The Blue Jays announced that minor league outfielder Harold Ramirez and right-hander Chris Rowley have been outrighted off the 40-man roster after clearing waivers. The pair of moves creates some additional room on the 40-man in advance of tonight’s 8pm ET deadline to protect players from next month’s Rule 5 Draft.
Ramirez, 23, came to the Blue Jays alongside Reese McGuire and Francisco Liriano in a trade that sent Drew Hutchison to the Pirates in 2016. The Bucs were widely panned for parting with a pair of intriguing prospects in a trade that looked largely fueled by a desire to shed Liriano’s contract, but Ramirez flopped in his first full season in the Toronto organization. Once considered to be among the game’s top 100 prospects, the 23-year-old hit just .260/.320/.358 in 489 plate appearances at the Double-A level this past season.
The 27-year-old Rowley made his big league debut this season after working to a combined 2.24 ERA with 7.3 K/9 against 2.0 BB/9 in 116 1/3 innings between Double-A and Triple-A (albeit against younger competition). Rowley tallied 18 2/3 frames for the Jays but was tagged for 14 runs on 24 hits (four homers) and 10 walks with 11 strikeouts in that time.
Well, so much for those people who thought that the Pirates were giving away the next Jose Bautista when they gave Harold Ramirez to the Blue Jays in the Drew Hutchinson trade. Granted, that still looks like one of the worst trades in recent Pirate memory for many reasons, but not because of Ramirez.
It all depends on what Reese McGuire does. If he is a bust then Pirates win the deal
Nah the jays got a 2.92 ERA and a wild card win out of Liriano in 2016 plus Teoscar Hernandez. This was strictly a salary dump for pittsburgh and they didn’t get any value back
You know what i completely forgot about Teoscar Hernandez. Ends up he being a solid deal for TOR at the very least. For some reason i thought they kept Lirano
I don’t think anybody thought Harold Ramirez was gonna be the next Jose looool
Yeah, I forgot that sarcasm doesn’t translate well on the internet, that was supposed to be sarcastic.
Jose was a replacement level ball player until his late 20’s, so Ramirez has some time left. Not saying it is going to happen, but if you are going to make the comparison…….
As a Pirate fan it was frustrating to see a straight salary dump. If McGuire flops then the Pirates will have been more lucky than anything else. Oh, and it’s not like the Pirates have re-invested the Liranio savings. And don’t say the money went to Nova. 9million aav is hardly going above and beyond to improve. A good deal, but as of now the Liranio money has yet to be put back
In the team
I am intrigued by Ramirez but, yeah, re-sign him as a MiLB free agent for AA in 2018. One of the few depth positions for the Jays is non-superstar outfielder. Therefore, must be someone better at a AAA level who can take the roster spot.
Unfortunately Ramirez and Rowley didn’t work out. Jays took a chance on some prospects. Part of the game. I hope this two can find it [without] meds lol] and get another shot at the majors.