Blue Jays Morning Brew: The Rise of Strochez

The Blue Jays off-field news cycle continues to spin through January as we look ahead to 2016 and place our hope in the hands of the mighty ‘Strochez’

Aaron Sanchez and Marcus Stroman were the stars of the show at the Buffalo Bisons Hot Stove on Wednesday, and with each growing day, it looks more likely that Sanchez could join the Stro Show in the Blue Jays starting rotation this season.

As we tilt past mid-January and begin the path towards spring training, stories like these are giving Blue Jays fans permission to get excited. Enjoy the Morning Brew!

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Stro-pening Day  –  Marcus Stroman tells Geoff Lowe of Sportsnet that he is preparing for the 2016 season as if he’ll be the opening day starter. As he should be. If he hadn’t suffered his freak knee injury in the spring of 2015, he might have taken that role in New York.

“I haven’t had that word yet,” Stroman told Lowe. “I’m just preparing as if I’m going to be, but I haven’t heard it yet.”

Stro-kesperson  –  David Singh brings along the story that Stroman will be joining the sports nutrition company BioSteel. The company produces sports drinks, proteins and nutrition bars. There’s surely a dozen more of these to come, as Stroman’s dynamic personality and on-field talent make for a marketer’s dream. Especially in the Canadian market.

Jays giving back  –  Some great news here from a club press release, as the Blue Jays will be doubling their commitment in the children and youth of Toronto Community Housing (bringing their total contribution to $500,000. Dalton Pompey was on hand with Stroman, Sanchez, Mayor John Tory and others to make the announcement in Toronto.

Left field battle  –  Here’s an excellent piece from Bob Elliot of the Toronto Sun on the two Canadian’s set to fight for a job in left field. It features some great insight from Toronto’s Hyung Cho, a former Seattle Mariners farmhand who has known both of the outfielders for over a decade.

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Anthopoulos on the Radio  –  Here’s the much-discussed Bob McCown clip from Prime Time Sports in which he discussed the talks with Alex Anthopoulos regarding becoming a co-host of the radio show. That would be been… Interesting?

Tulowitzki bouncing back  –  Some great analysis here, as always, from Joshua Howsam over at Blue Jays Plus on the potential of shortstop Troy Tulowitzki enjoying a bounce back year in his first full season with the Blue Jays. If he’s able to, there’s the potential for Toronto’s roster to be even stronger than it was in 2015. A scary thought.