TORONTO — At a time holiday plans were on the radar much more than the MLB transaction wire, Eric Sogard inking a minor-league deal with the Toronto Blue Jays four days before Christmas barely caught anyone’s attention.
Same thing when, despite a terrific spring of Grapefruit League production, Richard Urena secured one of the final opening day roster spots and Sogard was banished to Triple-A Buffalo for two weeks to begin the season.
But since being recalled April 15, Sogard’s bat has proven to be radar worthy, eventually catching the attention of contending clubs as he puts together a career year at the age of 33.
It’s one of the more unlikely afterthought-turned-trade-chip stories around baseball this season, but Sogard’s .299/.363/.480 slash line with a career high 10 home runs in 72 games has left a handful of contenders searching for versatility calling Blue Jays GM Ross Atkins ahead of Wednesday’s trade deadline.
The Chicago Cubs and San Francisco Giants have been rumoured to be in the hunt for Sogard, who’s making just $555,000 this season and is set for another trip through free agency this winter.
Sogard doesn’t beat around the bush when asked if joining a postseason race appeals to him.
“Yeah, absolutely,” said Sogard, who was held out of manager Charlie Montoyo’s lineup Friday night in the series opener against the Tampa Bay Rays. “I’ve been blessed to have been able to play with a few playoff teams in Oakland and that’s kind of why we play this game, to get in the postseason and get a chance to win a World Series and get that ring. I’ve loved my time here with these guys and trying to teach some of the younger ones and be a part of the growth of this organization, but if an opportunity comes where I could be part of a contender, I think, that’d be neat, for sure.”
Versatility is Sogard’s calling card — he’s played second base (40 starts), third base (four starts), shortstop (three starts), right field (four starts) and left field (one start) this season — but the extra juice in his bat is what’s making him an attractive trade chip.
The aforementioned production is obvious, but Sogard is also making a whole lot of hard contact — 36.4 per cent this season compared to a 22.7 per cent career rate — a development he says is the byproduct of a healthy left knee.
After undergoing a patellar tendon cleanup in April of 2016, it’s taken a couple of years but Sogard feels he’s finally found his swing.
“Starting in 2016 when I had my knee surgery, that was something that was kind of big for me, physically, being my back knee and being able to stay on my back side with my swing,” Sogard said.
“(Being healthy) showed me what my swing is capable of. It was like almost learning a new swing from that point on, and now, years down the road, it’s kind of all coming together where my body is working together in sync and creating that explosiveness.”
Signing Sogard, especially if Atkins can turn him into a prospect that finds his way onto the major league roster, is a win for the front office, one that hasn’t had many of those in free agency since taking over in 2015.
In previous years, Sogard — as well as names like Freddy Galvis and Daniel Hudson — could be seen as a candidate for an August waiver trade.
But, mercifully, that convoluted process was smartly scrapped by Major League Baseball, leaving teams contenders with one written-in-stone deadline to improve their teams by.
“It’s obviously an exciting time of year, especially now with the one and only trade deadline,” Sogard said. “I think guys are expecting, once things start happening, that a lot’s going to start going. For me, personally, I’m still a Blue Jay today so my focus is on winning here. Anything can happen.
“I don’t think it’s a reality yet because we haven’t gone through it yet, but I think once some trades start to happen, I think, quite a few are going to happen because it’s the only deadline and teams have to make that decision early.”
Blue Jays bench coach Dave Hudgens is a bit surprised by the lack of activity around baseball, too.
“It’s like everybody’s waiting until the last minute,” Hudgens said. “I’ve obviously never been a general manager so you don’t know what their thinking is or what they’re going through, but my thought’s probably they might be trying to wait as long as possible to either get as much as you can or make somebody make a bad decision. It’s going to be interesting.”
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July 27, 2019 at 07:00AM
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