The Blue Jays have claimed right-hander Oliver Drake has off waivers from the Angels, the teams announced Thursday. He’d been designated for assignment by the Halos earlier this week. Drake will join the Major League bullpen, per the Blue Jays.
The 31-year-old Drake has already pitched for the Brewers, Indians and Angels this season, and the Jays will add a fourth entrant to that list. Drake has been clobbered for a 7.01 ERA in 25 2/3 innings this year, but he’s put averaged 9.5 strikeouts per nine innings pitched and has registered a solid 13.7 percent swinging-strike rate. He also comes to Toronto with a brilliant track record in Triple-A, where he’s pitched to a 2.05 ERA with 155 punchouts against 43 walks in 110 innings of work.
Good bye and thank you Jays. Damaged goods
Pete Walker will fix him and he will be sold for 2 prospects and a PTBNL.
Drake is a bullpen depth flyer for the Jays.
There’s not much down in AAA either that the Jays can use at the MLB level.
Sigh.
Maybe they catch lighnining in a bottle. Or just an arm to fill in for OH, Axford, OSuna, and Clippard.
Heaven forbid they trade for some young arms….0/4
Yay Drake!
I hate the Drake.
You hate the Drake???
You don’t like the Drake?? How could you not like the Drake?
Who’s the drake! Who’s the Drake?? Drake is good!
No reason for this. Just bring up Romano or another semi-young arm from the minors. Total waste of time.
Relievers- the most volatile players in sports. This is the perfect time to experiment. I’m positive that people would’ve been saying the exact same thing about the Padres when they took chances on guys like Yates, Hand, and Stammen and look how that turned out.
That being said, I’m not too convinced Drake will be that guy. I feel he’s just Guilmet 2.0. But you never know unless you try.
And again, it’s a lost season and guys like clippard and Axford on top of Oh will probably be gone soon, and somebody needs to throw innings.
Guilmet was actually worse for the Brewers than Drake was.
Yes I hate to rip on the guy because he has dominated the minors but it was so painful watching him pitch.
Wow 4 teams in one year. What’s the record?
I think Casper Wells played for 4 teams a few years back as well, not sure if anyone’s played for more though.
Right? No one good ever had a spot on four MLB rosters in one season.
Except that guy who played for FIVE different MLB teams in 2004. Some guy named Jose Bautista who never amounted to anything.
Check that, I stand corrected. Bautista only *played* for four teams that year.
Dave Kingman played for four teams in 1977.
I like how Jaime Garcia made three straight starts for three different teams last year.
I also believe there was a journeyman pitcher a couple of years back who made three starts in a row on three different teams and they all ended up being against the same team. Can’t remember his name though
Boy, I am really starting to dislike the Drake!
But the Coffee Cakes are Damn Good!!
Can Drake be any worse than Biagini or Luis Perez? A hard thrower and worth a shot. Maybe Walker can help him.
If Liam Hendriks could be helped, then why not this guy?
Comparing Hendriks to Oliver Drake is a huge slap in the face to Liam. Dude performed and deserved a chance to be in the big leagues. Drake hasn’t. Hendriks pitched well at a much younger age at various levels. As a starter in AAA. Stop with that.
Just going through their careers Drake has been a much better performer in the minors.
The main point people are making is that waiver claims can turn out alright. Believe it or not, people would’ve been making a huge fuss over Hendricks like you are on Drake now. The reality is that no one knows how it’s going to turn out and you never know when you’re going to find a diamond in the rough.
^Performed better in the minors? Yes, at 26 years old in AA.
Give me a break….
Pitcher _____ has a WHIP of nearly 1.8
Jays fans: “Let’s give him a shot!”
To my original point, I’d rather let a younger kid in the system have a look.
And every other year bud. There’s no reason to get worked up over a acquisition like this. You don’t know if he will or won’t be the next guy who can turn it around
JDGoat – Sure, that’s why the Blue Jays have been poorly run the last 20 years. Stop giving never-will-be pitchers like Oliver Drake a contract and give your younger pitchers in the farm system a chance to get their feet wet in the majors. This isn’t worked up; it’s just another dumb decision.
I’d rather let another team be hopeful for a 31-year old with a 7+ era who sucks turn things around. Waste of a roster spot and a waste of time. Any Jays fan who’s ok with this move does not care about the future of this franchise. Sorry, it’s the hard truth.
Being ok With them experimenting with a guy who is the 25th roster spot in a lost season does not mean I don’t care about the future. That is so far from the “hard truth”.
I’ll take a guy within the farm system over an undeserving pitcher. That is how you help develop your young guys. You must be used to the mediocrity you forgot what winning looks like.
You didn’t have anything to say about last night’s performance? I guess you missed it. Last night’s performance by Drake and neglecting to mention it today proved my point. Thank you.
In the big picture, the Jays are going no where for years, they take a chance on a 31 yr old cheap arm? Meh. Kinda of a waste of time and effort to me.
I guess they want a warm body, since the bullpen is carrying this team becuase the starting group as a whole are so poor. [as advertised]
I’m down with calling up a arm or many arms from the minors and let’s see what the young kids can do at the major league level.
I have given up trying to understand the current Blue Jays executive. They were never going to win this year or last year and their makeshift roster decisions along the way are mind blowingly stupid most of the time.
Someone doesn’t have a clue of what they are doing.
I am beleiving that Atkins is going to be replaced relatively soon. This mess can’t continue.
Intriguing milb numbers. If he could just ever put it together in the majors someone will have a nice arm.
Maybe he can be the Blue Jays Global Ambassador…
C’mon c’mon keep it going more trade let’s s this mess account for something,