The Blue Jays announced on Wednesday that they’ve designated veteran left-hander J.P. Howell and catcher Mike Ohlman for assignment. The moves will clear roster space for right-hander Dominic Leone (activated from the bereavement list) and catcher Miguel Montero (activated from the 10-day disabled list).
Howell, 34, has been limited to 11 innings this year due to discomfort and tightness in his left shoulder. He returned earlier this month and has made three appearances since his activation, allowing a solo homer in an otherwise perfect 2 1/3 innings of work (with one strikeout). Overall, though, he’s posted a 7.36 ERA with six punchouts against seven walks in his short time with the Jays.
Despite logging a 2.49 ERA with 8.1 K/9 against 3.4 BB/9 from 2013-16 with the Dodgers, Howell settled for a one-year deal worth $3MM this winter. He averaged just 85 mph on his fastball earlier this year but has added another mile or so to that total since being activated from the disabled list. Howell thrived with just an 86-87 mph average heater in L.A., so he’s had success with middling velocity in the past. He’s still owed about $754K of that $3MM guarantee through season’s end.
As for the 26-year-old Ohlman, the former Cardinals/Orioles farmhand made his MLB debut with Toronto in 2017, appearing in seven games and collecting three base knocks in 13 trips to the plate. He’s a career .245/.339/.436 hitter in 495 plate appearances at the Triple-A level.
Surely Howell will be claimed by someone on waivers. If a team claims him as a blocking move, the Jays can still just release him and he’ll be free to sign anywhere, right?
He wasnt put on waivers, he was designated for assignment
Right, he was DFA’d, which gives the team 10 days to trade him, run him through waivers, release him, or outright him if he’s eligible. Trading him would expose him to waivers at this point in the year. I guess they could just release him, but that’s kind of the question I’m asking — doesn’t he have at least a tiny amount of value to some contender?
I’m not thinking that he has any value to a contender. Because he is a lefty, as the Jays showed us, teams will give him one more go until there is obviously nothing MLB calibre left. Is he at that stage? I hope not for him, but I suspect that might be the case. Time will tell.
If anyone was desperate enough to claim Howell then the Jays would just let him go and that team would have to pay the rest of his contract.
Sounds like a Jeff Luhnow special
Yes a Jeff Luhnow special. Get it done . Get it done now.
Duquette. O’s are worse record wise and he’s shrewd when it comes to what other teams perceive as discards. if he thinks Howell has anything left? he” jump.
Angelos is too cheap to pay $700K. Luhnow should pick him up.
As we heard in these pages in spring training, Howell has nothing left in the tank, except for a specialty lefty situation with a batter who cannot hit a lefty. I don’t think we’ll see Howell pitching in the Majors again soon.