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What shortened season means for mapping out Nate Pearson’s MLB timeline – Sportsnet.ca

Published

4 years ago

June 30, 2020

TORONTO – Back in March, the expectation around Blue Jays camp was that Nate Pearson would begin the 2020 season at triple-A Buffalo.

Despite his status as the game’s best right-handed pitching prospect and his impressive spring training performance, there was a legitimate developmental case to be made for keeping Pearson in the minors a little longer. The best place to refine his curveball might be triple-A, where there’s less urgency to win and greater emphasis on maximizing potential. Plus, the Blue Jays had reason to be careful about workload after a season in which Pearson’s innings total jumped by 80.

Alongside those developmental questions was the reality that a few more weeks in the minors would give the Blue Jays an additional year of club control over Pearson. While Blue Jays staff gave the impression of being locked in on Pearson’s on-field development, some outside the organization noted that a few weeks in the minors would keep Pearson in Toronto through 2026 rather than 2025. If Pearson realizes his potential, that could be a significant year.

Now, almost every variable has changed. The 60-game MLB season will be the shortest in baseball history, big-league rosters are bigger than ever and the triple-A season likely won’t take place at all. If there’s a developmental case for keeping Pearson off the big-league roster, it’s hard to see. But with all of that said, the team could gain that extra year of service time more easily than ever in a shortened season.

On Sunday, the Blue Jays officially added Pearson to their player pool, making him eligible to contribute to the team in 2020. Health-permitting, he’ll make his debut this summer, assuming there is an MLB season. For that to happen, the Blue Jays will first have to find a home and until they have clarity on those next steps, the front office appears focused on logistics. That’s understandable, but soon enough, the Blue Jays will have answers on that front. At that point, they’ll face a significant question regarding Pearson’s future. Namely, will he spend the entire season at the MLB level?

Months ago, the idea of developing Pearson in the minors made some sense, but it now appears likely that the entire minor-league season will be cancelled. Without those games, it’s hard to see how Pearson’s development would be maximized by practicing with the Jays’ reserves.

Granted, development can happen outside of game settings. The last few months offer proof of that, as Pearson has worked out in Florida, refining his pitches in the Tampa area at places such as the KineticPro Baseball performance lab. Under the circumstances, that’s pretty resourceful, but if Pearson wants to know how his curve plays in games that matter, there’s only one place to find out: the majors.

Maybe that’s not ideal given the pressure of major-league games, but little about this 2020 season would be considered optimal. Teams simply have to do the best they can under the circumstances. With 30-man rosters, there’s certainly no shortage of space in the majors for Pearson (though he will require a 40-man roster spot once the Blue Jays select his contract and that means cutting someone else).

What’s more, any innings concerns that lingered around Pearson have likely eased by now. In a 60-game season, workhorse pitchers might log 60-70 innings with most starters falling well short of that mark. At this point, innings are a rather antiquated way of measuring workload, so the Blue Jays will of course measure fatigue in other ways, but it’s safe to say pitchers face a different physical challenge over two months than they would over six.

So, to recap:

• The majors are likely the only place Pearson can test his stuff in games this summer.

• There’s little reason to be concerned that Pearson’s 2020 workload will snowball out of control.

• He has the potential to help the Blue Jays win games.

• There’s room for him on the roster.

Ben Nicholson-Smith is Sportsnet’s baseball editor. Arden Zwelling is a senior writer. Together, they bring you the most in-depth Blue Jays podcast in the league, covering off all the latest news with opinion and analysis, as well as interviews with other insiders and team members.

Why, under those circumstances, would anyone even consider breaking camp without him? Well, let’s look at how service time will be calculated in this shortened season. According to a source familiar with the MLB rules, players will get a full year of service if they spend at least 62 days in the majors in 2020 (most years the minimum is 172 days). Or, put another way, any player who obtains less than 62 days of service time doesn’t get credit for the full year.

