Batter's Box Interactive Magazine - Blue Jays vs. Phillies

The Blue Jays take on the Broad Street Bullies of Philadelphia for the next two nights at The Dome before heading to Philly for games Wednesday and Thursday. Barring the unforeseen, Bo "The Hammer" Schultz will not be appearing for the Jays this week. Maybe Moose Dupont or Ed Van Impe will show up instead.

Image from The Associated Press.

Series Schedule / Probable Starters

Monday at 7:07 pm ET - Jared Eickhoff (3-8, 3.68) vs. R.A. Dickey (4-6, 4.15)
Tuesday at 12:37 pm ET - Zach Eflin (MLB debut) vs. Marcus Stroman (5-2, 4.94)

The Phillies come to town with a 29-34 record and have fallen to fourth place in the NL East after a strong start to the season. They have not won a series since mid-May since winning two of three at home against the Reds (sorry, Eephus!). The Phils find themselves 10 games back of the NL East lead after being swept by Washington in the nation's capital over the weekend. They have lost four in a row and seven of their last 10.

Keeping Odubel Herrera off the bases would be a great idea for the Jays if they want to do well over the next four games. The former Rule 5 pick is in the top 10 in the NL batting race at .321 and has the league's third best OBP at .418, trailing the Cubs' Ben Zobrist and the Diamondbacks' Paul Goldschmidt. Mikael Franco leads Philly with 11 home runs but his OPS is just .738.

The Blue Jays are five games above .500 and look to add to that before heading to Baltimore this weekend. The Jays are 2-1/2 games back of Baltimore and Boston after taking three of four against the O's at home over the last four days. They look to Edwin Encarnacion to keep swinging the hot bat as he is just one RBI back of David Ortiz for the AL lead with 54. Michael Saunders finds himself sixth in AL OPS at .955.

Guelph, Ontario's Scott Diamond has joined the roster from Triple-A Buffalo. The lefty takes over for Pat Venditte, who goes back down to the Herd. Franklin Morales finds himself on the 60-day disabled list. Meantime, Jose Bautista is expected to return to the lineup tonight after missing three games with a sore hip but there is still no timeline for Troy Tulowitzki's return.

Posted by #2JBrumfield on Monday, June 13 2016 @ 04:12 PM EDT.

Blue Jays vs. Phillies - June 13-14 | 81 comments | Create New Account

The following comments are owned by whomever posted them. This site is not responsible for what they say.

uglyone - Monday, June 13 2016 @ 04:57 PM EDT (#324750) #

more injury notes:

- cecil threw off a mound today
- they hope to get tulo into game action on Wednesday

85bluejay - Monday, June 13 2016 @ 05:24 PM EDT (#324753) #

Zack Greinke starts tonight, which likely means the Jays will catch a break and miss him next week.

Gerry - Monday, June 13 2016 @ 05:46 PM EDT (#324754) #

Kyle Westwood was released by the Jays. He signed as a minor league FA this season but didn't pitch well.

Anthony Alford has been placed on the 7 day DL.

John Anderson was promoted from NH to take Diamond's start.

Gunnar Heidt was promoted to Dunedin.

Jordan Romano, Canadian pitcher coming back from TJ, starts tonight for Lansing.

Jon Harris is back from an injury and starts game 2 tonight.

Chuck - Monday, June 13 2016 @ 05:48 PM EDT (#324755) #

That photo talks to me. And how! I was a kid in Montreal when the much-hated Flyers were the bullies on the block. It was especially sweet seeing the Habs trounce them in 1976, after they had won two straight Bernie Parent-led Cups. Bobby Clarke was pure evil as far as any Montrealer was concerned.

Around that same time, I played in a baseball tournament in Philadelphia and got to attend a game at Veterans Stadium. And witnessed, first hand, the home crowd booing Mike Schmidt. Mike Schmidt!

