Carson on MLB: 10 Jays burning questions

There have been many changes to the Toronto Blue Jays since they last hit the field back on Oct. 3 in a 2-1 win over the playoff-bound Minnesota Twins.

It was Cito Gaston’s farewell as manager and it featured the two main reasons why the Jays finished 2010 with 85 wins: solid starting pitching and home runs.

Four months later they are just one week from getting the band back together, albeit with some new faces, both on the field and in the dugout. I recently sat down with Rogers Sportsnet play-by-play man Buck Martinez to get his feelings on a myriad of subjects.

SC: What intangibles will rookie manager John Farrell bring to the Blue Jays?

BM: John Farrell will be managing for the first time but in my mind he is well prepared for the job. John was a pitcher and most recently the pitching coach for the Boston Red Sox, so he knows the neighbourhood.

He comes from an atmosphere of winning, having won the 2007 World Series in Boston. He knows how to handle men from different backgrounds. Dice-K, Papelbon, Lester and Buchholz are all quite different characters, yet he got the most out of them. He has worked with the best catcher in baseball, Jason Varitek, at setting up a game plan and getting the most out of the pitcher. All of these qualities will serve him well in Toronto.

He comes to a pitching-rich environment and has the inner confidence to keep the incumbent pitching coach, Bruce Walton, who has managed the growth of this young pitching staff very effectively. John is also a rarity as one of the few former pitchers that have become a manager, but I like his background in the front office with Cleveland, his college coaching background at Oklahoma State where he played, and the four years he spent with Terry Francona in Boston.

John is a bright, articulate, tough man who will get the best out of the group of young and talented players.

SC: Where is Jose Bautista most valuable, right field or third base?

BM: Great question.

Jose feels he is better served to play in right field as it allows him to utilize his great arm. It also is his natural position where he has spent most of his playing days. Another aspect that benefits Jose playing in the outfield is that he can stretch out his legs running which keeps him loose and quick on the bases and at the plate. I think he would prefer to play right for all of those reasons.

My take on the question is this. I think Jose is most valuable to the team at third base and here’s why. Bautista is a leader and that attribute gets lost way out there in right field. If he plays third he can have a real positive impact on Yunel Escobar, his shortstop partner, by reminding him of various situations that pop up during the course of an inning and several times during a game.

If you have a young catcher, J.P. Arencibia, and a relatively inexperienced first baseman, Adam Lind, Bautista can be a coach on the field and help these two through the learning process during meetings on the mound.

The Jays don’t have many baseball minds like Bautista who can elevate the level of his teammates’ play and that will be most effective with him at third.

SC: Have the Yankees and Rays come back to the pack enough for the Jays to contend for the wild card?

BM: The Jays are going into the season with question marks at two key positions, catcher and first base.

Defence is going to be crucial to the continued growth of the young pitching staff and we aren’t real sure what we have yet at these two positions. Adam Lind should not be judged on his play at first last year as he was trying to learn on the fly at the Major League level and that’s nearly impossible. Give him a full spring training with one of the best infield coaches , Brian Butterfield, and a couple of months of regular season play and then we can make an assessment. He has good hands as we saw him dig some low throws last year in limited actions. If he can play first, it really frees up the DH spot down the road.

As for Arencibia, he believes he can be an everyday catcher and we need to find out if he can. He is a hard worker that had the bat come around last year. John Farrell, as I mentioned earlier, knows what he wants from his catcher and that is to put the pitcher first and foremost. If J.P. understands that the first thing the club wants behind the plate is a leader and whatever comes with the lumber will be a bonus, he will get plenty of time behind the dish. He has caught most of these guys in the minors and many of the top young pitchers in baseball during his association with Team USA as an amateur.

Let’s give both J.P. and Adam a full spring and a couple of months of regular play before we make a call as to the whether or not they can play as regulars on the contending team the Jays intend to be.

SC: If Kyle Drabek makes the rotation in the No. 4 slot, which pitcher has the best shot at No. 5?

BM: There are a few more options this spring than last and let’s not rush to put Drabek in the No. 4 spot so fast. Jesse Litsch is coming back from hip surgery very well and looks great off the mound so far. Scott Richmond is healthy and throwing some good side sessions. Dustin McGowan was throwing well last spring early and had setbacks that lead to August shoulder surgery. He is throwing off flat ground and not on anybody’s list for the rotation, but this is a thoroughbred that makes you peek when he throws.

Zach Stewart matched Kyle Drabek at the end of the year with his velocity and the improvement of his slider and changeup. Stewart has something that is very valuable, the ability to throws strikes inside. Don’t pigeon hole Stewart in the pen just yet. The arms are young with Romero leading the way, and there are more on the horizon.

SC:How far away from the Majors is Adeiny Hechavarria?

BM: He is at least a year away, maybe a year-and-a-half.

Remember, he really struggled at A-ball last year before he was promoted to Double-A, but that was more of a cultural issue with the language than a baseball problem. Luis Rivera was the manager in Double-A and Hechavarria blossomed in the better atmosphere with a Spanish speaking skipper. Adeiny has the physical tools to be a very good major-league middle infielder, but he needs reps in the field and at the plate in pro ball to gain the consistency it takes to play every day at impact defensive positions such as second or short.

