NEW YORK — Left-hander Daniel Norris has received attention for being a highly paid ballplayer who happens to live by himself in a van.
During spring training, Norris was considered an option for the Toronto Blue Jays’ rotation. Then he earned a spot in the rotation behind veteran right-hander R.A. Dickey and ahead of veteran left-hander Mark Buehrle.
Norris was considered the third-best left-handed pitching prospect by MLB.com in the offseason but did more than enough during exhibition games to validate that. In seven starts, he was 4-0 with a 2.93 ERA in seven exhibition starts and during those outings, Norris fanned 30 while issuing three walks in 27 1/3 innings.
This time, the numbers will start counting for real when Norris opposes the Yankees Thursday in his second career start and first appearance in a regular-season game after having arthroscopic surgery on Oct. 7 to remove bone spurs and loose bodies from his left elbow.
“He was great in spring training,” Toronto manager John Gibbons said before Wednesday’s 4-3 loss to the New York Yankees. “He came in September. I heard great things about him and he didn’t pitch particularly well. He didn’t get that many opportunities and then he had the elbow procedure in the offseason and he came back like a whole different guy. From each of his starts, he got better and better.”
Last year, Norris made five appearances, including one start against the Seattle Mariners. In a 7-5 loss on Sept. 25, Norris did not get a decision as he allowed two runs and one hit in 3 1/3 innings while throwing 59 pitches to 13 hitters.
After getting a brief glimpse of his potential, the Blue Jays are looking forward to getting good results starting on Thursday.