For Goldeyes, it’s playoffs or bust

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This article was published 05/05/2022 (1484 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Winnipeg Goldeyes can finally play a full season of baseball without a cloud of uncertainty hanging over their heads.

Thursday was a monumental day for the Fish as it marked the first time since 2019 that the club has been able to hold spring training at their downtown Winnipeg home, Shaw Park.

They spent all of 2020 as a travelling team out of Fargo, N.D., and the majority of 2021 playing out of Jackson, Tenn., before COVID-19 restrictions/border regulations finally allowed them to come back to the Manitoba capital in August. The 2022 season, to the delight of everyone in the organization, marks the end of the roller-coaster ride for the Goldeyes.

“It feels amazing,” Goldeyes manager Rick Forney told the Free Press after Day 1 of spring training.

“It’s been a long, tough road to get here with many challenges, but we found a way to survive for two years.”

Preparing for the season at home doesn’t feel normal for third-year Goldeyes outfielder Logan Hill. He certainly isn’t complaining, though.

“Yeah, it feels weird. I feel like a lot of guys have been asking me questions about spring and how it goes and I really don’t know,” said Hill, who hit .270 with six home runs and 22 RBI in 53 games last year.

“I haven’t had a lot of answers for them as it’s all new for me, too. But there’s definitely a different energy getting to start the year here and not being in this unknown that we were for the past two years.”

One of the biggest challenges of being away was trying to convince players to sign contracts. Winnipeg, regarded as one of the more attractive independent markets, is usually an easy sell, but when you’re forced to play as a travelling team, your home cooking isn’t worth much. While this off-season was easier, Forney said they’re not out of the woods yet.

“There’s hurdles. You have to be vaccinated to come to Winnipeg and not everybody’s vaccinated… It’s one of the first questions you have to ask when you’re talking to people,” said Forney, who lost out on several free agents because of this.

“Why would you even want to waste your time on the phone with somebody knowing they’re not vaccinated because you’re not going to talk them into getting vaccinated at this point. If you’re not vaccinated by now, you’re not getting vaccinated.”

The Goldeyes needed to make a splash signing or two after losing star first baseman Kyle Martin to the Mexican League’s Guerreros de Oaxaca. Martin’s 31 home runs and 106 RBI last season are both franchise records and he’s still swinging a hot bat as he has seven homers and 17 RBI in 11 games in Mexico this season. The Mexican League regular season ends in August, not leaving much time for Martin to return to Winnipeg, if he’d even be interested. Forney believes Martin will have bigger opportunities for him, perhaps Japan or South Korea, if he keeps up the way he’s playing anyway. The Fish are hoping David Washington — who played six games for the Baltimore Orioles in 2017 and won an American Association championship with the Milwaukee Milkmen in 2020 — can fill the void left by Martin at first base. Infielder Ian Sagdal, a three-time affiliated league all-star, and outfielder Reggie Pruitt Jr., an excellent defender and baserunner with experience in the Toronto Blue Jays’ farm system, are some of the other fresh faces to watch for.

“Obviously losing Kyle is a big hit to our offence, but then, being fortunate enough to sign David Washington was huge,” said Hill.

“He’s arguably the second-best first baseman in the league… so that really helps our offence a lot.”

The Fish might be losing another star in shortstop Wes Darvill. The only player remaining from their 2016 and 2017 AA championship seasons is on the Goldeyes’ inactive list as he is now the head coach of the University of Fraser Valley’s baseball team. The 30-year-old from Langley, B.C., also plays for the Canadian national team.

“I don’t know for sure (if he’s coming back),” admitted Forney. “He’s getting older and he’s got real life happening and has to figure some things out. Right now he’s not available because he’s coaching that team and I don’t think they’re done until the third week of May so we’ll see what it looks like then.”

With or without Darvill, the Goldeyes need to find a way to qualify for the post-season for the first time since 2017. They went 50-49 last year, which is pretty impressive considering they played in front of a sea of empty seats in Jackson for most of the campaign, but left-handed reliever Travis Seabrooke said there’s no excuse this year.

Now with 50 games at Shaw Park on the schedule, it’s playoffs or bust.

“Oh 100 per cent,” said Seabrooke.

“I know when we came back at the end of August last year to close out the season, we won our first six games here. There’s just so much more energy and so much more camaraderie that comes with the excitement of being here.”

taylor.allen@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @TaylorAllen31