Blue Jays trimming roster but there should be plenty of pitching opportunities in busy first month

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This article was published 18/03/2021 (2028 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Blue Jays’ spring training roster will look a lot smaller when the team returns from Thursday’s day off from Grapefruit League play.

Toronto reassigned or optioned 25 players to its minor-league group Wednesday, among them infielders Austin Martin and Jordan Groshans and right-handers Simeon Woods Richardson and Alek Manoah, all top prospects.

None of the moves were surprises. It’s just that time of year again. While the minor-league players remain eligible to compete in the remaining major-league spring training games as needed, the focus, with less than two weeks until opening day, is on the 26-man big league roster and those on the fringes of it.

“We’re going to keep working on what we’re working (on), making sure if (they) feel ready we give them days off, if not give them extra days; if they need more at-bats, give them more at-bats,” manager Charlie Montoyo said. “We’re starting to send guys down so it’s only going to be the main guys working out. I’m going to be paying attention to … whatever we need to be ready for the season.”

There is no one area Montoyo can point to that he wants his players to hone in on over the final 11 spring games, but there all still decisions to be made before breaking camp, particularly when it comes to pitching, roster construction and how to get the best out of a squad that faces a demanding start to the season.

The rotation is about 80-per-cent set, with four starters pencilled in: ace Hyun-Jin Ryu, Robbie Ray, Steven Matz and Tanner Roark. Ross Stripling, who has more recently been used in a swingman or long-relief role, looks to be the leading candidate for the fifth job, especially after Thomas Hatch was pulled from Wednesday’s outing against the New York Yankees with right elbow/forearm discomfort that required an MRI. More news on the severity of that injury is expected Friday.

General manager Ross Atkins hasn’t ruled out some of Toronto’s younger arms for the fifth starter’s spot, with Anthony Kay, T.J. Zeuch and Trent Thornton among the candidates. Adding one of them to the rotation would push Stripling back into relief, giving the Jays some length in a bullpen that is otherwise heavily composed of one-inning arms.

And while Atkins doesn’t want to lose focus on the value of developing starting pitching depth, Toronto’s projected Triple-A starters may also be looked at to fill bullpen roles to start the season.

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Getting creative with how they employ their pitching staff will be a season-long endeavour for the Jays, and many other teams in baseball, after last year’s shortened 60-game schedule. But it is particularly crucial from the get-go for Toronto. The team is scheduled to play 17 games in the first 18 days of this year’s baseball calendar.

“We’ll be thinking about those first couple of series, knowing that our 26-man roster could look differently for the third or fourth series based on having to get through that,” Atkins said. “Much of it will depend upon us continuing to have a pretty good camp from a health and performance standpoint. At that point, (we’ll) see where those final decisions rest.”

With the start of the Triple-A season delayed until early May, there is a window where the Jays could use the likes of Kay, Zeuch or Thornton, among others, to make up some innings out of the bullpen. After missing a year of traditional development in 2020 because of the cancellation of the minor-league season, a couple weeks of work at the big-league level rather than in minor-league camp might be beneficial.

“We believe those guys can start and want to keep them on that trajectory,” Atkins said, “but if we are building a team for a couple of weeks and our best chance to put the best team or the best roster in place for those seven to 14 days involves making an adjustment without losing sight of that long-term development, we are open to thinking about guys in a short-term different capacity.”

Laura Armstrong is a Star sports reporter based in Toronto. Follow her on Twitter: @lauraarmy