My kid brain remembers that city as awful and classless. Maybe it has changed. I wouldn't know. But I still find myself easily rooting against them in virtually every sport.

jerjapan - Monday, June 13 2016 @ 05:57 PM EDT (#324758) #

Phillie is a great city to visit, but agreed that the fans can be a bit much - and I say this as someone who pulls for the Eagles.

Thanks for the minor league updates Gerry. Heidt was a kid many praised for a 13th round pick in 2014, but he had a lost year with the bat last year. Looks to be a pretty legit utility IF prospect right now - he's a strong defender and can play 3b, 2b and ss.

I don't even remotely understand Scott Diamond getting the call. He doesn't even work as a LOOGY - he's got reverse splits.

CeeBee - Monday, June 13 2016 @ 06:57 PM EDT (#324762) #

Philadelphia- the city of brotherly love, or hate. Never know which one you'll get.

electric carrot - Monday, June 13 2016 @ 07:14 PM EDT (#324763) #

Why is Pillar hitting 5th?

scottt - Monday, June 13 2016 @ 07:20 PM EDT (#324764) #

Reverse splits is not unexpected when you use a curve and a change rather than a slider or a cutter.

scottt - Monday, June 13 2016 @ 07:28 PM EDT (#324765) #

The real question is where is Encarnation? Did he really need a day off?

electric carrot - Monday, June 13 2016 @ 07:50 PM EDT (#324767) #

I think Gibbons has a blind spot with Pillar. I don't think he knows what a poor hitter he is somehow.

Magpie - Monday, June 13 2016 @ 07:52 PM EDT (#324768) #

It's not a day of rest. Encarnacion jammed his thumb sliding into third base yesterday, and as he has to play first base tomorrow, Gibbons wanted to give it a day to heal.

Isn't it odd that R.A. Dickey, who was 38 years old when he came to Toronto, has more wins and more innings pitched as a Blue Jay than for any other team. A strange career.

hypobole - Monday, June 13 2016 @ 08:29 PM EDT (#324769) #

"Around that same time, I played in a baseball tournament in Philadelphia and got to attend a game at Veterans Stadium. And witnessed, first hand, the home crowd booing Mike Schmidt. Mike Schmidt!"

Gotta keep up appearances.
Most everyone knows the Santa story, but for those who don't, here is Snopes take.

http://www.snopes.com/holidays/christmas/santa/philadelphia.asp

Mike Green - Monday, June 13 2016 @ 08:31 PM EDT (#324770) #

Why is Pillar hitting 5th?

I would have guessed that Gibbons would have stuck with Carrera in the leadoff spot again after back-to-back double digit runs scored games. Once you have Bautista in the leadoff role, you're going to end up with Carrera or Pillar in the 5 slot.

electric carrot - Monday, June 13 2016 @ 08:41 PM EDT (#324771) #

I'd go with Carrera.

electric carrot - Monday, June 13 2016 @ 08:43 PM EDT (#324772) #

Or Bautista #5 and move Carrera to the top.

Mike Green - Monday, June 13 2016 @ 08:50 PM EDT (#324773) #

The conventional thing would have been to have Carrera hit leadoff, Bautista 3rd, and move Saunders and Smoak down 1 in the order. None of them are hitting the curveball, so it hasn't mattered much so far.

electric carrot - Monday, June 13 2016 @ 08:54 PM EDT (#324774) #

That sounds good too. Just let's not have Pillar 5.

scottt - Monday, June 13 2016 @ 10:08 PM EDT (#324775) #

I wouldn't take Diamond to Philadelphia.

grjas - Monday, June 13 2016 @ 10:29 PM EDT (#324776) #

Should Hollywood make a movie about the 2016 Jays, they would surely title it "The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde."

eudaimon - Tuesday, June 14 2016 @ 12:06 AM EDT (#324777) #

Pillar did have multiple hit games in 5 of the last 6, so he's been kind of hot.

Jevant - Tuesday, June 14 2016 @ 08:21 AM EDT (#324779) #

Ooof. That one was a stinker. Here's hoping Stroman gets back to being Stroman this afternoon.

