YGY Radio Rewind: 2015 Toronto Blue Jays Preview

On last night’s episode of the Yanks Go Yard Radio Show, brought to you by KNODA.com, I started the episode by talking about the impressive spring debut that Masahiro Tanaka had on Thursday night. Tanaka threw two perfect innings, struck out two batters, and did not allow one batter to hit the ball into the outfield.

The other New York Yankees news I talked about from this past week is Alex Rodriguez’s first spring home run and Chris Capuano’s quadriceps injury, which will cause him to miss the start of the regular season. I give my thoughts on who should take the number five spot in the rotation. You can listen on why I am a little hesitant to make Adam Warren the number five starter and why I think the favorite should be Esmil Rogers for that spot.

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Plus, on this episode, we continued our State of the AL East series by breaking down the Toronto Blue Jays. Toronto got some bad news this week when starting pitcher Marcus Stroman tore his ACL in pitchers’ fielding practice. Stroman will miss the 2015 season, which more pressure on the likes of Aaron Sanchez and Daniel Norris. Even with the injuries, the Blue Jays still made some splashy acquisitions in the offseason when they signed Russell Martin to a five-year deal and traded for Josh Donaldson.

To discuss the Blue Jays, I spoke with Justin Jay, one of the writers at Jays Journal and one of the co-hosts on The Jays Nest Podcast. Here are the topics that Justin and I discussed, which included the uncertainty that Toronto has at the closer spot:

• How devastating is the Stroman injury?
• Should the team look to add a Rafael Soriano or Jonathan Papelbon to strengthen the ‘pen?
• More impact on the Blue Jays in 2015: Donaldson or Martin?
• Does Donaldson make that much difference when Toronto already has Jose Bautista and Edwin Encarnacion in the lineup?
• Evaluating Toronto’s trade of J.A. Happ for Michael Saunders
• Will Aaron Sanchez and Daniel Norris both be in the rotation?
• Concern with Martin’s career hitting in the American league?
• X-Factors (Dalton Pompey and Drew Hutchison)
• How many wins will Toronto finish with this year?
• Does the fanbase trust the front office to strengthen the team at the trade deadline after no moves last year?

Finally, I make my case as to why the New York Yankees should be in on Cole Hamels, even if it means giving up a significant pitcher and why if Hamels was in the division, he would be the best pitcher in the AL East.

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