The Blue Jays kept most of their potent offense together as they prepared to defend the American League East championship they won last season.
The title defense could be the last hurrah in Toronto for a couple of the Blue Jays’ heavyweights, sluggers Jose Bautista and Edwin Encarnacion.
The two can become free agents at the end of the season. Encarnacion, a first baseman/designated hitter, has said through his representatives that he would not negotiate an extension beyond spring training.
Bautista said Monday that he recently told the Blue Jays what it would take to keep him beyond 2016. He did not reveal the details but did say there will be no negotiation.
“I have present-day value,” the right fielder said. “My answer, when they asked me what the number would be, is solely taking that into consideration. I’m not trying to be pessimistic. I’m positive, and I think they know and realize the things that I say and agree with me. It’s just a matter of are they willing to go there.”
Against this background, the Blue Jays opened spring training Monday for pitchers and catchers.
Away from the business, the main questions on the field are about the rotation.
The Blue Jays lost rental left-hander David Price, a trade-deadline acquisition last season, as a free agent to the division-rival Boston Red Sox.
Left-hander Mark Buehrle finally wore out near the end of last season, just short of reaching 200 innings.
Right-hander Marcus Stroman missed most of last season due to knee surgery, so having him for a whole season will help, especially if he pitches the way he did in the postseason.
A return to form of 2015 Opening Day starter Drew Hutchison after a poor season would be a plus, and if a young pitcher such as Aaron Sanchez blossomed, that would be a bonus.
The acquisition of right-hander Drew Storen from the Washington Nationals for left fielder Ben Revere gives the Blue Jays depth at the closer’s role. Storen joins Roberto Osuna, who took the role last season as a 20-year-old rookie.
The Blue Jays should continue to bash the ball, and they could be set up for a good run if they have decent pitching. Helping the pitchers will be a defense that is better than it was entering last season. Troy Tulowitzki at shortstop and Kevin Pillar in center field are a vast improvement from what Toronto had before.
Another change came at the top, where Mark Shapiro moved over from the Cleveland Indians to replace Paul Beeston as president and CEO. He brings with him from Cleveland Ross Atkins as general manager to replace popular Alex Anthopoulos, who left for the Los Angeles Dodgers when his contract expired at the end of last season.
How they handle Bautista and Encarnacion, who had 79 homers between then last season, will be one of their first big tests.
“It’s a no-brainer we want to keep them,” Shapiro said recently. “The sentiment is there. We’ve expressed that to both guys. We’re not going to get into the specific negotiations until we get to spring training.”
Bautista made $64 million over the past five years, and the Blue Jays exercised his $14 million option for 2016. Bautista rightly feels that he has outperformed that contract and will not be offering a hometown discount.
“That doesn’t exist,” Bautista said. “Not in my world. In my eyes, I’ve given this organization a five-year hometown discount already.”
Bautista has said he wants to finish his career in Toronto. During his meeting with the media in Dunedin, Fla., on Monday, he wore a shirt that read on the front: “Home is Toronto.”
A couple of guys from Cleveland will have a lot to say if it will stay that way for a couple of the Blue Jays’ best hitters.
NOTES, QUOTES
POSITION BATTLE TO WATCH: RHP Jesse Chavez seemed to have the inside track to the No. 5 spot in the rotation after being obtained from the Oakland Athletics. The 32-year-old often loses form in the second half of the season, however, and there could be intriguing developments at spring training that push him to the bullpen. RHP Drew Hutchison, 25, showed enough in 2014 to be named Opening Day starter in 2015, but he had a horrible season before moving to the bullpen late in the season. A return to form at spring training could put him back in the rotation. Promising RHP Aaron Sanchez, 23, was in the rotation last season before a lat injury put him on the disabled list. He returned to excel in the bullpen. He will be stretched out as a starter in spring training before his role is determined. RHP Gavin Floyd, 33, is a long shot. He is on a major league contract and likely will be used as a swingman.
ROOKIE WATCH: RHP Joe Biagini was selected in the Rule 5 draft, so if he does not make the 25-man roster, he would have to be offered back to the San Francisco Giants before being demoted. The 25-year-old can get his fastball up to the high 90s on occasion. He was 10-7 with a 2.42 ERA with Double-A Richmond in 2015 in 23 starts, walking 34 against 84 strikeouts in 130 1/3 innings. He has a curveball and changeup to go with the fastball. If he makes the major league team, it most likely would be in the bullpen. If he is not deemed ready for the majors and the Blue Jays were able to make a deal with the Giants to keep him, then he likely would start at Triple-A Buffalo. Toronto’s trades last season left some openings in the Triple-A rotation.
