PHILADELPHIA — Up with runners on second and third and none out in the seventh inning Thursday, Brett Bateman’s groundout didn’t plate a run and he was still kicking himself when Buffalo Bisons manager Casey Candaele called him to the office after the game.

“He was like, 'Hey man, I just wanted to talk to you about the guys at second and third. What was going through your head?'” Bateman recalled. “I was like, ‘Yeah, obviously, got to be better, got to do the job, ultimately, flying out, putting the ball in play in the air. He was like, ‘You don't have to worry about doing that here because you're going to Toronto.’ I’d been there for pretty much under three days. It was pretty crazy, man. It's been a crazy five-day storm for me so far, but I'm really excited for this opportunity.”

The opportunity, in the starting lineup for the Toronto Blue Jays, playing centre field and batting ninth against Zack Wheeler, is the latest spin of the whirlwind for the 24-year-old, who was on a bus going from Des Moines to Indianapolis on Sunday when he learned he was part of the return from the Chicago Cubs for Kevin Gausman. 

He finished that long bus ride, made his way back to Des Moines on Monday, packed up for Buffalo, made it there Tuesday even as his........

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