Carlos Delgado on the key to the Blue Jays' success in 2018
DORADO, Puerto Rico – Toronto Blue Jays great Carlos Delgado is optimistic about his former team's chances in 2018, as long as key pieces of the puzzle stay healthy.
Delgado - who retired in 2011 after myriad injuries to his hip but not before becoming the all-time Major League Baseball leader in home runs (473) and RBIs (1,512) by Puerto Rican-born players - is part of the PGA Tour's Puerto Rico Open Charity Pro-Am this week in Dorado, where celebrities and golfers from both the PGA Tour and LPGA Tour are set to raise more than $500,000 for relief efforts after last year's devastating hurricane.
The 45-year-old says the Blue Jays - an organization he played with from 1988-2004, and who inducted him into its Level of Excellence in 2012 - should be "OK" this year. And although admitting it was a cliche, he believes pitching will be the team's key to success.
"Hopefully all their guys are healthy," he said, optimistic that Marcus Stroman's shoulder inflammation isn't serious and that Aaron Sanchez's blister issue is a thing of the past.
"Hopefully (Stroman) can bounce back and get his innings during spring training so he can lead the rotation and Sanchez can bounce back and be consistent and give (the Blue Jays) the innings."
Delgado says if the starting pitching is solid, the bullpen will get a break and "everything turns out better."
"For the offense, you don't have to score seven runs to win when your starting pitching is out there for a long time. It's a domino effect," he said. "We want them to do good."
Although there has been much discussed about the future of Josh Donaldson, Delgado thinks the 2015 American League MVP will have another good season.
"Hopefully he can stay healthy because he's a great athlete," he said. "He can play. For him, it's going to be important to stay healthy."
Delgado says he returns to Toronto about three times a year and still loves the city, Canada's largest. He was elected to the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame in 2015.