Give him some time and expect to see him in 2012 at some point.

SC: What can we expect from Adam Lind at first base?

BM: We don’t really know.

It’s tough to label Adam on what he did last year at first since he was making the conversion on the fly during the season. It’s tough for anyone. He came down to Florida during the off-season and worked with minor league instructor Mike Mordecai on the fundamentals of playing the position. Give him six weeks of spring training and a couple of months of regular time around the bag and then we will be able to make an informed judgement as to the long-term possibility of Adam playing first every day.

SC As it stands right now, the Jays have only two left-handed hitters on the 40-man roster. Will that be a problem?

BM I have never been a real stickler for balance in a lineup, lefty/righty just by the numbers.

If the Jays can hit like they did a year ago, they can stand on their heads as far as I am concerned. With John Farrell’s goal of being a more well-balanced offence that doesn’t rely so heavily on the long ball, they could overcome the lean to the right on the roster.

One thing to remember about the roster as we head into spring training is this will change! The roster will change before Opening Day, it may change before the July 31 trade deadline and again at the end of August. The Blue Jays are a long way from a finished product so don’t get caught up in trying to break down who will bat where in the lineup just yet.

The AL East has some tough lefthanders with CC, Lester, Price and Matusz, so having a strong right-handed lineup may not be a bad thing.

SC: Is J.P. Arencibia ready to be an everyday catcher at the Major League level?

BM: We don’t know yet.

He has been in the Dunedin area working out since Jan. 3 and looks to be in tip-top shape. You have to understand that it takes a while for a young catcher to become comfortable with the leadership it takes to handle a front-line pitching staff like the Jays are putting together. Buster Posey of the Giants is a rare exception. I spoke with Tim Lincecum about Posey last September and he had nothing but great things to say about the job Posey does handling the staff.

This is really unusual in a young catcher, to gain the respect and confidence of your pitching staff that quickly. Remember, Posey was with San Francisco at the end of 2009, but he played mostly first base. He didn’t break with the team last spring and wasn’t called up until late May when Bengie Molina was traded to Texas.

J.P. thinks he can be that guy, which is a huge first step. John Farrell and Bruce Walton will make sure in spring training that Arencibia understands that first and foremost his job is to be the quarterback for the pitchers. Former backstop Don Wakamatsu, the new bench coach, will be in charge of the catchers. You will not notice it when you watch the team play, but Wakamatsu will have a very positive impact on Arencibia’s development as an everyday catcher.

I think J.P. has the skill set to grow into the position, but he is the one that has to have an open mind and commit to the workload to take over behind the dish. He had better lean on his partner, Jose Molina, the way John Buck did last year. Buck grew dramatically working with Molina, which helped him secure a nice three-year, $18 million deal with the Florida Marlins. J.P. Arencibia knows what a great opportunity he has in front of him, now he has to make the most of it.

Don’t be too quick to judge, let’s give him some time to settle in.

SC: Of the left-handed relievers in camp, who is best equipped to step into Scott Downs’ role as the late-inning southpaw?

BM: I think there are several possibilities.

David Purcey will be the lead dog early because of his work at the end of the season last year. Jesse Carlson has his arm strength back to where he was two years ago and could be a real sleeper in this camp. Now I will throw a name out there as a dark horse: Rommie Lewis.

Lewis is a journeyman minor leaguer that was with the Orioles briefly and got some action with the Jays last year. I watched him throw a side session at the end of January that was awesome. He is a big, strong guy that has struggled to find his arm slot but he is very close. After that particular session, he told me, “that was the best side session I have ever had.”

It was powerful with a great downward angle and pinpoint command. I give him all of this praise with qualifications, it was January, it was at the minor-league complex and there was a big, broad-shouldered right hander standing in the box with a club. He needs to remember the effort level and the arm slot, but if he can do that, he will be packing his bag for the Rogers Centre and the Minnesota Twins on Opening Day.

SC: Alex Anthopoulos has rebuilt the farm system after years of neglect. Is he done, or could we see some more roster moves before Opening Day?

BM: Alex has only just begun.

The farm system was neglected for so long it is not a quick-fix problem. He did a good job last June drafting a core of big, strong, power-armed pitchers, signing them and getting them into the system to start the development process, which could take up to four or five years with high school players.

The farm system had no position player depth and was sorely in need of an infusion of physical, fast, athletes that are needed to play in the Majors today. Athletic players are more than one-dimensional specialists that may have been able to get by during the era of PEDs. That doesn’t play anymore.

With the Halladay trade as a jumping off point, Anthopoulos has made a very dedicated effort to get in return physically gifted athletes. Travis d’Arnaud, Anthony Gose, Brett Lawrie and Rajai Davis are just exactly what AA wants from here on out: speedy, multi-talented athletes.

The system will get another shot of young talent next June when the Jays take advantage of the extra picks they garnered with the recent free agent departures. I think the organization is right where it needs to be and headed back to contention in the very near future, if not this year certainly in 2012, which has been the target date for AA all along.