Toronto Blue Jays: A healthy Dalton Pompey could be huge boost
The Toronto Blue Jays continue to get good news on the injury front. The same night that J.A. Happ made his return to the rotation, outfielder Dalton Pompey started a rehab assignment. The 24 year old has been out with concussion symptoms since mid-March.
On Tuesday, Dalton Pompey went three for four, with a walk, a double, a stolen base and three RBI for the Dunedin Blue Jays. The switch-hitting outfielder could enter the Toronto Blue Jays’ left field discussion, as the team continues to look for a long-term solution at that position.
Buck Martinez, Dan Schulman and Pat Tabler were debating the left field dilemma during Thursday’s broadcast. Martinez touched on the rehabbing Pompey and the value he could provide:
"“A guy I think is going to come into the picture before too long is Dalton Pompey,” he said. “He’s versatile, plays all the outfield (positions), he’s a switch hitter, he’s got speed – something the Blue Jays haven’t got much of. I think he’s going to be an important guy, later on this summer.”"
Pompey has been out since sliding awkwardly into second during a World Baseball Classic game against Colombia. Team Canada’s leadoff man left the game under the MLB’s concussion protocol, citing “mild dizziness.”
Pompey suffered a concussion last season at Triple-A Buffalo, so there was a legitimate cause for concern even over a seemingly minor injury. He was initially placed on the 10 day disabled list, but on April 23 he was transferred to the 60 day DL – proving the injury was more serious than initially assumed.
The speedy Mississauga native entered spring training in the running for the left field job, along with Steve Pearce, Ezequiel Carrera and Melvin Upton.
When the Jays broke camp Carrera and Pearce were both batting .250 and Upton .194 (he would be cut before the season started). None of Pompey’s competitors ran away with the job, but unfortunately he was unable to take of advantage of this.
He is currently on the team’s 40-man roster, but there is no guarantee of a job upon his return. Carrera is holding his own as a starter in left, but with Pearce and top prospect Anthony Alford on the DL there may be room for a fourth outfielder, especially one with speed off the bench and athleticism in the field.
Chris Coghlan is currently the Jays’ fourth outfielder, but when the recruitments come back he will likely return to the minors.
John Gibbons recently said Pearce appears only a couple weeks out. When healthy, the 33-year old first baseman/outfielder should get full time duties in left. So time may not be on Pompey’s side.
He may have to return to Triple-A and prove his value to the club before he gets the call. But as Martinez suggests, it might not be long before the team realizes what a valuable asset they have.
Carrera has handled the majority of playing time in left this season. He excelled in April, batting .313, but has regressed closer to his career .260 average, batting .269 in May. If he continues to regress at the plate, the Pompey debate could be reopened.
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On the defensive side, Carrera has been somewhat of a liability in left. Pompey came up in centre and he could help the outfield as a whole. If Jose Bautista, Carrera or Kevin Pillar needs a night off, Gibbons would have a capable defensive replacement on his bench.
Once a unanimous top 100 prospect, Pompey has struggled to establish himself as an everyday starter at the big league level. Although he remained on the clubs 40-man roster for all of last season, he has been little more than a stolen-base specialist when playing in the majors.
He was hardly knocking down the door last year in Buffalo, batting .270/.349 with 18 stolen bases in 93 games. Numbers that are similar to what Carrera is already providing to the team at the big league level.
But when Michael Saunders left via free-agency and Upton struggled in spring, the left field position seemed up for grabs. Many suggested that Justin Smoak and Pearce would platoon at first, while the left-handed Carrera could platoon with the switch-hitting Pompey.
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There is no clear time table for Pompey’s return. He is batting .400 so far in three games with the Dunedin Blue Jays, but where he goes from there and how long he will need is not clear. Whether he comes to the Jays as a fourth outfielder or has to remain in the minors, it is a great problem for the Blue Jays to have.