The Blue Jays announced Tuesday that they’ve designated first baseman Daniel Vogelbach, infielder/outfielder Brandon Drury and right-hander Sam Gaviglio for assignment. The DFAs open roster space for lefty Robbie Ray, righty Ross Stripling and infielder Jonathan Villar, each of whom were acquired leading up to the trade deadline yesterday.
Vogelbach had a short run on the 40-man roster of the Blue Jays, who acquired him from the Mariners Aug. 23. The 27-year-old rode a hot first half of 2019 to an All-Star nod with Seattle, but his numbers cratered in the second half and haven’t rebounded with either club this season. Vogelbach owns a nightmarish .088/.246/.211 line with two home runs in 69 plate appearances so far.
Drury himself was a deadline pickup by the Jays in 2018, when they sent lefty J.A. Happ to the Yankees. Drury had struggled mightily since being acquired to fill a versatile infield role (likely similar to the one ultimately taken up by DJ LeMahieu). At the time of his trade to Toronto, he was only a half season removed from a two-year stretch that saw him hit .275/.323/.453 with 29 homers, 68 doubles and three triples while logging time at second base, third base, first base and both outfield corners. His 2018 scuffles aside, Drury looked like a solid acquisition.
Obviously, things haven’t played out that way. Drury has now spent parts of three seasons with the Jays and racked up a bit less than a full year’s worth of playing time without any offensive production to show for it. He’s appeared in 149 games and tallied 525 plate appearances with just a .208/.253/.353 slash to show for it. He’s arbitration-eligible this winter and was a surefire non-tender given his lack of production, so it’s not a surprise to see him cut from the roster early. Another club could technically claim Drury, but to do so they’d need to assume the remaining $298K on this year’s prorated salary. For a player who is hitting .152/.184/.174 through 49 plate appearances — that seems highly improbable.
The likeliest outcome, then, is that the Jays will either run Drury through outright waivers or simply opt to release him. If he does pass through outright waivers, he can be outrighted to the club’s alternate training site and remain on hand as a depth piece. He’d have the right to reject the assignment in favor of free agency, but because he does not yet have five years of MLB service, doing so would mean forfeiting that $298K he is still owed. Again — that seems quite unlikely.
Turning to Gaviglio, he’s been up and down with the Jays dating back to the 2018 season himself, showing some flashes of quality production at times but ultimately posting lackluster numbers. In 222 1/3 frames with the Blue Jays, Gaviglio carries a 5.06 ERA and 4.70 FIP with 7.9 K/9, 2.6 BB/9, 1.58 HR/9 and a 47.6 percent ground-ball rate.
So they bought 4 at bats for Vogelbach and then cut him? Hmmm
Well, technically 5 at-bats since he walked once. Don’t short-change the man. 😉
Well it would still be 4 at bats since walks only count for a plate appearance
Fine plate appearances if you really want to be “technical”
Has the amount of money sent to the Mariners been announced? Maybe the Jays paid a quarter for him and his walk made that a good value.
Vogelbach era was very successful, I think they only lost one game in like a week with him.
Hang the banner.
Please Royals take Drury! I had him on my fantasy team a few years back and wanted him on the team ever since.
You wouldn’t have wanted him on your fantasy team any year since then. Drury is a hard worker and solid 3B but no production at all.
Okay I want Drury back with the Yankees because if Aaron is the Judge then Brandon is the Drury.
A cookie for you if you can come up with the last one for a trifecta….
Judge, “Drury” , and ……..
Joakim Soria, the Mexicutioner.
We have a winner! The ingenuity on here is limitless.
Why keep font?
I agree. Gaviglio led MLB in relief innings pitched last year and gets a handful of games this year? Bad first outing but zeroes since so not sure what they saw (or didn’t see).
Probably because he averages 95 on his heater and 85 with his change, if they can help him put that together it’s a great start. Also maybe they’re also hoping to sneak Gaviglio through?
Wonderful that he throws hard abgb. Unfortunately Font finds bats and bats find holes.
However, not sure why Montoyo and the bench had Gurriel WAAAAAAY shallow for the Santander at bat yesterday. Still, Font likes to hit barrels.
Font thrived as an opener, and gets lit up in every other role. Maybe he needs more time to warm up or something.
Twins could really use Drury’s RH bat.
What bat? He doesn’t have one.
Neither does Cave, Adrianza, or Vargas…
What a bizarre cratering for Drury. Concussion issues hindered him initially with the yanks, before Miguel Andujar came up and usurped the infield role. Despite that, drury’s numbers while stuck in the minors in 2018 were quite good. Just don’t understand how he’s never been able to resurface.
I think one of the other posters said this best the other day so I will quote them “Addition by Subtraction”.
