Blue Jays mailbag: Stripling has been better than Matz, but versatility, injury could push him to the bullpen

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This article was published 10/08/2021 (1564 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Blue Jays entered their series against the Los Angeles Angels on a roll but if there’s one downside to their recent win streak it’s that they didn’t gain as much ground as one might think following a recent 10-2 stretch.

On July 29, the Jays were 10 1/2 games back of Boston for first place in the American League East. That deficit now sits at just three games entering play on Tuesday, but the Red Sox no longer have the division lead; instead they’re holding onto one of the two wild card spots.

That’s a huge amount of a progress to make in less than two weeks, but elsewhere the picture isn’t quite as rosy. The Jays gained just one game on the Yankees over the same span, 1 1/2 games on Oakland and one game on division-leading Tampa Bay.

The ascent to a spot in the post-season isn’t going to happen overnight. The Jays’ strong play will have to continue for the rest of this month and deep into September. The 2015 team made going on a tear in the second half look easy, but the competition is much tougher this time around and it’s going to be a grind for the rising Jays.

With the push for the post-season in full swing, it’s time for another edition of the weekly Blue Jays mailbag. As a friendly reminder, questions for future editions 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:

Steven Matz or Ross Stripling? Who keeps starting and who moves to the bullpen? — Rob, Kitchener

This decision likely was made for the Jays when Stripling left Tuesday night’s start with what the club called left abdominal discomfort. The severity wasn’t immediately known, but even a minor setback will probably cost him a shot at hanging onto his starting job.

That’s unfortunate because Stripling had been pitching well enough to earn a spot. Over his last 14 appearances, including Tuesday night, Stripling had a 3.29 ERA. Matz posted a 4.04 over the same span after he allowed four runs, two earned, in Tuesday’s Game 1 loss.

Either way, Stripling’s versatility worked against him in this head-to-head competition. Stripling has spent most of his career as a swingman, he’s comfortable pitching out of the bullpen and enjoyed success in that role before, whereas Matz has five career relief appearances versus 126 starts. That meant, even before Tuesday’s events, there was an expectation Stripling would be sent to the bullpen.

If Matz and Stripling continue to pitch well, do you think the team will keep a six-man rotation? It certainly seems Hyun-Jin Ryu prefers to go every sixth day and it helps manage Alek Manoah’s innings as well. —Adrian, Richmond Hill

We’ll have to wait until the Jays provide an update on Stripling’s status later this week before knowing if this is still a possibility, but it’s worth noting Charlie Montoyo said during the recent homestand that he didn’t like calling his group a six-man rotation because the stated plan has been to cut that number by one after Tuesday’s twin bill.

The Jays have a pair of off-days coming up on next week’s schedule, so in the short term there was no doubt someone was getting pushed to the bullpen. But it’s reasonable enough to expect a spot start or two later in the year. There’s a stretch of 13 games in 13 days in late August and another stretch of 14 games in 13 days in early-to-mid September when an extra arm could be used.

This reminds me of 2016 when Drew Hutchison occasionally filled whenever the rotation needed extra rest. The Jays are playing catch-up in the standings and are going to prioritize their top starters, but even if everyone stays healthy they’re going to need a couple of outings from the sixth man. If Stripling isn’t healthy enough, the role could instead go to Thomas Hatch. As you alluded to, Ryu is the one to watch with a 2.54 ERA in eight starts on five days’ rest versus a 3.86 ERA in nine starts on four.

My question is about Cavan Biggio. What do you think is his future with this team? He went from being the everyday second baseman and leadoff man to third base, then right field and sometimes first base, plus was dropped from leadoff man to the bottom of the order. Could that be the source of his troubles this year? Maybe they can trade him for more pitching, as you can never have enough of that. — Mort, New Jersey

Defensively, I don’t think the Jays did Biggio any favours by moving him all over the place, but I don’t think his struggles at the plate have anything to do with where he was batting. A lingering back and neck issue could provide a partial explanation while it’s entirely possible these are just the normal ups and downs of a player still trying to figure it out at the sport’s highest level.

At this point, I think it’s obvious the Jays would move Biggio and an outfielder like Lourdes Gurriel Jr. for top pitching in a heartbeat. The Jays have some excess depth on the active roster, which is a good thing, but it does make some guys more tradable than others even if it doesn’t mean they are being aggressively shopped.

I know Biggio has a lot of critics, but I still think he can be a very solid player at this level. His ability to work deep counts and get on base at a high clip (.364 in 2019 and .375 in 2020) is a perfect fit for this lineup. The Jays shouldn’t give him away for a lottery ticket pitcher, but if it’s as part of a package for an impact piece, then of course, they have to listen.

