Just twelve days after Alex Anthopoulos acquired Troy Tulowitzki and LaTroy Hawkins from the Colorado Rockies, kicking off a historic trade deadline that also brought David Price, Mark Lowe and Ben Revere to Toronto, the surging Blue Jays are 9-1 in their last ten games and have cut the Yankees’ lead in the AL East from eight games to just two and a half. Currently, they sit a half game up on the Angels for the first wild card spot, with the AL East division lead in their sights. Though there are still fifty games remaining in the regular season, the new-look Blue Jays appear poised to make their first playoff appearance in twenty-two years.
Deadline Details
In Sportsnet’s The Wake-Up Call, Arden Zwelling provides readers with a timeline of Alex Anthopoulos’ week beginning on Monday, July 27th, detailing “the events of the next six days [that] may come to define Anthopoulos’ tenure with the Blue Jays.” The first major decision was to offer first-round draft pick Jeff Hoffman for Troy Tulowitzki. Acquiring arguably the best shortstop in baseball meant having to tell the Jays’ current shortstop, Jose Reyes, that he had been traded. “Reyes was quiet and emotional, not saying much other than asking who he had been traded for. Anthopoulos, ever vigilant about leaks, wouldn’t say. Reyes got up to leave, giving everyone in the room a hug before he went.” It should be made clear, however, that the Tulowitzki deal wasn’t really a trade deadline deal, as Anthopoulos had been trying to acquire him for years – he would have completed the deal at any point in time, but happened to be able to do so close to the July 31st trade deadline. Of course, Anthopoulos wasn’t done yet. Late on Wednesday night, Anthopoulos struck a deal with the Tigers to bring the coveted David Price to Toronto. Unable to call President Paul Beeston, an exhausted Anthopoulos thought he’d try to rest, “but Anthopoulos was too antsy, too charged up by the prospect of acquiring a pitcher who checked all of his boxes – an ace with AL East experience, a well-earned reputation as a good clubhouse presence and with no health concerns – to sleep.” Once he finally got hold of Beeston, ownership quickly signed off on the deal. “He then called Gibbons to tell him he’d landed Toronto’s first ace since Roy Halladay. ‘I was like, you’re screwing with me or something,’ Gibbons says. ‘I didn’t believe it.’”
Jonah Keri of Grantland provides additional details about that fateful Wednesday night that brought David Price to Toronto. “Amid the craziest trade deadline week for any team this year – and one of the craziest for any team, ever – Alex Anthopoulos can pinpoint the one moment when he nearly lost his nerve.” Anthopoulos, of course, had already made one blockbuster deal earlier in the week, despite the fact that there were “a lot of people within [the] organization who were not comfortable with the idea of getting Tulo and wanted starting pitching instead.” After getting Tulo, who had been on his mind for a decade, Anthopoulos set out to acquire a pitcher. “A source close to the Jays said they dangled much of that remaining prospect capital on pitchers with multiple years of controllable service time – specifically strikeout fiend Carlos Carrasco and his incredibly team-friendly contract and Tyson Ross and his gigantic ground ball rate.” But, Anthopoulos wanted Price, and reached out to Tigers’ GM Dave Dombrowski. Says Anthopoulos: “Both of our teams are around .500, so I didn’t want to offend him. But I’d been reading all these Internet reports, so called him and asked if he could please keep me in mind if he was planning to trade Price. He said he would.” The rest, as they say, is history.
One of the more interesting aspects of the trade deadline are the deals that did not get done. Bob Elliott of the Toronto Sun informs readers that one such deal would have made the acquisition of David Price impossible. On Wednesday, July 29th, Anthopoulos discussed a trade for Mike Leake from the Reds, but was unable to reach an agreement. Later that night, he received the call from Dave Dombrowski that led to the acquisition of Price. Anthopoulos also had discussions with the A’s about Ben Zobrist, but the A’s wanted Matt Boyd, who, of course, ended up as part of the deal for Price. Conversations with White Sox for Samardzija and the Reds for Johnny Cueto went nowhere, as the both teams wanted Marcus Stroman in return. Instead, the Jays managed to get Price, Tulowitzki, Hawkins, Leake and Revere while retaining Stroman, Aaron Sanchez, Roberto Osuna, Dalton Pompey, and Anthony Alford – a feat which, frankly, should secure Anthopoulos’ job as General Manager at least for next season.
