Blue Jays: Five players looking to bounce back in 2022

Nate Pearson

2021 was supposed to be Nate Pearson’s year.

After his debut season was cut short due to an arm injury, the starting rotation had a spot open for him for Opening Day this past April and fans were excited to see one of their top pitching prospects finally get a chance to shine on the big league stage for a full campaign.

Fast forward to the start of the campaign and a groin injury had Pearson on the shelf, delaying any potential Opening Day roster debut until 2023 at the earliest. A month later, Pearson pitched in Houston and struggled with his command, walking five batters and failing to make it to the third inning. A trip to the minors and some more time on the IL, Pearson didn’t return to the Blue Jays until towards the end of the season but was moved to the bullpen in a relief role. He did find success there, appearing in 11 games and pitching to a 2.84 ERA through 12.2 innings, but the long-term goal isn’t for the right-hander to be a bullpen arm.

While injury troubles have plagued Pearson for most of his professional career, a video on his personal Instagram showed that he was throwing and looked to be in good health after his offseason sports hernia surgery; a positive sign for fans and the club that he should be good to go come Spring Training (whenever that happens).

Whether he begins the season in the Majors or down in AAA, the biggest goal for Pearson is appearing in as many games as possible while trying to stay off the injured list. The Blue Jays will 100% have him on some sort of innings limit given the previous injury history, so hopefully, he makes the most of it before he either gets shut down or moved to the bullpen later in the season (if he isn’t there already).

Cavan Biggio

One of the first of the Blue Jays core prospects to make their MLB debut back in 2019, Cavan Biggio entered this past campaign as the club’s primary option at third base with Vladimir Guerrero Jr. now across the diamond and Marcus Semien coming in to take over at second base.

It was a position he had some experience in, 56 games throughout his time in the Minor Leagues and 10 games with the Jays prior to the 2021 campaign, but he struggled early with the club. While athletic and quick, Biggio struggled defensively and was also struggling at the plate, owning a .630 OPS come mid-May. Biggio would then find himself on the injured list for a few weeks and wouldn’t return until mid-June, going another month and a half before going back on the IL and missing almost the rest of the campaign.

The bat did start to creep back after his first IL stint, as he would finish the year with a .224/.322/.356 slash line and a .678 OPS but it certainly did not compare to his two previous campaigns. While he did get some reps at third base upon his return, the club used Biggio in a variety of positions across the diamond, bringing back the possibility of using him as a utility player in the near future.

With Semien now gone, the Jays could have Biggio return to his second base position and continue letting Santiago Espinal and Kevin Smith fight it out for third base (barring an offseason acquisition or signing). The club could also try and continue using him as a utility player but considering the next best option behind Biggio at second is Otto Lopez, the Jays may not be so keen to hand off the position to a rookie in a year where the playoffs are in reach.

A bounce-back campaign for Biggio would go along the lines of him continuing to get walks and finding ways on base while also proving he can be an everyday player, whether at one position or across the diamond. Staying healthy will be key of course but considering his past injury history isn’t at the same level as other members of the roster, let’s hope 2021 wasn’t a sign of things to come for the lefty-batter.

Julian Merryweather

With the cloud of the Josh Donaldson trade hanging over him since his arrival into the Blue Jays system, Julian Merryweather got his moment to shine when he cracked the Opening Day roster this past season.

While he did have a cup of coffee with the club during his MLB debut in 2020, Merryweather teased Jays fans with an incredible showing to begin the season, appearing in four games and striking out seven batters while allowing only one hit through 4.1 innings of work and picking up two saves.

It would be short-lived however, as the right-hander found himself on the IL with an oblique strain and missed a large portion of the season. After a rehab stint in the minors following the IL stint, Merryweather returned to the Blue Jays bullpen in mid-September but was not as dominant as Jays fans had seen earlier in the season. He gave up three earned runs against the Orioles his first game back and would finish the year with a 4.85 ERA through 13.0 innings pitched.

Looking at the current bullpen situation, if the Blue Jays roll with an eight-man relief corps and don’t make any meaningful free agent signings or acquisitions, there are two to three spots open for Merryweather to crack the Opening Day roster again.