BlueJayWay - Tuesday, June 14 2016 @ 08:26 AM EDT (#324780) #

Had a feeling there would be a hangover effect after the Baltimore series. Last night's game felt like the first one in Detroit, coming off the Fenway series.

electric carrot - Tuesday, June 14 2016 @ 09:33 AM EDT (#324781) #

OK stat people can any one explain this to me. Why is Pillar's OWAR just one decimal place behind Encarnacion's?

NAMEGP AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI TB BB SO SB BA OBP SLG OPS OWAR Josh Donaldson642394961133143712241544.255.367.510.8782.4Michael Saunders572123266172112312024640.311.388.566.9542.3Jose Bautista622223852151124010547451.234.368.473.8411.5Edwin Encarnacion652473261150155412127571.247.327.490.8170.8Kevin Pillar652492663172423967396.253.286.386.6720.7

electric carrot - Tuesday, June 14 2016 @ 09:38 AM EDT (#324782) #

OK let's try that again:

Edwin: .247 .327 .490 .8 OWAR
Pillar: .253 .286 .386 .7 OWAR

Pillar has 2 more at bats and 6 stolen bases to Edwin's 1.

Chuck - Tuesday, June 14 2016 @ 09:49 AM EDT (#324783) #

Positional adjustment and baserunning favour Pillar.

Mike Green - Tuesday, June 14 2016 @ 10:34 AM EDT (#324784) #

Are we talking about BBRef's oWAR calculation? If so, it means everything but fielding. There is a GIDP adjustment, in addition to baserunning and position adjustments.

Personally I would make the position adjustment to dWAR, but that's not how BBRef does it.

Chuck - Tuesday, June 14 2016 @ 10:48 AM EDT (#324785) #

Personally I would make the position adjustment to dWAR, but that's not how BBRef does it.

Odd, isn't? They make positional adjustments to both oWAR and dWAR, which is why you can't just add the two together.

electric carrot - Tuesday, June 14 2016 @ 10:52 AM EDT (#324786) #

not bbref -- espn's owar.

Edwin has 7 GIDP and Pillar 6.

Chuck - Tuesday, June 14 2016 @ 11:05 AM EDT (#324787) #

ESPN uses BBRef's WAR.

Dave Till - Tuesday, June 14 2016 @ 01:37 PM EDT (#324789) #

Fun fact of the day - going into today's game, here's Russell Martin's plate appearance and strikeout totals by month:

April: 67 PA, 31 SO
May: 95 PA, 20 SO
June: 35 PA, 5 SO

If he continues this trend, he's going to stop striking out completely by Canada Day.

uglyone - Tuesday, June 14 2016 @ 01:43 PM EDT (#324790) #

nice response today but dammit they have to stop having those let down no show days.

Mike Green - Tuesday, June 14 2016 @ 01:48 PM EDT (#324791) #

I'm following on Gameday. It looks like Stroman is throwing more four-seamers. Is that right? If so, thumbs up.

jester00 - Tuesday, June 14 2016 @ 01:52 PM EDT (#324792) #

Anyone know why Saunders was pulled?

SK in NJ - Tuesday, June 14 2016 @ 02:01 PM EDT (#324793) #

"I'm following on Gameday. It looks like Stroman is throwing more four-seamers. Is that right? If so, thumbs up."

Not watching either, but if he is, then that's a good first step to correcting his performance. Fewer innings pitched but better quality overall is fine with him.

SK in NJ - Tuesday, June 14 2016 @ 02:03 PM EDT (#324794) #

* fine with me.

Good day to rest everyone in the pen. Just go with Diamond again. It's not like he's going to last long anyway.

ComebyDeanChance - Tuesday, June 14 2016 @ 02:10 PM EDT (#324795) #

I'm following on Gameday. It looks like Stroman is throwing more four-seamers. Is that right? If so, thumbs up.

