Blue Jays: What to do with Ryan Goins

Veteran utility man, Ryan Goins has been playing some of the best baseball of his career over the last few weeks, filling in admirably for the injured Troy Tulowitzki.

Despite the fact that the Blue Jays’ disabled list is reading like their starting lineup card, the club won another series on Wednesday night on the strength of a walk-off victory against the Cleveland Indians. Last night’s game was the rubber match in the return of Edwin Encarnacion, and the Blue Jays’ patched together lineup came through for another win, moving their record to 13-21.

With the likes of Josh Donaldson, Troy Tulowitzki, Russell Martin, and Kendrys Morales missing from the batting lineup, the Blue Jays have been very fortunate to receive solid play from their depth players. Darwin Barney, Chris Coghlan, and especially Ryan Goins have been playing great as they’ve received regular playing time, contributing on both sides of the ball and helping keep the boat on the water while the injured stars watch from the sidelines.

In Goins’ case, he was close to being designated for assignment or traded at the start of the year, but the club elected to keep him around in favour of Melvin Upton for the 25th roster spot. The decision has paid off in spades, as Goins has been needed with the mounting injuries, and he’s played quite well well to boot.

Troy Tulowitzki is expected to be the first position player to return from the DL, hopefully coming back next week. With his return, the question becomes, what should the Blue Jays do with Ryan Goins? We’ll take a look at a few options, from likely, to not so much.

Ease Tulowitzki back into the lineup at designated hitter. 

We don’t know for sure how long Kendrys Morales is going to be out, but chances are he’ll spend the minimum on the disabled list if history repeats itself this year. With that, the Blue Jays need to fill the DH role, something that Jose Bautista occupied on Wednesday night.

One option to keep Goins in the lineup and take advantage of his defensive abilities is to place Tulo at DH until Morales returns, riding the hot hand at shortstop and easing the 5 time All-Star back into the lineup from his hamstring issues. It should be beneficial for both parties, even if it’s a short term solution.

As the season continues, Tulowitzki’s bat is important to keep around, so it might make sense to start Goins at short on a semi-regular basis, at least a little more than they have in the past. Again, Tulo could slot into DH, especially with Morales having shown himself to be somewhat capable at first base, at least for the odd game here and there.

Goins’ glove has always played at the major league level but it’s been his bat that’s been a detriment. With the way he’s been swinging the stick with regular playing time, it would be a shame in some ways to relegate him back to a seldom used role player. Which brings us to option two…

Should the Blue Jays look to trade him while he’s relevant?

As we mentioned earlier, Goins was on the bubble for even making the team out of spring training, as he was out of options and likely wouldn’t have passed through the waiver process. The Blue Jays elected to cut Melvin Upton instead and the rest is history.

There were reports that part of the reason for selecting Goins over Upton was the trade market for each player. Upton reportedly had next to no interest, while Goins had a few teams that were interested in his services. With the Blue Jays having to juggle the 25 and 40 man rosters, it made sense that they figured they could at least bring back an asset for Goins, if the right offer presented itself. Fortunately for John Gibbons and the Jays’ brass, that trade never happened prior to all the injuries.

However, should the Blue Jays gauge the trade market, now that Tulowitzki is almost back from injury? Not that you want to get rid of an asset like Goins with an infield that has spent as much time on the DL as the Blue Jays’, but is it worth checking to see what he might fetch?

He’s had a great audition lately and he’s answered the call in a big way, so it’s entirely possible there are rival GMs viewing him as a possible starting option in the infield. He wouldn’t cost a great deal in trade, and he will definitely hold his own on defence in a worst case scenario.

All that said, the Blue Jays may decide to hang on to him in the event they need injury fill-ins again, or of course there’s always the possibility…..

With Goins playing so well, the calls to trade Tulowitzki have started on social media

In one of the least likely scenarios, at least in the immediate term, the Blue Jays could consider shopping their oft-injured, but start shortstop in Troy Tulowitzki. It’s hard to say what he might fetch them in return, but he is still an above average contributor on both sides of the ball, and is just 32 years old, so he should have some solid baseball left in him.

The problem for Tulo has always been his ability to stay healthy, and he’s already landed on the DL once this year, where he currently resides. Players don’t usually get healthier as they age, so anyone trading for the former Rockie would likely have reservations about how much he could stay on the field in the final 3 years of his contract.

The other issue with the former first round pick is his salary, as he’s owed 20 million annually through 2019, before it drops to 14 million for 2020, and a team option in 2021. By today’s standards the contract isn’t ridiculous (when he’s healthy), but he’s getting more expensive all the time, especially as the injuries continue to pile up.

Goins is younger, cheaper (just over 520k), and is just as capable on defence as Tulo, considering the latter is a two-time Gold Glover. Goins will never bring the same upside with the bat, but if you’re saving 18 or 19 million in the process, you can afford to bring in some offence in other areas.

This solution sounds simple, but in reality it would be difficult to find someone willing to give up a significant trade package for Tulo at the moment, even if he’s still an elite player. Consider the Jays sent over a package including Jeff Hoffman, Miguel Castro and more, it would be a tough pill to swallow to look at their current starter as a salary dump, but it might be closer to that than we care to admit.  He wouldn’t be bringing back the type of package he cost the Jays, anyway.

It’s a long season, and we’ll likely need everyone

The Blue Jays have been very fortunate to receive the solid play they have from Goins, Barney and others in the absence of their stars. While it’s tempting to think about whether they need everyone or not, and what a trade could fetch, the smart play is likely keeping as much depth as possible, especially with Donaldson and Tulowitzki’s injury history.

The only thing that would make Goins a better depth piece would be if he still had options, as he did over the last number of seasons, but unfortunately that doesn’t last forever. Between he and Barney, they’ve both proven capable of starting in the short term, and they could be called upon later in the year as well. In addition to Tulo and JD, Devon Travis has struggled with shoulder and knee injuries in his short career, and is no guarantee to stay healthy all year either.

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They’ve been crucial in turning the Blue Jays’ horrific start around, as the club has won two series in a row on the strength of their heroics, including Goins’ walk-off hit on Wednesday against Cleveland.

He’s always been a fan favourite, and if he continues to play like this as a starter then John Gibbons will find ways to get him into the lineup, especially in the short term. For now, he’ll continue to see regular playing time at least until Tulo returns, and will likely get pencilled in a fair amount even after that.

Whomever made the final decision to keep Goins over Melvin Upton likely deserves a raise right about now. As bad as things look for the injury depleted Blue Jays at the moment, they could be a whole lot worse without the play of their depth pieces.

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