Toronto Blue Jays: The familiar faces in the NL East

As the Blue Jays embark on a short season, they’ll also join a new super-division with the NL East. Which familiar faces are we bound to see this year?

If the 2020 season had gone according to plan, the Blue Jays would not be seeing NL East teams with the exception of the Philadelphia Phillies, who they play every even calendar year. Due to the Coronavirus pandemic, changes were needed to all aspects of the game, which included the schedule. It’s looking like the Blue Jays may in fact be doing their spring training and playing their home games in Toronto, but that has yet to be confirmed as of this writing. 

With the yet to be released schedule consisting of 60 games, they will play 40 of them against their AL East counterparts and 20 games against teams in the NL East, with six of those games coming against the Phillies. It’s not yet known how the games against the other NL East teams will be divided up, but we know that they’ll play 10 games against each of their division rivals in the AL East. Our own Chris Henderson recently wrote about the new “super-division”, and how it likely won’t help the Blue Jays’ chances. That said, it’s going to be a strange and unprecedented year of baseball.

As the purpose of playing NL East teams is to reduce travel, some players they will see are former members of Canada’s team, while others were faces that they often played against as members of the Red Sox, Yankees, Rays, and Orioles. Here are players from each NL East team that are familiar to the Blue Jays and their fans.

Atlanta Braves

On the mound, the Blue Jays could see Darren O’Day who spent seven seasons as a key part of the Orioles’ bullpen. One thing that comes to mind when thinking of O’Day is his battles with Jose Bautista, as over the years, Bautista and O’Day feuded which led to arguments, near brawls and highlight moments. The Braves acquired O’Day at the 2018 trade deadline.

If O’Day is on the mound, catching him could be Travis d’Arnaud who was a former top prospect in the Blue Jays organization. d’Arnaud was originally acquired as part of the Roy Halladay trade, but was then traded to the Mets a few years later as part of the R.A. Dickey trade. The Braves signed him in the offseason to a two-year deal.

The Jays are usually big players on the international market and one player they signed years ago was Adeiny Hechavarria. He played 41 games for the Jays in 2012 where he was a glove-first shortstop, which he has been his whole career. He was a part of the big trade with the Marlins that brought in Jose Reyes, Josh Johnson among others. He played parts of the season on the Braves in 2019 and they brought him back for another go-around.

Another player that roamed around the infield at Rogers Centre when he was in a Jays uniform was Yangervis Solarte. In 2018 with the Jays, he slashed .226/.277/.378 with 17 HR. He got off to a scorching hot start and was known for dancing when his teammates hit home runs, but he grounded into a lot of double plays which led to him being non-tendered. He signed a minor league deal with the Braves this offseason and will be competing for a spot on the roster.

While he hasn’t played in the AL East since 2014, Nick Markakis was the Orioles primary right fielder for nine years and played many games at the Rogers Center. In 2017, there were rumours linking a Braves/Jays trade that would have seen Markakis come north of the border but it ultimately didn’t happen.

New York Mets

The most notable former Blue Jay on the Mets is Marcus Stroman. He wore Toronto on his heart and embraced the city like almost no other athlete did. If there were fans permitted in the stands, he would definitely be given a standing ovation upon his return. He was traded just before the deadline last year for Anthony Kay and Simeon Woods Richardson.

A former member of the Tigers and Red Sox rotation, Rick Porcello is now a part of the Mets rotation after agreeing to a one-year deal in the offseason. He was the 2016 AL Cy Young recipient as a member of the Red Sox.

Appearing in just one game last year which plummeted his value in free agency, Dellin Betances was one of the most dominant relievers in the game as a member of the Yankees. He recorded 100+ strikeouts in five consecutive years and is a four-time all-star. The Mets brought him to Queens on a one-year deal attached with player options.

That’s not the only former AL East relievers in New York either. From 2014-2018, Brad Brach was a key reliever in the Orioles’ pen. While no longer as dominant as he used to be, he’s still a serviceable reliever that the Mets will rely on in their deep bullpen. The Mets picked him up off waivers last year after his release from the Cubs and signed him to another deal this offseason.

Despite not being in the AL East since 2013, Robinson Cano was a member of the Yankees for nine seasons and often came north of the border to play the Blue Jays. The Mets acquired him in a trade with the Mariners in the 2018 offseason.

Philadelphia Phillies

Former Blue Jays pitcher Francisco Liriano signed with the Phillies this offseason on a one year deal. While he was mainly a starter with the Blue Jays, he’s most likely to find himself in a relief role for the Phillies as he came out of the bullpen 69 times for their crosstown rivals in the Pittsburgh Pirates.

On January 8th, 2016, the Jays traded speedster Ben Revere to the Nationals for Drew Storen. He was brought in to help anchor the back of the bullpen in an attempt to form a dominant 8th-9th inning duo of him and Roberto Osuna but he ended up being a disaster as he posted a 6.21 ERa with a .309 opponent average in 38 games. At least the Jays were able to flip him for Joaquin Benoit who found his groove again after arriving in Toronto. Storen hasn’t pitched in the big leagues since 2017 and with rosters expanded to 30 to start off the season, this is his chance to return to the big leagues and pitch his way onto the team.

Prior to the 2015 season, the Yankees traded for Didi Gregorius to be Derek Jeter‘s replacement. He spent five years with the Yankees and signed with the Phillies in the offseason to reunite with his former manager Joe Girardi, who was the longtime manager of the Yankees until his dismissal after the 2017 season. The Phillies also brought in Girardi in the offseason as their new manager in Philly after firing former skipper Gabe Kapler.

Washington Nationals

Days before the 2019 season, the Jays signed Daniel Hudson to bolster their bullpen, and he was flipped to the Nationals at the deadline for minor league pitcher Kyle Johnston. Hudson pitched the final out in game seven of the World Series and was re-signed to a two-year deal in Washington.

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This player may not come to mind, but Yan Gomes was a member of the Blue Jays in 2012. When he made his major league debut, he was the first Brazilian player to reach the major leagues. He was traded to Cleveland along with Mike Aviles after the 2012 season, which netted the Blue Jays relief pitcher Esmil Rogers. He was acquired by the Nationals from Cleveland prior to the 2019 season and they re-signed him to a two-year deal this past offseason.

Eric Thames was on the Blue Jays for the 2011 season and parts of 2012. He then played for the Mariners before going overseas to play in Korea. As he resurrected his career overseas, he returned to the big leagues with the Brewers in 2017 and burst onto the scene playing video-game-like baseball until he cooled down considerably. The Nationals signed him to a contract in the offseason.

While he only played in the AL East for two seasons in 2016 and 2017 as a member of the Yankees, until he was shipped to the Marlins as part of the trade for Stanton, Starlin Castro is also now on the Nationals as they signed him to a two-year deal a couple of months ago.

Did we miss anyone? Do you miss any of these guys, or are you looking forward to seeing them again in 2020? Let us know in the comments section below.