SCOTTSDALE, ARIZ. — At times, it felt as if Kevin Pillar was covering all of the outfield ground by himself last season.
These days, he’s all that remains in the Toronto Blue Jays outfield.
Jose Bautista is in free-agency limbo, sifting through offers from 29 other clubs, as GM Ross Atkins focuses on getting the younger, less injured, more productive Edwin Encarnacion’s name on a new contract.
Michael Saunders, who made 122 outfield starts flanking Pillar last season, is also a free agent.
Heading into the off-season, it’s clear the outfield situation needs to and will be addressed if the Blue Jays expect to contend again in 2017 and make a third-straight appearance in the post-season.
While two of the Blue Jays’ most productive hitters — in the first half, at least, in Saunders’ case — are free agents, there is some bench depth behind them that Atkins would like to keep as exactly that.
Melvin Upton Jr. is heading into the final year of a huge contract he signed with the Atlanta Braves prior to the 2013 season.
The well-travelled 32-year-old still doesn’t make enough contact and whiffs too much, but Upton brings a power/speed element that can be valuable when things are going well.
With 20 home runs and 27 stolen bases last season split between the San Diego Padres and the Jays, Upton looks good as a platoon player — .275 average against lefties versus a .226 mark against right-handers — but shouldn’t be an everyday player for a team that hopes to contend.
Behind the man formerly known as B.J., the Blue Jays have Ezequiel Carrera, a player who started to become a fan favourite in the final month of the season, hitting .304 with a pair of homers in 53 September plate appearances and then coming up with 10 more hits in the post-season.
Like Upton, however, Carrera’s miscast as an everyday player, but looks good as a fourth or fifth outfielder.
One player with the upside to be an everyday player is soon-to-be 24-year-old Dalton Pompey, who spent most of his 2016 season at triple-A with mixed results.
Once seen as the centre fielder of the future in Toronto, no one is quite sure what to make of the Mississauga product after he slashed .270/.349/.353 down the road in Buffalo, before riding the pine at the Rogers Centre to finish out the season.
Even though it’s considered a weak free-agent crop this year, luckily for the Blue Jays, there’s a glut of veteran outfielders that can be had at a decent price.
Former Chicago Cubs leadoff man Dexter Fowler has long been viewed as a perfect fit, both atop the Jays’ lineup and in left field next to Pillar, but he’ll come with a hefty pricetag that will likely sit somewhere between $15 and $18 million per season on a four- or five-year deal.
Converted shortstop Ian Desmond is in the same category.
If the Jays can’t come to terms with Bautista and/or Saunders — they’re interested in return engagements with both players at the right price — and are looking to piece together a short-term outfield situation, players like Josh Reddick, Carlos Beltran and Brandon Moss could fit the bill.