A potential Blue Jays-David Price reunion and more pitching questions in the pre-Opening Day mailbag

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This article was published 30/03/2021 (1685 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The first pitch of the 2021 regular season is mere hours away and the Blue Jays are still in the process of figuring out what their roster will look like on Day 1.

Toronto has locked in all but two spots on its 26-man roster as the club awaits word on the health of star centre-fielder George Springer and No. 2 starter Robbie Ray. Official decisions could be delayed as late as noon ET on Thursday, approximately one hour before the opening day matchup in New York against the Yankees.

Springer remains questionable because of a strained oblique. If he’s unable to go, but appears to be nearing a return, the Blue Jays could put him on the roster and have the three-time all-star open the year on the bench. Ray seems destined for the 10-day injured list because of a sore arm with T.J. Zeuch already having been announced as his temporary replacement.

A lot of decisions have been made over the last few days and more are on the way over the next two. That makes it the perfect time to open the weekly Blue Jays mailbag as we dive into some of your questions about the upcoming season.

As a reminder, questions can 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:

With Dustin May winning the last spot in the Dodgers rotation, could you see the Jays making a call on acquiring David Price?

— Grant, Perth, Ont.

It’s worth a phone call, but I wouldn’t expect much to come out of it. The situation would be different if Price was upset about his situation and asked for a trade, but he hasn’t done that. In fact, Price was the one who volunteered for bullpen duty when his team was rumoured to be interested in free agent Trevor Bauer during the off-season. He seems content in his current role while pitching for a contender.

Price is still owed $64 million US over the next two years. The Red Sox are on the hook for approximately half of that, but even $16 million a year isn’t cheap for a guy who hasn’t pitched in well over a year and posted a 4.28 ERA his last time out. The only way a deal like this gets done for the former Blue Jay is if the Dodgers assume a big chunk of the contract, or the Blue Jays send an inflated salary like Tanner Roark’s the other way. Since Price seems happy enough where he is, that type of move is unlikely this early in the year.

Francisco Liriano didn’t allow a run this spring and he didn’t make the team??? Why didn’t he get one of the spots in the bullpen? How is that possible?

— Jeff, Brampton

Liriano pitched great, it’s just that Tim Mayza pitched better. The Blue Jays have become enamored with what they have seen from Mayza after he missed last season following Tommy John surgery and this was more about him winning a spot than Liriano losing his.

Once Liriano was surpassed on the depth chart, the Blue Jays had the option of giving him one of the final two bullpen spots. They didn’t for two reasons. One, they needed a spot for a reliever like Trent Thornton who provides more length than Liriano does at this point in his career. Two, there’s an advantage to having the final jobs go to guys with options remaining on their contract. The roster is going to look different in 10 days than it does now and putting Liriano on the team would have limited the club’s flexibility to make additional moves.

The hope in recent days was that Liriano would be open to accepting an assignment on the taxi squad. He wasn’t and it’s hard to blame him because after tossing 7 1/3 scoreless innings this spring it seems likely another big-league team will give him a spot on its active roster.

Anthony Castro has been sensational this spring. Any chance he makes opening day club? If not how about the taxi squad?

— John, Clearwater, FL

Castro has been frequently mentioned as the type of guy the Blue Jays would love to have on the taxi squad. He likely will be competing against A.J. Cole to become the first reliever promoted to the active roster when there’s an injury, or the team needs a fresh arm. Castro earned that right after allowing just two earned runs across 9 1/3 innings in camp.

Whether Castro makes the opening day roster or not likely depends on the health of Julian Merryweather, who tossed a scoreless inning in the Blue Jays’ final game of the spring. If Merryweather is given the green light after missing time earlier in the spring, he’ll likely be the one who ends up taking the last spot in the bullpen.

Will they continue to try and force Vladimir Guerrero Jr. into a first baseman at the expense of wins, when Rowdy Tellez is by far the best option to play first?

— @Glen80066976

Yes, and they should. If the Blue Jays are serious about turning Guerrero into a viable option at first base, then he needs reps to improve. There are going to be growing pains that come with that and it’s going to cost the Blue Jays some runs but it’s a sacrifice worth making for the long-term benefit of the organization.

