The Mariners have announced a trade with the Blue Jays that will see left-hander Ryan Borucki head to Seattle in exchange for corner infielder Tyler Keenan. The M’s have also designated infielder Mike Ford for assignment to create 40-man roster space for Borucki.
The Jays designated Borucki for assignment on Tuesday, and today’s trade officially ends the southpaw’s lengthy stay in the Toronto organization. Borucki was a 15th-round pick for the Blue Jays back in 2012, and made an impressive debut by posting a 3.87 ERA over 97 2/3 innings and 17 starts in his 2018 rookie season. However, elbow problems (which required a bone spur surgery) hampered him for much of the next two years, and the Jays turned Borucki into a reliever for the 2020 campaign.
This transition seemed promising, as Borucki had a 2.70 ERA and 28.8% strikeout rate in 16 2/3 frames in the shortened season, though a 16.4% walk rate was a big red flag. Beyond the injuries, walks and home runs were Borucki’s biggest problems over his last 53 1/3 Major League innings, which saw him post a 5.57 ERA since the start of the 2019 season.
Since Borucki is out of minor league options, the Blue Jays had to pursue the DFA route in order to remove him from their 40-man roster, and the Mariners jumped in to arrange a trade. Roenis Elias and Anthony Misiewicz are the only left-handers in the Seattle bullpen and neither southpaw is having a particularly strong year, so while Borucki himself hasn’t done well (9.95 ERA in 6 1/3 IP) over limited action in 2022, the M’s are hoping that a change of scenery could help the 28-year-old get on track.
Ford has appeared in 15 games with the Mariners this season, hitting .179./378/.214 over 37 plate appearances and working mostly as a DH and pinch-hitter. The M’s signed Ford to a minor league deal in March, and this is already the third time that Ford has been designated in less than six weeks’ time. After Seattle initially DFA’ed him in late April, the Giants acquired Ford in a trade, only for the Mariners to re-acquire Ford a couple of weeks later when San Francisco themselves sent Ford to the DFA wire.
Keenan was a fourth-round pick for the Mariners out of the University of Mississippi during the 2020 draft. The 23-year-old has spent both of his pro seasons at the high-A level, hitting .212/.317/.367 with nine home runs over 376 total plate appearances. Keenan has played both corner infield spots, with the bulk of his time coming as a third baseman.
After Yankees signed Greg Bird…
Finish the reunion; sign Mike Ford!
Assuming, unclaimed, released
But trade shouldnt cost much….
Anyway, good luck, Mike Ford.
Get Harris/Zaidi on the phone.
The Mariners got their man
You would think the Jays could have gotten a little more, they must really see something in this guy. A 23 yr old corner guy in A ball with a under 700 ops really?
A Jays website I look at had this to say
This season, he’s slashing .250/.349/.391 with 3 homers and a wRC+ of 119 in 106 plate appearances. He has a rather high BB% of 11.3%, but there is certainly some swing and miss in his game, as he has a K% of 27.4%.
They DFA’d him it’s that or nothing, they had no bargaining power. I doubt they see him as anything but a lottery ticket. One of my best buds is a Murphy from Newfoundland.
Yea he was DFA’d o get what you mean. Well Gomer, I’m from st.johns and my name is Johnny and I’m 33 if you friend is a Murphy from st.johns then we’re definitely realated
My buddy grew up in Mount Pearl but his folks were from St.John’s down around the old breweries in the Roman Catholic part of town which it essentially was back then.
Well we’re Roman Catholic, most of my family live in a part of town called Mundy pond
You don’t mess around with the byes’ from Mundy Pond. Hoping to get back home next year for a visit, cheers.
They were lucky to get anything for Borucki tbh. Keegan will probably turn into a LF and hit 30 homers for a year lol.
They got a warm body. That’s about what Borucki is worth nowadays.
I will wait to see what the M’s do with him. I used to say the same until they kept fixing guys.
The last time the Jays traded a major leaguer for a light-hitting 23 year old class A infielder, it turned out pretty well: Santiago Espinal.
I didn’t expect them to get anything for Borucki. 28 year old relievers with extensive surgical histories and an ERA of 5.57 in the past four years are not exactly in high demand.
Mariners just got fleeced.
Borucku he good
You know what Ford stands for?
Fix it again tony
Highest IQ??? Looks like that would be fiat
Borucki has the potential of being very good. I have alwasy thought he is a starter a #2 or #3 in the rotation. The trouble is his physical fitness routine is awful. He is up and down in muscle mass over his BlueJays career. With a lower muscle mass and his max effort out of the bullpen he has been hurt often.
The Mariners need to apply proper sports science and get this guy in shape and get him healthy so his frame can handle the max effort he can bring out of the pen or in the rotation.
Nobody who gets paid to evaluate players for a ML team ever thought Ryan was a #2 or #3 starter.
No way he was a 2 or 3. There is some left in the tank for sure out of the pen, but this was a good trade for the Jays and Borucki gets a deserved fresh start. Will take a 23 year old for a guy 5 years his senior.
In other words, if Borucki had a totally different body he’d be good. Yeah. And I’d also be a #2 or #3 if somebody applied proper sports science to turn me into a muscled, perfectly healthy guy who can throw 95+ for 9 innings.
Back in the real world, Borucki as a starter threw around 90 and was already getting hurt a lot. Everybody throws harder as a reliever, but as a reliever he was never effective for a significant length of time.
As a long-time Jays fan I am disappointed that the Jays both gave up on Borucki and didn’t get much for him in return. Only time will tell……
The Jays don’t get much for many of their young prospects. They like to hang on to them too long to make sure they are missing a star maturing late. That is a good way to get the most out of a prospect but terrible if you are a GM trying to win. It ends up being constantly building and never winning.
They have had a few winners by trading early in a prospect’s career to acquire these guys: Teoscar, Josh Donaldson, Berrios
I can think of so many times they have got little because they waited too long in a prospect type’s career before moving them. They often are forced to release them. Borucki, Dalton Pompey, Joe Biagini, Richard Urena, Thomas Pannone, Reese Macguire, Anthony Alford, Brandon Drury, Billy Mackinney, Anthony Kay, TJ Zeuch, Jonathon Davis, Derek Fisher, on and on.
Borucki got injured and stalled his career. This trade is just fine. A 23 year old who showed pop in college and a 4th round pick for a 28 year old pen arm is always a good deal.
Must be a Bow tie guy. I didn’t see much in Ford either Bow tie guy here too. Lol Ford islike an F 350 dully. Strong enough to do anything but really would not want him to be daily driver.
Sorry got mixed up thought Ford went to Jays for some reason.
Mike Ford gets passed around more than a bong at a party.