Toronto Blue Jays: Catching Up on Adam Lind
Once a fan favourite with the Toronto Blue Jays, I can barely remember what Adam Lind looks like these days
It’s been less than a year since the Toronto Blue Jays traded Adam Lind to the Milwaukee Brewers for Marco Estrada, but it feels like an eternity has already passed.
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This may be due to Lind’s inability to stay healthy and remain in the lineup over his last three seasons with the Jays or it may be due to the team’s penchant for constantly reinventing itself in dramatic fashion these days, but it is odd. Lind was a key part of the Jays’ offence for nine seasons and he quickly established himself as a fan favourite. Now I can barely remember what he looked like in a Jays uniform (red-bearded and limping down the first base line?)
As a member of the Jays, Lind put up some pretty impressive offensive numbers. He hit for an average of .273 and had an OBP of .327 over 953 career games with the club. Lind’s 931 hits, 519 RBI, 429 runs and 146 home runs justified his presence in the middle of the batting order. He was always a plate clearer, never a plate setter, in Toronto.
Jul 22, 2015; Milwaukee, WI, USA; Milwaukee Brewers first baseman Adam Lind (24) drives in a run with a base hit in the second inning against the Cleveland Indians at Miller Park. Mandatory Credit: Benny Sieu-USA TODAY Sports
Lind has continued to put up solid offensive numbers with the Brewers this year. On the season (112 games played), he’s hitting .284 with an OBP of .364. His 17 homes runs and 67 RBI rank second on the team while his 52 runs and batting average are good for third place.
Defensively, the Brewers have utilized Lind at first base where he provides a steady, if not particularly fast or agile, glove. Over 106 appearances at “the other hot corner,” he’s committed only three errors while picking up 64 assists and contributing to 88 double plays.
(Can Justin Smoak say the same when it comes to the glove and the bat?)
Milwaukee has an option on Lind for next season and it’s hard to imagine them passing on it. Lind has been linked to trade rumours, however, so he could just as easily be moved to a team looking for an extra bat before the non-waiver trade deadline passes.
Apr 15, 2015; St. Louis, MO, USA; Milwaukee Brewers first baseman Adam Lind (24) fields a ground ball hit by St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Matt Adams (not pictured) during the third inning at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports
Unfortunately, unless Lind is traded to someone in the American League East, the odds of us seeing him this season are zero (the Jays and the Brewers don’t meet). In fact, depending on what happens to Lind heading into the off-season, it might actually be an eternity before we see him again.
In some ways, I miss Lind, but I also have trouble placing him on the team. Things have certainly changed in Toronto over the past year – perhaps that’s my basic point.
[Writer’s note: the stats given for the Brewers don’t include last night’s results.]
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