The Blue Jays announced that they have selected the contract of infielder Buddy Kennedy. In a corresponding move, catcher Ali Sánchez has been designated for assignment. The 40-man roster remains full.
Sánchez was selected to the roster a little over a week ago when Alejandro Kirk landed on the seven-day concussion-related injured list. Kirk was reinstated on Sunday but Tyler Heineman had been removed from Saturday’s contest after being struck by a foul ball. The Jays decided to keep all three catchers for a few days to buy some time as they evaluated Heineman.
In order to keep that catching depth, they had to cut into their infield group, as Leo Jiménez was optioned down to Triple-A Buffalo move as the corresponding move for Kirk’s activation. It now appears the club is satisfied with Heineman’s health enough to restore the previous balance, so they have swapped out a catcher for an infielder. Since Sánchez is out of options, he had to be removed from the 40-man roster. Since the trade deadline has passed, the Jays will have to place him on waivers.
It’s the second time this year that Sánchez has gotten a brief stint on the roster as an injury replacement. He was called up in May when Heineman was on the concussion IL. Sánchez was designated for assignment just over a week later when Heineman was reinstated. He cleared waivers, elected free agency and re-signed on a new minor league deal, which allowed him to get back to the big leagues again when Kirk got hurt. It’s possible the same sequence of events plays out in the coming days.
Around the transactions, Sánchez has hit .238/.238/.333 in 21 big league plate appearances. He has a strong .279/.347/.419 line and 107 wRC+ in 199 Triple-A plate appearances this year. The Jays added some catching depth ahead of the deadline by sending Will Wagner to the Padres for Brandon Valenzuela, but Valenzuela has no big league experience and even limited time at Triple-A. The Jays would presumably be open to bringing Sánchez back in a non-roster capacity so he could again be the first man up if one of the big league catchers gets hurt.
Simply recalling Jiménez to retake his roster spot wasn’t a possibility since the ten-day minimum stint for an optional assignment hadn’t yet elapsed, so the Jays have tapped Kennedy instead. Kennedy signed a minor league deal with the Jays a few weeks ago after being cut loose by the Phillies. He has since played 16 games for the Bisons with a dismal .207/.309/.259 line.
That’s not too far off from the .193/.287/.296 line he has in his major league career, but his larger body of work at the Triple-A level is better. Dating back to the start of 2022, he has a .268/.372/.408 line and 111 wRC+ at the top minor league level. He has big league experience at the non-shortstop infield positions.
Kennedy is out of options and may have a tenuous grip on a roster spot. Per Keegan Matheson of MLB.com, both Andrés Giménez and George Springer are beginning rehab assignments this week, so the Jays will need to open some more roster spots soon.
Photo courtesy of Kevin Jairaj, Imagn Images
Phillies fans give three cheers for Buddy Kennedy! We hope to congratulate him personally in October.
The should take a flyer on Austin Barnes, now that he’s available
There’s now a Buddy on the Buddays!
Strange choice to go with him instead of Michael Stefanic, who has an .851 OPS down there.
They likely don’t want to lose Stefanic by exposing him to waivers. I assume they’re ok with it if Kennedy is lost.
That’s pretty much it.
They no longer needed a 3rd catcher, but whatever guy they brought up wouldn’t be here for long.
Gimenez and Springer will be back soon and Kennedy gets DFA’d when that happens.
Kennedy is just an emergency back up to the back ups for a few days.
Trading away Will Wagner and using the room eventually for Buddy Kennedy… interesting move
Wagner had little value to the roster so he was swapped for a young depth catcher.
Kennedy is a temporary stop gap who’ll be gone within the week.
The two aren’t connected.
If I’m Colorado looking to get back on track, I would go after Bo Bichette hard in the off season. Perfect fit for both going forward.
Bo will have his pick of a variety of destinations as a free agent. Why would he settle for Colorado when he could go to any one of a number of great franchises that are competing for the playoffs?
What hitter wouldn’t enjoy playing in Colorado? Hitting .350 with 35 HR would be pretty fun. Proving you’re better than your dad where he played is pretty fun. If the money is there, it wouldn’t surprise me at all. Not that I expect the money to be there.
Yup, and when he signs his 10 year $350 million deal he will talk about bringing home multiple WS championships to Denver. Something something about sharing a leadership role with Kris Bryant and taking the organization to new heights.
Rockies need more than Bo Bichette to get back on track.
not a chance he signs with Colorado. He wants to remain and play with Vladdy so while there is a market adjustment to be made on his pay I believe the Jays will offer him enough to stay
Mets should pickup Ali Sanchez as catching depth. I think Senger doesn’t stay in the organization past this season.