week given his poor defense, with some time spent in the outfield. Anthony Alford is the most blue-chip and exciting out of all the names listed above, and he will certainly get his shot. Given that Pillar will be arbitration eligible and will likely command a raise, one would hope the Blue Jays consider trading him this 0ff-season to open up a full-time spot for Alford.</p>
<p>But while there are many scenarios that may play out with the Jays&#8217; outfield situation over the remainder of 2018 and through the offseason, one thing is certain in my mind: Dwight Smith Jr. has shown enough in his very brief MLB career to have a spot on the 2019 Blue Jays roster, even if it&#8217;s in the role of the fourth outfielder.</p>
<p>Smith Jr. is a left-handed bat, something only Granderson and switch-hitter Pompey offer in the current crop of outfielders. He&#8217;s hit at every level the Blue Jays have placed him at, and since 2013 has never posted a wRC+ of less than 108. In 164 plate appearances with the Buffalo Bisons, Smith Jr. has a walk rate of 14.6 percent and a strikeout rate of only 15.2 percent. He has almost walked as much as he&#8217;s struck out in 2018, and that good eye has translated decently well to the major leagues with 8.8 percent walk rate in 34 MLB plate appearances.</p>
<p>There isn&#8217;t a whole lot of major league data to go off of for Smith Jr., as he&#8217;s only amassed 63 plate appearances, but the small sample size returns are great, with a line of .333/.397/.533. In 42 batted balls for his MLB career, Smith Jr. has a hard hit percentage of 25.6 percent. With Smith Jr.&#8217;s ability to see pitches quite well, not strike out a lot, and put the ball in play, he should at minimum make a good fourth outfielder in 2019.</p>
<p>Smith Jr. offers the Blue Jays versatility, too, as he could play all over the outfield, hits left-handed, and can run very well. None of the other outfield options heading into 2019 would be able to offer that combination. The one thing to be worried about in the small sample size is the completely unsustainable .429 BABIP. Still, given Smith Jr.&#8217;s performance in his brief time in the majors, and all the minor league data we have available to us, he should definitely figure into the Jays&#8217; outfield plans for 2019. Whether as a fourth outfielder or in a regular role, Dwight Smith Jr. can be a useful player for the Blue Jays moving forward into next season and beyond.</p>
<p><em>Lead Photo © Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports</em></p>
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		<title>Why Steve Pearce is the Odd Man Out</title>
		<link>http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/2018/01/16/why-steve-pearce-is-the-odd-man-out/</link>
		<comments>http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/2018/01/16/why-steve-pearce-is-the-odd-man-out/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 16 Jan 2018 11:43:37 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Mike Passador]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Articles]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Featured]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Steve Pearce]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Toronto Blue Jays]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/?p=14913</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[There’s work to be done in the outfield. We all know it. The Blue Jays have publicly said that they’re comfortable with the group that they currently have slotted into left, right and center, but there’s a big difference between being comfortable and being satisfied. The Jays have done well to shore up some of [&#8230;]]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>There’s work to be done in the outfield. We all know it. The Blue Jays have publicly said that they’re comfortable with the group that they currently have slotted into left, right and center, but there’s a big difference between being comfortable and being satisfied.</p>
<p>The Jays have done well to shore up some of their most pressing depth issues with the acquisitions of Aldemys Diaz and Yangervis Solarte, but the outfield still isn’t up to par for a team that insists on competing. As it stands, Kevin Pillar will man center barring an out-of-nowhere trade. Teoscar Hernandez seemed to have the inside track on the right field gig but the newly-signed Curtis Granderson might push him for playing time. Left holds more questions at the moment, and it’s a familiar feeling considering where we were all at a winter ago.</p>
<p>Steve Pearce was signed as some insurance around the infield and an occasional help in left. A little versatility, the ability to crush southpaws, and maybe he could catch some injury luck if he’s not an everyday player. Good, solid. Things rarely work out as planned, however, and he wound up forming a platoon with lefty Ezequiel Carrera. Pearce got hurt again, but still spent parts of 85 of his 92 games out in left field. Now, he finds himself in something resembling no man’s land.</p>
<p>Of course, this wasn’t how things were supposed to go. Justin Smoak showed up in All-Star form, meaning that he deservedly took all the at bats at first base. Kendrys Morales then soaked up all the opportunities at DH. Pearce feeling the squeeze is a perfectly fine tradeoff if Smoak is going to hit 30+ homers every year, but it’s certainly not how the team intended to use him. With both of those players entrenched in those same spots, Pearce has nowhere to go. Morales is unlikely to generate much interest on the trade market and Smoak won&#8217;t be going anywhere after last season. The only real spot for Pearce is back out in left field, and that&#8217;s if Granderson doesn&#8217;t seep into that spot too.</p>
<p>For simplicity&#8217;s sake, let&#8217;s say that Granderson is only up for consideration in right at the moment &#8212; Pearce&#8217;s roadblocks remain. While the Solarte acquisition is more about helping the infield, it doesn’t rule out some games in the outfield for the switch-hitting utility player, though it’s fair to question whether the team should go down that path. Solarte has played left at the Major League level before, but hadn’t taken a turn there since 2014 before playing there in the most recent World Baseball Classic. That doesn’t mean that the Jays won’t at least entertain the idea, however, and the team probably prefers him to Pearce overall if we’re talking about potential bench pieces. A guy who can play all over the diamond is of more use in a bench spot than someone who can really only man two positions and the DH.</p>
<p>It seems like a move of some sort is on the horizon. Pearce’s positions of strength look like redundancies on the current iteration of the roster, and the only spot for him happens to be the least-optimal place for him to play. That’s less than ideal in terms of asset management.</p>