If this were a video game, a prudent GM might decide to keep Pearson in the minors for a week or so until early August then call him up for the remaining two months of the year with complete confidence that Pearson would get less than the 62 days required for a full year of service. On paper, one start in late July certainly isn’t worth the full year of club control the Blue Jays would get in 2026.

But of course Ross Atkins isn’t playing a video game here. The decision the front office makes will be monitored closely in the Blue Jays’ clubhouse, by the Toronto fan base and within the offices of the MLBPA. All of those stakeholders would notice if Pearson doesn’t break camp and some might oppose such a decision loudly. When the team’s focus shifts back from logistics to development those voices will be worth considering.

It wasn’t long ago that starting Pearson in the minors looked defensible. Service time aside, there was a case to be made for sending him to Buffalo. But there was a triple-A season then, creating alternative settings for top prospects to develop in games. A few months later, it would be harder to justify keeping Pearson off the roster for baseball reasons.

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Canada’s Marina Stakusic falls in Guadalajara Open quarterfinals

Published

8 hours ago

September 13, 2024

Anne Joseph

GUADALAJARA, Mexico – Canada’s Marina Stakusic fell 6-4, 6-3 to Poland’s Magdalena Frech in the quarterfinals of the Guadalajara Open tennis tournament on Friday.

The 19-year-old from Mississauga, Ont., won 61 per cent of her first-serve points and broke on just one of her six opportunities.

Stakusic had upset top-seeded Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia 6-3, 5-7, 7-6 (0) on Thursday night to advance.

In the opening round, Stakusic defeated Slovakia’s Anna Karolína Schmiedlová 6-2, 6-4 on Tuesday.

The fifth-seeded Frech won 62 per cent of her first-serve points and converted on three of her nine break point opportunities.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.

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Kirk’s walk-off single in 11th inning lifts Blue Jays past Cardinals 4-3

Published

8 hours ago

September 13, 2024

Anne Joseph

TORONTO – Alejandro Kirk’s long single with the bases loaded provided the Toronto Blue Jays with a walk-off 4-3 win in the 11th inning of their series opener against the St. Louis Cardinals on Friday.

With the Cardinals outfield in, Kirk drove a shot off the base of the left-field wall to give the Blue Jays (70-78) their fourth win in 11 outings and halt the Cardinals’ (74-73) two-game win streak before 30,380 at Rogers Centre.

Kirk enjoyed a two-hit, two-RBI outing.

Erik Swanson (2-2) pitched a perfect 11th inning for the win, while Cardinals reliever Ryan Fernandez (1-5) took the loss.

Blue Jays starter Kevin Gausman enjoyed a seven-inning, 104-pitch outing. He surrendered his two runs on nine hits and two walks and fanned only two Cardinals.

He gave way to reliever Genesis Cabrera, who gave up a one-out homer to Thomas Saggese, his first in 2024, that tied the game in the eighth.

The Cardinals started swiftly with four straight singles to open the game. But they exited the first inning with only two runs on an RBI single to centre from Nolan Arendao and a fielder’s choice from Saggese.

Gausman required 28 pitches to escape the first inning but settled down to allow his teammates to snatch the lead in the fourth.

He also deftly pitched out of threats from the visitors in the fifth, sixth and seventh thanks to some solid defence, including Will Wagner’s diving stop, which led to a double play to end the fifth inning.

George Springer led off with a walk and stole second base. He advanced to third on Nathan Lukes’s single and scored when Vladimir Guerrero Jr. knocked in his 95th run with a double off the left-field wall.

Lukes scored on a sacrifice fly to left field from Spencer Horwitz. Guerrero touched home on Kirk’s two-out single to right.

In the ninth, Guerrero made a critical diving catch on an Arenado grounder to throw out the Cardinals’ infielder, with reliever Tommy Nance covering first. The defensive gem ended the inning with a runner on second base.

St. Louis starter Erick Fedde faced the minimum night batters in the first three innings thanks to a pair of double plays. He lasted five innings, giving up three runs on six hits and a walk with three strikeouts.

