Tip of the Tower
Fansided

Toronto Blue Jays: Why They Shouldn’t Have Traded Revere for Storen

By Jesse Ferguson

Dec 4, 2015; Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Toronto Blue Jays new general manager Ross Atkins answers questions during an introductory media conference at Rogers Centre. Mandatory Credit: Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 4, 2015; Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Toronto Blue Jays new general manager Ross Atkins answers questions during an introductory media conference at Rogers Centre. Mandatory Credit: Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
2 of 2
Next
Sep 6, 2015; Washington, DC, USA; Washington Nationals relief pitcher Drew Storen (22) throws to the Atlanta Braves during the ninth inning at Nationals Park. The Washington Nationals won 8 - 4. Mandatory Credit: Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 6, 2015; Washington, DC, USA; Washington Nationals relief pitcher Drew Storen (22) throws to the Atlanta Braves during the ninth inning at Nationals Park. The Washington Nationals won 8 – 4. Mandatory Credit: Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports /

Looking At the Bullpen.

One reason I list the move as questionable is because I wonder, do the Jays really need bullpen help? They lost Mark Lowe to free agency, sure, but I say who cares?

The guy looked nice on paper, but he wasn’t anything much for the Jays. Lowe lost more than he won, and he couldn’t be counted on by the Jays.

Toronto Blue Jays
Oct 21, 2015; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Blue Jays relief pitcher Roberto Osuna (54) reacts after the victory against the Kansas City Royals in game five of the ALCS at Rogers Centre. Mandatory Credit: Nick Turchiaro-USA TODAY Sports /

Toronto has a great, young closer in Roberto Osuna. His stats in year one, his rookie year – 2.58 ERA, 20 saves, 9.7 strikeouts per 9 innings, WHIP under 1. That’s a phenomenal rookie campaign. I don’t see why you would move him.

Osuna = ninth inning.

The eighth inning was clearly Aaron Sanchez’s, a scary setup man with great stuff. There have been grumblings about stretching him out to be a starter.

The Jays lost David Price of course, but then, why did the Jays go out and get J.A. Happ (again) if Sanchez was going to be a starter? Of course, this year the Jays have Marcus Stroman pitching as their ace.

Sanchez = eighth inning makes sense

However, I still give stretching out Sanchez plausibility because if I were the Jays, I’d have severely limited confidence in giving the ball to Drew Hutchison every fifth day. And Jesse Chavez? He’s a wildcard at best. Who knows about him? He was no good the first time around. Personally, there’s no way in hell I would’ve traded Liam Hendriks, who was perhaps the Jays most consistent pitcher last year.

Toronto Blue Jays
Oct 2, 2015; St. Petersburg, FL, USA; Toronto Blue Jays relief pitcher Brett Cecil (27) throws a pitch during the ninth inning against the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports /

So if the ninth inning is Osuna’s, the eighth Sanchez’s, the seventh inning would be Brett Cecil’s. He put up a sub-2.50 ERA, boasting 70 strikeouts while yielding a WHIP under one. Solid.

Cecil = seventh inning

So I don’t know where Storen fits in to be perfectly honest. From my analysis, it looks like Sanchez will be stretched out. I don’t know how I feel about that. Before analyzing it, I didn’t like the idea.

Another idea would be to move Osuna down to the eighth inning role, although that’d seem like a demotion for him – a very undeserved demotion.

The reason I suggest this idea is because of Storen’s last year. He was the reliable, sturdy closer of the Nationals posting 29 saves in 31 opportunities, a 1.73 ERA with a 1.02 WHIP.

Then, the underachieving Nationals wanted to shake things up – possibly put them over the top. They brought in Jonathon Papelbon, the hot-headed closer. Storen, demoted to the setup role in 20 games, then put up a 6.75 ERA, his WHIP bumped .30 points down and he blew all three of his save opportunities with the infection called Papelbon in their clubhouse as the closer.

I suppose the Jays now have options in the bullpen, which is more than they can say for a leadoff hitter. The options I listed are unreliable… they don’t look very plausible.

So where Storen fits in, we don’t know. Where a leadoff hitter is, we don’t know. What we do know is a good one was just shipped away.

I thought the Jays had enough bullpen arms. I don’t think that ‘need’ was enough to unload Revere, a very solid leadoff hitter. Just another move that leaves Jays’ fans shaking their collective head at this new management era. (As if they could afford that.)

This isn’t Cleveland, as much as Shapiro has seemed to try to make Toronto “Cleveland North”.

Next: Blue Jays: Time For Michael Saunders to Step Up

Toronto’s aspirations are far above the Indians’. I guess the results will have to prove their moves. Of course, there’s a long time until the season kicks off; there are still moves to be made, surely. I guess we should let the dust settle…

Home/Toronto Blue Jays