Blue Jays mailbag: George Springer returns … and readers spin fresh trade pitches

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 22/06/2021 (1609 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

It’s the return of George Springer Take 2, or is it Take 3? The three-time all-star was gone for so long it’s difficult to remember.

Almost seven weeks after Springer’s short-lived return to the field, the Blue Jays’ $150-million man returned to the starting nine for Tuesday night’s game against the Marlins in Miami. He’s reportedly healthy again after being medically cleared from the quad and oblique injuries that sidelined him for all but four of the Jays’ 75 games this season.

Springer started in centre and batted fifth in the series opener. The leadoff position still belongs to Marcus Semien, at least for now, but manager Charlie Montoyo remains open to the idea of putting Springer back into his former spot once he’s up to speed.

From the Jays’ perspective, Springer’s return could not happen soon enough. The Jays have been reeling in recent weeks following a slew of late-inning meltdowns. Until help is found for the pitching staff, the Jays are going to have to slug their way to victories as they attempt to hang around the fringes of post-season contention. Springer’s plus bat should at least make that mission a bit more doable.

The Jays are hoping this is the first of many dominoes to fall. Injured relievers Ryan Borucki and Julian Merryweather could be back by early July. Right-hander Thomas Hatch is in the middle of a rehab assignment and could soon become another option for the struggling ’pen. Things are finally starting to look up for the Jays, at least until the next injury inevitably pops up.

It’s time for another edition of the weekly Blue Jays mailbag. As a friendly reminder, questions should be submitted to bluejaysmailbag@gmail.com or by reaching out to me on Twitter @GregorChisholm. The following questions have been edited for length and grammar:

The Jays are in a difficult position as the season gets past the two-months mark: injuries, bullpen collapses and very competitive wildcard spots. Do you think the Jays would plan all-in for 2022 and trade Marcus Semien and Robbie Ray?

— Chris, Simcoe, ON

As things currently stand, no I don’t, but that can change over the next month because the Jays are in a precarious spot. They entered Tuesday seven games back of Boston for first in the division and six back of Tampa Bay for the second wild card. That’s not an insurmountable deficit, but the margin for error is small, and if the Jays continue to lose ground they will have no choice but to explore the market for their veterans on expiring deals. If the Jays remain within striking distance, upgrades should be expected. Ownership made a big investment over the winter and while the future remains bright, this group isn’t going to concede the current season until it has to. Keep in mind that Semien and Ray are eligible to receive qualifying offers, so any return would have to be better than a high compensatory pick in next year’s draft.

What is the summer looking like for covering the team now that we are moving into later phases of reopenings? Will there be a move to have more reporters travelling with the teams and to get the network broadcasts crews back in the stadiums?

— Derek Andrews, Fredericton, N.B.

As of last week, fully vaccinated members of the media are permitted to be on the field during batting practice. For that approximately 90-minute window, social distancing protocols are eased and reporters are allowed to conduct one-on-one interviews while wearing a mask. Things are slowly starting to return to normal, but the media still doesn’t have clubhouse access and scrums will continue over Zoom. That will impact the quality of the coverage because clubhouse access is when reporters have a lot of their casual and off-the-record conversations with players, which provides context that otherwise might be missing. For those of us in Canada, the situation is more challenging because of the border. Once media members receive their second dose and the border opens for fully vaccinated Canadians, I’d expect to see more reporters making the trip to Buffalo, but clubhouse access likely won’t return until 2022. While I can’t speak to Sportsnet’s plans for in-person broadcasts, it’s probably safe to assume the radio simulcast is here to stay for the duration of 2021.

Is Gabriel Moreno the highest-ceiling catcher the Jays have ever had?

— @cherps_862

I guess that depends on your definition of catcher. Carlos Delgado spent the first six years of his minor-league career behind the plate, which is one more than Moreno currently has. The teenager in me also wants to scream Josh Phelps because there was a time when I thought he was destined for great things. But neither of those guys spent their big-league careers behind the plate. Travis d’Arnaud is one name that comes to mind. There was a ton of hype surrounding his arrival in the Roy Halladay trade, but even though he’s gone on to have a solid career, he never became the star people envisioned. Hype doesn’t always lead to production, but I’ve been following Moreno for a while and have long thought he was the best prospect among the Jays’ group of young catchers. He’s off to an incredible start at Double-A, and as far as I’m concerned he’s the catcher of the future. Highest ceiling? Probably, but that label still seems premature.

I can’t be the only Jays fan who is suffering through these alleged “home games” at Sahlen Field in Buffalo. There has been NO fan support to the point that when our best hitters are at bat with two outs and two strikes, the crowd is on their feet cheering for the Yankees to strike the Jays out! I can’t stand it! Bring our boys home where they belong!

— Graham, Newmarket, ON

This reminds me of the ill-fated Buffalo Bills series in Toronto that ran from 2008 to 2013. Back then, NFL fans in the city weren’t happy with the high cost of tickets, the price of concessions and the laws surrounding tailgating. Bills fans south of the border were enraged that they gave up a regular-season home game to a city that didn’t even cheer for their team. The exact same thing is happening now, only in reverse. Buffalo fans are angry about prices, while Jays fans are ticked off about the lack of support. I’m not sure what people were expecting. Ownership will gouge fans for every penny, especially in a year when they are dealing with a significant drop in revenue at the gate. New York fans aren’t going to stop rooting for the teams they grew up loving simply because the Jays came to town. None of this is ideal, but it’s not like there were a lot of great alternatives.