I don't think so. I'm watching on tv and it looks like almost everything is moving. A lot of sinkers. Tabler indicated he's moving away from his slider and more to his curveball. He apparently indicated since the last start that he needs to spin the ball more.

Mike Green - Tuesday, June 14 2016 @ 02:16 PM EDT (#324796) #

Russell Martin the last 28 days (before today) was at .269/.359/.507 with a .271 BABIP. It is nice that Dickey starts have been on night games before day games or day games after night games. Martin is getting just the right amount of work.

As for yesterday's rough game, Eickoff had his curve working. When he does, he's particularly hard on RHBs. He has very significant platoon splits over his career to date, and I don't think that it is a sample size fluke. It's an ideal game to have Pompey and Goins in there, rest Pillar and one of Bautista/Encarnacion and one of Barney/Travis. Pompey isn't up, so that isn't an option.

CeeBee - Tuesday, June 14 2016 @ 02:18 PM EDT (#324797) #

Saunders fouled a ball of his leg last night and was hobbling a fair bit after. I believe it's just a chance to get him off his leg and off the carpet.

SK in NJ - Tuesday, June 14 2016 @ 02:28 PM EDT (#324798) #

Hamstring tightness for Saunders, per Twitter.

He probably should not be starting most day games after night games anyway, unless it's an important series. They need to keep him healthy.

jester00 - Tuesday, June 14 2016 @ 02:46 PM EDT (#324799) #

Thx for Saunders info

uglyone - Tuesday, June 14 2016 @ 03:45 PM EDT (#324801) #

loup and diamond optioned.

here's where i reiterate my hope that hutchison, our best arm in buffalo, gets the call.

China fan - Tuesday, June 14 2016 @ 04:10 PM EDT (#324802) #

Two roster spots are up for grabs. Do the Pompey supporters weigh in here?

James W - Tuesday, June 14 2016 @ 04:26 PM EDT (#324803) #

2 LHRP sent down, so one likely will be called up. Girodo? The other call-up would have to be a position player. I figure it's either Pompey or Ceciliani.

uglyone - Tuesday, June 14 2016 @ 04:28 PM EDT (#324804) #

no DH gives us an extra bench player already.

Mike Green - Tuesday, June 14 2016 @ 04:33 PM EDT (#324806) #

Wade Leblanc is scheduled to pitch tonight. We'll see if that happens.

I've done the service time math for Hutchison and Pompey (flash: I think that I still remember how to do three-digit subtraction, but I wouldn't count on it for much longer). A service year is 172 days. Hutchison has 3 years and 128 days of service. If he accumulates 43 days or less over the remainder of the season, it won't cost the club a year of control. Pompey has 88 days of service; if he accumulates 83 days of service or less over the remainder of the season, it won't cost the club a year of control.

There's obviously more to the decision than service time. Nonetheless, I would be surprised if Pompey was recalled before the All-Star break (July 10-15) and if Hutchison got any more than the occasional spot start (barring injury).

Mike Green - Tuesday, June 14 2016 @ 04:39 PM EDT (#324807) #

I could see Hutchison getting a spot start in Philly.

Mike Green - Tuesday, June 14 2016 @ 04:40 PM EDT (#324808) #

Nope, I'm wrong. Hutch had a start on Sunday. I can't see him being called up now.

China fan - Tuesday, June 14 2016 @ 04:49 PM EDT (#324809) #

The Saunders injury is day-to-day, but it's a recurrence of a lingering injury that he suffered a couple of times already this year. And Bautista was the DH today, presumably because he's still in recovery mode. So that perhaps helps to make the case for Pompey. That would avoid the necessity to put Goins in the outfield, as they had to do today. On the other hand, they'll have Smoak on the bench already for the Philly games, so they perhaps don't need another bat on the bench.

At least one of the promoted players is likely to be Girodo or Tepera. (Maybe both.) The argument for two pitchers is that the Jays still don't have anyone capable of throwing more than an inning or so. (Except perhaps Osuna.) Chavez and Floyd both seem to be better in one-inning bursts. That's perhaps just my opinion, but I personally don't want to see either of those guys going for more than an innning. Biagini was recently designated as the multi-inning guy -- just in time for him to pitch badly in his latest outings. So the team arguably could still benefit from 8 relievers. (Some people will disagree with me.)