COMEBACK TRAIL: RHP Gavin Floyd has had some good years in the majors with the Chicago White Sox, particularly in 2008, when he was 17-8 with a 3.84 ERA. Last season, elbow surgery limited him to seven relief appearances with the Cleveland Indians. The year before, he was 2-2 with a 2.65 ERA in nine starts with the Atlanta Braves. He is 72-72 with a 4.38 ERA in 215 major league games, including 196 starts, with the Philadelphia Phillies, White Sox, Braves and Indians. The 33-year-old provides some pitching depth. He likely would be swingman, making spot starts from the bullpen, if he earns a spot. He was signed to a major league deal for $1 million plus incentives.
PLAYER NOTES:
–RHP R.A. Dickey revealed on Feb. 21, the day before the Blue Jays pitchers and catchers reported to spring training, that he had offseason surgery for a torn meniscus in his right knee. The knuckleballer was 11-11 with a 3.91 ERA with 214 1/3 innings pitched last season, his third year with Toronto.
“I had a knee issue that I tried to work through all year and ended up getting fixed at the end of the season,” Dickey said. “My offseason was much more about trying to get to a bit of a lighter weight, get my knee strong, things like that, to be able to endure another 200-plus inning season. …
“It was basically a four- to six-week recovery. That’s what they always tell you, but for me, it turned out to be a real blessing because I had to focus on getting my body right in a way that I really haven’t had to do in a long time because I’ve always been pretty healthy.”
–CF Kevin Pillar is applying to fill the Blue Jays’ open leadoff spot. The position became vacant when LF Ben Revere was traded to the Washington Nationals for RHP Drew Storen.
“I definitely can see myself batting leadoff,” Pillar said. “It’s a role I’ve been in, in the minor leagues. … My mindset doesn’t change whether I’m hitting first or eighth or ninth. Wherever they put me in the lineup, my job’s to get on base and score runs, allow the big boys to drive me in.”
Pillar batted .278 with a .314 on-base percentage in 159 games last year, his first full season in the majors, and stole 25 bases in 29 attempts. He started last season in left field before taking over in center, where spectacular diving catches became his trademark.
“I promise you, with Josh (Donaldson) hitting behind me, if he’s in the two-hole, I’ll get some better pitches to hit,” Pillar said. “The walks will come. … We always talk about walks, and, yeah, walks are going to happen. But I’m out there to hit. If I get a good pitch, I’m not going to sit around and try to walk. But I promise you, if Josh is hitting behind me, I’ll get on base more.”
Manager John Gibbons said he has an open mind regarding the leadoff role.
“We’ll come up with a good one,” he said. “We’ve got the guys who can do it. We just don’t know exactly who that is yet.”
–RF Jose Bautista is 35, and he knows the importance of maintaining his overall fitness. He makes use of a nutritionist, a personal trainer, a massage therapist and a doctor who is trained in acupuncture.
“I feel better now than I did five years ago, body-wise and performance-wise,” Bautista said. “I have no reason to believe I’m getting older other than more people keep asking me my age. I certainly don’t feel like I’m getting older. And I’m performing at the highest level that I’ve ever performed.”
Bautista, who can be a free agent at the end of the season, shows little signs of slowing down in 2015. He batted .250/.377/.536 with 40 home runs and 114 RBIs.
“At least for me, my 35 is the new 30,” Bautista said.
He said that he has already told the Blue Jays what it will take to retain him beyond 2016 in a 15-minute meeting about two weeks.
“I’m not willing to negotiate even right now,” he said on Feb. 22. “I don’t think there should be any negotiation. I think I’ve proved myself, and the question has been asked, what will it take, and I’ve given them an answer. It is what it is. I’m not going to sit here and try to bargain for a couple dollars. … I didn’t want to waste any time. If this is going to happen, I think it should be natural, organic, quick and easy, it shouldn’t be a pull and tug about a few dollars here or there.”
He did not reveal the details of what he was seeking.
–2B Devon Travis (left shoulder surgery in November 2015) had an operation to correct a condition in which one of the four growth plates in the acromion bone, which extends over the shoulder joint, fails to fuse and creates an extra bone. Screws were inserted to stabilize the extra bone. The estimate was that he would be able to resume baseball activities somewhere between mid-March and mid-April. He will open the season on the disabled list.
–1B/DH Edwin Encarnacion (hernia surgery in October 2015) is ready for the start of spring training.
–OF Michael Saunders (bone bruise on left knee) last played for the Blue Jays in early May. He was ready for the start of spring training, but he could be on the trading block.
QUOTE TO NOTE: “I didn’t want to waste any time, I didn’t want to waste their time or their effort, so they can start planning ahead, and if it’s not going to happen, they have plenty of time to do so. … There’s no negotiation, I told them what I wanted. They either meet it or it is what it is.” — RF Jose Bautista, who can be a free agent at the end of the 2016 season, on what it would take for the Blue Jays to retain him.