Very few teams in Major League Baseball are fortunate enough to have an elite player capable of breaking open a game and lifting an entire roster to victory on their franchise shoulders. A few come to mind – Mike Trout in Los Angeles, Manny Machado in Baltimore, David Ortiz in Boston, and Giancarlo Stanton in Miami. For the Toronto Blue Jays, it’s Josh Donaldson.
But surely the real measure of a competitive team can be found in the reservoir of steady and often forgotten performances of their “unsung heroes.” They are the depth players. The hardened utility men.