Blue Jays: Recapping the big storylines from 2018

Despite the fact that the last calendar year wasn’t that great to the Blue Jays, there were plenty of storylines around the team and the organization.

The 2018 season was a tremendous disappointment for the Blue Jays and their fans, but that doesn’t mean there was a lack of news to follow.

Despite the fact that the team finished 73-89 in a season to forget, there were enough storylines that will stick with even the casual fan for a long time. It was a season that saw significant development for some of the best prospects the franchise has ever had, and a year of more veterans lost to trade, and eventually free agency.

It was a season that resulted in a lot of changes, and not just to the roster either. Like it or not, the Blue Jays are going to look drastically different in 2019, and they’ve finally made a hard commitment toward getting “young and more athletic”, as we’ve heard from GM Ross Atkins and Mark Shapiro for a few years now. There aren’t many remnants of the Alex Anthopoulos era left, at least not on the big league roster, and this team is truly starting to become what the current front office is responsible for, even if it’s in it’s infant stage at the moment.

That’s obviously not all either, as there were highs and lows, and some stuff that might even surprise you that it happened in 2018, as some of it felt like a lifetime ago to me at least.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

I wanted to start with some of the highlights of the year, and what better place to begin than the accomplishments of the #1 prospect in baseball, Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

The 19 year old was comically good in both in Double-A and Triple-A, combining to post a slash line of .381/.437/.636 in 95 games, with a quick tune up in High-A after he had been injured. He added  20 home runs, 29 doubles, 78 RBI, and had 37 walks against just 38 strikeouts. This from a teenager and the youngest player in his league.

Baseball has absolutely taken notice of what he’s been doing, as he’s quickly moved to the top of all of the major prospect lists, and he’s even projected to be one of the most valuable players in the league next season by Fangraphs.

Beyond just being ridiculously talented, Guerrero genuinely flirted with hitting .400 on the season, and did just that during 61 games with Double-A New Hampshire, slashing .402/.449/.671. The Blue Jays had no choice but to promote him to at least Triple-A, and it would have been interesting to see what might have happened had he been healthy all year. A mid-season stop on the disabled list probably saved the Blue Jays’ front office a lot more headaches than they faced anyway around the pressure to call him up to the big leagues.

And speaking of that pressure, there was definitely the storyline of the Blue Jays not promoting young Vlad, despite the fact that it was obvious he could probably have helped the big league club. That decision sparked plenty of debates, and the only reason he wasn’t promoted was in the interest of the Blue Jays being able to control his contract for an additional year by waiting until 2019.

For a rebuilding club that is important, but that doesn’t mean Guerrero Jr., his agent, or the MLBPA are fond of those decisions. The same happened for Eloy Jimenez of the White Sox, and others like Kris Bryant as few years ago, so this issue could become a real sticking point during negotiations for the next Collective Bargaining Agreement. The whole thing might blow over, but it will be important that the Blue Jays get Vlad to the highest level in fairly short order next season, and give the kid everything he needs to blossom into the best version of himself in the big leagues.

Personally, I’m like a kid at Christmas when I think about getting to see him in the middle of the Blue Jays lineup next season. In 2018, he gave us all plenty of reason to look forward to the future of this team.

Lourdes Gurriel Jr. and his historic streak

Continuing on the positive side of things for a while, the Blue Jays had another youngster was who hugely impressive last year. Lourdes Gurriel Jr. didn’t take long to get acclimatized to the highest level, and he finished the season with a slash line of .281/.309/.446 in 65 games with the Blue Jays, getting 249 at bats. He adding 11 home runs, eight doubles, and 35 RBI, and added a lot of defensive value by playing both second base and shortstop.

There were ups and downs during his big league stint, including a pretty nasty spill that resulted in a stint on the disabled list, but Gurriel Jr. also had a pretty historic run in the middle of his campaign.

On July 11th, the 24 year old went 2-4 against the Atlanta Braves, picking up a pair of singles in the contest. What we didn’t know then was that Gurriel would go on a historic tear at the plate, picking up two or more hits in every start for the rest of the month of July.

It resulted in an 11 game multi-hit streak, which is a new MLB rookie record. He also beat Tony Fernandez‘s previous franchise record of nine consecutive games, and pushed for the all-time mark set by Rogers Hornsby at 13. Had the talented rookie not been injured in that 11th consecutive game, who knows how long he could have kept the hot hand going.

It’s looking highly likely that he’ll get the first crack at being the everyday shortstop in Toronto next season, and I very much look forward to seeing what he can do over the course of a full season. His raw talent is very obvious, and he should be one of the many reasons to tune in to Blue Jays game next season.