The Blue Jays vs. the Angels in April was postponed and the Yankees vs. the Angels in July was postponed. All three clubs had the new New York vs. Los Angeles date (Aug. 16) as an off day. How do the Yankees keep their home game, and the Blue Jays lose theirs and have to play it in LA? — Bill from Edinburgh, living in Mississauga

The Jays would have been able to voice their opinion on this when their game was postponed in April and there were a lot more reasons to prefer a doubleheader in Anaheim over hosting a game on Aug. 16. For context, the Jays are playing in Seattle on Aug. 15, flying back to the east coast to play the following night would have been doable, but not ideal. Also keep in mind, back in April the Jays didn’t know where they would be playing so there was even less concern about losing revenue at the gates.

Even knowing what we know now, I don’t think the Jays would have wanted this any other way. Seven-inning games are ideal for a team with a strong starting rotation and shaky relief. They entered play on Tuesday 6-4 in doubleheaders this season and should be even better down the stretch when those situations arise.

It’s getting onto mid-August. The dog days are here. With the addition of Corey Dickerson, (hopefully) the return of Biggio and the flexibility that Montoyo enjoys, along with the more favourable schedule, do you see players getting more time off as the season progresses? Specifically, the four all-stars. Bo and Vlad have never actually played a full MLB season so the number of games might take their toll. — Mark in Midtown

They’ll get more time off than before, but I wouldn’t expect it to become a regular thing unless the Jays pull ahead in the wild card standings. Guerrero didn’t get a day off until Aug. 1, Bo Bichette was in there everyday until a minor injury kept him out on Sunday and Marcus Semien has appeared in every game. These guys will get another day or two but it’s not going to be weekly thing, especially while the Jays are chasing teams in the standings. A more likely scenario is Montoyo rotating these guys through the DH spot to give them an easier day at the park.

I know little about baseball but what you guys write, but labour negotiations I know. I believe we are heading for a showdown. I see the small market teams demanding an NBA-type salary cap and of course a huge pushback from the Yankees, Dodgers, Cubs, Mets and the players union. I believe the lack of a salary dump by many teams is the tip. Do you see 2022 opening on time or is MLB going to repeat the mistakes of the past and keep undermining any chance at gaining a new fan base? — Adam W.

Oh man, this is the question of the year. I’m choosing to be optimistic about the upcoming negotiations because one would hope that cooler heads will prevail and an agreement will be hammered out in time. Last year’s public spats over money during the height of a pandemic when a lot of regular folks were out of work was a terrible look. Having another disrupted year follow shortly after would be even worse.

There is going to be a lot of posturing this off-season, so I’d expect a steady stream of leaked reports through the media. I have no faith that commissioner Rob Manfred and union boss Tony Clark will get this done quickly, and the threat of a delayed season will probably continue right up until the last minute, but in the end I think they’ll get something done.

For what it’s worth, I don’t view a salary cap as being the issue here. I think the owners are content with the current setup and would only be looking for some minor tweaks to the CBA. It’s the players who should be arguing for a different arrangement. Qualifying offers are suppressing markets and free agents in their 30s aren’t getting paid like they used to. It’s becoming a young man’s game but that hasn’t changed the way for when and how they’re being compensated.

As excited as I am to have José Berríos on the team, I feel like the price we paid was high. No prospect is a sure thing, but there’s still a good chance both these prospects grow into good-to-great MLB players. How do you feel about the price, and does the price we paid change for you depending on if we sign Berríos to an extension? — Max

I’m with you on the high price tag, but I have a hard time criticizing the Jays for this one because they got the player who was the best possible fit for this organization. If you’re going to overpay for someone, it should be for someone who fits a glaring need and can make an impact for more than just one season. Berríos checks each of those two crucial boxes.

Internally, the Jays had a lot of concern about Austin Martin’s lack of power at Double-A New Hampshire. There also was some nervousness surrounding Simeon Woods Richardson, who posted a 5.76 ERA in 11 starts for the Fisher Cats. These guys should both become big-leaguers but if there was any doubt it makes sense to sell high, especially when it involves securing your top target.

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The Berríos deal will become more favourable if he signs an extension, but even without that, the Jays needed another front-line arm for the rotation over the next two years and they got that in Berríos. This young core can contend now so leveraging a deep minor-league system, without mortgaging the future, makes a lot of sense even if the Jays ended up paying more than I originally thought they would.

After the new arms were brought in, which of the existing bullpen ones do you think have answered the challenge, stepped up and showed they belong in the big leagues? — Paul, Bristol, UK

Unfortunately for the Jays, the answer to this question is a guy who just got hurt. Tim Mayza has really emerged over the last couple months as a viable high-leverage arm. Prior to going down last week with an elbow injury, he posted a sparkling 1.21 ERA across 22 1/3 innings dating back to June 1. For the sake of this ’pen, the Jays better hope his absence is brief.

Beyond Mayza, closer Jordan Romano and the new guys, there isn’t much certainty here. Patrick Murphy has a promising future but he’s not going to be an impact piece this season. Ryan Borucki offers upside but has yet to put everything together between injuries. The key to this bullpen is going to be Nate Pearson, who was supposed to join Triple-A Buffalo this week but his arrival has been pushed back because of an illness that’s not related to COVID-19. The Jays are lacking another big arm down there. Pearson might be the missing link, but he needs to stay healthy and prove it.

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