<p>So with Pearce staring down the barrel of another year as a full-time left fielder and the team attempting to acquire for a potential challenger for that playing time, what are the options? And what are the Jays really trying to do this season?</p>
<p>If they’re genuine about trying to win, a Pearce/Carrera platoon likely will not cut it. There are plenty of other spots on this roster that are pretty high variance, and while this pair has a little higher floor than you might think, it’s just not going to boost the team to an overall level where they should be content with things as they stand. You’re counting on a lot of things going right if Pearce and Carrera are the ones holding left field down for a playoff team.</p>
<p>Ideally, another free agent reshuffles the deck in the outfield. A guy like Lorenzo Cain would be great but the Jays could find a second moderately priced, full-time outfielder on the free agent market without much trouble at this point in the offseason. Similarly, the team could be working the phones and nab an outfielder on the trade market. Not necessarily a world-beater, and not necessarily as a return for Pearce himself.</p>
<p>The Jays are lucky in the sense that Pearce is on a solid contract that allows them to look at a few different options. He’s owed $6.25 million this year before hitting free agency next winter. To make a long story short, he’s a solid player on an affordable deal; the type of player that can fit on just about any roster. Especially one that doesn’t happen to have major obstacles at first and DH. He’s not the most appealing player to trade, but he does have value and wouldn’t cause a payroll overhaul for whoever would acquire him. High-floor, low-ceiling guys can almost always find a team interested in their services.</p>
<p>Besides, what could the Jays reasonably do with Pearce right now, let alone if they acquire another full-time outfielder? After the Granderson signing, he&#8217;s now got another body to contend with for playing time. With Pearce, Carrera and Hernandez presumably battling for two spots, it&#8217;s worth asking where each player ranks as an organizational priority as well as which of the trio provides the least utility as a fourth outfielder. The Jays shouldn&#8217;t fill up four roster spots for two outfield platoons, so he might have a little breathing room from that perspective given Hernandez&#8217;s remaining options. Perhaps that was an impetus for the Granderson deal, as the veteran could allow Hernandez to work out any kinks in AAA if he doesn&#8217;t win a job in Dunedin. Even then, the clock is ticking and it&#8217;s clear that Hernandez is gunning for a full-time slot this year. Between his own limitations in the outfield and the guys ahead of him in the infield, Pearce would have incredibly limited opportunities for playing time while also clogging the bench. That doesn&#8217;t sound like a good fit for a front office that&#8217;s done well to increase the strength of the team&#8217;s depth.</p>
<p>On the other hand, keeping a Carrera/Pearce platoon wouldn&#8217;t be the end of the world if Hernandez does get sent down – as our own Dave Church pointed out, the duo <a title="Angles In The Outfield: How the Jays Can Survive With Their Current Outfield" href="http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/2018/01/08/angles-in-the-outfield-how-the-jays-could-survive-with-the-current-outfield/" target="_blank">nearly combined for enough WARP to put the Jays at a league-average level last season</a> – it’s that it would lock the team into a middling solution at a position where potential upgrades exist, with little room for tangible upgrades elsewhere. There’s nothing wrong with raising the team’s baseline marginally through low-risk moves, but in a year that’s already filled with uncertainties it just doesn’t move the needle much.</p>
<p>Holding onto Pearce, assuming no outside alternative swoops in to save the day, does prevent a number of prospects from being thrown to the wolves (as does the Granderson signing), and he’s not on a deal that can’t be moved midseason if someone lights up Buffalo and forces the team’s hand. I’ll also reiterate that he’s a solid player. But it also signals a concession; that the team wasn’t willing to sacrifice future flexibility, in terms of either dollars or prospects, to take this group to the next level in an abbreviated window. That might be (and probably is) the right call. But if so, then there are a number of other players who should be on the block. Whether or not the team moves on from Pearce won’t be the delineator between rebuilding and contention, but it will be revealing in the sense that we’ll know which outfield market prices the organization deems too rich for their blood.</p>
<p>A trade of Pearce would allow the team to clear a small logjam and provide them another avenue to pursue an upgrade, whether that’s in left or somewhere else on the roster. Standing pat just doesn’t jive with what’s been said about the team’s plans for the upcoming season. If you’re looking for someone to offload who won’t need a parting gift attached, Pearce looks like the guy.</p>
<p>I like Steve Pearce. He’s a good player on a good contract who can be a very helpful glue guy on a successful team. Right now, he and his contract give the team some options. This is far from a call to trade him, but something’s got to give. While some of it hinges on whether or not the Jays can pick an adequate outfielder off the free agent pile, it’s just hard to see how things don’t change given the overlapping skillsets currently on the roster.</p>
<p>Steve Pearce just appears to be the odd man out.</p>
<p><em>Lead Photo © Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports</em></p>
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		<title>CC Sabathia Rumours in the Context of the 2018 Offseason</title>
		<link>http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/2017/12/14/cc-sabathia-rumours-in-the-context-of-2018/</link>
