The Blue Jays signed former Rockies, Royals, and Red Sox first baseman Ryan Shealy today. It looks like a nondescript move: a 31-year-old with 25 MLB games since 2008 signing for a team most have pegged for fourth place.
But could this turn into something more interesting?
The Blue Jays have a semi-uncertain first base situation. Nobody on the roster (or even the 40-man) is a first baseman by trade, and they’re thinking of moving outfielder/DH Adam Lind and/or third baseman/DH Edwin Encarnacion over there for this year. Minor league 1Bs David Cooper and Mike McDade are in camp, but McDade has yet to play in Double-A, and Cooper wasn’t exactly great in Double-A last year, so neither is at all likely to make the team.
Enter Shealy, a career .268/.331/.424 hitter in 169 big-league games. Shealy hit .330/.413/.473 in 2005 with the Rockies and .301/.354/.603 in 2008 with the Royals, in 36 and 20 games, respectively. Obviously, he’s had some low points as well, notably a .221/.286/.308 line in 52 games with Kansas City in 2007. Still, he’s a solid defender at first (18 UZR/150 career) who hasn’t embarrassed himself at the plate in a 169-game sample.
Furthermore, Shealy has proven himself to be an excellent Triple-A hitter. In 416 games at the level, he’s hit .287/.373/.527. He’s proven that he has better contact skills than a standard-issue Triple-A slugger, striking out well under once per game in both Triple-A and the majors.
Shealy does come with negatives: he’s 31, has a long injury history, hasn’t done anything at the MLB plate in two years, never has had sustained MLB success, and is coming off his worst year in Triple-A (.231/.345/.472 between the Tampa and Boston systems).
Still, given his solid (when he’s gotten the chance to play) MLB track record, both offensively and defensively, it’s worth wondering whether Shealy could turn in a .260/.340/.450 line and plus first base defense if the Jays gave him the chance. They seem to have a knack for getting the most out of power guys in Toronto, so that may bode well as well.
It may seem odd to get worked up about a guy with as low of a profile as Shealy. But given Toronto’s needs, he could turn out to be a real find. Every so often, a forgotten slugger rises out of the Triple-A abyss and starts punishing the ball. We’ve seen it from Garrett Jones, Jack Cust, Carlos Pena, Marcus Thames, and others…why not Shealy?