Just a couple of brief notes from the last couple of days:
First, the Blue Jays have announced this week that Pete Walker has been named the new bullpen coach, as a result of Pat Hentgen stepping down from the position due to family reasons. To be perfectly honest here, I’m not entirely sure exactly how much quantifiable impact a bullpen coach has on a pitching staff, but Hentgen has been praised by the organization since he began working with the club last season, and will stay on in an advisory role with the club. Walker was the pitching coach for AA New Hempshire last season, so he’ll be bringing his familiarity with kids like Henderson Alvarez with him to the big club in 2012.
Next – and this kind of hurts me to say – it sounds as though the Blue Jays are not that seriously after Cuban defector Yoenis Cespedes after all. Most of you will know Cespedes because of the now-taken-down showcase video that surfaced on YouTube this week (it has since been re-posted to edit out the glorious pig-roasting ending), and it was floated around on Twitter that Toronto was one of the 8-9 MLB clubs who was in on the 26-year old (?) Cuban phenom. New Hempshire sports writer Kevin Gray splashed some cold water on that a little after, stating that the team is not seriously interested bringing Cespedes to Toronto with our current depth in outfield.
As much as I would like the club to be in on the player here – and Alex Anthopoulous is no stranger to engaging Cuban imports (was in on Chapman, signed Hechavarria) – Gray makes a great point. With 2 players already vying for the LF job in Toronto, and with guys like Gose rising quickly, the Jays are not exactly in dire need of another outfielder, even if Cespedes will likely need at least a half season of MLB seasoning. I’m going to go ahead and fall in line and say that the Marlins (who also lost out on Chapman and are chomping at the bits to make a big splash) are a much better fit, and probably much likelier to be the highest bidder.
That being said, with Anthopoulous aiming to be busy this winter, a lot can change very quickly. Quickly enough for the Jays to get in on some of Cespedes’ CORE STRENGTH? Probably not. But it wouldn’t exactly be a shock if the Jays depth chart at OF became more fluid over the next few months.
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