February 21, 2021 12:00 PM : Ray spent the winter working on his mechanics and trying to return to the three-quarter arm slot he used prior to last season, Gregor Chisholm of The Toronto Star reports.
Analysis: Heading into last spring when he was still with the Diamondbacks, the southpaw adjusted his release point to come over the top with his delivery in an attempt to cut down on his walks. The result was the worst stretch of his career, and a trade to the Jays at a steep discount. Thanks to re-signing with Toronto early in the offseason, Ray had the organization's coaching staff available all winter for advice and guidance as he tried to get back to his old arm slot. "Technology has gotten way better and we have slow-mo cameras. They can break down your delivery in very, very small increments of, like, frames per second," Ray said this week. "So, it is a lot different now, and it's really cool to see that technology and be able to go pitch-to-pitch and see the difference: OK, this ball was here and this is what my delivery looked like, and this ball was here and it looked different." If he can re-discover the form he had from 2017-19, when he posted a 3.72 ERA, 1.28 WHIP and 12.1 K/9 over 460 innings, Ray will go a long way toward bolstering a Jays rotation that lacks reliable arms behind Hyun Jin Ryu.