Mike Green - Tuesday, June 14 2016 @ 04:55 PM EDT (#324810) #

I thought that Chavez looked fine in a 2 inning role. Osuna and Grilli should be rested. The club has five games left before a day off on Monday and a day off on Thursday. I am not a fan of an 8 man bullpen in general, but at this point in the schedule it definitely seems like overkill.

Mike Green - Tuesday, June 14 2016 @ 04:56 PM EDT (#324811) #

I'll say that it is Leblanc and Ceciliani.

uglyone - Tuesday, June 14 2016 @ 05:49 PM EDT (#324812) #

i'd call up hutch until cecil is reaey to in hopefully a couple weeks. that wouldn't kill his service time.

sure hope cecil comes back as cecil, because the pen should be in pretty good shape if he does.

John Northey - Tuesday, June 14 2016 @ 06:14 PM EDT (#324813) #

On the 40 man...
AAA...
Tepera: last pitched on the 12th
Girodo: last pitched on the 11th
Ben Rowen: last pitched on the 13th (2.20 ERA 1.9 BB/9, threw 2 innings last game, last 3 appearances all over 1 IP)
Dustin Antolin: last pitched on the 13th (1 IP or less since sent back down, 7 IP 5 H 5 BB 7 SO)
Bo Schultz: last pitched on the 12th, high ERA but 1.5 BB/9 8.2 K/9 0.8 HR/9
AA...
Brady Dragmire: last pitched on the 10th, 5 straight games with 1+ IP

Lots of choices. I'd like to see Rowen as he has shown an ability to do 2 IP. None are 'wow' but any could work for inning eating.

ComebyDeanChance - Tuesday, June 14 2016 @ 07:19 PM EDT (#324814) #

On the 40 man...

Someone indicated Diamond's been DFA'd, so it seems unlikely that it'll be 2 guys on the 40 man.

China fan - Tuesday, June 14 2016 @ 08:02 PM EDT (#324815) #

The decision to DFA Diamond seemed to be only because he's out of options and he was the low man on the bullpen totem pole. It didn't seem to be intended to create space on the 40-man roster. So they can easily promote 2 players from the existing 40-man roster. And if they happen to acquire a new player by tomorrow, they have room to add him to the 40-man roster, but I think that's unlikely.

LeBlanc was the starting pitcher for Buffalo tonight, and is still in the game in the 5th inning, so he won't be promoted tomorrow. Pompey and Ceciliani are also playing in tonight's game and haven't been removed. But I've just noticed that Andy Burns was scratched from the lineup -- after being penciled in to the earlier version of the lineup. Not sure if that foreshadows anything.

ComebyDeanChance - Tuesday, June 14 2016 @ 10:11 PM EDT (#324817) #

Great night to have mlb.tv. Orioles and Red Sox then Cubs at DC. Two one-run games won by the visitor.

uglyone - Wednesday, June 15 2016 @ 01:28 AM EDT (#324824) #

If they're gonna move Sanchez to the pen later in the year, the clever move would be to replace him in the rotation with osuna. Then both would be primed for fulltime starting spots next season.

ayjackson - Wednesday, June 15 2016 @ 07:45 AM EDT (#324826) #

I've thought the same thing, ugly. But it may be too clever by half.

We could call up Hutch for a spot appearance in the pen on his throw day (today), speaking of too clever by half.

pubster - Wednesday, June 15 2016 @ 10:40 AM EDT (#324827) #

If you look at Russell Martin's game log you can see a big improvement in his strikeout and walk rates.

In June he's walked 9 times and only struck out 6 times. Hopefully he can keep it up.

http://espn.go.com/mlb/player/gamelog/_/id/6390/russell-martin

Bid - Wednesday, June 15 2016 @ 10:45 AM EDT (#324828) #

Words well- chosen: Too Clever By Half is the usual English title of Ostrovsky's mid-nineteenth century Russian play about the fortunes of serfs moving to the big city.

