Toronto Blue Jays relief pitcher Roberto Osuna (54) reacts after the victory against the Kansas City Royals in game five of the ALCS at Rogers Centre.Nick Turchiaro
In the final analysis, there was no suspense, no melodrama in the manner through which the Toronto Blue Jays decided that Roberto Osuna would continue in his role as the club's closer heading into the 2016 season.
It would have been a great disservice to the young Mexican for the American League club to have done anything else based on what has transpired during baseball's spring training.
Still, there was a bit of intrigue in the Florida air on Wednesday morning, when manager John Gibbons finally pronounced that Osuna would be his leading man in the bullpen when baseball's regular season starts.
Why else would the manager agree to meet with bleary-eyed reporters at the ungodly journalistic hour of 7:30 a.m. outside the clubhouse here at Florida Auto Exchange Stadium if he did not have some groundbreaking news to reveal?
Drew Storen must be getting the nod, conspiracy experts whispered. How is Osuna going to react?
The Fan 590 sports radio station in Toronto even broadcast the event live, secure in the knowledge that listeners back home were just clamouring for the news.
"We're going to leave Osuna in that [closer's] role and have Storen set up," Gibbons said, quickly ending the debate.
"We like both of them, but I have a familiarity with Osuna – we all do here," the manager said. "We've got some flexibility, if we decide to change some things when we get further along in the season, we can do that, too."
Through the seven weeks of camp, there has been little to differentiate between the likes of Osuna and Storen, the new gunslinger in town who many believed would automatically assume the ninth-inning high-wire act after coming over to Toronto in a trade during the off season.
Storen, after all, has a veteran's pedigree in the role, having proved himself an efficient closer over his past six seasons with the Washington Nationals, last year earning 29 saves in 34 save opportunities with a 3.44 earned-run average.
But Osuna was hardly chump change himself at the job last year with the Blue Jays.
The 20-year-old rookie turned many a head when he took over the closer's role early in the season and rarely wavered, finishing with 20 saves in 23 save situations, not to mention a stellar 2.58 ERA.
Osuna had one thing going for him that Storen did not; a track record with Gibbons, who is loyal to a fault when it comes to the players who have played for him.
That was part of the reason Ezequiel Carrera was named as the reserve outfielder on the 25-man roster ahead of Darrell Ceciliani, a player Gibbons has labelled in the past as perhaps the camp's most valuable player.
Ceciliani, who was picked up from the New York Mets during the off-season for cash considerations, was Toronto's most dangerous hitter in Florida, posting a .417 batting average with 15 hits in 19 games, including four home runs.
Carrera batted just .154, but was on the club last season.
And a certain loyalty was also why right-hander Ryan Tepera solidified one of the remaining openings in the bullpen, along with Rule 5 acquisition Joe Biagini and Arnold Leon, a pickup from the Oakland A's.
And it was one of Gibbons's considerations for choosing Osuna to be the closer to start the Blue Jays' season on Sunday.
"We had so many guys who had good springs," Gibbons said. "It was really some tough decisions. But we're in a position where we want to win something this year so if we need to make changes as we go along, we'll bring the best guys along."
Playing with primarily a B-team in their last spring-training game in Florida on Wednesday, the Blue Jays were defeated by the Minnesota Twins 4-3 in Fort Myers.
Osuna was never going to make waves – at least publicly – about his role on the club, saying that he did not care what job he held as long as he had a job to hang onto.
But the news that he was closing came as a relief. "Pretty happy being in the ninth inning again," he said.
If Osuna can pick up where he left off last season and Storen is solid as the setup man, Toronto's bullpen should be the least of its concerns as the team looks to repeat as American League East champions.
Brett Cecil, who was on top of his game in 2015 before suffering an untimely calf injury in the playoffs, is also healthy again, though he is currently the only left-hander in the bullpen with Aaron Loup heading to the disabled list because of an ailing elbow.
Despite his youth, Osuna clearly has ice water cascading through his veins.
He became the youngest pitcher in the history of the franchise (at 20 years, 60 days) to appear in a game for the Blue Jays last year when he made his debut against New York at Yankee Stadium on April 8. He entered that game in the bottom of the eighth inning and proceeded to get Alex Rodriguez out on a called third strike before getting Stephen Drew on a flyout.
Osuna quickly established himself as the most reliable arm in the bullpen and would soon take over the closer's role.
He said he is happy that his role in the bullpen has once again been defined.
"It's better," he said. "Now, I've got to put my mind on the ninth inning and you obviously prepare yourself for that inning. Just got to keep working hard, checking the videos about hitters and go out there and do my best."