ON DECK

Toronto ace Jose Berrios (15-9) will start the second of the three-game series on Saturday. He has a six-game win streak.

The Cardinals will counter with righty Kyle Gibson (8-6).

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.

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Stampeders return to Maier at QB eyeing chance to get on track against Alouettes

Published

9 hours ago

September 13, 2024

Anne Joseph

CALGARY – Mired in their first four-game losing skid in 20 years, the Calgary Stampeders are going back to Jake Maier at quarterback on Saturday after he was benched for a game.

It won’t be an easy assignment.

Visiting McMahon Stadium are the Eastern Conference-leading Montreal Alouettes (10-2) who own the CFL’s best record. The Stampeders (4-8) have fallen to last in the Western Conference.

“Six games is plenty of time, but also it is just six games,” said Maier. “We’ve got to be able to get on the right track.”

Calgary is in danger of missing the playoffs for the first time since 2004.

“I do still believe in this team,” said Stampeders’ head coach and general manager Dave Dickenson. “I want to see improvement, though. I want to see guys on a weekly basis elevating their game, and we haven’t been doing that.”

Maier is one of the guys under the microscope. Two weeks ago, the second-year starter threw four interceptions in a 35-20 home loss to the Edmonton Elks.

After his replacement, rookie Logan Bonner, threw five picks in last week’s 37-16 loss to the Elks in Edmonton, the football is back in Maier’s hands.

“Any time you fail or something doesn’t go your way in life, does it stink in the moment? Yeah. But then the days go on and you learn things about yourself and you learn how to prepare a little bit better,” said Maier. “It makes you mentally tougher.”

Dickenson wants to see his quarterback making better decisions with the football.

“Things are going to happen, interceptions will happen, but try to take calculated risks, rather than just putting the ball up there and hoping that we catch it,” said Dickenson.

A former quarterback himself, he knows the importance of that vital position.

“You cannot win without good quarterback play,” Dickenson said. “You’ve got to be able to make some plays — off-schedule plays, move-around plays, plays that break down, plays that aren’t designed perfectly, but somehow you found the right guy, and then those big throws where you’re taking that hit.”

But it’s going to take a team effort, and that includes the club’s receiving corp.

“We always have to band together because we need everything to go right for our receivers to get the ball,” said Nik Lewis, the Stampeders’ receivers coach. “The running back has to pick up the blitz, the o-line has to block, the quarterback has to make the right reads, and then give us a catchable ball.”

Lewis brings a unique perspective to this season’s frustrations as he was a 22-year-old rookie in Calgary in 2004 when the Stamps went 4-14 under coach Matt Dunigan. They turned it around the next season and haven’t missed the playoffs since.”

“Thinking back and just looking at it, there’s just got to be an ultimate belief that you can get it done. Look at Montreal, they were 6-7 last year and they’ve gone 18-2 since then,” said Lewis.

Montreal is also looking to rebound from a 37-23 loss to the B.C. Lions last week. But for head coach Jason Maas, he says his team’s mindset doesn’t change, regardless of what happened the previous week.

“Last year when we went through a four-game losing streak, you couldn’t tell if we were on a four-game winning streak or a four-game losing streak by the way the guys were in the building, the way we prepared, the type of work ethic we have,” said Maas. “All our standards are set, so that’s all we focus on.”

While they may have already clinched a playoff spot, Alouettes’ quarterback Cody Fajardo says this closing stretch remains critical because they want to finish the season strong, just like last year when they won their final five regular-season games before ultimately winning the Grey Cup.

“It doesn’t matter about what you do at the beginning of the year,” said Fajardo. “All that matters is how you end the year and how well you’re playing going into the playoffs so that’s what these games are about.”

The Alouettes’ are kicking off a three-game road stretch, one Fajardo looks forward to.

“You understand what kind of team you have when you play on the road because it’s us versus the world mentality and you can feel everybody against you,” said Fajardo. “Plus, I always tend to find more joy in silencing thousands of people than bringing thousands of people to their feet.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.

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