		<comments>http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/2017/12/14/cc-sabathia-rumours-in-the-context-of-2018/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 14 Dec 2017 11:48:58 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Mike Passador]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Articles]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[CC Sabathia]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Toronto Blue Jays]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[winter meetings]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/?p=14618</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[With the Blue Jays floating mostly around the peripheries of the Winter Meetings as of Tuesday morning, fans were starved for action. Even beyond the Jays, all the forecasted moving and shaking that these meetings were supposed to bring has yet to go down. Perhaps it’s not all that surprising, considering how swiftly and drastically [&#8230;]]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>With the Blue Jays floating mostly around the peripheries of the Winter Meetings as of Tuesday morning, fans were starved for action. Even beyond the Jays, all the forecasted moving and shaking that these meetings were supposed to bring has yet to go down. Perhaps it’s not all that surprising, considering how swiftly and drastically the MLB landscape has changed over the last week or two. But still, it’d be nice to see the Jays get out of the “checking in” and “mystery team” territory, if nothing else than to get a sense of the organization’s direction for the near future.</p>
<p>Although if dropping $9 million annually on Tommy Hunter is what it takes to stay in the conversation, anonymity is pretty good.</p>
<p>The Jays are looking to add infielders, outfielders, relievers and some starting depth. Sources say they’ll be looking for Baseball Players. Pat Tabler weeps with joy. You can rank those needs in any way you like, but the Jays will have lots of irons in various fires this winter.</p>
<p>Yes, the company line all along has been that they’re competing in 2018. There’s too much talent on this roster to insist otherwise, even if the team’s odds of true, meaningful competition rest just on the borderlines of slim and none. Actively pursuing a rebuild seems like a path that’s pretty low on the front office’s list of desired outcomes at the moment, though their hands may be forced if the Jays occupy a basement spot approaching the trade deadline.</p>
<p>That sort of gradual acceptance is probably the easiest to sell to the casual fans that make up the bulk of any base, especially one with as many newcomers as this one. That’s not a shot at anybody – generally ‘<em>we tried and it didn’t quite work, so let’s change course</em>’ is better to hear for someone who isn’t deeply, foolishly emotionally invested like the rest of us suckers. ‘<em>We’re trading the players who just hooked you on baseball for guys who might pan out in a couple years, but stick around anyway</em>’ doesn’t quite have the same ring to it. The organization is loathe to waste their positive momentum from the past three years, and even though the situation is far more nuanced than that, that’s how it’s going to look.</p>
<p>Mark Shapiro’s Wednesday comments probably ruffled some feathers, but it does point to the idea that they’re committed to adding pieces to fix the team rather than start all over. “If we were running this team without a fan base, we probably would&#8217;ve started a rebuild a year ago. We&#8217;re trying to remain competitive for those fans.” Quite frankly, I admire the honesty, and I don’t think there are many GMs of fringe contenders or under the thumb of meddlesome ownership who wouldn’t say the same off the record.</p>
<p>So the word is competition, and whether that’s halfhearted or not that’s how this offseason will be framed. That’s what makes the late day news about the team meeting with CC Sabathia fairly compelling.</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">CC Sabathia met with Blue Jays on Tuesday</p>
<p>&mdash; George A. King III (@GeorgeAKingIII) <a href="https://twitter.com/GeorgeAKingIII/status/940769152503091201?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 13, 2017</a></p></blockquote>
<p><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p>
<p>While it’s a bit out of left field as far as rumors go, Sabathia makes some sense for the Jays. He checks a lot of boxes for a team that’s one foot in, one foot out that may need to adjust on the fly. On a larger scale, the fact that they&#8217;re interested in Sabathia gives us a little window into how the team may be approaching free agency in general.</p>
<h3>Familiarity</h3>
<p>Firstly, the most Sabathia-specific and likely the least important in any discussion, is the fact that the big southpaw is familiar with dealing in the AL East. Things will be a bit different now that the Yankees have the two best power hitters in the game, but he certainly knows how to navigate his way through the division’s hitter-friendly ballparks and has some knowledge about each team’s familiar faces. There’s also, of course, the Cleveland connection between Sabathia and the front office. Say what you will about that – I don’t think it’s particularly meaningful once real negotiations begin but it probably wouldn’t hurt at all.</p>
<h3>Performance</h3>
<p>Secondly, Sabathia has been pretty solid over the last two seasons. He’s collected 1.7 and 2.1 WAR over the last two years following three lackluster seasons where he looked to be running out of steam. That downswing was aided by injuries and BABIPs that were above .308 and pointed to a few tough breaks –his career BABIP is .294, and he was at .288 and .276 in 2016 and 2017. One other thing that might help him is the fact that his general decline coincides with a jump in HR/9. It’s fair to question whether that’s a cause or effect of his dropping numbers, but getting out of Yankee stadium for half of his starts might help out regardless. Sabathia has surrendered at least 1.0 HR/9 in six consecutive seasons after achieving the feat just twice in his first 11 campaigns, with only the 11<sup>th</sup> and final one coming in New York. He’s obviously a different pitcher now than he was 15 years ago and the Rogers Center isn’t exactly cavernous, but Sabathia still has something to give.</p>
<p>He’s still racking up strikeouts at a decent clip and has his ground ball rate hovering in the 50 percent neighborhood. His ERA might not dip under 4.00 again but Sabathia would be asked to fill one of the final rotation spots and makes for a solid addition in that regard.</p>
<h3>Durability</h3>
<p>Thirdly, Sabathia has emerged as a pretty consistent option. He’s made 29, 30 and 27 starts over his past three seasons and can probably be penciled in for around 165 innings. Last year, Sabathia’s 148.2 innings would’ve placed him third on the team behind Marcus Stroman and Marco Estrada. Obviously that was sort of a nightmare scenario, but pitching depth in the form of an adequate veteran who can eat innings is most definitely something that the Jays should be interested in. This is a team that handed starts to Mat Latos, Casey Lawrence, Cesar Valdez and Nick Tepesch, among others. No team is completely healthy but the Jays didn’t have any potential long term solutions from AAA that were ready to step up. Their lack of MLB caliber depth was exposed in a bad way, and someone like Sabathia would go a long way towards patching that hole in the immediate future.</p>
