Four Toronto-area players on 2023 MLB opening-day rosters
The Blue Jays aren’t the only hometown story to watch in the majors this year.
Spring training is done, and the 2023 MLB season has arrived. Here in Toronto, that means the return of the Blue Jays, who are coming off a 92-70 season and a short-lived playoff appearance.
In good news for Jays fans, MLB.com prognosticators expect a return to the playoffs for Toronto (albeit in the wild card again). Plus, we get to check out the newly renovated Rogers Centre, which now boasts raised bullpens, slightly altered field dimensions, and some additional viewing areas akin to the popular 200-level Flight Deck.
But the hometown team is far from the only hometown story to watch in 2023. Four players from the Greater Toronto Area made opening-day MLB rosters this year, and two more could join them in short order.
Scroll down to see where each is coming from, and where they’ll be playing.
Joey Votto
MLB team: Cincinnati Reds
Hometown: Etobicoke
The oldest and longest-tenured player on this list, Votto grew up playing for the Etobicoke Rangers baseball program, and attended Richview Collegiate Institute, which is also the alma mater of NHL player Sam Bennett, former Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, and Cowboy Junkies singer Margo Timmins.
In his 16-year MLB career to date, the Cincinnati Reds first baseman has become one of the most accomplished Canadian baseball players ever, building a strong case for the hall of fame along the way.
He’s also just about the most beloved man in Toronto at the moment after an off-season spent riding public transit to Annex Chess Club for his weekly game.
Joey Votto is a treasure. (From his IG.) pic.twitter.com/VtHy3KyPLo
— Staci Heaton (@StaciHeaton) January 17, 2023
Votto is currently entering the final year of a $225-million contract extension he signed back in 2012. He’ll start the season on the IL as he continues recovering from a shoulder injury that marred his 2022 season.
Josh Naylor
MLB team: Cleveland Guardians
Hometown: Mississauga
Naylor went to Mississauga’s St. Joan of Arc Catholic Secondary School, and developed his skills over several years with the Ontario Blue Jays development system.
After going 12th overall in the 2015 draft to the Marlins straight out of high school, Naylor broke into MLB in 2019 with the San Diego Padres before being traded to Cleveland in 2020.
The 25-year-old outfielder missed most of 2021 after a scary in-game collision, but returned to the field to play 122 games in 2022. He finished the regular season with 20 home runs and 79 RBI — easily career highs — and added another homer in a tight five-game American League Divisional Series with the New York Yankees.
Jordan Romano
MLB team: Toronto Blue Jays
Hometown: Markham
Romano grew up cheering for the Jays, attending his first game at Rogers Centre (then Skydome) when he was six. Now he “attends” every game as the team’s go-to closer.
Romano went to Markham’s Father Michael McGivney Catholic Academy, played college baseball in the U.S., and eventually got drafted by the Jays in 2014. After Tommy John surgery delayed the start of his pro career, Romano made his MLB debut in 2019.
The 2022 season was his best yet, as the 29-year-old reliever pitched to a 2.11 ERA with 36 saves — both career highs — and made his first All-Star Game appearance.
Zach Pop
MLB team: Toronto Blue Jays
Hometown: Brampton
Drafted in the late rounds out of high school by the Blue Jays in 2014, this product of Notre Dame Catholic Secondary School turned town the opportunity and went to college instead.
The pitching prospect played three years at Kentucky, then got drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2017, kicking off a tumultuous period that involved:
- being traded to the Baltimore Orioles in the gigantic Manny Machado deal;
- missing most of the 2019 minor-league season after Tommy John surgery; and
- missing the entire 2020 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Pop eventually made his debut for the Marlins as a relief pitcher early in 2021, and — in a poetic turn — got traded to Toronto midway through last season. In 17 appearances for the Jays down the stretch, he gave up just four runs over 19 innings of relief.
NEXT UP
These two GTA products are starting the season in the minors, but don’t be surprised to see them called up to the bigs in the coming months.
Bo Naylor
MLB team: Cleveland Guardians
Hometown: Mississauga
Sound familiar?
Bo, 23, is Josh’s younger brother, and also a member of the Guardians organization — though he’s starting the year in AAA.
Like his brother, he grew up in Mississauga, and attended St. Joan of Arc Catholic Secondary School.
After splitting the 2022 season between AA and AAA, Bo made his MLB debut in October. He also represented Canada at the recent World Baseball Classic, providing a highlight homer in the elimination game versus Mexico:
Jordan Balazovic
MLB team: Minnesota Twins
Hometown: Mississauga
A graduate of St. Martin Secondary School, Balazovic signed with the Twins after getting drafted in the fifth round of the 2015 draft and worked his way up the organizational depth chart from there.
After pitching to a 2.69 ERA in 93.2 innings of A ball in 2019, the starting pitching prospect appeared to be on the verge of bigger things. But, like Pop, Balazovic lost 2020 to COVID.
The right-hander made up for lost time in 2021, going 5-4 in AA with a 3.62 ERA, but struggled at the AAA level last season.
Balazovic was the first cut out of the Twins’ big-league camp this year after a broken jaw kept him out of Grapefruit League games.
Code and markup by Kyle Duncan. ©Torontoverse, 2023