Not a lot of Jays news this morning (this is a recording):
- Ken Rosenthal tells us that Cleveland is ‘keeping in touch’ with Jose Bautista, hoping that his asking price will drop to a level that they would feel comfortable paying. Just shoot me.
- Michael Saunders is hoping to be back with the Jays. If we could sign the first half Saunders, I’d be all for it. Saunders also wants to play for Canada in the WBC, but won’t unless he has a contract with a MLB team.
- Richard Griffin writes about the unusual luck the 2016 Jays had: none of our starting pitchers missed serious time due to injury. He’s worried that our luck can’t continue and that we don’t have much for depth at the position. He figures it might open the door for Sean Reid-Foley or Connor Greene, if a starter is needed late in the season.
- Russell Martin will play for Canada but will play at shortstop, or so says Richard Griffin. I really dislike the idea. It seems to me that playing an unfamiliar position is a recipe for an injury.
“It’s like riding a bike, probably,” Martin suggested hopefully. “The thing that’s probably going to change is the speed of the game. As far as knowing where to be and positioning and all that stuff. Things have changed since the last time I played that position with the shifts and everything, so there’s going to be some adjustments. In a short amount of time can I play shortstop? Yes. Put me wherever you want and I’ll give you everything I’ve got.”
Please, Russell, be a bit careful with the ‘I’ll give you everything I got’ stuff. Be careful.
Russell mentioned that he was criticized for not playing for Canada, back in 2013, when he was going into his first season with the Pirates. Back then he was trying to learn a new pitching staff. He reminds us he volunteered to play infield back then. This time Baseball Canada’s Greg Hamilton asked him if he would play short.
- Speaking of the WBC, former MLB pitchers Eric Gagne (41 years old) and Ryan Dempster (39) both intend to pitch for Canada. Gagne last pitched in the majors in 2008. Dempster in 2013. I don’t know, I’m not a big fan of the WBC, I’ll watch the games, because it’s baseball, but I really don’t care much about it, but Martin playing short, and former MLB pitchers making the Canadian team aren’t making me more interested in watching.