<h3>Flexibility</h3>
<p>Lastly, and most importantly, is the fact that Sabathia and his presumed contract would allow the Jays to embrace all outcomes. He’s going to someone on a moderate salary with not a lot of years attached that can either function as a back-end starter on a good team or someone to soak up work and bridge the gap from one core to the next.</p>
<p>It allows them to take their time with Joe Biagini, who is currently penciled in as the team’s fifth starter. He’s been asked to prepare himself for the rigors of starting, though beginning the year in Buffalo might do him some good. If the Jays really want to contend, taking Biagini out for a test drive isn’t probably where they want to be every fifth game to start the year. They could also stick him back in the bullpen, where he’s been pretty successful. That would also remove the need to pursue someone on the reliever market, though simply waiting for a few weeks will probably turn up some potential gems. For every J.P. Howell, there’s a Joe Smith.</p>
<p>If the Jays do become sellers at the trade deadline, J.A. Happ and Marco Estrada are likely to be popular names, if not Sabathia himself. Again, he’d provide tons of value in just making starts in that scenario. If a tear down becomes inevitable you can imagine that the organization wouldn’t want to rush any of their young pitchers into big league action. An additional reliable, major league pitcher means that the team can lose parts without throwing younger players to the wolves.</p>
<p>So while there are definitely more pressing needs at other spots and Sabathia may not be the eventual signing here, you can see why the Jays are pursuing someone vaguely Sabathia-shaped, in track record and role.</p>
<p>In short, why not? Toronto is going to be operating in this tier in free agency, hunting players who look like complementary pieces on a team in the playoff chase without attaching themselves to long term risk. The real impact additions here won&#8217;t be for the pitching staff and will probably cost a lot more, either in dollars or term or prospects, than the team is likely willing to spend. The CC types will help the team in one way or another without hamstringing them down the line. There’s plenty of variance here, between the team’s age, thin lineup and injury history, and any option that creates a little bit of certainty helps draw the map no matter what. Is it true competing? Maybe, if a bunch of things go right. Does it leave all options on the table? You bet, and that’s probably the safest choice right now from a combined business and baseball perspective.</p>
<p><em>Lead Photo: Brad Penner, USA TODAY Sports</em></p>
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		<title>Digital Media and a Baseball Team: An Interview with Mark Shapiro</title>
		<link>http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/2017/12/07/digital-media-and-a-baseball-team-an-interview-with-mark-shapiro/</link>
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		<pubDate>Thu, 07 Dec 2017 11:39:46 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Gideon Turk]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Articles]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Featured]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[mark shapiro]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Toronto Blue Jays]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/?p=14503</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[In the Rogers era of the Toronto Blue Jays, we have witnessed many different relationship styles between the front offices and the media. J.P. Ricciardi didn&#8217;t hold back, said way too much, and ended up having to apologize when he stepped over the line. Alex Anthopoulos and Paul Beeston were the opposite, as they could [&#8230;]]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>In the Rogers era of the Toronto Blue Jays, we have witnessed many different relationship styles between the front offices and the media. J.P. Ricciardi didn&#8217;t hold back, said way too much, and ended up having to apologize when he stepped over the line. Alex Anthopoulos and Paul Beeston were the opposite, as they could speak for hours and say nothing of substance, just using corporate talk to stall until interviews were over. Now, we have Mark Shapiro and Ross Atkins, two leaders who strike a balance between the two extremes, and are doing a petty good job of it. On that note, I spoke with Shapiro, the Blue Jays President &amp; CEO, earlier this week about his relationship with the media.</p>
<p>So much goes on behind the scenes of a Front Office that we as fans are not privy to, but that raises the question as to why the team will tell the media some things, but keep other items behind closed doors. Shapiro said there is a balance to strike between the two because there are multiple factors at play:</p>
<p><em>&#8220;I think the balance when it comes to media always kind of lies in the reality that it is important to communicate because the media is a conduit to your fans. Not communicating is not an option. Where the challenge lies is that you&#8217;re talking about human beings. And so people&#8217;s lives, people&#8217;s careers, their well being, their potential earnings, their security, their families, their health&#8230;so, you oftentimes [have] reasons for decisions [that] can&#8217;t be articulated, because if you did, you would be saying something hurtful. While we may have good reasons for decisions, the nature of the decisions can&#8217;t always be fully explained publicly. I think that leads to frustrations from the media themselves, as well as fans, but it is one of the biggest challenges. That, and the reality of the news cycle, and the competitive nature that is has created.&#8221;</em></p>
<p>I was intrigued by his answer because only just recently, it was announced that Andrew Tinnish, one of the club&#8217;s Assistant General Managers, would be leaving the team to go work for Alex Anthopoulos in Atlanta (he has since backed out of that deal for personal reasons and will remain with the Blue Jays). At the time the move was reported, the Blue Jays were silent. This was something that seemed odd to me because Tinnish has been with the club in a variety of roles since the early 2000&#8217;s. I imagined that the club would have released a comment. Instead, they were silent, both when his exit was reported and the subsequent return. Shapiro said that there isn&#8217;t a &#8220;steadfast rule&#8221; when it comes to making comments, rather that the situation is fluid:</p>
