Toronto Blue Jays: Questions remain regarding Justin Smoak

Since being acquired by the Toronto Blue Jays, first baseman Justin Smoak has seen both his ups and downs while playing for Canada’s only MLB team.

Justin Smoak was drafted by the Texas Rangers in the 2008 amateur draft, going 11th overall out of the University of South Carolina.

He would work his way through the Rangers minor league system before making his major league debut in 2010. Smoak would play 70 games for the Rangers before being dealt to the Seattle Mariners as part of a package for pitchers Cliff Lee and Mark Lowe. He would spend the next 5 years with the Mariners before being placed on waivers in the 2014 offseason, with the Toronto Blue Jays swooping in and picking him up.

Since joining the Blue Jays, Justin Smoak has seen his popularity rise and fall, with the switch hitting first baseman see his best years in the game but also some of his greatest struggles.

When he first joined the team in 2015, he didn’t really impress with his bat. He never raised his average over .230, and didn’t slug more than 20 runs. It was in 2017 that Justin Smoak saw his best year, as he would go on to crush 38 home runs and 90 RBIs, while also seeing his average climb to .270 (career high) and being named to the All-Star team.

Smoak was also known for his defence ability, making the routine plays over and over again. He was never flashy with what he did at first base, but he was consistent and smart with his decisions that allowed the manager to have confidence when balls were hit sharply or thrown in the dirt across the diamond.

With Smoak a free agent at the end of the 2019 season, one question still remains: will the Toronto Blue Jays try to keep the switch hitting South Carolina native on the rebuilding roster?

After looking at his stats and the direction the Toronto Blue Jays are currently going towards (younger and in control), one could easily say that Smoak’s days in Toronto are over.

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When you begin to dive deeper into the situation, details emerge from within the clubhouse that make the decision less easy for Ross Atkins and his merry band of misfits.

For one, a lot of the younger players loved having Smoak on the team, considering he was one of the only veterans left on the squad at the end of 2019. He was a mentor to many of the young prospects, hence why so many of them asked for his autograph once the last game of the season had concluded. A sign of respect for not only one of the last veterans on a rebuilding squad, but one that shows how much his value was appreciated, even if the stat sheet doesn’t show leadership statistics.

This is the difficult part of the business side of baseball. Analytics and statistics would say that a 32 year old career .231 hitter does not have a place on a rebuilding squad.

But baseball has always been more than analytics. Even in the new era of baseball, one which emphasis young talent over veteran players, there still is a place for players like Justin Smoak on a rebuilding squad. A veteran with day in and day out experience, one who has been through the highs and lows of the game and can teach and lead the young squad moving forward.

To conclude this article, I, unfortunately, don’t think Smoak will be with the Toronto Blue Jays next season, which is a huge shame for a player who has done a lot for the team off the field.

The business side of the game can be demoralizing, but in the end, I hope a team does take a chance on the soft spoken 1st baseman. He has a lot left in the tank and has proven his worth with the Blue Jays, even if all the stats won’t be on the back of his baseball card.