The Blue Jays are close to signing first baseman Yoshi Tsutsugo to a minor league contract, interim manager John Schneider indicated to reporters Monday (Twitter link via Kaitlyn McGrath of The Athletic). Yuki Yamada of Japan’s Sankei Sports first reported that Tsutsugo was likely to land with Toronto on a minor league pact.
The 30-year-old Tsutsugo began the 2022 season on a one-year, $4MM deal with the Pirates but was cut loose by Pittsburgh last week after hitting just .171/.249/.229 with a pair of homers and four doubles through 193 plate appearances. That output was miles from the .268/.347/.535 slash turned in by Tsutsugo through 144 plate appearances down the stretch with the Pirates in 2021. The Pirates are on the hook for the remainder of his salary, so the Jays would only owe Tsutsugo the prorated league minimum for any time spent on the Major League roster.
Once a star-caliber slugger in with Japan’s Yokohama DeNA BayStars — when he posted a combined .293/.402/.574 with 139 home runs, 116 doubles, five triples, a 15.1 percent walk rate and a 20.4 percent strikeout rate in his final four NPB campaigns from 2016-19 — Tsutsugo has struggled in the big leagues. Originally signed by the Rays to a two-year, $12MM contract back in Dec. 2019, Tsutsugo has drawn plenty of walks throughout his big league tenure (11.6%) but has struggled with strikeouts (26.9%) while showing a particular susceptibility to sliders.
Tsutsugo likely amounts to little more than a depth addition for the Jays at this point, though with a nice showing in Buffalo he could emerge as an option to give Toronto an extra left-handed bat when they pick up another couple roster spots in September. Following today’s DFA of outfielder Bradley Zimmer, the Blue Jays currently have just three left-handed hitters on the Major League roster — Raimel Tapia, Cavan Biggio, Jackie Bradley Jr. — none of whom are especially productive hitters. Tapia is the only one logging regular at-bats right now, and he figures to continue doing so in center field for at least a few days, with George Springer being eased back in as a designated hitter following today’s activation from the injured list (Twitter link via Sportsnet’s Shi Davidi).
The righty-heavy Jays have still been one of baseball’s most productive clubs against right-handed pitching, but there’s little harm in picking up a lefty bat with some thump and taking a low-cost look at him in Triple-A in order to see if they can help to coax some more production out of his swing later this season.
Got excited for a second thinking it was for Giles
because you think he’s any more ready to help?
I think the bullpen is so bad that you tell me they took a flyer on anyone who’s had success in this game at any point I will get excited because I’m looking for anything to remain optimistic about this season even for a day
Tsutsugo. The “T” is silent and so is the bat.
and no thump.
The T isn’t silent. It’s a “tsu,” rather than a “su,” which produces a sound that’s a blend of the words “sue” and “too.”
Ichiro Suzuki uses the latter “su.”
Tsuyoshi Shinjo the former “tsu.”
We could call it an underwhelming T, which would also be true.
what a tsunami of information
Or “low T”?
It’s official the Bluejays have given up on the 2022 season.
You’d think he’d go out a little more honorably.
Bradley , Tapia , Tsutsugo , a championship outfield if I ever saw one
Don’t forget JBJ!
Agreed. All of these players are the starting OF for the Jays.
Why sign Yoshi he is the worst player in mlb. Go back to Japan useless bust.
Can’t hit
Can’t field
Can’t run
It’s like signing someone on this board to a contract
Better hitter than Zimmer!
Zimmer can field an run so he’s 1000x better than Yoshi
I agree with you , but these signing dont hurt the team in anyway . I wonder how many people had this same reaction when NY signed Carpenter ? Clearly I don’t think that’s gonna happen but they only happen when teams bring guys in that everyone says “why are you doing that ?”
I’m still shocked that the Cardinals let Carpenter go. The guy was hard nosed and a tough out. Your point is well taken. How many championship teams have had contributions from guys like Tsutsugo that made a real difference? Seems it happens in pennant drives every year
I think the guy tried as best he could here in Pittsburgh. Hope he has some good at bats in Toronto
They let him go because he hit 160 with 3hr
I wish Yoshi the best of luck. I thought he might return to the Japan league, but good on him fot locking down with another MLB team.
Given how the Pirates hitting coach hasn’t helped anyone on this team, maybe a change of scenery and a real hitting coach for the Jays, Yoshi can rediscover his swing
I wonder if they’d take Van Meter as a throw in?
This isn’t to say that JVM has been anything good, because he’s been terrible, nor is this in defense of the hitting coach. But he has a .568 OPS and Yoshi couldn’t even hit for a .500 OPS. I don’t know if Jesus himself could have fixed Yoshi this year.
This numb face will bring nothing but a bad luck.
Phil Collins approves. Tsu tsu tsu go. Whoa. But though the move looks good on paper, it may be too late. Paper late.
This is desperation right here. We look terrible since the deadline, when we added zero help to a team already not achieving what most analysts predicted at the beginning of the season. Now we reaching for anything and any help. JBJ and Yoshi tsutsugo are the help we looking for now? Omg how does Atkins not get fired after this season? This season proved he is out of his league. The roster is stagnant and needed a major boost at the deadline. If not a boost a shakeup at least. It’s terrible watching another team with a ton of potential waste another season….and I’m tired of watching this debacle unfold