<p><em>&#8220;In that circumstance, you&#8217;d have to ask Ross [Atkins] probably, but I think that is more about the Braves and Andrew, so it is up to them to comment, then it is about us. As far as how that would pertain to us, I guess it would be an overarching belief [that every employee has a] right to choose whether you stay or go. [That is] something we have always believed in, whether here or in Cleveland. We believe in unequivocally granting permission and letting each individual make the decision that the culture here is one they want to be a part of, or whether the opportunities elsewhere are compelling.&#8221;</em></p>
<p>That&#8217;s good to hear and was made even more clear just hours after the interview when it was announced that George Poulis would be leaving the club to go to Atlanta. The club shouldn&#8217;t force employees to work for them if they would rather be elsewhere.</p>
<p>I was still curious about the decision-making process of deciding when to comment and when not to, so I asked Shapiro about how he decides whether it is right to comment when false reports are put out there. His answer sheds light on what we already know: the club doesn&#8217;t comment on speculation very often:</p>
<p><em>&#8220;When it comes to speculation, if you start denying speculation, then the one time you don&#8217;t deny it, the media is going to know you&#8217;re not telling the truth. That creates a challenge of it probably [being] better not to comment, regardless of even if it is false, unless you&#8217;re going to comment every time &#8211; and nobody has time to comment every time.&#8221;</em></p>
<p>In addition, Shapiro said that when he talks with writers who don&#8217;t cover baseball exclusively, sometimes he must &#8220;remain patient&#8221;, which is &#8220;not always easy.&#8221; Those same writers in Toronto are also the ones who will from time to time create false narratives out of thin air to serve their agenda, rather than basing their stories out of fact. I don&#8217;t understand why the Blue Jays still give credentials to writers like that, but Shapiro said it is their duty:</p>
<p><em>&#8220;We don&#8217;t have the luxury of making decisions on who has access based on what they write, regardless of how much we disagree with it, or how sound we feel the process [was] &#8211; in writing the article, or in reporting the information, or publishing it on the internet. If you&#8217;re in this business, criticism &#8211; at times even unfair criticism &#8211; is just part of what you have to accept. I think you just want to be right in the end, not necessarily along the way.&#8221;</em></p>
<p><span style="color: #000000">That cleared things up in my mind because every time I see columns from certain writers I wonder how the club can still in good faith give them credentials when there are people in the city who add more to the discourse who can&#8217;t get access. T</span>hat led me to ask about what Shapiro views as the difference between the &#8220;old media&#8221; and the &#8220;new media&#8221; online:</p>
<p><em>&#8220;An analogy I always use is that the emerging digital media, be it from blogs or websites, provide a little bit of the freedom of expression that Netflix and HBO provide to programming, as opposed to network television or even traditional movies. It&#8217;s a longer format. It provides for more storytelling and probably more in depth analysis, without editors being restrictive in space, or even directive in commentary. So I think you&#8217;ll find a little more broad range of attentiveness, and sometimes more thoughtful analysis as well.&#8221;</em></p>
<p>I took that as very complimentary to the work being done here at BP Toronto and other sites like ours on the web, and Shapiro later added that &#8220;a lot, not all, of the analysis [on new media sites] is thoughtful.&#8221; However, he added that what he thinks &#8220;is not constructive, is anonymous internet social media exchange,&#8221; because &#8220;that is clearly more mean spirited and the level of anonymity provides people with the access and ability to  put out some pretty appalling commentary.&#8221;</p>
<p>Shapiro clearly had opinions on the type of content published online nowadays, so I took the opportunity to ask him something I was particularly curious about: whether he felt that media outlets, even ones like BP Toronto, have any duty to consider the impact of revealing certain leaked stories. I know that in my time reporting stories over the last little while this is something I had to take into consideration, so I wanted to know how he felt about it:</p>
<p><em>&#8220;I think that would assume that I am capable of doing someone else&#8217;s job better than them. I would always [consider the impact]. That is who I am. Considering the potential personal impact is something that should be factored in. I understand that someone who is more black and white, and [someone considering] what the responsibility of reporting is, might not factor that in, and I would never purport to know how to do their jobs. [But] for me, I would probably factor that in, in any consideration, in any business.&#8221;</em></p>
<p>Lastly, I wanted to know why his regime has been so much more inclusive when it comes to the new media than Paul Beeston and Alex Anthopoulos were in their time in charge. The &#8220;blogging&#8221; landscape has completely changed in Toronto since Shapiro took over, and I didn&#8217;t think this was an accident. He said that it wasn&#8217;t &#8220;a strategic thought&#8221; to be more inclusive, rather he just enjoys the &#8220;exchanges&#8221; with our ilk:</p>
<p><em>&#8220;Look, in Cleveland, we hired guys from media. You guys are passionate about the game of baseball. You&#8217;re thinking about it in an in-depth way. There&#8217;s potential to learn from talking to you, I think, as well as reading [the work of online media]. I&#8217;m less likely to learn something from a traditional media that has to report on something in a very limited amount of space, with a narrative. I am just as likely to learn something from talking to them off the record, because of the amount of baseball they see, and the games they cover, [but] it&#8217;s just less likely than through what they write.&#8221;</em></p>
<p>That was pretty amazing to hear. I think all of us who write articles on the web are doing it for their own individual purpose, but to see that sometimes our subject actually takes notice of what we are publishing is good to hear. Some of the most intellectual baseball arguments and challenging of ideas that I have seen were published on sites like this one, so it&#8217;s excellent that Shapiro recognizes that he and his staff are able to learn from every possible opportunity.</p>
<p><em>Lead Photo: Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports</em></p>
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		<title>Blue Jays Acquire SS Aledmys Diaz from Cardinals</title>
		<link>http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/2017/12/01/blue-jays-acquire-aledmys-diaz-from-cardinals/</link>
