Blue Jays Morning Brew: One week to first pitch!

With just seven days standing between the Toronto Blue Jays and opening day in Tampa, these are the stories you need to catch up on this Sunday

Like the week leading up to Christmas morning, but without the inch-thick Visa bill.

Next Sunday in Tampa, the Toronto Blue Jays kick off their 2016 season.

The week ahead will feature the final roster trim-downs, with the only real decisions remaining being the fourth outfielder, fifth starter, and fifth right-hander in the bullpen.

Toronto also has their now-annual preseason set in Montreal against the Boston Red Sox on Friday night and Saturday afternoon. The series was an absolute home run last year, and with well over 100,000 tickets sold for the two games this season, expect it to be just as electric at Olympic Stadium.

So to get through your final weekend without Blue Jays baseball, here’s some recommended reading:

Ross Atkins path to GM  –  An interesting anecdote here from Bob Elliot of the Toronto Sun on new Blue Jays general manager Ross Atkins, who interviewed for the same position with the Philadelphia Phillies in 2015.

“When Atkins didn’t get the job,” Elliot writes, “he called MacPhail to a) thank him for the interview and b) to ask if there is any way he could improve his resume in future.”

More from Toronto Blue Jays News

• Blue Jays: Vladimir Guerrero Jr. open to a long-term contract
• Blue Jays: Snapping cold streaks at the right time
• Who Should the Blue Jays Extend First: Guerrero, Bichette or Manoah?
• Blue Jays now hold the top Wild Card spot, and yes that’s a good thing
• Blue Jays may have the tools to use a Bullpen Day

Happ’s dry spell  –  J.A. Happ went for quite a stretch without facing major league hitters this spring, both due to a rain out and the heightened importance of feeding innings to starters who were still in “competition”. Happ had his bumps in the road against the New York Yankees, but with 13 ground balls forced thanks to some nice movement on his two-seamer, Happ and his manager are feeling confident about the season ahead.

“He was great,” Gibbons told Shi Davidi of Sportsnet. “You don’t quite have that edge [pitching in minor-league games] that you have up here, that’s good that he did that today against some guys he’s going to be facing a lot. It revs him up a little more.”

Power Thole  –  It’s one of my favourite offseason stories: Josh Thole working to add power to his stroke. Mike Wilner has an update on it here after Thole turned on another long double yesterday.

“Without putting too fine a point on it,” Wilner writes, “the thinking is likely that if you’re going to hit .223 with no power, as Thole has for the last four years, well, you might as well hit .190 and hit the ball a long way every once in a while.”

More blue jays: Prospect D.J. Davis facing a make or break season

The Sanchez angle  –  Over at the Toronto Star, Brendan Kennedy gives his take on the Aaron Sanchez debate with some tidy pros and cons. Kennedy echoes the silver lining to this, though: It’s a good problem to have.

“In any case,” he writes, “the conundrum reflects pitching depth the Jays haven’t enjoyed for years.”

The Summer of Saunders?  –  Michael Saunders is looking good this spring, and with the left field job firmly in his grasp, he’s ready to run with it. Over at Jays From the Couch, Ryan Mueller breaks down the Jay Bruce trade that wasn’t, and why that non-trade will prove valuable to the Blue Jays throughout the coming season.