The Blue Jays have agreed to a minor league contract with right-hander Jake Petricka, per Robert Murray (Twitter links). The Platinum Sports client will be in Major League camp on a non-roster invitation to Spring Training. He’d earn $950K if he cracks the MLB roster, Sportsnet’s Shi Davidi adds. TSN’s Scott Mitchell tweets that he can make another $400K by way of performance bonuses.
Petricka, 31, split the 2019 season between the Brewers and Rangers organizations, allowing three runs in eight innings at the MLB level and tossing another 45 2/3 frames of 3.74 ERA ball in a very hitter-friendly Triple-A environment. He’s a familiar face for Jays fans, having spent the bulk of the 2018 season in Toronto’s bullpen. That year, the former White Sox setup man logged another 45 2/3 innings with a 4.53 ERA, 8.1 K/9, 3.2 BB/9, 1.18 HR/9 and a 51.8 percent ground-ball rate.
The veteran Petricka has pitched in parts of seven big league seasons and accumulated more than five years of MLB service time. He’s managed a 3.96 ERA in 231 1/3 total frames and has generally been a ground-ball machine (career 59.4 percent) thanks to a heavy sinker that has averaged 94.8 mph in his career.
Toronto has gone to great lengths to deepen its pitching staff in 2020, but there’s still some competition shaping up for the final few bullpen spots. Waiver claim Anthony Bass and offseason signees Shun Yamaguchi and Rafael Dolis could all be in the mix for high-leverage innings to bridge the gap between a rebuilt rotation and closer Ken Giles, but the other bullpen slots aren’t as clear cut. Whichever of Ryan Borucki or Trent Thornton misses out on the fifth starter’s spot could be in the mix alongside Sam Gaviglio, Thomas Pannone, Jordan Romano and the out-of-options Wilmer Font. At present, Petricka and Ryan Dull are the only veteran relievers who’ll be in camp as non-roster invitees.
If they brought in Bass to face Trout …
Something seems fishy…
This further reinforces my opinion that the Toronto Blue Jays’ bullpen is basically an open tryout other than Ken Giles. If you have a good spring, you’re on the team. If you don’t, you do not get on the team.
That my friend is what every teams spring training is like
Most does not equal every.
Yankees got a bit of high quality star power going on in their bullpen.
Padres seem to have a strong crew locked in.
Your point isn’t lost, I’m just nitpicking hahah.
Nice arm to have for AA New Hampshire. Anything higher is a waste of a roster spot. Plenty of arms battling for spots in Toronto and Buffalo thanks to the off-season as is.
I think you are missing AJ Cole on that list
AJ Cole is a veteran non-roster invitee to Spring Training too!
Petricka because he worked so well the first time.
Has no idea where the ball is going once it leaves his hand.
Your fake stats are so funny, The guy has a career WAR of 2.7 ya gotta get some new material all these anti Jays posts are so lame!!!!!
Watch what happens with Petricka’s performance this year before insulting anymore.
Not insulting anyone, just you! why not try to post facts like his 3 and 1 record or his .750 win % no you post he does not know where the ball goes, What about his War , his groundball rate Know any of that stuff? Go and make up another anti Blue Jay story with all yer made up so called stats!
Quit trying to make your point with win percentage. Petricka hasn’t been good since 14′ with the Sox when he had a 2.96 era, but even then his fip (fielding independent pitching) was still 3.60. (fip is just an era, but it shows what the outcomes pitcher have control over like k’s, homers, walks, and not unlucky outcomes like bloop hits.)
To my point, he hasn’t ever had a good whip (walks hits/ip) or fip since 14′ when he was decent. Quit trying to one up everybody else and make them seem like they don’t know what they’re talking about, when Petricka is just a AAA depth guy fighting for a spot in the bullpen. So there @jaysfansince1977.
Just another pile that has steam rising from it, I used win percentage once, I also used won loss and K’s to Walks the I also used WAR but of course ya miss that point because your FIP trumps it like it is the only stat that matters??? the person I was chatting with made an ambiguous comment that I took issue with, you disagree and star to spout FIB on a player who never pitched in your major league team but dominated in your hitter friendly minors system! Ya did not school me Rangers 29 so there ya go want to go head to head I will blow you out of the water!!!!
Rangers29 didn’t have to school you. Your comments give away your incompetence. A 2.7 WAR in 7 seasons isn’t something to brag about.
It’s good that Rangers29 was blown out of the water. Your arguments make you appear to be drowning in the kids pool.
