Blue Jays: Yangervis Solarte needs to set a better example

Praised earlier in the season for the energy he brought the Blue Jays, lately Yangervis Solarte has had some questionable hustle, and it’s not a good look.

It’s tough to stay motivated during a lost season, especially one that was supposed to be filled with plenty of promise for the Toronto Blue Jays. That said, that doesn’t excuse a lack of motivation, for whatever the reason.

The Blue Jays dropped their second consecutive game to the Boston Red Sox on Wednesday night, and their third straight overall by losing 10-5. It was another drubbing at the hands of baseball’s best team, and the frustration was certainly palpable, at least in my living room, and from what I was reading on social media.

One of the objections that I came across several times was with the likeable Yangervis Solarte, who went 0-4 against Brian Johnson and the Boston bullpen for the game. It wasn’t that he was unable to get a hit that got the most attention, but rather a lack of hustle running up the first base line. Unfortunately this has been a frequent sight with the 31 year old this year, and one that likely needs to be addressed sooner than later.

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With the the recent injury diagnosis for Brandon Drury, and Lourdes Gurriel Jr. still sitting on the sidelines, Solarte has continued to be a regular in the lineup lately, and could very well continue in that role until the end of the season. If that’s the case, Solarte’s biggest role for the remainder of this season and into next year may well be as a leader for the younger guys on the team.

The infield picture is going to change a lot over the next few years, and it’s already started it’s transformation this year. When he returns from the DL, Lourdes Gurriel Jr. will likely resume getting regular playing at one of shortstop and/or second base. Richard Urena is up with the team serving as depth right now, and there are other talented youngsters coming in the not so distant future as well. Add in others like Teoscar Hernandez, and other new big leaguers like Ryan Borucki, and there are a lot of young faces around the team.

These young players are going to be hungry to learn the best ways to succeed at the highest level, and they generally look to the veterans on their team as much or more than the coaching staff. I’m not saying that Solarte can’t be a great mentor, but what kind of example is setting by not hustling to first base on a ground ball? On some teams that would land you on the bench and in the manager’s dog house, but for whatever reason it’s seemingly been accepted in Toronto this year.

It’s not even that these plays are coming back to bite Solarte or anything, it’s more about the potential for that to happen, and even the optics of watching him saunter to first. Fans may have been willing to put up with it earlier in the year when he was mashing the ball, but when you add that to the fact that he hit .151/.184/.257 in 24 July games, most folks are running out of patience for things like this.

When, in the same game that was more or less already lost, Kevin Pillar goes crashing into the wall to make another big catch, it’s tough to stomach the sight of a lazy jog up the line. Pillar just returned recently from a shoulder injury and doesn’t need to be throwing his body into harm’s way, especially in a four or five run game. However, he’s not wired for any other gear, and you have to respect that about the blue collar outfielder, and wish that it rubbed off on everyone in the clubhouse.

For what it’s worth, I’ve enjoyed the addition of Solarte to the Blue Jays roster for several reasons, and I don’t have anything against him really, other than this. I don’t even want to pick on the guy either, really, but there’s no excuse for the way he runs the bases when he hasn’t hit the ball the way he had hoped. If he’s going to stick around this team as it gets rebuilds and gets younger, he’s going to counted on as a leader, and this behaviour is going to have to change. Personally, I’ve had enough of watching it already.