I wouldn’t say his spot is guaranteed as there are some strong internal candidates like Kirby Snead and Tayler Saucedo looking for some big league action but a strong Spring Training and staying healthy will go a long way for Merryweather this year. We have seen how dominant he can be on the mound and to have him in the bullpen for a full year could do wonders for a club who had to struggle watching Dolis and Chatwood try to keep it together late in games.

Randal Grichuk

One of the longest-tenured Blue Jays on this younger roster, Randal Grichuk sits in an awkward position when it comes to finding a spot to play amongst the current outfield scenario. With Lourdes Gurriel Jr. in left field, Teoscar Hernandez in right field, and George Springer in centre, Grichuk appears to be the odd man out defensively. The club will obviously move them around to give Springer some additional rest days after the knee injury last season and probably give Grichuk some reps at the DH spot, but having a $10 million AAV player on the bench is less than ideal.

The biggest issue for Grichuk has been consistency, as the righty-batter has struggled to keep a consistent pace over the course of an entire season. He’s hot, then he’s cold, then he’s back to hot, then back to cold. With Springer beginning last season on the IL, it seemed like a prime opportunity for Grichuk to prove he belonged and he took advantage of it for the first two months. By the end of May, Grichuk had 39 RBI and a .289 batting average with a .820 OPS, making it seem like he was off of this rollercoaster that had plagued him years prior.

After a disappointing 2021 campaign, these five Blue Jays players are looking to bounce back in 2022 and prove they belong in the lineup.

His play started to diminish mid-Summer and so does his playing time when Springer was healthy, finishing the year with a .241/.281/.423 slash line and a .703 OPS, his lowest since his debut campaign back in 2014. While the power stroke is there given his 22 home runs, the hot/cold aspect of his game has pushed him to the outside of the outfield equation and his name even appeared in trade rumours prior to the lockout.

Whether or not he does get traded, a bounce-back season for Grichuk would be him finding consistency at the plate as he is able to handle himself defensively as a corner outfielder. The biggest question mark will be whether he gets a chance or not given the current outfield makeup, as a trade either involving himself or Gurriel Jr. may be the only way he sees more playing time in the near future.

Danny Jansen

After taking over the catching duties from veteran Russell Martin late into the 2018 campaign, Danny Jansen has been the Blue Jays’ primary catcher over the past few seasons.

Known for his defensive ability behind the plate, Jansen has built a solid repertoire with multiple members of the Jays pitching staff, most notably Hyun Jin Ryu. His career .994 fielding percentage is solid for an everyday catcher and his arm is no slouch either, catching 24% of base stealers which is just a hair under the league average at 26% through his three seasons.

While his bat played well in the minors, it has yet to really make a full appearance at the Major League level. His career .212 batting average and .694 OPS through 732 at-bats is a tough stat line to look at but he does have some pop, evident by his .473 slugging percentage last season.

The 2021 campaign was rough for Jansen, as the former Gold Glove nominee battled injury and a poor start to the campaign, slashing .144/.239/.260 two months into the season. Once he returned in early September from his second IL stint, Jansen found another notch and was able to put the ball in play, amassing a .310 average through his last 20 games with five home runs and 17 RBI with a 1.072 OPS.

Looking at the bigger picture, Jansen is in some pretty tough competition when it comes to securing playing time at the big league level. Alejandro Kirk is gunning for more playing time and is also looking to bounce back this season while top prospect Gabriel Moreno should be making his debut sometime this year, adding more pressure to the situation.

While Kirk or Jansen could be traded before Opening Day, Illinois product will do himself a lot of favours if he can start strong at the plate in 2022, as a similar start like last season may not play well with Moreno and Kirk knocking on the door.

Jansen may see less playing time with these two prospects looking to make their mark but he does have the most experience on the team, which could bode well with newcomer Kevin Gausman and his batterymate Ryu still in the rotation. Continuing to play solid defence will do him wonders but he needs to find a way to swing the bat with consistency if he wants to be more than just a personal catcher for one pitcher on the roster moving forward.