The situation will be different if/when the Blue Jays are playing meaningful games down the stretch. If Guerrero is still a liability at first come post-season time, it becomes a no-brainer to put Tellez in the field. But throughout the bulk of the regular season, Guerrero must play a lot of games there because it’s the only way he’s going to get better. The goal here is to avoid Guerrero becoming a full-time DH in his early-20s.

What are the chances of Simeon Woods Richardson and Alek Manoah pitching in the MLB this year? Who gets there first? Starter or reliever?

— @b_paterson

There’s an outside chance that both of them factor into the second half, I just wouldn’t expect much of anything before then. There has been a ton of hype surrounding Manoah this spring, but it’s important to keep some perspective here. This is a guy who hasn’t pitched above low-A Vancouver and has just 19 minor-league innings under his belt since joining the organization in 2019. Patience is required.

The only way Manoah can realistically enter the mix is by carrying his strong spring into the minor-league season when it begins later this year. Injuries could force the Blue Jays’ hands before then but there should be enough depth that he’s not needed any time soon. The best bet here is that Manoah becomes an option for the bullpen in the second half before resuming his starting career again next spring. I’d pick Manoah as an option for the ’pen before Woods Richardson, but this will come down to whoever is having the better year.

Given how many starting pitchers the Jays are likely to go through, it seems perfectly plausible that there could be a rotation consisting of Hyun-Jin Ryu, Ray, Steven Matz and Anthony Kay at some point. Are the Blue Jays concerned with a four-lefty rotation? Any analytics pointing one way or another? How unusual would it be?

— James, Portland, Ore.

Great question. It’s not ideal, but there’s nothing the Blue Jays can do about it at this point. This is where I think openers will come into play. Matz and Kay are both candidates to eventually settle into bulk roles with the bullpen starting their games with an inning or two of work. That would help somewhat mitigate the string of lefties by giving teams a different look.

Overall, I don’t see the lefty thing as a big concern. Nobody would be saying anything if the rotation was entirely comprised of right handers. The only reason it’s receiving attention now is because the lefty situation is more unique. I’m among those who think the rotation will be a glaring weakness this year, but that’s related to the lack of upside, not because there are so many lefties.

How long will the Jays stick with Tanner Roark? He doesn’t seem like a pitcher on a team hoping to compete, and was consistently poor last year. With younger arms waiting are his days numbered if he doesn’t perform? And how long will it take? And then also see if Ross Stripling is in the same boat.

— Michael, Toronto

After Ray, Nate Pearson and Thomas Hatch went down with injuries this spring, Roark’s leash became longer. The Blue Jays have a decent amount of starting depth, but the barrel is emptier now than it was a couple weeks ago. As Ray and Pearson near their returns, the attention will shift to the guys who are underperforming in the rotation. Roark presumably would be the one on the bubble but he’s safe for now because the Blue Jays need his innings.

Do you get the sense that the Jays are going to acquire another starter before opening day?

— Chris, Corpus Christi, Texas

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GM Ross Atkins is on record saying the injuries would expedite his search for additional pitching, but I wouldn’t expect anything other than patchwork solutions. Rick Porcello is one the most high-profile free agents remaining, but he hasn’t been in big-league camp and even if he signed tomorrow, the 32-year-old would need time to get ready for the start of the season. Trades are unlikely to happen at this point of the year except for end-of-the roster filler types who don’t make their respective teams. Aside from minor tinkering, I think what you see is what you’re going to get through the first quarter of the year.

Is there much support among the Jays and players in both leagues for moving the all-star game out of Atlanta?

— @RichardGeorgeW3

It’s hard to say because clubhouses remain closed to the media and this is the kind of topic that would be much easier to get a read on through off-the-record conversations. That said, I wouldn’t expect much here. A few players will likely speak up about voter suppression in Georgia, but baseball doesn’t seem to have the same appetite to lobby for social change as much as other sports. I fully expect the league to bury its head in the sand and pretend none of this is really happening.

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