Canadian left-hander Scott Diamond at ease again after turbulent years

DUNEDIN, Fla. – Canadian left-hander Scott Diamond felt like a Blue Jay long before his first spring training outing in a Toronto uniform this week.

It hit him the moment he stepped into the Dunedin clubhouse.

“Coming in seeing (Aaron) Sanchez and (Marcus) Stroman right beside me and all the guys from the AL East championship team, just being in the same room did it for me,” Diamond said.

“Realizing what these guys were able to do for the city of Toronto last year, the idea of possibly contributing and donning that uniform, it really sank in that first day.”

Diamond, who grew up in Guelph, Ont., signed a free-agent, minor league deal with Toronto in November.

His family had Blue Jays season tickets in the late-1990’s/early 2000’s, but one of his favourite Rogers Centre memories happened years later when he was pitching against Toronto as a Minnesota Twin in his rookie season in 2012.

Warming up in the bullpen, Diamond heard a fan chant “Guelph! Guelph!”

“I don’t usually pay attention to the crowd but I heard that so looked up and this guy yelled: ‘Guelph sucks!’” the 29-year-old said with a laugh. “I’ll never forget that one.”

Diamond had an unconventional road to the big leagues.

Signed by Atlanta as an amateur free agent in 2007 and picked up by Minnesota in the 2010 Rule 5 draft, Diamond made a lacklustre MLB debut with the Twins in 2011.

He turned it around the following year, going 12-9 with a 3.54 earned-run average, but struggled again through 2013 and hasn’t made it back to the majors since.

“I think I tried to do too much (in 2013),” Diamond said. “The way 2012 worked I was really relaxed, I was really happy with where I was mentally and physically.

“But going into the next season I really tried pushing myself to be better and I ended up needing surgery because I had a bone chip break off during my (off-season) workouts. Then I was rushing myself to get back and that’s never a good thing.”

The Twins released Diamond in July of 2014 after he racked up a 6.52 ERA over 80 triple-A innings. He was picked up by Cincinnati five days later but didn’t fare much better with the Reds’ triple-A squad.

“I started to really doubt myself, started to question my approach, wondering if I needed to switch something rather than just staying with the aggressiveness that made me successful in the first place,” Diamond said. “It definitely put me in a negative spot.”

Through the adversity Diamond became his own toughest critic. Then he learned to just let go.

“I was always coming down hard on myself, even with a good outing, I would try to find something to improve on,” he said. “The biggest adjustment I’ve made is just to live in the moment and concentrate on what’s happening right now.”

That new approach worked for him last year. Diamond went 11-6 with Tampa’s triple-A team and had an ERA under 4.00 for the first time in a full season since his breakout 2012 year.

Earlier this week, Diamond worked a quick eighth inning — three-ground ball outs — in his spring training debut for the Blue Jays against Philadelphia.

“It brings a smile to my face to feel that I’m back out here on the mound with a better mindset,” he said.

With few spots available on Toronto’s major league roster, the southpaw will likely end up in triple-A again this year.

He understands that.

“Gavin Floyd, Aaron Sanchez, Jesse Chavez, Drew Hutchison, they’re all fighting for that fifth spot (in the rotation), so if they consider me for a position with the big league club I’d be ecstatic,” he said.

“At this point I’m just taking it light and easy and preparing for the season, whether that’s in Toronto or Buffalo.”