Mike Green - Wednesday, June 15 2016 @ 11:23 AM EDT (#324829) #

Question of the day: assuming you want to have a workload limit on Sanchez, should you move him earlier to the pen and then attempt to bring him back to the rotation later in the year and for the playoffs, or should you move him later to the pen and keep him there?

It looks to me like the club's plan is to have Sanchez stay in the rotaiton until August and then bring Hutchison in to take his spot then without losing a year of control. It's a very conservative plan, even for me.

uglyone - Wednesday, June 15 2016 @ 11:40 AM EDT (#324830) #

not only conservative, but a pretty big gamble that stro-estrada-hutch-happ-dickey is a good enough rotation.

SK in NJ - Wednesday, June 15 2016 @ 12:00 PM EDT (#324831) #

Agree with Mike Green. My guess is they'll have Sanchez start until the ASB or end of July, and then Hutchison will take over for the rest of the season.

With the way Gibbons uses relievers, I'm not sure Sanchez in the pen will be any easier on his arm than starting is, but hopefully Gibby shows some restraint on his usage out of the pen. Limit those 2-3 days in a row stretches, or warming him up without bringing him in the game.

Interesting situation though. Right now the Jays are the 2nd WC team, and would face Boston in a one game playoff. Without Sanchez, you're left with the choice of Stroman or Estrada to go in that one game, and as of today, the answer to who goes for the Jays would clearly be Estrada. The loss of Sanchez in the rotation would be lessened significantly if Stroman improves in the 2nd half.

Mike Green - Wednesday, June 15 2016 @ 12:14 PM EDT (#324832) #

My guess is they'll have Sanchez start until the ASB or end of July, and then Hutchison will take over for the rest of the season.

If they do it by the end of July, won't they lose a year of control on Hutchison? I'm not suggesting that this ought to be a primary consideration, but it does seem to be awfully important to management.

SK in NJ - Wednesday, June 15 2016 @ 12:33 PM EDT (#324833) #

I'm not sure what the numbers are in terms of his days of service. If they can add a year of control by waiting a few extra days/weeks, then I'm sure they'll do it. They could also move Chavez to the rotation if they wanted to, but he seems to be improving out of the pen recently.

Mike Green - Wednesday, June 15 2016 @ 12:44 PM EDT (#324834) #

Burns and Girodo up. I don't really see the point of Burns given the current needs in the outfield on the 25 man.

92-93 - Wednesday, June 15 2016 @ 12:46 PM EDT (#324835) #

uglyone - Wednesday, June 15 2016 @ 12:48 PM EDT (#324836) #

"I'm not suggesting that this ought to be a primary consideration, but it does seem to be awfully important to management."

and I bite my lip.

uglyone - Wednesday, June 15 2016 @ 12:53 PM EDT (#324838) #

" I've already seen Gibby quotes that ascribe way too much importance to an innings number. "

well I think we can be pretty sure gibby's just mouthing the party line when it comes to this decision.

but I agree with you that gaming service time for a player of Hutch's calibre during a contending season doesn't make much sense.

James W - Wednesday, June 15 2016 @ 01:27 PM EDT (#324839) #

In ex-Jay news, Rockies twitter reports that Jose Reyes has been designated for assignment.

China fan - Wednesday, June 15 2016 @ 02:02 PM EDT (#324842) #

"....I don't really see the point of Burns given the current needs in the outfield on the 25 man...."

Burns is capable of playing outfield. He has played 12 games in LF and RF for Buffalo this season, and even an inning in LF for the Jays this year. He might be a better outfielder than Goins, who played in LF yesterday.