		<comments>http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/2017/12/01/blue-jays-acquire-aledmys-diaz-from-cardinals/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 02 Dec 2017 02:30:51 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Richard Lee-Sam]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Articles]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Aledmys Diaz]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[blue jays]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[J.B. Woodman]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Ryan Goins]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[St.Louis Cardinals]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Toronto Blue Jays]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/?p=14434</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Moments after non-tendering Ryan Goins, the Toronto Blue Jays traded for St. Louis Cardinals shortstop Aledmys Diaz. Heading to St Louis is 22-year-old outfield prospect J.B. Woodman. The former second round pick was ranked the 28th best Jays prospect by MLB.com for the 2016 NL All Star. With the 27-year-old Diaz, Toronto now has insurance [&#8230;]]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Moments after <a href="http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/2017/12/01/blue-jays-acquire-aledmys-diaz-from-cardinals/" title="Blue Jays acquire Aledmys Diaz from Cardinals" target="_blank">non-tendering Ryan Goins</a>, the Toronto Blue Jays traded for St. Louis Cardinals shortstop Aledmys Diaz.</p>
<p>Heading to St Louis is 22-year-old outfield prospect J.B. Woodman. The former second round pick was ranked the 28th best Jays prospect by MLB.com for the 2016 NL All Star.</p>
<p>With the 27-year-old Diaz, Toronto now has insurance for the oft-injured middle infielders Devon Travis and Troy Tulowitzki, but with much better offensive upside than Ryan Goins. Diaz made the All Star team in 2016, hitting .300/.369/.510, but didn&#8217;t follow that up well, being sent down. Diaz finished the year slashing .259/.290/.392 for St. Louis. That line would still be an improvement for the backup infield spot, however. </p>
<p>Woodman played 96 games with the Lansing Lugnuts, hitting .240/.320/.378.</p>
<p>With Diaz, the Blue Jays probably see no further need to go out and pay more than they should for utility player Eduardo Nunez or any other infielder. After being sent down, Diaz was versatile, playing 55 innings at second base and 78 innings at third base for the Memphis Redbirds of the PCL. He also short, third, left, and second in the big leagues. While he is below-average defensively at shortstop, he is adequate at all the other spots and just good enough to handle SS on a temporary basis without killing you. </p>
<p>In the end, if Diaz is anything like he was in 2016, this is a steal for the Blue Jays and a truly viable starter. If not, it still looks pretty good as a backup and occasional fill-in. Diaz was pretty rough at the plate this year, but anybody looks good compared to Ryan Goins. If, as expected (and as his minor league track record suggests), Diaz&#8217; production is somewhere in between his 2016 and 2017 levels, he&#8217;s a great pickup and will be a very suitable third middle infielder behind Troy Tulowitzki and Devon Travis.</p>
<p>Nice move.<br />
&nbsp;<br />
Lead photo © Scott Kane-USA TODAY Sports</p>
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		<title>Dear Shohei: A Recruitment Letter from the Toronto Blue Jays</title>
		<link>http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/2017/11/27/dear-shohei-a-recruitment-letter-from-the-toronto-blue-jays/</link>
		<comments>http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/2017/11/27/dear-shohei-a-recruitment-letter-from-the-toronto-blue-jays/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 27 Nov 2017 11:54:51 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Gideon Turk]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Articles]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Featured]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Shohei Otani]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Toronto Blue Jays]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/?p=14328</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Over the weekend, Shohei Otani&#8217;s agent sent a memo to all 30 MLB teams requesting they write an explanatory letter detailing why their club is a fit for the Japanese superstar. It should include the following specifics:  “An evaluation of Shohei’s talent as a pitcher and/or a hitter; “Player development, medical, training and player performance philosophies and capabilities; “Major [&#8230;]]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><i>Over the weekend, Shohei Otani&#8217;s agent <a href="http://www.bostonherald.com/sports/red_sox/2017/11/shohei_ohtanis_agent_asks_mlb_teams_for_written_answers" target="_blank">sent a memo to all 30 MLB teams</a> requesting they write an explanatory letter detailing why their club is a fit for the Ja</i><em>panese superstar. It should include the following specifics: </em></p>
<ol>
<li><em>“An evaluation of Shohei’s talent as a pitcher and/or a hitter;</em></li>
<li><em>“Player development, medical, training and player performance philosophies and capabilities;</em></li>
<li><em>“Major League, Minor League, and Spring Training facilities;</em></li>
<li><em>“Resources for Shohei’s cultural assimilation;</em></li>
<li><em>“A detailed plan for integrating Shohei into the organization;</em></li>
<li><em>“Why the city and franchise are a desirable place to play;</em></li>
<li><em>“Relevant marketplace characteristics.”</em></li>
</ol>
<p><i>If we were writing the letter from the Blue Jays&#8217; organization, this is what it would look like: </i></p>
<p>Dear Shohei,</p>
<p>We have been watching you play for the Nippon Ham Fighters for the past two years, sending a rotating group of 8-10 scouts and executives over to Japan to view your 26 starts during that time period. Over the course of our time watching you, we have fallen in love with your seemingly endless talent. Our scouts have said they have never seen anything like you on the diamond and that if you were a free agent on the open market, we&#8217;d feel comfortable giving you a contract matching the likes of Giancarlo Stanton &#8211; You&#8217;re worth it.</p>
<p>Since overhauling our front office after the 2015 season, we have made a concerted effort to change how our organization handles player development and the off-field ways we can improve player performance. We have a dedicated staff that includes sports psychologists, nutritionists, and High Performance personnel, focused on squeezing every drop of talent out of our players and helping them take full advantage of their capabilities. Our medical staff is collecting new data every day to study how our players breakdown and recover and we believe that full integration and streamlining of our services will allow us to service our player&#8217;s health much better going forward, ensuring everybody stays on the field playing at the top of their game for as long as possible.</p>