John Gibbons departure as manager

When a team is coming off back to back disappointing seasons and is on the cusp of a rebuild, that’s a pretty sure recipe for a change in coaching staff, especially in the manager’s seat. That’s exactly what happened in Toronto, as the front office and Gibbons agreed to part ways with a year left on his contract, and the team hired former Tampa Bay Ray bench coach Charlie Montoyo as his replacement.

As far as the on-field production of the team, Gibby was always a polarizing figure among fans and critics of the Jays. Some felt that he was a little too relaxed at times, or any other criticism you can think of for a losing club, really. That’s what happens in baseball, but I always felt the skipper took things in stride and was generally good for the organization. To that end, I don’t think there are many Blue Jays fans that would say they don’t like John Gibbons, the man. To me, he’s always seemed like a guy that would be a blast to sit down and chat with, and he was very respected among players and media.

It’s bittersweet seeing someone like Gibbons depart, as it’s obvious that the team could probably use a fresh voice, even if he can’t be blamed for the rosters that were to handed him by the front office, or the multiple injuries that happened to the veteran group. He was a leftover face from the Anthopoulos era as well though, and now Atkins and Shapiro have a candidate of their choosing in the manager’s seat. That change may be even more significant than any of the veteran players who’ve moved on in recent years.

He charming Texan finished his second tenure with the organization and has a lifetime record of 793-789 with the Blue Jays, including two trips to the ALCS. That’s good for second in franchise history behind only Cito Gaston, and will have him remain a face of this club for many years to come.

He’s indicated that he would like to manage again elsewhere, but if this is retirement for Gibby, well, then I hope he enjoys it.

Josh Donaldson’s trade, and disappointing 2018 season

One of the biggest debates last winter was whether or not the Blue Jays should trade Josh Donaldson before the season began, and start the rebuild early. Ross Atkins and Mark Shapiro cited the fan support as a reason they wanted to give the veteran roster one more chance, and obviously things didn’t work out how anyone hoped or planned.

As bad as the season was for the Blue Jays, things were even worse for Donaldson while he was still in Toronto. He managed to appear in just 36 games prior to a trade to the Cleveland Indians, and he didn’t produce much at all while he was in the lineup. He slashed just .234/.333/.436 with five home runs and 16 RBI, never looking healthy and mostly being relegated to DH duties.

To make matters worse, he couldn’t get healthy enough in time to be eligible for the July 31st trade deadline, and it’s hard to say if he should have been allowed to be dealt at the end of August at all either. He ended up spending more time on the disabled list after arriving in Cleveland, but at least the Blue Jays were able to get one asset in return, 27 year old starter Julian Merryweather, who had Tommy John surgery last year, but still has some upside.

Unfortunately the whole thing was bungled a bit by the Blue Jays, as they gambled on Donaldson still retaining trade value in the summer and being worth a lot more than he ended up getting in trade return. With all due respect to Merryweather, there was a time when Donaldson looked like he could garner a return of several prospects, and likely a headliner with a much greater ceiling than Merryweather.

We’ll see how the “Bringer of Rain” fairs in Atlanta after signing a one year, 23 million dollar deal, but there is definitely a section of Blue Jays fans that are still a little sore about his departure.

Speaking of roster changes

Josh Donaldson and Roberto Osuna weren’t the only Blue Jays traded in 2018, as there was quite a fire sale in Toronto during the summer.

Atkins traded Steve Pearce to the Red Sox, J.A. Happ to the Yankees, Curtis Granderson to the Brewers, Aaron Loup to the Phillies, Seunghwan Oh to the Rockies, and John Axford to the Dodgers. There were several other discussions as well, but the roster got a lot younger in a hurry with all of those moves.

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The trend has continued so far this offseason, as Aledmys Diaz was traded to the Astros for Trent Thornton, Yangervis Solarte was non-tendered and released, and Troy Tulowitzki and his 38 million were sent packing as well. Going another step further, there have been rumours surrounding the remaining veterans such as Marcus Stroman, Aaron Sanchez, Justin Smoak, Kevin Pillar, and Russell Martin. The front office has expressed their desire to rebuild, and it doesn’t look like they’re kidding at all.

I sincerely hope that they don’t trade Stroman or Sanchez, at least not until they regain some or all of their top-shelf value they had a year or two ago, and I’m not sure they’ll get much of a return for any of Pillar, Martin, or Smoak, for various reasons. It’s a great idea to clear the way for the young players to get experience and playing time, but there’s value in having a few veteran voices in the lineup from time to time as well. It remains to be seen how things will play out, but don’t be surprised if the Blue Jays make another trade or two before Opening Day.

Whatever happens going forward, 2018 will be remembered as a year of transition for the franchise, and the year that they went from one generation to another. Hopefully this coming group of players works out to be as talented as they appear, and the supporting cast around a guy like Vlad Jr can excel at the highest level. That’s the consolation for saying farewell to this “Gibby” era.