5 Blue Jays Players With Something to Prove in 2022 Spring Training
At this point, a delay to the 2022 MLB season seems inevitable. With the date pitchers and catchers traditionally report to spring training (Feb. 15) now come and gone, only this upcoming week of last-ditch negotiations can rescue baseball from its dark lull.
The 2022 Blue Jays will be full of excitement and, while the baseball world is deadlocked in frustration now, spring training will eventually come around, bringing plenty of fun along with it.
There will first be a free agent frenzy, but the Grapefruit League season afterwards could end up being the most anticipated pre-season in recent memory. For Blue Jays fans, there are storylines to follow. For specific players, there are jobs to be won.
With that in mind, here are a few Blue Jays who can boost their stock by having a productive 2022 spring training.
Kevin Smith
Smith’s stock has soared the last two years, with The Athletic’s Keith Law placing him as the 89th best prospect in baseball in a recent ranking.
“I had a scout text me in June [2021] or so, after Smith had gotten off to a huge start, just raving about what he’d seen,” Law said on The Athletic Baseball Show Friday. “I think he put him in his report as an ‘above-average regular’ in the big leagues.
"He should be an everyday player for the Jays this year.”
Like Law, the Blue Jays are high on Smith’s defense, his versatility, and his projectable above-average power. The 25-year-old scuffled at the plate in 2021—just three hits in 32 at-bats—but after making some adjustments to quiet his mechanics at the plate, he’s only likely to improve.
As the Blue Jays roster stands, there’s a clear path to infield playing time, especially at third base. If Smith enters Grapefruit League play and demonstrates his adjustments at the plate—better pitch recognition, calmer approach, less swing-and-miss—are legit, then he could begin the year on Toronto’s bench, or even in the starting nine.
David Phelps
Phelps began 2021 better than any other season in his career. His 0.87 ERA through his first 11 appearances made him one of Toronto’s most reliable ‘pen arms, until an awkward warm-up pitch in Oakland on May 19 shut down his season and nearly his career.
Coming off several months of rehab for a torn lat muscle, the 35-year-old needs a hot pre-season performance to prove he’s still the guy from early 2021, and that his body is healthy enough for a full season.
“When I've been healthy, outside of a blip here or there, I've been able to have success and get people out,” Phelps told Sportsnet’s Arden Zwelling. “So, if I can get to that point coming into spring training, and do what I'm able to do, I think I'll be able to bring value to a ball club.”
Spring training hasn’t always been kind to Phelps, who suffered a torn ulnar collateral ligament in March 2018 with the Mariners, but if he logs multiple stable outings to prove his rehab paid off, then the Blue Jays would welcome his veteran presence as part of their revamped bullpen.
Gabriel Moreno
Here it is kid. Earn it.
We’ve all heard—and seen—plenty about Moreno’s remarkable feats at the plate as he catapulted his way through the minor-league ranks in 2021. After just nine at-bats in last year’s Grapefruit League season, you can bet Moreno will see a significantly greater opportunity to get his reps this time around.
It’s unlikely Moreno cracks the Opening Day roster, but he could shorten his wait by making it impossible for the Blue Jays not to call him up (see Alejandro Kirk in 2020) by continuing to rake opposing pitchers.
His defense might be a bigger factor, though, and it’s worth keeping an eye on how Moreno calls games behind the plate.
How well can he block major-league stuff? He has a strong arm, but can he manage the running game? Do we see him take reps at third base? These are all questions that’ll need to be answered.
Going off historical precedent, it’d be no surprise to see the 22-year-old pass those tests defensively. And if he does, a whiff of the big leagues won’t be far off.
Julian Merryweather
Dreams of a full-strength Merryweather have long danced through Blue Jays fans' heads.
The right-hander flashed a wicked 100-mph fastball and superb changeup in the 2021 season’s opening series at Yankee Stadium, but, beyond that, Merryweather didn’t have much to offer.
The 30-year-old posted a 7.27 ERA when he returned in September, punting himself out of high leverage and into a mop-up role for Toronto. But 2022 offers a do-over, and it’ll be interesting to see how Merryweather enters camp.
Will we see his upper-90s fastball with the 2438 rpm spin rate? Or the slightly slower version that hitters teed up late in the season?
Will his slider return with that sharp bite from early 2021? Or will it resemble the less deadly pitch with the mere 14.7% whiff rate?
There are more questions than answers with Merryweather heading into 2022, and he’ll need to prove himself in spring training before his rope gets any shorter.
Nate Pearson
Pearson’s been stalled in prove-it mode for nearly two years, but this spring he can really silence the doubters.
The key for Pearson? Command, command, and more command. The method? Reps, reps, reps.
If Pearson can show improved control of the strike zone in his outings before the season officially begins, that’s a massive bonus. Those precious pre-season innings, however, have been hard to come by.
The pandemic disrupted the 2020 season’s timing; in 2021, Pearson began the season on the injured list. Now, a shortened Grapefruit League season could be problematic, which Sportsnet’s Nick Ashbourne noted, especially since the Blue Jays are expected to manage Pearson’s inning load in 2022.
Whether he opens as a full-fledged starter or some type of hybrid innings-eater, the 25-year-old will need a sound, healthy spring training season to get his confidence up for Opening Day.
H/T: The Athletic (Keith Law), Sportsnet (Arden Zwelling, Nick Ashbourne)
Ethan Diamandas is a contributing writer who covers the Toronto Blue Jays for Sports Illustrated. He also writes for Yahoo Sports Canada and MLB.com. Follow Ethan on Twitter @EthanDiamandas