© Nick Turchiaro-USA TODAY Sports
Blue Jays GM Atkins Talks Romo, Catcher Depth, and Trade Deadline Approach
Blue Jays general manager Ross Atkins met with the media ahead of Wednesday’s game against the Red Sox.
Here’s what he had to say.
Blue Jays hopeful Romo brings effective slider, veteran presence
Reliever Sergio Romo was announced as the newest member of the Blue Jays Wednesday, officially signing a one-year contract.
Romo, 39, struggled with the Mariners early this season, putting up an 8.16 ERA with six homers allowed in 14.1 innings before being designated for assignment. Still, Atkins said he sees value in Romo’s weapons on the mound, as well as his peripheral metrics (strikeout and walk numbers specifically).
“His slider is a very good weapon,” Atkins said. “[We] look forward to seeing his competitiveness.”
There’s also the value Romo, a 15-year MLB veteran, brings to a young clubhouse.
“Really excited about his mindset and I think our team is excited as well about his experiences,” Atkins said of Romo. “And [we’ve] seen some encouraging things over the years that he seems to be sustaining, so hopefully he can help us out a little bit.”
Toronto not actively interested in moving catchers
It might be time to pump the brakes on any notion the Jays could use their surplus of catchers to acquire some big talent at the deadline.
"It's also not really that common to trade catching mid-season,” Atkins said. “I think catchers are valued more in offseasons because they're making such a big jump to learn a whole new team.”
It seems pretty safe to say Toronto isn’t yet ready to part with its trio of Danny Jansen, Alejandro Kirk, and Gabriel Moreno.
“There's not an organization in baseball that wouldn't like to have one of those three,” Atkins added. “But our response is, ‘Look, we value all three of them, probably more than you do.’”
More deadline additions to come once market heats up
Atkins made it very clear Romo’s addition won’t be the final move the Blue Jays make in the coming weeks.
“Across the position-player front, whether it's in the pen, whether it's just pitching in general, whether it's run prevention or run scoring, we're gonna continue to look to improve the team,” he said.
The bullpen has been the Jays’ greatest area of need lately, especially with Trevor Richards and Yimi García shelved due to injury. Atkins suggested the ‘pen’s hard-contact troubles have had something to do with each pitcher’s aggressiveness to throw strikes (Toronto’s relievers are second-best in MLB with a 62.6 first-strike percentage).
It’s the nastiness and strikeout ability that the Jays are missing in their bullpen right now, though, and Toronto is considering its options, both in-house and on the trade market.
“I think any team in contention can add to their bullpen,” Atkins said. “And you every team in contention is probably going to be looking to do that.”
And, given Hyun Jin Ryu’s injury and some of Yusei Kikuchi’s struggles, could the team be a player in the starting pitching market, too?
“We’ll see,” Atkins said. “We want to stay open minded and consider where the opportunities are in that market. And we'll certainly be prepared if there is one.”
