Veterans will forge Goldeyes’ identity

Veterans will forge Goldeyes’ identity

It will take time for the Winnipeg Goldeyes to find an identity, but they expect a veteran roster will be in the mix when it’s all said and done.

A renewed sense of hope warmed the spirits of players and coaches on an otherwise gloomy day as the Fish took to the diamond for their first spring training session at Blue Cross Park on Wednesday.

Optimism was met by the unknown for first-year manager Logan Watkins, who can only hope a long off-season of scouting and assembling an experienced squad will translate to success in the American Association this summer.

“It’s hard to predict (what our identity will be),” Watkins said. “Right now, when you look at everybody and look at the team on paper, it’s pretty balanced. There’s speed and there’s plenty of power in the middle of the lineup, especially with Max Murphy coming back, but you’re looking at (players’ stats) from previous years, you never know what it’s going to look like in 2024.

“The identity of the team will work itself out. I wasn’t trying to build a power-hitting team or a speed team or whatever. I was trying to find the best baseball players I could and I think we found quite a few of them.”

The veteran club, ironically led by a 34-year-old manager, will look to erase the memories of a lost summer in the Manitoba capital a season ago. The Goldeyes finished dead last in the West Division with a 43-57 record under Greg Tagert, who lasted one season as the team’s skipper.

The team returned seven players from last season and welcomed 16 new faces to the clubhouse.

While most players have been around the facility for a week, the team formally gathered for the first time over lunch ahead of Wednesday’s training session.

“Excited is a bit of an understatement, coming off a year where we weren’t as good as we hoped we’d be,” said Canadian pitcher Landen Bourassa, who enters his fourth season with the Fish. “There’s always that chip on your shoulder going into a new year and I think Logan and the rest of the staff have brought in a group that’s really willing to learn, really willing to work.

“It’s a good veteran group, they know what they’re doing. I fully expect us to compete just based on the players we’ve got and now it’s just a matter of going out there and playing the games.”

The Goldeyes struggled in just about every metric in 2023. At the plate, the club scored the third-fewest runs (489) and fourth-fewest hits (859), and struggled to hit for power with the second-fewest doubles (155), triples (10) and home runs (75).

On the mound, the arms struggled to generate swing-and-miss with the second-fewest strikeouts (669) while conceding the fourth-most earned runs (505) and second-most hits (967).

“I don’t think we ever clicked as a whole. Sometimes the pitchers would struggle and then the pitching would do good and the hitters would struggle,” said Dayson Croes, who was one of the few bright spots from the 2023 team as the league’s Rookie Position Player of the Year.

“Everybody here obviously knows about last year, I think we’re on the same page to turn things around and get back to winning because that’s what the Goldeyes are all about.”

That doesn’t mean Watkins has set out to reinvent the wheel. He said he’s allowing hitters to be themselves at the plate, rather than stick to one style.

“The biggest thing about professional baseball is embracing everyone’s uniqueness. Some guys are more aggressive at the plate and there’s some guys that are more patient, and I don’t think that there’s a right or wrong answer,” he said. “I brought all these guys here to be who they’ve been in the past and what they’ve shown in the past and just give them the freedom to be the best baseball player they can be and play to their own strengths.”

One thing each player is looking forward to is being led by Watkins, who they all believe will be able to relate to what they’re experiencing. Watkins’ 11-year playing career only ended in 2019. It included 53 appearances for the Chicago Cubs and stints in the minors, Mexican League and American Association.

“Logan, being around him this past week, its been great so far, he’s easy to talk to,” said 24-year-old Croes. “Obviously, he played in the bigs and I think that’s where all of us want to get to so I’m looking forward to learning a lot from him. He’s a left-handed hitter, I’m a left-handed hitter; he played infield, I play infield, so I’m excited to learn from him.

“He seems like a great guy so far.”

The Fish will play five pre-season games, beginning Friday in Sioux Falls against the Canaries. They will continue to Lincoln, Neb., for a pair of contests on Saturday and Sunday against the Saltdogs before ending the exhibition slate with a back-to-back against the Kansas City Monarchs.

The Goldeyes open the 100-game regular season in Texas on May 9 against Watkins’ old squad, the Cleburne Railroaders. The club’s home opener comes May 21 against the Chicago Dogs.

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