Can you help us make sense of the Jays’ pitching woes? I am puzzled that we sit in June realizing only now that pitching is their Achilles heel. If you look at the pitching staff and the relievers at the outset of this season, Ross Atkins should not be surprised at this current state. Seems to me that the Jays built a house without a roof and now seem to be surprised that it’s raining. Do you foresee any positive outcomes for the bullpen this year, or will we have to wait until next season before the pitching situation is addressed?

— Clinton, Chesley, ON

I can’t say that I agree with your assessment that we’re only realizing now that pitching is the Jays’ Achilles heel. This was predicted many months ago by most members of the media, and based on the off-season calls for the Jays to make another trade or signing I would suggest it was obvious to most fans as well. From my perspective, the question wasn’t whether the Jays had enough pitching to make a deep run. It was obvious they didn’t. The better question was whether they had enough pitching to hang around until upgrades could be found at the deadline. The only real surprise is that the bullpen — thanks in large part to injuries — became a much bigger issue than the rotation. The Jays would have seen some of this coming as well. The front office looked at last year’s pool of free agents and determined it would be easier to upgrade the roster on offence than on the mound. Passing on Taijuan Walker has proven to be a mistake but, as touched on previously in this space, there weren’t a lot of viable alternatives for the rotation. The Jays will have to find a way through this by adding at the deadline and again this off-season.

We all know that the Jays need to overpay to get any relief pitching help this far in advance of the trade deadline, but given that they know what they currently have, what stops them from taking a chance on more veteran free agents (like they are with John Axford), guys like Jeff Samardzija or Anibal Sanchez? They may be up there in age and may turn out to be just as ineffective, but it seems like trying something other than what currently isn’t working at all would be more logical.

— Mark, Etobicoke

We’ve reached the stage of the season where the Jays’ hopes for the bullpen are being pinned on guys who are semi-retired and coming off seasons in which they both posted ERAs well over six. Things are obviously going well. Look, my natural reaction here is to be dismissive, but the results have been so bad for the bullpen that it’s worth trying just about anything, so I can’t hate on this too much. Even so, Sanchez isn’t the guy you want throwing in middle relief. He’s a finesse pitcher who has given up a lot of homers over the last two years and doesn’t have the kind of swing-and-miss stuff teams want to see late in games. Samardzija’s stuff could play up better, but there hasn’t been any recent speculation about his return, so his playing days are likely over. Either way, the goal should be to aim higher than this, but I can’t knock your creativity.

Do you see a big contract extension for Vladdy soon?

— Darrell, Elmsdale N.S.

If an extension is going to happen within the next calendar year it likely wouldn’t be until late January or early February, once the Jays are done with the bulk of their off-season shopping. With four years of control remaining after 2021, this remains a backburner issue because there are more pressing concerns that must be dealt with first. Will an extension happen before next season? I guess we’ll see, but this might be the year to consider it because Guerrero likely will only become more difficult to sign the closer he gets to free agency. I admittedly view this differently than most. I’d wait until he has two years left and then make a strong offer, knowing in the back of my mind that Rogers has the resources to sign him even if he chooses to pursue free agency. The only way I’d assume the health risk that comes with any long-term deal right now is if Guerrero gives up some money on the back end, and I don’t know why he would because he’s headed for a monster payday.

What are your thoughts on a trade with Washington for Daniel Hudson and Josh Bell, maybe even Max Scherzer? Bell’s switch hitting would be a strong back up to Vladdy?

— Jaymie Paisley, Eastern Passage, N.S.

Winnipeg Free Press | Newsletter

Paul Samyn | Editor's Note

Wednesdays

A weekly dispatch from the head of the Free Press newsroom.

Sign up for Paul Samyn | Editor's Note

Sign Up

I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement.

My thoughts on the Nationals remain unchanged from last week. Earlier this month, Washington was being written off and seemed destined for a rebuild. Since then, they’ve gone 8-2 to pull within five games of first place. This team still has a chance to become a buyer at the deadline, just like they were two years ago following a similarly sluggish start. These trade talks aren’t possible right now, but sure Hudson would be a nice fit. I’m less sold on Bell, who just seems like another version of Rowdy Tellez.

I can’t help but notice that Santiago Espinal has been doing a solid job getting on base. As of Monday, his .337 OBP is just slightly below Cavan Biggio’s. Can you see a situation in which third base becomes a full-time platoon? Biggio can also play the outfield, so they would likely keep him for the versatility. But I am not sure you can just send Espinal down to Triple-A when a roster spot is needed.

— Mark, Midtown

Mailbag readers are infatuated with Espinal. I receive as many questions about him as I do about everything else. I love his defensive versatility and his plate discipline remains an asset, but I’m still firmly in the camp that believes Biggio has the better bat, and I would say the same about the struggling Lourdes Gurriel Jr. To me, Espinal is the perfect utility infielder, and I could see him carving out a role with this team for years to come but not in a full-time capacity. I just don’t think a .278 average and .337 OBP is sustainable for him, but hey, I’ve been wrong plenty of times before.

Gregor Chisholm is a Toronto-based baseball columnist for the Star. Follow him on Twitter: @GregorChisholm or reach him via email: gchisholm@thestar.ca