In less than a week, the Blue Jays turned over twenty percent of its twenty-five man roster. Some fans and media members believe that the eleven pitching prospects who were dealt away was too high of a price to pay. But to lament the loss of prospects that may or may not ever reach their potential ignores the very real fact that this Blue Jays team – with Jose Bautista’s and Edwin Encarnacion’s team-friendly contracts, and Josh Donaldson, Troy Tulowitzki and Russell Martin being in their prime – is built to win now. Wasting a golden opportunity – namely, the historic offense and less-than-stellar AL East – would have egregiously irresponsible to the players, fans and shareholders alike. There have been so few opportunities for this team to put together something magical on the field, to ignite this fan base and set the baseball world on fire. As someone who remembers the 1992 and 1993 teams, I can attest to the fact that not since the days of WAMCO have I experienced an atmosphere at the Dome like the one on Sunday in that insane game against the Royals (which, in my opinion, was even more electric than David Price’s first start). The players who work their butts off and the fans who support them deserved an “all-in” approach to the trade deadline. And, as Shi Davidi points out, “the Blue Jays have a core that can remain largely intact for the next few years, creating the potential for an extended window of contention, though some deft touches will be needed.” So, do not look back or worry about the future – just strap yourself in and enjoy the ride. This opportunity may not come around for another twenty-two years once this window closes.
Trade Deadline: The Aftermath
Amid the renewed excitement amongst the fan base, Daniel Otis of the Toronto Star notes that interest in Blue Jays is on the rise, reflected on both ticket websites and store shelves. “After Monday’s game, home attendance was at 1.594,933 for the year – nearly fifty thousand higher than at the same point last year.” Sportsnet is also reporting an increase in viewership, reporting that “Saturday’s game against Kansas City was its second-most watched game this season with 1.08 million viewers, behind only the home opener.” The latest acquisitions have proved to be quite popular, with more than 700 Tulowitzki T-shirts and 300 Tulowitzki jerseys being sold last Saturday and Sunday, “making it one of the biggest overall merchandise weekends in the club’s history.” The players are enjoying the fan frenzy, with David Price saying of his first start with the Blue Jays “That was the best atmosphere I’ve ever been in. I’ve pitched in really big games…but that atmosphere (Monday) that takes the cake.” And while not every game can be a sell-out like it was last weekend (and will be again next weekend when the Yankees are in town), there is no doubt that not only will attendance spike, but there is a charge in the air at the Dome. As Andrew Stoeten points out: “No need to dwell on the particulars, Toronto. No need to overthink it. On a Tuesday night against the Minnesota Twins you could feel it, if you wanted to.”
Lost amongst the excitement and positivity, perhaps, was Dave Cameron’s article on Fangraphs about the Blue Jays potentially irrelevant advantage. Although Fangraphs’ rest-of-season forecast projects the Jays to have the best winning percentage in the American League for the remainder of the season, Cameron cautions that adding Tulowitzki to the lineup could result in “diminishing returns based on line-up construction.” Of concern: “Specifically, if you line up too many hitters from one side of the plate, your team will probably score fewer runs than would be expected based solely on overall batting lines, as a line-up that is dominated by same-handed hitters becomes a fairly easy match-up for the opposing manager in more important situations. And while Troy Tulowitzki is an excellent player, the Blue Jays line-up may now lean heavily to the right side.” Before adding Tulowitzki, the Blue Jays had the 7th best wRC+ (107) versus right-handed pitchers, but were first in wRC+ (130) versus left-handed pitchers. The concern is that, during the postseason, opposing managers may be able to line up their pitchers to exploit the Blue Jays’ righty-dominated lineup. “In the regular season, where teams really can’t do too much to manipulate their rotation to exploit match-ups, Blue Jays hitters have only had the platoon advantage in 45% of their at-bats, the second lowest total in the American League.” However, “with more frequent off-days and higher stakes on the outcome of each at-bat, managers are simply able to play the match-ups more frequently in October than they do in the regular season.” With the exception of the Houston Astros, all other likely AL playoff opponents “can essentially throw a never-ending string of right-handers at the Blue Jays in October,” which may mean that the Jays offense will suffer somewhat in the postseason. The good news is that, in order to actually make the postseason, the Jays are going to have to beat some very good right-handed pitchers. The other positive is that the Jays’ pitching has improved tremendously since the All-Star Break and, as a result, they may not have to rely on the offense bludgeoning their opponents each and every night.
