2:15pm: The move is now official; Petricka has indeed been optioned.
2:05pm: The Blue Jays are promoting outfield prospect Anthony Alford, according to Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca (via Twitter). Toronto has removed reliever Jake Petricka from the active roster, per Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet.ca (via Twitter), though the precise mechanism is not yet clear.
Alford had previously received an exceedingly brief promotion in the 2017 season. But he suffered a fractured hamate bone almost immediately upon reaching the bigs. He ended up recording 68 days of MLB service on the year, but very little of it came on the active roster.
The 23-year-old has long been regarded as a high-end prospect. He has received consensus top-100 leaguewide billing entering each of the past three seasons (including the present one). Alford has drawn praise for his broad and fairly well-developed skillset despite limited time as a professional.
Thus far in 2018, however, Alford has struggled. He has recorded just six hits (one for extra bases) in his 42 plate appearances at Triple-A. Of course, he also was still working back to health after opening the year on the DL owing to a hamstring strain.
Given the struggles out of the gate, it’s a bit surprising at first glance to see this move. That said, the Jays may simply be looking to buttress their position-player unit temporarily while dealing with the absences of Steve Pearce and Randal Grichuk. With Curtis Granderson exiting yesterday’s contest with a tight hamstring, the club may simply have taken the easiest path to adding another outfielder for a few days.
As things stand, then, it’s not at all clear that Alford is set to receive a full run at the MLB level. If he does, though, he could finish the current season with over one full year of service. (In addition to the time he had already, Alford added another twenty days due to the DL stint.) Should that come to pass, he’d reach arbitration eligibility in 2021 and free agency in 2024. If not, those milestones would occur one year further (at the soonest).
For Petricka, the departure comes the day after his contract was purchased and he made it onto the active roster. He gave up one earned run on three hits, while recording two strikeouts, in 1 1/3 innings yesterday. Petricka does have options remaining, so it’s possible he’ll remain on the 40-man while heading back to Buffalo.
Vlad and bo wya?
Stop it
They have to at least reach AAA first. Gurriel’s the exception due to Urena’s injury and a much needed depth player up the middle. Plus Gurriel has a contract.
Lots of elite prospects skip AAA. If it’s anything that’s holding them back, it’s that they’re not on the 40-man roster
I don’t really think he should be promoted now because he is only 19 years old but there is precedent in history to show that it is possible.
Albert Pujols went from A+ directly to the majors. Miguel Cabrera had 200 AB’s in AA before his mlb debut.
An example from Blue Jays history is John Olerud. He did not play a single game in the minor leagues. He was drafted in the 3rd round out of college, age 21, and made his debut with the Blue Jays that season.
Very true. Many many players skip 3A.
Obviously you missed the point; the Jays would rather push Vlad to AAA than bring him up right now. This has nothing to do with the evidence of players skipping AAA. The Jays do not want to start the “clock” sooner than they have to. Hence my comment.
You will know that Vlad and Bo are getting close if they get promoted to AAA. That means the GM thinks the are close and wants to give them a little more seasoning before a call up.
Excellent athlete. Still needs work with the bat. He’s come a long way over the last couple years.
Alford has got a chance to be a very good mlb level ball player. I think he’ll be better than Moseby. That said for him at the moment it is all about health and development. I’d like to see him stick with the big club and the jays parts ways with Morales and Grichuk.
No reason to think Alford will bump anyone out of a roster spot, he’s been just as bad as Grichuk this year, only not even in the majors. He’ll get a few ABs, hopefully get a fire lit under him being in the majors again, and be back down to Buffalo in short order, where he belongs this year.
He’ll have to continue working hard on his bat to be Shaker (between 83-87). Jays won’t part with Grichuk even if he’s batting .050. If they decided to hit reset in a month I’d be fine with Teoscar, Pillar and Alford with Pompey as the 4th. Grichuk is Jose Cruz III.
lol. Agreed and Grichuk doesn’t belong in the majors. Period.