Toronto Blue Jays Stuck After Michael Saunders Injures Knee
I encourage you to discontinue reading now if you’re a disheartened Toronto Blue Jays fan and reading an[other] article concerning Michael Saunders‘ fragile body will only infuriate you more or cause you to shake your head at the mention of his name in the upcoming weeks.
History has a tendency to repeat itself. Saunders’ inability to be available for his ball club is a prime example of this. After becoming a staple on the Seattle Mariners’ roster in 2012, the 24-year old outfielder appeared in just under 75 percent of their games over the last three seasons. Now you can add roughly 50 percent to the ratio of Blue Jays games for their approaching schedule in 2015.
It’s tough to really cast blame in this one (maybe on the groundskeeper?), but sympathy for Saunders should be rendered here. He tore his meniscus in a rather awkward incident on Wednesday at their spring training complex in Florida when he stepped in a sprinkler hole while shagging fly balls. Again, it’s tough to point the finger, but it’s peculiar how some guys just seem to have the worst luck.
Sending pitcher J.A. Happ to the Mariners in a Dec. 3 trade, GM Alex Anthopoulos looked to mitigate the impending loss of left fielder Melky Cabrera via free agency. The move depleted the Jays’ pitching depth while simultaneously bringing aboard a fairly risky investment to their outfield corps.
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Now the club is stuck between a rock and a hard place. An area of the field that was very productive for them in 2014 becomes an area of serious concern. Anthony Gose was traded to the Detroit Tigers in November for second base prospect Devon Travis. Colby Rasmus departed via free agency before ultimately landing with the Houston Astros. And of course, as all Jays fans are aware, Cabrera will play for the Chicago White Sox in 2015.
Between those three players now competing on other American League rosters, the Jays lost production totalling 303 hits, 36 home runs and 126 RBI. Jose Bautista remains the rock in their outfield, but now a lack of first string big league talent and other questions plague the club.
A fellow Canadian to Saunders, Dalton Pompey is projected to start in center field for the Jays this year. He is by no means a sure thing and considered a prospect for 2015. Very raw at only 22 and having just 56 career plate appearances in Triple-A, Pompey played strong defense in 90 innings for Toronto last year but looked out of his element at the plate, slashing a meager .231/.302/.436 in 39 at-bats. If he has a nice spring and breaks camp on the 25-man roster, Pompey will be suiting up for his rookie campaign.
It’s probably safe to assume the Jays would have gained more offensively if the injury to Saunders actually occurred to Pompey. Saunders starting in center field and either Kevin Pillar or Chris Dickerson in left field would provide for a more proven tandem of outfielders than the combination of Pompey and Pillar/Dickerson.
The disappointing news now more than ever might make Dioner Navarro a mandatory trade chip. The Red Sox have an unproven starter as their No. 1 backstop, but plenty of outfield depth. A trade with them would makes sense, except for it’s rare a team will send talent elsewhere within a division. The Jays’ number one catcher last year, even moving Navarro has it’s drawbacks. Most thought if Navarro was moved, it would be for a bullpen arm, which the Jays also require depth at. An everyday outfielder might be too high an asking price for Navarro, who just also happens to be slotted in as the Jays’ starting designated hitter for 2015. Outside of DH and catcher, he does not have much versatility. Navarro has never logged an inning of work on defense outside of catching in his 11-year career.
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The Blue Jays’ current farm system cannot be called upon either. The club has four prospects ranked inside MLB.com’s top 100. One is Pompey and the other three are all pitchers. In terms of free agency, it’s a thin crop given that March is only hours away. The boisterous Nyjer Morgan would probably be the best defensive option to replace Saunders. Offensively, either Jason Kubel or Ryan Doumit could be worth a look. Kubel once had a .300-28-103 season with the Twins back in 2009 and has a career oWAR of 8.2. Doumit is a career .264 hitter with a lifetime oWAR of 12.5.
Also worth noting now, is the Adam Lind trade with the Brewers. Anthopoulos sent him packing for a seemingly average pitcher on paper in Marco Estrada (7-6, 4.36 in ’14). Had Toronto held onto him, in a pinch — which the Jays are right now in — Lind could have slid into left field, keeping Edwin Encarnacion at first and Justin Smoak‘s bat out of the lineup. However, now the solution may be to put EE in left with Navarro DH’ing, forcing manager John Gibbons hand to insert Smoak into the starting lineup at first base. Unless the 28-year old magically found a swing in the offseason, his .202/.275/.339 line from last year with the M’s is by no means inspiring production.