DUNEDIN, Fla. — There was an ice pack on his shoulder and a smile on his face, but even after making a nearly flawless appearance on the mound for the Toronto Blue Jays, Dana Eveland still had no idea whether he had crept any closer to making the team’s starting rotation.
The 26-year-old left-hander threw six scoreless innings against the Detroit Tigers on Monday, striking out eight batters and issuing just one walk.
Eveland was pleased, but entirely unsure whether it was enough to land him a job this season.
“I’m not even trying to guess anymore,” he said.
“I’m just going to take the ball when they let me have it and throw my best. And, hopefully, things will work out for me. If not, I might have to end up somewhere else. Who knows?”
Despite the fact most projections have the Blue Jays finishing closer to the bottom of the American League East than the top, the team is facing a series of difficult roster decisions with the regular season set to begin next week.
Following a 2-2 nine-inning tie against the Tigers, Blue Jays manager Cito Gaston said only two starters have secured a spot.
Shaun Marcum will get the ball on opening day, with sophomore Ricky Romero slotted in as the No. 2 pitcher.
Brandon Morrow, a potential No. 3, threw 52 pitches in a simulated game Monday and could pitch in the spring training finale this weekend if his sore shoulder allows.
Marc Rzepczynski, Brett Cecil and Brian Tallet are also in contention. Eveland, acquired in an off-season trade with Oakland, is out of options, meaning he would have to pass through waivers if the Jays tried to re-assign him to the minors.
“We’ve still got some other people to look at and make some decisions about them,” Gaston said. “He’s pitched well, but if he doesn’t make it there, he’s got a good chance of going into the bullpen and being the long guy down there.”
Toronto has five games remaining on its spring training schedule, including a two-game set in Houston beginning Friday. Blue Jays general manager Alex Anthopoulos told reporters on Sunday that he hoped to have his roster down to the mandated 25 players before the team leaves Florida.
Morrow, who is on track to pitch against Houston on Saturday, bristled when pressed about the soreness in his shoulder.
“I didn’t know people thought it was serious,” he said. “It’s just a sore shoulder. I mean, you look in the paper, there are 20 guys with it. And most of those guys will probably be on their club to start the opening day.”
First baseman Lyle Overbay was not quite as sure he would be 100 per cent healthy by opening day. The 33-year-old was a late scratch from Monday’s game because of lingering pain in his left knee, which he bruised against the Tampa Bay Rays on Friday.
Overbay, who was replaced by Randy Ruiz on Monday, said an MRI showed no damage.
“When I get past 50 per cent running, it’s giving a sharp pain,” Overbay said. “Hitting, it doesn’t hurt. Taking ground balls, it doesn’t hurt. Going side-to-side, it doesn’t hurt. It’s just when it’s running, it gets a little tight.”
The same could be said of the race for the team’s rotation. Eveland struggled in Oakland last year, posting a 7.16 earned-run average in 13 games. His career ERA is 5.54 — but is down to 1.23 this spring.
“The biggest setback I’ve had in my career was the fact that I had it so easy getting to the big leagues, that I never really failed in the minor leagues,” Eveland said. “Got to the big leagues pretty quickly, threw decent, and never really went through that until last year, where you fail and you struggle ... nobody wants to go through it, but it’s probably the best thing that can happen to most guys.”