Biggest Offseason Addition
Dioner Navarro
Biggest Offseason Losses
Josh Johnson & J.P. Arencibia
Name to Watch in Spring Training: Chris Getz
It’s been a tough 365 days for Getz. Last year at this time he was heading into spring training penciled in as the opening day starter at second base for the Kansas City Royals. This year he will head in to spring training on a new minor league contract hoping to make enough of an impression that he can crack the big league roster. Luckily for him, second base is a position of need for the Jays and if Getz can show manager John Gibbons that he is back to form he could not only make the team, but possibly win the starting second baseman position. If Getz cannot, though, it’ll be another season at AAA.
Biggest Spring Training Battle: Todd Redmond, Esmil Rogers and Drew Hutchison
The Jays are essentially bringing back their entire 2013 squad leaving most positions accounted for, but they do have a great battle for the fifth spot in the rotation. Both Rogers and Redmond hold a slight advantage over Hutchison as they both made starts for the Jays last season, but looking at all three of their career stats no one stands out as the clear leader for the position. All three have career ERAs over 4.5 (Rogers has the highest at 5.52) and neither average more than a strikeout per inning. With no one clearly standing out spring training will be important to all three and should be one of the best battles of the spring.
What Went Right in 2013?
Not much went right for the Blue Jays. Superstar Jose Bautista went down with injury, big free agent signing Melky Cabrera did not perform like he did in 2012 and then also went down with an injury, and pitchers R.A. Dickey, Mark Buehrle and Johnson all underperformed expectations. Individually, though, Edwin Encarnacion continued his to turn his career around hitting 36 home runs and driving in 104 runs and Casey Janssen established himself as a solid closer saving 34 games in 36 opportunities.
Biggest Areas of Improvement in 2014
The theme so far this offseason has been depth. They have spent most of their offseason claiming players off of waivers and signing former major leaguers to minor league contracts with spring training invites. Signings like this may not seem important, but bringing back Munenori Kawasaki and bringing in players Getz, Steve Tolleson and Dan Johnson to compete for backup jobs could be huge for a team that struggled with injuries in 2013.
Overall Spring Training Preview
There will be a lot to keep track for the Jays in spring training. It will be important to see how Cabrera and Bautista bounce back after injuries, because having them at full strength is dire to the starting lineup. The battle for the fifth spot in the rotation will be something to keep an eye on as well, but there could be a battle for the closers position to keep an eye on too. The Jays have made a couple of trade offers for former closer Sergio Santos but have failed to make a deal to send him packing. With him on the roster, if he can prove he can dominate like he has in the past, he could force his way into a battle for the closers position. Overall, for a team that lost so few players, there will be a lot to look out for this spring.