But realistically, it probably means that Bautista and Saunders are close to recovery and won't need too much time on the bench or DH in the near future. If they needed a full-time OF, they would have recalled Pompey. Burns is probably meant to be an all-around utility man, to back up at any position, which is useful if Gibbons wants to do those double-switches with the pitcher in the NL games.

uglyone - Wednesday, June 15 2016 @ 02:14 PM EDT (#324843) #

Let's Watch Kevin Pillar Play Defense

http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/lets-watch-kevin-pillar-play-defense

Mike Green - Wednesday, June 15 2016 @ 03:30 PM EDT (#324845) #

I am not looking forward to this whole Sanchez fiasco. I've already seen Gibby quotes that ascribe way too much importance to an innings number. Count me in the camp that believes if he's pitching well he should remain in the rotation, and that if the Jays are convinced they need to limit his innings total it should come via skipped starts and a phantom DL injury. Hutchison is the perfect man to help with that plan, and his service time should be completely irrelevant when you actually have a contender on the field; he isn't an elite talent.

I wonder how differently things would've played out had Hutchison or Floyd broke camp in the rotation with Sanchez in the bullpen and an eventual plan to stretch him out.

I probably wouldn't call it a fiasco, but I agree with the substance. Innings pitched isn't the only important number; pitches per inning (i.e. efficiency) matters too. Also, Sanchez will be 24 in 2 weeks and has filled out considerably since last year; I think that he's ready for a significant increase in workload. Finally, I agree that either of the two methods of reducing workload (starting out in the pen or Hutchison starts combined with a phantom DL trip) would be better than a simple move to the pen at the 2/3 point of the year.

Dave Till - Wednesday, June 15 2016 @ 03:50 PM EDT (#324846) #

I can understand why the Jays might want to limit Sanchez's innings. He's a rare talent, and he is still young.

But flags fly forever, and the Jays will have to rebuild more or less from scratch next year, as they will likely be without some or all of Bautista, Encarnacion, Smoak, Saunders, Dickey, and Cecil. By the time they are contending again, who knows whether Sanchez will still be effective?

Also, if the Jays are contending, Sanchez would be extremely reluctant to be moved out of the starting rotation. Unlike Osuna, who appears to be happiest as a closer, Sanchez strongly prefers to start.

I think the Jays owe it to their fans to try to win if possible.

China fan - Wednesday, June 15 2016 @ 03:54 PM EDT (#324848) #

Bautista is back in RF tonight, so he seems fully recovered from his injury. Saunders is on the bench, so he's still ailing, but he could probably play if necessary. Carrera is the starting LF. If there's a need for another outfielder, they have Burns and Saunders as possibilities, and they could also switch Goins from SS to the outfield, with Barney available on the bench to replace Goins if necessary. So I think they are adequately covered. With the way Carrera has been hitting, I don't think Pompey would be a better choice for a starting OF job. And it's pointless to promote him if he'd just sit on the bench.

China fan - Wednesday, June 15 2016 @ 04:00 PM EDT (#324849) #

"...Count me in the camp that believes if he's pitching well he should remain in the rotation, and that if the Jays are convinced they need to limit his innings total it should come via skipped starts and a phantom DL injury. Hutchison is the perfect man to help with that plan..."

I suspect this is exactly what will indeed happen. It will obviously depend on circumstances -- including the question of whether the Jays are in a playoff race, whether Sanchez is still pitching well, etc. The only specific quote from Gibbons was that Sanchez will probably find himself in the bullpen at some point in the season. That doesn't necessarily mean that he'll spend the last 2 months of the season in the bullpen. There are many other creative scenarios, as noted above. If he's in the bullpen for just a couple of weeks of the season, with perhaps Hutchison stepping in for a couple of starts, that doesn't have to be a fiasco.

John Northey - Wednesday, June 15 2016 @ 04:35 PM EDT (#324850) #

Sanchez is a free agent after the 2020 season and it is a safe bet the Jays won't be sending him down for 70 days to gain an extra year :)

So at 23 he is fairly young, not yet at the 'safe' age of 25 which iirc is the point a guys arm can handle it all.

