TORONTO – Given the Toronto Blue Jays’ ongoing search for pitching depth, last month’s minor-league trade of Wade LeBlanc to the Seattle Mariners for a player to be named or cash was somewhat curious.
Why would an organization stressing how thin it was in pitching essentially give away someone dominating at triple-A Buffalo?
Well, the answer is two-fold. First, LeBlanc had a major-league out in his contract meaning that he could ask out for a job with another big-league team, something the Mariners were offering; and second, the Blue Jays didn’t have an open big-league roster spot to offer the left-hander instead.
“You always appreciate an organization that’s going to be honest with you, going to be upfront and give you a shot whether if it’s with them or with someone else,” says LeBlanc, 1-0 with a 4.26 ERA in five games, four starts for Seattle. “They understand the goal is to get to the big-leagues.
“Obviously when you sign with someone, for me, I want to be able to give my heart and soul to that team. So I would have loved to have it work out that I got up here with the Blue Jays but they had guys throwing the ball great, everybody was healthy. As a human being I want everybody to stay healthy even if they’re ahead of me. The fact that a spot opened in Seattle, I’m very grateful that they let me go.”
LeBlanc threw six shutout innings in a 4-3 win June 24 over the Cardinals in his first start with the Mariners, and pitched well in two of his three other starts, with one blip against the Houston Astros. He made his first relief appearance Saturday against the Blue Jays, allowing three runs in three innings of mop-up duty in a 14-5 drubbing.
While letting LeBlanc go to a team that in theory could end up competing with the Blue Jays for the wild card isn’t ideal, there’s a cache to be had with minor-league free agents by not impeding someone’s path. A good reputation can sometimes tilt the balance in minor-league free agency, and being able to sign the best players is an important way to build organizational depth.
LeBlanc went 7-2 with a 1.71 ERA in 14 starts with Buffalo before the trade. In years past, he would have stressed over not getting a promotion and he believes not worrying about a promotion helped him have success once he joined the Mariners.
“I know what kind of stuff I have and I think I know what it takes for a guy like me to get major-league hitters out and I felt like I had that stuff in triple-A,” said LeBlanc, who’s appeared in 112 big-league games over parts of eight seasons. “It wasn’t necessarily confirmation for me, but maybe more so confirmation for the Mariners front office staff, coaches that the stuff does translate and that they can count on me to give them some quality innings rather than just fill a spot for them.”
His first reaction to word he’d be joining Seattle?
“How do I get my stuff back?” LeBlanc joked. “Other than that it was just exciting knowing somebody wants you and needs you. It’s always nice to be needed, always nice to be wanted, so I just wanted to get everything lined up and find a comfort zone as fast as possible so I could try to make good on it.”
—
SANCHEZ WATCH: Aaron Sanchez returns to the mound Monday against the San Diego Padres eight innings away from matching his career high of 133.1 established in 2014. Once he reaches and surpasses that number, the discussion on when he may be transitioned to the bullpen will only heat up.
“Every day we’re closer and every outing we’re closer, and as the deadline and alternatives come and go, we’re closer,” general manager Ross Atkins says of when the Blue Jays might make a decision on the right-hander. “But it’s not significant relative to yesterday.”
The Blue Jays said during spring training that they’d transition Sanchez at some point during the season to guard against too large a year-to-year spike in workload. He threw a total of 110.1 innings last year, but now that he’s emerged as an all-star and dominant force in the rotation, the Blue Jays aren’t as keen on dropping him from the staff.
“There are a lot of options and we’re exhausting all of them,” says Atkins. “It’s a hard thing not to think about. All our pro scouts, our amateur scouts, guys in player development, our entire front office, everyone is suggesting ideas. Paul Quantrill and Pat Hentgen have had ideas about it. There are a lot of different ways to go about it, but ultimately it’s all about risk and balancing that with the upside of the reward of him being a very good starting pitcher.”
—
ANOTHER MILESTONE FOR EDWIN: Having already surpassed George Bell and Joe Carter on the list of all-time Blue Jays home run leaders, Edwin Encarnacion has now leapfrogged former teammate Vernon Wells for third place at 224.
Only Carlos Delgado, with 336, and Jose Bautista, with 255, are ahead of the slugger, his place among the franchise’s pantheon of great players becoming increasingly more prominent.
“I never thought I’d get to the point where I am right now with this organization, passing Vernon Wells, one of the great players in this organization,” says Encarnacion. “It made me feel very happy because to pass Vernon Wells is something I never thought was going to happen.”
The milestone homer was Encarnacion’s 27th of the season, opening the scoring in Sunday’s 2-0 win over the Seattle Mariners. He hit No. 223 Wednesday in Arizona and narrowly missed a couple of pitches to hit against James Paxton in Friday’s 2-1 loss, slapping himself in the helmet afterwards.
“When you’re hitting it’s all about timing. I lost my timing for a little bit, then I tried to get it back,” he explains. “It’s not a good feeling, because I can’t miss those pitches. When I get mad like that it’s because there were good pitches for hitting and I cannot miss it. But it happens, it’s part of the game.”
—
PADRES WATCH: The Padres are visiting Toronto for the first time ever this week, marking the completion of every possible matchup since interleague play started in 1995. The team have met three times previously, in 2004, 2010 and 2013, all in San Diego, with the Blue Jays leading all-time 5-4.
This time, they’ll meet with the Blue Jays having scouted the Padres extensively, with starters Andrew Cashner and the injured Tyson Ross plus outfielder Melvin Upton Jr., among the players of some interest.
Cashner starts Tuesday, so the Blue Jays will get a first-hand look at how the erratic but talented right-hander fares at Rogers Centre against an AL East club.