<p>In the 2016 amateur draft, one of our current top prospects told other teams not to draft him, for he would not sign with them, as he, Bo Bichette, was only interested in playing for the Blue Jays. When asked why, he said it was because the Blue Jays would allow him to be himself &#8211; without forcing him to change his quirky swing &#8211; and our player development philosophy was the best he could see in the league.</p>
<p>Our facilities in Toronto are as good as they get across baseball. Our clubhouse is spacious, our training facilities have recently been upgraded or are in the process of being renovated to feature everything our high performance department requests, and our artificial turf playing surface at the Rogers Centre will allow you to play your home games on the same surface you are used to playing on at the Sapporo Domo in Hokkaido.</p>
<p>Our minor league facilities are also top-notch, though because you will be coming straight to Toronto to play with the big league club, they are not as much as a concern. What will matter to you is our facilities in Dunedin, Florida, our Spring Training home since our inception. We have just entered an agreement with the City of Dunedin to renovate both of our properties in the city, which will be ready for the Spring of 2019. We are planning to make our Dunedin complex a year-round base for our club, and thus we will be designing and renovating the buildings to fit with all the newest technological advances in baseball conditioning and training as our high performance department requests. We feel you are a franchise talent and will be with us for many years to come, and thus if you would like anything particular in our new Spring Training home, you are invited to request we add it to our renovation plans.</p>
<p>When it comes to your cultural assimilation, there is no organization better positioned to help you than the Blue Jays. Toronto is a diverse, cultural mosaic, composed of many different groups that come together to help each other live the best lives possible. The Japanese community in Toronto is rich and flourishing, with more than 20,000 Japanese-Canadians living in Toronto as of 2010. One of our fanbases&#8217; most beloved icons is Munenori Kawasaki, who had a child in Toronto during his time with the club and will forever be in our Canadian hearts. If you haven&#8217;t yet spoken to him about his time in Toronto, we strongly suggest you reach out to him &#8211; He will only have words of praise for our city and franchise.</p>
<p>As for how you&#8217;d fit on the roster, at the current moment we could use help at the front of the rotation and in the corner outfield spots and believe you are the perfect talent to help us get back to the playoffs like we did in 2015 and 2016. If you sign here, we will give you the Opening Day start as our ace, and will work with you to develop a healthy plan that allows you to play as a batter, both in the field and as a designated hitter, on days which you are not starting on the mound. We believe you have the talent to become the first successful two-way player in America in a very long time and we are committed to seeing your dream become a reality.</p>
<p>The city is also a cultural beacon, with night life that is unrivaled in North America, featuring great restaurants, bars, museums, theaters, sporting events, and parks. You will feel right at home with us, and will never lack for an activity in one of the world&#8217;s most vibrant cities. However, the greatest thing about playing for the Blue Jays is that you are not just playing for a city, but as all of our alumni can attest to, you are playing for an entire country. All of Canada will have your back when you get on the mound and you step into the batter&#8217;s box. In 2016 and 2017 we led the American League in attendance and all of baseball in TV viewership, averaging over 900,000 and 700,000 viewers per game respectively, and your arrival will only further fan interest in the team. Toronto loves baseball when the product is enjoyable and you will be the most important figure in the city for six to seven months a year if you join our organization.</p>
<p>As a foreigner coming to a new country, we cannot promise there will not be challenges. There always are when it comes to moving across the world to start a new job with new faces and new people, but we will provide help for you in every way imaginable to make your transition as smooth as possible. We want the best for you and feel that Toronto, and Canada, is the place where you will be able to have the brightest baseball career in the future and the happiest life when you&#8217;re not playing baseball. You will have every available option you could possibly want, and we will work tirelessly to make sure you are happy.</p>
<p>Lastly, Donald Trump is President of the United States of America, but we are based in Canada.</p>
<p>Sincerely,</p>
<p>The Toronto Blue Jays Baseball Club</p>
<p><em>Lead photo via <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/prayitnophotography/8216501686/in/photolist-dw4HGb-ywqQc2-xKE9tG-6fTwHf-eifFLG-sNPNaX-gfWQ2x-XpvCe8-cW4vj7-fbjw6K-9sM6f2-oBoiiP-PYqu8-yHrg8M-xN3BEp-LCMrmt-77D7RU-FdB7Bo-7597Rk-MWWNo2-UQgKtc-UvK8x5-vb6k6C-rvJtfH-XHxB6t-aNXcwt-oBE4mT-QPnioT-ahDF4o-rNbsE8-j1Wt4b-86st4N-WfsK8N-8pVwEf-AM2bRv-6M7qMD-o19rUb-LCMqN4-bmn6HE-tvYtF2-u5pukn-eqwPhF-7pZJk8-gvJWe6-SnwsFF-QZZG25-wHE7E9-8ThP4w-PuRw2T-Dfie3a" target="_blank">Prayitno</a> </em><em>and licensed under <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/" target="_blank">CC BY-SA 2.0</a>.</em></p>
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		<title>Ross Atkins’ Hands are Tied by Shohei Ohtani</title>
		<link>http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/2017/11/23/ross-atkins-hands-are-tied-by-shohei-ohtani/</link>