Hopefully someone grabs Drury and that is the last of Drury playing for Toronto.
I wouldn’t mind if he cleared and went to the alternate camp just as extra depth because he plays a solid 3rd.
I wonder if they will retire Vogie’s number?
WHAT???
WHY IS WILMER FONT STILL ON THIS TEAM???
End of the line for gaviglio, unfortunatly. Good riddance drury and vogie.
I think the jays aggred to take voguelbach in order to have Walker at a cheaper price(but its 2 seperate trades)
Vogelbach was a waste of time. Drury couldn’t hit. Gaviglio, well, whatever….
If the Jays drop Font I’d rather see them carry Riley Adams instead of adding another arm. Blue Jays didn’t address the catching situation and both guys aren’t hitting. With Adams at a risk of Rule-5 this offseason I would add him and have him play a little. See if the Jays have something there.
Can’t agree more!
Captain Kirk is now on the taxi. Long shot but who knows.
It’s hard for teams to pick up a rule 5 catcher. You either have to squeeze three catchers onto your roster all year long or let him play a couple times a week (and hope he’s an advanced enough game caller to not mess with your pitching). I think he’ll slip through or get returned.
It won’t be hard for 29 other teams to look at Adams in the Rule-5. Could he return? Sure. My point was to put pressure on Jansen and McGuire to perform. Give Adams a chance to take time away from others. If the Jays were willing to carry deadweight like Vogelbach, why not Adams? If two of the three play well down the stretch you deal one of them in the offseason and the other starts.
Given the amount of PH done on the Jays they could pull off using 3 catchers. Light a fire under these guys.
Vogel Bach is big enough to catch on with a football team
think Vogelbach was just here in case of a rowdy trade or injury before deadline.
A contender claim all 3.
Drury is a good 3B perhaps the concussion ended his batting. Sad to see him go. Voggie was a waste of time. Someone will pick up Gaviglio, he threw quality innings. I winger who will be better down the stretch: Ray, Stripling, or Gaviglio?
Asia seems more of Vogelbachs speed.
It really won’t matter who they add and who they drop with this current minor league Nintendo manger. It is mind boggling to think the upper brass can not see this manager is not capable of managing in the majors. There is no discipline on this team, they lack in basic fundamentals, they don’t know how to use their pitchers (and its starting to show), they can’t get the right defensive alignments, and they can’t finish off (polish) their prospects at the major league level.
The Jay’s prospects (the ones in the majors) compared to the other high hyped prospects (in the majors) are not even close when it comes to looking like major players in the show.. I love Vlad Biggo and Bo BUT compare them to Tatis Jr., Dustin May, Acuna, Soto and so on……. You can see which ones look like major players
Can’t disagree with you on this. All your points has truth.
that’s a lot of words for a meh team that noone ever really pays attention to
This nobody pays plenty of attention, don’t worry Mild Millie
Valid points first part.
Curious about issue with Biggio or Bo?
How is Bo not on the Tatis side of that comparison?
Performance through first 60 games on historic pace.
Tatis hit the IL so holding health against Bo is unfair.
Both playing above their heads to start, but Tatis much more likely to sustain his pace, but what has Bo done to be grouped with Vlad?
No issue here with anything about Biggio.
Vlad has many rough edges that can be picked apart for sure.
Like the coaching.
The team has 2 people with the role of Major League coach but we still see little league mistakes too often.
Would love to see development like the Indians, Dodgers, Rays one day. Like 2021 at the latest. Starting to see signs. Players are sticking. Some of these young arms sticking would be a huge start.
Tough for me to get over the team plays above their heads so far despite all the flaws. Other teams similar issues is a huge factor in my crazy eyes.
A 10 win month puts the team at their preseason expectation.
Could see anywhere from 10-20 win month depending how the young pitching holds up most of all.
10 games against the Yankees will be huge.
As much as making it for the experience of a playoff series will help, having these September matchups vs the Yankees be meaningful is a huge experience as well.
Great team ERA really surprises me.
Especially with how Buffalo has played.
How aren’t the opposing bats doing what the Jays bats are doing in Buffalo? Is the Jays pitching that sneaky good? Hoping it’s not just a house of cards scenario.
Very exciting team full of a lot of 1st and 2nd year players has been a treat to watch, even with many gaffes.
Detroit lost their CF and their pitching has been a rollercoaster.
Angels getting hot and Yankees tearing the Jays apart is a bit of a realistic fear. Maybe not the Angels part.
Still holding the 8 seed.
Holding my breath a lot, gotta remember to breathe.
Go Jays.
Wonder who gets cut from the pitching staff when Romano and Giles are healthy enough to be activated??
Font and Reid-Foley.
That sounds reasonable…I forgot Reid-Foley was even on the roster…