Blue Jays Morning Brew: Dustin McGowan for a Dollar Edition

As a baseball fan, one of the things I most look forward to in the morning is waking up to some fresh news to sink my teeth into. Inevitably, something always happens overnight that helps start the day off on the right foot.

Unfortunately, Toronto Blue Jays fans, today is not that day.

The first thing that caught my eye this morning was the following tweet from Jon Heyman of CBS Sports (h/t MLB Trade Rumors).

That’s right Blue Jays fans, the Dodgers inked Dustin McGowan on a deal that on paper pays him the Major League minimum. However it includes a roster bonus after the first day, making it worth a guaranteed $1.575 million and maxes out at $3.075 million after all bonus kick in. Now, I know the Blue Jays don’t work in bonuses, but given the deals given to McGowan and Burke Badenhop, among others, perhaps that is a policy that needs to be re-evaluated. Perhaps some incentive to stay on the field is exactly what these guys need (not a poke at Marcus Stroman, I swear).

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Speaking of Marcus Stroman, another 24 hours still hasn’t healed those wounds yet (for us anyway), and it certainly hasn’t reduced the focus on the injury. At least the attention has turned to how Toronto can recover from it, rather than the dire straights it first inflicted upon the fan base.

Unfortunately, that means that everyone has an opinion on who the Blue Jays should try to pick-up in a trade to fill the rotation spot vacated by Stroman’s injury. For instance, there is this piece from Dan Toman at The Score, which outlines three pitchers the Blue Jays should be looking at. While I’m not at all opposed to looking at a guy like Mike Leake, Trevor Cahill and Bartolo Colon seem to be a bit of a reach in terms of salary/production ratio and I’m not sure that either would provide more that slotting Marco Estrada into the role.

Likewise, Bob Elliot of the Toronto Sun seems to have his own plan, and that’s by jumping on what is the most obvious elephant in the room. Of course, the Blue Jays were hesitant to add Papelbon and his salary as closer with Stroman in the rotation as the number 2 starter, so I somehow doubt that Rogers will blow the dust off the wallet now so that we can guarantee that Aaron Sanchez goes to the rotation as the number 5 starter. Similarly, Stroman’s injury doesn’t make the four years and $94 million of guaranteed money, and the 1 options year at as much as $24 million if it vests, any more affordable today than it was on Monday.

Instead, it means the Blue Jays are likely to take a “see what we’ve got approach”, something that Ben Nicholson-Smith at Sportsnet notes when he mentions the Blue Jays are set to stretch out minor league starter Scott Copeland and insert him into the competition. For his part, Copeland looked good last season between New Hampshire and Buffalo, throwing to a 3.45 ERA and a 5.8 K/9 ratio over 164.1 innings of work. However, it is also worth noting that at 27-years-old, Copeland was older than the competition he faced for most of the season, and he screams of Liam Hendriks.

Finally, if you are looking for some light at the end of the tunnel for the Stroman injury, and possibly seeing what Michael Saunders is accomplishing with his quick rehab, your trusty friends at Jays Journal made sure to break down the injury itself. Michael McKee does an excellent job spelling out the recovery process and providing a reason for why Stroman won’t be rushed through his rehab any time soon.

Next: Stroman Injury Podcast