DUNEDIN — Gavin Floyd gets emotional talking about being with the Blue Jays, even though he is fighting for a job and there are no guarantees.

The 34-year-old right-hander has played with five different organizations and on 15 teams during his long professional career but said he has never enjoyed being with an organization as much as he loves being with the “unique” Blue Jays.

“I feel like there’s something special about this organization, this team,” said Floyd inside the Florida Auto Exchange Stadium clubhouse. “We really enjoyed being with the Blue Jays and being in Toronto and being with these guys, I would say it’s different than most teams I’ve been on.”

When asked to elaborate, Floyd said it’s a combination of things: A winning atmosphere, communication with the front office and coaching staff and the camaraderie in the clubhouse.

“The thing that I appreciate about this organization — the GM, the manager, the pitching coaches and I think it goes all the way up to Mark Shapiro,” he said. “They have meetings with each guy and you can be honest and they know each guy’s situation. They have the knowledge of where you’re at and they want you to be healthy.”

Floyd is coming back from a torn right lat muscle, which forced him to miss the the last three months of the 2016 season. He was re-signed a minor league contract on Jan. 5 and though he is not yet 100% in terms of strength, he’s hopeful he’ll be named to the team when camp breaks next month.

“I wanted to come back to this organization,” Floyd said. “I think there’s a comfort zone to know that they know my story. I rehabbed all the way through the World Series with them. So it’s a comfort, but I also enjoy the team, I enjoy the organization. And I felt comfortable signing back with them.”

The Jays are an interesting club. Some teams believe them to exude an exaggerated swagger. They’ve been called one of the most hated teams in baseball. Floyd said it’s all about wanting to win, not about angering the opposition.

“You know how this game can bring you down,” he said. “But they feed off each other’s confidence and I think that whether you’re having a bad game or whatever, that confidence and that support system here I feel is unique.

"I can see how other teams could probably see that differently. But when you’re on this team, I think every guy in the clubhouse feeds off other guys that want to win, and they’re persevering, they’re enduring and they continue to work hard. And you watch that and it’s contagious. So when you’re on this team, it’s a beautiful thing. It’s an awesome team. But I can understand the vice-versa.”

When asked if this team reminds him of any other the other clubs he’s played for, Floyd replied: “No, it’s unique. It’s definitely different. Winning has a lot to do with it and we have a feel for that. When you’re on a losing team, it can easily be the opposite pretty quick.

“Chemistry is a hard thing to bring together. But they do a great job here,” he continued. “There’s a lot of experience in this clubhouse and that helps a ton too. There’s great communication, great support and those are great attributes to have on a team when it’s a 162-game season.”

Even though Floyd is still fighting to reach optimal condition, he is not pushing the panic button because he’s confident in his recovery process and the fact that he has a past body of work that shows what kind of pitcher he can be. He has a 74-76 overall MLB record with a 4.37 ERA, 985 strikeouts in 243 big league games with a WHIP of 1.32.

“They know what I’ve been through,” he said. “I worked a lot with (bullpen coach) Dane (Johnson) and (pitching coach) Pete (Walker) and they know what I can do.”

GOING TO BAT FOR JOEY BATS

A Blue Jays players meeting with union head Tony Clark was held inside the media lunchroom at Florida Auto Exchange Park on Friday morning and was supposed to last about an hour and a half.

Instead, the players and the MLBPA executive director talked for close to two hours and 20 minutes and afterwards Clark was jokingly asked if outspoken Jays right fielder Jose Bautista was the cause of the meeting running into overtime.

Clark understood the joke, but launched into an impassioned speech in praise of Bautista, who is generally loved in Toronto but abhorred in other ball parks such as Baltimore and Texas.

“JB is an asset to our game on so many different levels,” said Clark, a former major-league first baseman. “I think everyone can appreciate what he does on the field, but there are a lot things that JB does that very few people know about or hear about or appreciate. Whether that’s supporting the next generation of guys that comes behind him — on this team or other teams — or any of the work that he does in the communities that doesn’t end up on the front page somewhere.”

Clark is also concerned about a trend this off-season that saw many veteran free agents being offered less money than in past years. Michael Saunders, who signed with Philadelphia after two seasons with the Jays, called it “a flaw in the system.”

“The truth is you don’t get through a 162-game season and you don’t get through in multiple years without having some value,” said Clark. “So is it a concern? Sure it’s a concern. Is it something we’re keeping an eye on? Yes. Each individual market is a little bit different. But I’m hopeful that our industry values the experience, again both on and off the field, that a veteran can bring.”

sbuffery@postmedia.com