Make or Break: Derek Fisher

The Blue Jays acquired Derek Fisher from the Astros at the trade deadline in 2019 as the sole return for Aaron Sanchez, Joe Biagini, and breakout prospect Cal Stevenson. Having yet to play a full season in Toronto, his future role with the team is already in jeopardy, and 2020 will be a critical season, and turning point for his career one way or another.

Coming up through the minors with Houston, Fisher was a highly touted prospect in baseball, ranking as high as 84th in the sport according to MLB.com in 2015. Over the next two and a half years, Fisher would struggle to even come close to expectations time and time again at the big league level, leading to his exit from Houston.

When the trade was complete, fans were originally very upset with it. The Jays had let go of a former ERA league leader in Sanchez, a fan favourite in Biagini, and a hot prospect in Stevenson all for a career .201 hitter. His play with his new team didn’t help either, as his offense only got worse, and his defense began to look unreliable, to the point where he even took a regular fly ball to the face during a game. Fans expected more, the team expected more, and Fisher expected more with this new opportunity. Now, the rest of his career lies in extreme uncertainty and he hangs on by a thread going into the 2020 season.

The main issue for Fisher in 2020 will be the lack of minor league options. All three have been used already, and he cannot be sent down without passing through waivers. With a very crowded Toronto outfield, he won’t be getting much of an opportunity to prove that he is worthy of sticking with the team. With expanded rosters to start the 2020 season, he is extremely likely to start the year with the team, but if he is unable to finally breakout in the major leagues, he might leave the Jays with no other option but to cut ties in the near future.

Although he has found no major league success thus far in his career, there still is hope for Fisher. He is still just 26 years old, and is a proven player in AAA, finding success time and time again. In AAA with Houston in 2017, he looked like an absolute star, hitting .318 with 21 home runs, showing a balanced/all around play style while being considered a rare five tool player. Although 2018 was a down year, he killed it yet again in 2019 during his minor league time with Houston, hitting .286 with 17 home runs in only 146 at bats. For some reason yet to be discovered, he struggles to translate his game to the majors and take that next step. The potential is clear, and it might be the sole reason the Jays are still looking to give him another chance.

At this point in his career, Fisher has yet to surpass 150 at bats in a single MLB season. Seeing the potential in him, the Jays will look to give him an opportunity to play all throughout the season, hoping that in a full season’s time, he will be able to figure things out, and this high risk high reward project will be a success. Fans can expect to see him in the lineup almost regularly this season, but if he can’t run with it and make the most of this opportunity, it could very well be his last.