A Bit About the Bullpen
Not to be overlooked is the tremendous improvement in the once-beleaguered bullpen. In the second half of the season, the Jays’ relievers have posted a collective 1.83 ERA, second best in the entire league, with a 8.24 K/9, 1.53 BB/0 and 0.92 HR/9 in 59.0 innings pitched. Nick Ashbourne of Sportsnet writes that “it hasn’t taken very long for the Toronto Blue Jays to patch up a leaky bullpen. Since July 25 the team has added Aaron Sanchez, LaTroy Hawkins, and Mark Lowe to their relief core, stabilizing a unit that had serious struggles holding leads earlier in the year.” Specifically, the performance of Liam Hendriks has helped to solidify the bullpen. Despite little being expected of him, Hendriks is tied for fourth amongst relievers in WAR. How has he done it? “The most important change has been the velocity he’s gained on his fastball…By transitioning to the bullpen, Hendriks has become a power pitcher overnight. The way his improved fastball is affecting batters is observable…It’s not a surprise he’s getting opposing hitters to swing and miss on the pitch more than ever before…It follows that he’s allowing a lower batting average against on his fastball as well.” In addition, Hendriks has “shown an impressive diving slider that has made him a nightmare for right-handed hitters.”
This is good news for a bullpen that, for much of the season, had only one really reliable reliever – Roberto Osuna. The rookie closer is “nothing but iron and steel on the mound,” exuding a laid-back confidence that belies his youth. The twenty-year old bullpen anchor became the youngest player to ever record a save in extra innings when he did so Friday against the Yankees. His 97 mph fastball, 82 mph change up and 88 mph slider – not to mention the ice water in his veins – have earned him the reputation of being filthy on the mound. And, though he likely could be in the rotation next season, Osuna tells John Lott of the National Post “If I’m a setup man or just a reliever, I’m feeling pretty comfortable with that, because I like to pitch almost every day. I don’t want to be a starter and pitch every fifth day.” This speaks volumes about a guy who just wants to go out every day and help his team win.
One final thing about the bullpen:
So soon. pic.twitter.com/9mmGyhXFuX
— Marcus Stroman (@MStrooo6) August 6, 2015
Stroman is hoping to defy the odds and return to the mound this season after suffering a torn anterior cruciate ligament, something that only Yovani Gallardo has been able to do, with little success. Stroman has thrown off flat ground and is tentatively scheduled to begin a rehab assignment on August 21st. If all goes well, he could return to the Blue Jays in September, as a reliever, which would further bolster the bullpen in time for the final stretch leading up to the postseason. He still has a long road ahead of him, but Stroman is a different kind of cat, as evidenced by his tweets and Snap Chat stories. His work ethic and determination are unparalleled, and while it is imperative that he not be rushed back lest he suffer a career-altering setback, it is clear that if there is anyone who can defy the odds, it’s one Mr. Marcus Stroman.
Quick Hits:
In what is now being referred to as the “Tulo Effect” the Blue Jays are now 10-0 with Troy Tulowitzki in the starting lineup. On Thursday, he made history, becoming the first Blue Jay to win each of his first eight starts with the club.
Tulo spoke about his new club and role as lead-off hitter. When asked about Josh Donaldson, Tulo said “Getting a chance to play with him is special, and hopefully it’s for a long time.” I feel the same way, Tulo. Same.
What kind of a guy is David Price? The kind of guy who refers to fans as his “fellow Canadians.” The kind of guy who partakes in pirate-themed parades and boards planes wearing an inner tube and goggles. The kind of guy you fall in love with.
LaTroy Hawkins – who dials up 96mph on the radar gun at 42 years of age – became the 13th pitcher in major league history to earn a save against all 30 teams. Think about that for a second.
Speaking of LaTroy Hawkins, check out this Introduction to #LaTroyFacts, a compilation of some of the best baseball, non-baseball and pure fiction “facts” about the Jays’ new reliever.
Kevin Pillar made yet another “eye-popping” catch this week, covering 72.7 feet in the outfield, culminating in a Superman-esque dive.
Josh Donaldson does his hair. Need I say more?
And, finally. ICYMI: Check out this We the North: Blue Jays Edition video assembled by @ewingscott. It’ll give you chills!
As always, if you’d like to see something included in Caught in the Rundown, please leave a message in the comments or reach out to Jenn on Twitter.
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