At 19 90 IP in the minors. At 20 109 IP in the minors. At 21 he threw 133 IP between minors and majors, at 22 102 ML IP plus 7 1/3 in playoffs = 109 IP. So far 85 1/3 this year.

So Sanchez has been locked at 90-135 IP since the age of 19 - time to push a bit I think. 170 should be do-able and 200 is pushing it but shouldn't kill him.

At age 23 Halladay did 140 IP during his worst year (10.64 ERA), Dave Stieb did 183 (after 242 the year before and 288 the next year, different era), Kelvim Escobar 174 IP, Chris Carpenter 175, Shaun Marcum 158, Brett Cecil 184, Ricky Romero 164. I don't see any strong pattern there as to who lasted and who didn't. I also see the Jays haven't pushed a 23 year old over 200 IP in a long time. Kershaw at 23 had 233 IP, Kazmir 206, I'm sure others can look up more pitchers.

China fan - Wednesday, June 15 2016 @ 05:57 PM EDT (#324851) #

Okay, so the media asked Gibbons a lot of questions about Sanchez and Hutchison today, and Gibby was a bit more explicit that Sanchez will definitely be in the bullpen at some point, with Hutch stepping into the rotation at that point. But it's still unclear how they will decide when he should go to the bullpen. Personally I don't think it will be a rigid cap on his innings -- the calculation is more likely to be based on a mixture of how Sanchez is performing, how strong his health appears, how many innings and pitches he is throwing, and some measurement of his bio-mechanical performance -- is he tiring too fast, etc. I just don't think that the Jays would be stupid enough to reduce this decision to a single metric (innings) when there are so many other factors to consider.

Gibbons also said the Jays have discussed the possibility of having Sanchez go to the bullpen for a while, and then return to the rotation later.

In any event, it sounds like the Sanchez bullpen stint could be more than a couple of weeks -- it could even be a month or two, although I really hope that it's closer to the former than the latter. But I think the drop-off from Sanchez to Hutchison isn't likely to be too great, so it shouldn't cost the Jays too much. Hutch has been pitching well.

jerjapan - Wednesday, June 15 2016 @ 06:35 PM EDT (#324852) #

Let's Watch Kevin Pillar Play Defense

That article is well worth a look, but the conclusions are actually slightly negative - Pillar looks better by UZR, and the eye test, then he actually is. But also, measuring defense is hard and Kevin Pillar is a great defender. The clips alone are worth a look.

scottt - Wednesday, June 15 2016 @ 07:54 PM EDT (#324854) #

For the playoffs, Sanchez is more valuable in the pen. The rotation is reduced to 4 in the playoffs anyway.
Stroman, Estrada, Happ and Dickey is probably the best bet.
If you have guys that can shut down the door in the last 3 innings, then the starter only need to go 6 and don't have to pace themselves.

It's even more true in a wild card playoff game. All the good relievers will be used, but only one starter.

SK in NJ - Thursday, June 16 2016 @ 07:37 AM EDT (#324869) #

Gibbons stated that he would not use Sanchez on back-to-back days or warm him up without bringing him in when he transitions to the pen. Easy to say that now when it's not August/September in a pennant race, but that's reassuring if he sticks with it.

The Jays have been all over the place with Sanchez to the media. Atkins said there would be no innings limit for him in May. Shapiro in the off-season said he wouldn't be able to pitch a full season. Now, Gibbons saying he will definitely go to the pen at some point. Hard to say what the team will end up doing.

I think if you limit his IP as a SP (say, put a ceiling of 6 IP per start the rest of the way), and mix in some missed turns in the rotation for extra rest, then he could be able to last the entire season in that role. Though, with the Indians track record of developing SP's (i.e. their current rotation), I'll trust the FO's decision, whatever it is.

ayjackson - Thursday, June 16 2016 @ 07:45 AM EDT (#324870) #

I think the best solution would be to have Sanchez and Hutch piggyback each other over ten starts and that would save Aaron the 40 innings he (allegedly) needs.

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