TORONTO — Alan Roden streaked toward centre field from his spot in left, tracking a fly ball off the bat of Baltimore Orioles' designated hitter Ryan O'Hearn.
Roden stretched out, getting parallel with the Rogers Centre turf, to get his glove under the ball for a diving snag and the first out of the second inning in the Toronto Blue Jays' 8-2 win over Baltimore on Friday.
It's the kind of cool-headed plays the Blue Jays have come to expect from Roden in his first few months with the club.
"That type of thing, you kind of just go as hard as you can, and then as you get closer, you either gauge that you're going to have a shot at it or not," said Roden in Toronto's clubhouse after the game. "I would say halfway there I was like, 'I have a shot,' so I just kept rolling, kept going."
Starting pitcher Kevin Gausman threw his hands up in the air to celebrate Roden's catch. After the game Gausman admitted he didn't think the rookie would make it.
"He kind of came out of nowhere," said Gausman. "To be honest, I didn't really think he had much of a play on the ball.
"But he's a pretty good athlete, though, he can run."
That's been Roden's way in 2025: constantly surprising and impressing his teammates.
Roden was a non-roster invitee to Toronto's spring training camp, but after he hit .407 with two home runs and six runs batted in over 20 Grapefruit League games, he not only earned a spot on the Blue Jays' major league roster, but the opportunity to start in Toronto's first two games of the regular season.
"You can't take a ton from spring training, other than just the reps and getting comfortable with the game again after the off-season," he said. "But as we get going into the season, having momentum, building on what you've done before, and continuing to learn and going forward in that way, in that process, will be important."
Roden's cool demeanour was apparent even when Blue Jays manager John Schneider told him on Wednesday that he'd be making his rookie debut on opening day. The 25-year-old outfielder simply replied "all right, let's go."
Looking back, Roden wishes he had savoured it more.
"Honestly, I should have reacted different," he said earlier Friday. "I guess, in the moment, I didn't really process what that meant.
"I was just thinking 'I'm gonna play. I'm ready.' (...) I think in a little bit, maybe a few weeks or a month from now, or maybe even after the season, I'll be like, 'Wow, I kind of was missing something.'"
Roden hasn't missed much in the field in his first two MLB games. Aside from the highlight-reel catch, he's 1 for 5 with an RBI in the two games.
Veteran outfielder George Springer said he's been impressed with Roden's calm exterior so early in his big league career.
"As far as we've seen, you obviously never know what's going on the inside," laughed Springer. "But I think for his first opening day, first game, he handled himself well.
"He's obviously performed all spring training to put himself in a really, really good position."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 28, 2025.
John Chidley-Hill, The Canadian Press