		<comments>http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/2017/11/23/ross-atkins-hands-are-tied-by-shohei-ohtani/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 23 Nov 2017 11:39:14 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Tammy Rainey]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Articles]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Shohei Ohtani]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Shohei Otani]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Toronto Blue Jays]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/?p=14305</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Thanks to a last minute agreement between the NPB and the MLBPA, reports are now out there that Shohei Ohtani will finally be posted on Dec 2. This will come as a considerable relief to all the teams who consider themselves candidates to sign him, not least among them the Toronto Blue Jays. In fact, [&#8230;]]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Thanks to a last minute agreement between the NPB and the MLBPA, reports are now out there that Shohei Ohtani will finally be posted on Dec 2. This will come as a considerable relief to all the teams who consider themselves candidates to sign him, not least among them the Toronto Blue Jays.</p>
<p>In fact, probably the single biggest factor in Toronto&#8217;s offseason plans is whether or not they can sign Ohtani, not just because he&#8217;s a generational talent but because of the implications he brings for further roster construction. This is compounded by the fact that they are a team with a legitimate clear path to offering what he seems to want most: a chance to be a legitimate two-way player.</p>
<p>Certainly, this is true of teams other than Toronto. This is a big reason why off-season player movement has been almost unprecedentedly slow this year. And while one would not necessarily expect it to be a problem for all teams, it&#8217;s absolutely a problem that goes beyond the teams who legitimately are in play for Ohtani.</p>
<p>Let me illustrate. As far as we know, Baltimore doesn&#8217;t give any indication of being in tough on Ohtani, but they have spawned some rumors that they covet some of the more desirable free agent starting pitchers. Let&#8217;s take Lance Lynn for example.</p>
<p>From Baltimore&#8217;s point of view, the play would be &#8220;while the other monied teams are looking at japan, let&#8217;s swoop in and grab Lance Lynn&#8221; but the problem with that is that Lynn&#8217;s agent is certainly telling him &#8220;be patient, only one team can sign Ohtani and a lot of those failed suitors will check in on you after he signs.&#8221; Thus, the O&#8217;s are blocked from making the big move that might be the linchpin of their offseason as well. Even teams not specifically looking for a SP or OF as their primary acquisition may well be hedging their use of available finances against those sub-markets. Likewise players at other positions may be waiting to entertain the idea of signing until they see how Ohtani contenders shift their plans in the wake of not signing him.</p>
<p>Because of this concern, it limits any potential moves in the mean time. Let&#8217;s explore why for a moment. The Blue Jays, by consensus, have three primary needs and two secondary needs to fill. They would like to add an impact SP (Ross Atkins has said &#8220;an impact pitcher either as a starter or in the bullpen&#8221; but let&#8217;s be real, your major impact is going to come in the rotation) both as an upgrade and not a little bit because they cannot be fully confident Aaron Sanchez will be back to his 2016 health. They absolutely must add an above average (at least) outfielder, preferably in a corner. They also really need a productive player as a reserve capable of stepping in at SS or 2B without hurting the team. Beyond that, if the dollars allow, a better reserve catcher and some veteran depth in the bullpen are concerns.</p>
<p>In regards to the opening for a starting pitcher, the potential availability of Ohtani freezes any impact move. If you add him, there&#8217;s no obvious role for any other high profile FA you might be thinking of. You can neither spend crazy money on Yu Darvish or try and score an upside play like Tyler Chatwood if you can&#8217;t offer them a regular turn in the rotation. Literally the minute Ohtani signs with anyone, GMs across the league will be blowing up the phones of the agents representing their preferred option. But for now, everyone waits (unless they recognize themselves to not be a player for Ohtani in any case).</p>
<p>Similarly, the Jays can&#8217;t make a serious move for corner outfielder without considering Ohtani. While it&#8217;s not a complete blockade &#8211; the acquired OF could always move to the other corner, but the situation does pose a consideration in terms of allocation of resources. Would Toronto, or any team, be as anxious to add &#8211; for example &#8211; Andrew McCutchen at a cost of prospects and over $14 million if they have already added a bat like Ohtani&#8217;s to their team. To be clear, I certainly would, and I&#8217;m inclined to think that the Jays would. But I&#8217;m not at all sure that they would do so BEFORE knowing whether Ohtani is on their roster.</p>
<p>The other positions are not as directly impacted, but the major impact is money. To return to the McCutchen example: the money he makes comes off the top of their available budget for off-season acquisitions so whether or not you could, again for example, go offer Eduardo Nunez, his likely eight million dollars a year is tied to whether or not you&#8217;ve spent that money in the outfield &#8211; money you are much more likely to have spent if Ohtani didn&#8217;t sign with the team.</p>
<p>The same basic principle applies with the catcher need and the potential for adding relievers. The team can field a good bullpen with current personnel, but in a situation where you are going for it, more depth can only help. There are opportunities to add a lefty (the bigger need) and a right-handed veteran and in so doing push kids like Ramirez, Dermody, and Mayza back to Buffalo for crucial depth. There is solid depth in the relief market and the Jays probably wouldn&#8217;t act early in any case, but if they did have a particular target they wanted to scoop the market on, then again they&#8217;d have to make a calculation on the price point depending on the aforementioned implications.</p>
<p>SImply put, the entire team budget situation changes by getting an impact player like Ohtani for the league mimimum.</p>
<p>I should also acknowledge the possibility that I&#8217;m being too optimistic here. While the Jays management has been nothing but consistent in asserting that they are fully committed to contending in 2018, it&#8217;s not completely impossible that this is an example of messaging which is relevant to luring Ohtani. There&#8217;s a non-zero possibility that if/when he signs elsewhere, the front office re-evaluates the opportunity cost of making that run and decides that the long term interests of the club are better served by some strategic subtraction rather than ramping up.</p>
<p>In any case, now that the Ohtani Sweepstakes has a certain date, those of us trying to get warm by the hot stove can start to feel the heat in earnest.</p>
<p><i>Lead Photo © Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports</i></p>
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