41 K’s to 16 BB’s is pretty good for his 45.2 inning he threw in 2018 for the Jays
You forgot his 1.64 WHIP in 2018. The opposite of pretty and good.
Yet you miss the point as usual maybe ya should quote some other stat, the fact remains his WAR is a + he K’s more than he walks has an really good Ground ball % at 51.8 and his ERA is not terrible and he won 3 games for the Jays but other than that ya he bad!! LOL
What are you trying to justify to yourself? That Petricka is a good pitcher, or that he’s a below average depth piece?
Below average depth pieces are a key part of the game.
Daniel Hudson had no business being signed last year is what your argument is telling me.
Dodgers sure kicking themselves for wasting a roster spot on that horrible Muncy pickup. Nationals sure blew it by giving Asdrubal a shot instead of Kieboom.
If Petricka makes the team, that means he had a very strong spring. Or that he came up as injury filler later in the season after starting in the minors. Can’t see him refusing assignment if he doesn’t make the team? Some guys find maturity and/or health later in their careers. You shouldn’t speak so definitively here. Compared to other guys around the league on minor league tryouts, he has some silver linings that make him seem like a realistic shot to crack the bullpen.
nHey folks, there’s No point in fighting Jaysfan, it’s not worth it.
Suffice to say Petricka isn’t on a baseball club that hopes to make the playoffs.
Minors deal. No risk so why not?
Giles, Bass, Font, Yamaguchi, Dolis. Jays have built a very high risk high reward bullpen.
Could be sneaky good… could be complete garbage.
Exactly the same as 29 other teams and their bull pens, competion is the father of perfection! the more the merrier! push each other to perform for the right to pitch on the big team!!!
Really ya mean a positive WAR is Bad? Being 2.7 wins above a replacement is bad???? Wow you schooled me so good!!! LOL you are drowning and you are not even in the water!!! what a complete load of nonsense!!!!
Wow! Look who found WAR for the first time! In Petricka’s one good season in 14′ with the white sox, he had a 2.0 WAR (good for a reliever). But aside from that his next highest was 0.7, and then he had a stretch for 3 years when he had a WAR of 0 or less (negative) from 16′ – 18′ and even in 19′ he had a 0.1 war (only through 6 games though).
And you sound like a complete buffoon trying to make a 2.7 WAR over 7 YEARS sound good!
Don’t put so much value on WAR, use some other stats to back yourself.
I am awaiting how you turn the K’s to walks and ground ball rate to a negative, this is so much fun watching ya guys make fools of yourselves trying to make me look bad!!! LOL #Jayshatersarelosers
Everyone stop hating on Jaysfansince1977.
He is just a passionate fan of his MLB team
I like the Blue Jays as well
He is trying to say that this is a small-risk good reward signing.
Any signing is a good enough signing
The Blue Jays goal was to improve pitching and that is what they are doing
He is just happy about our front office making moves this offseason
Just Chill everyone
Jays alsoMoran signed with the Blue Jays as a non-roster invitee Friday.
The 31-year-old lefty made his big-league debut for the Marlins last season, allowing three runs in 6.1 innings. He spent most of the year with Triple-A New Orleans, striking out 30.6 percent of opposing batters while recording a 3.15 ERA in 60.0 innings oif work. signed Brian Moran.
Brother of Colin Moran
The left-hander made 10 relief appearances, posting a 4.236 ERA and 10 strikeouts in 6 1/3 innings.
thank you but the fact is no one is really caring about our Jays the continual mis information is just funny instead of looking at the positves they try to discount everything, a few days ago it was Jays are doing nothing then the make a move and all ya can do is try to find ways to say it is bad
I SAY :SUCK IT!!!!
GO JAYS GO!!!
FEAR THE TRUE NORTH!!!!
I think we’re calmly proving JaysFan is a tool who knows nothing. Do not mistake passion with intelligence. He has the former and that’s terrific. But if you’d like to defend him go right ahead. But he was making the case to have him make the team, not some small-risk crap you want to peddle. There are young arms that want a spot in the majors that Petricka does not deserve. Stop rewarding failures and give the young arms some motivation. They do not want to be blocked by crap.
Exactly
We The North
Go Canada
Go Blue Jays
I will support and defend you my brother
All the other teams will find out we we are the champs
Jays fans stick together
JAYS FOR LIFE
Blocked by crap, LMAO! That’s why they compete for jobs in spring training! If the rookie pitches good, odds are he takes his place…What don’t you understand about that? You princess are the tool:)