The Blue Jays announced that they have selected the contract of outfielder Jordan Luplow. In corresponding moves, outfielder Nathan Lukes was optioned to Triple-A while right-hander Adam Cimber was transferred to the 60-day injured list.
Luplow, 29, came to the Jays in April when they claimed him off waivers from Atlanta. He took seven trips to the plate in four games for the Jays before getting optioned to Buffalo and then outrighted off the 40-man roster. He’s made 208 plate appearances with the Bisons this year and is hitting .239/.341/.438 for a wRC+ of 93.
He’s occasionally been effective in a platoon role, which seems to have been the case this year. The right-handed hitter is slashing .254/.354/.552 against lefties but .218/.327/.331 the rest of the time. In his major league career, he’s hit .222/.333/.498 with the platoon advantage but .200/.290/.355 without, leading to a wRC+ of 122 for the former line and 77 for the latter. The Jays have a couple of left-handed outfielders in Daulton Varsho and Kevin Kiermaier as well as Brandon Belt in the designated hitter position, with Luplow perhaps helping the Jays shield that group from lefties a bit.
It’s possible that the Jays want to give him a few weeks to see if he can serve in that role before the trade deadline. The club hasn’t fared especially well against southpaws this year, with their collective batting line of .262/.329/.379 translating to a wRC+ of 98. The club was recently connected to free agent Nelson Cruz and general manager Ross Atkins today said the club could make use of adding a “really accomplished right-handed hitter,” per Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet.
As for Cimber, he’s been on the injured list since June 16 due to a shoulder impingement. As of last week, he still wasn’t throwing, per Kaitlyn McGrath of The Athletic. It seems the club wasn’t optimistic about him returning in the next month or so, as he’ll now be officially ineligible to return until mid-August.
Dbacks legend
Showcasing him for an ohtani trade
Funniest thing I heard yet: A local radio show had Dan Plesac on and he and the two knucklehead radio host think the cubs are one of four teams who will get Ohtani. I’m still laughing.
Not sure why that is so outlandish, Cubs have had several Japanese guys over the years, Darvish and Suzuki, plus that SS with the long name. I would call it a longshot, but no reason they can’t trade for him at least..
It’s outlandish. Ohtani is a rental and the Cubs are six games under .500 — 7.5 games out of a playoff spot. Nothing is impossible — the Cubs have the easiest remaining schedule in the NL, according to FanGraphs — but they would have to add considerably more than Ohtani to get into the playoffs. FanGraphs think they will play under .500 the rest of the way, despite the easy sked.
Funny. You’re a Jays fan.
Cubs are 8 games back of the division and 6.5 from a wild card. In 2021, Blue Jays were between 2-4 games above .500 around this time, around 9-10 games back of 1st place and 4-6 games back of the wild card. If I remember correctly, they traded for Berrios and Hand. I am sure you would say that too was outlandish?
If the Cubs feel they can lock him up, sure. Bit risky, but that NL Central is up for grabs even for the Cubs.
this guy has been around more than madonna, not sure who stinks more…
If you looked up a definition of a one dimensional player with a grooved pull swing, this guy’s picture appears.
I don’t even know what Lukes was doing on the active roster. Maybe Luplow will actually get into some games.
Luplow is not major league baseball material. Lukes or Horwitz should be up. Lukes could not be worse than Daulton Varsho with the bat right now. It is clear Atkins needs a bat to push Varsho to the bench as a defensive replacement.