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Billy McKinney

Brewers Notes: Topa, Fisher, Cain, JBJ, Vogelbach

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MARCH 29: Topa has a flexor tendon strain and is unlikely to pitch for at least the first half of the season, Counsell told Haudricourt and other reporters (Twitter link).

MARCH 28: Brewers manager Craig Counsell discussed some roster situations with MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy (Twitter links), the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel’s Tom Haudricourt (Twitter links) and other reporters today, and Counsell revealed that right-hander Justin Topa will begin the season on the injured list.  Topa underwent an MRI last night after he felt elbow discomfort during a simulated game, and the club is still waiting on the results.

Any sort of elbow problem is of particular concern for Topa, who has already undergone two Tommy John surgeries.  Despite these injury setbacks, Topa battled through five seasons in the affiliated minors and an indy ball stint before finally making his MLB debut in 2020.  Though Topa only tossed 9 2/3 total innings over six regular-season outings and one postseason game, the righty opened some eyes by allowing just two earned runs and recording 12 strikeouts against just a single walk.

Topa and Derek Fisher (hamstring) will both be on the 10-day injured list, but Counsell doesn’t believe the IL will be necessary for either Lorenzo Cain or Jackie Bradley Jr.  The two veteran outfielders had missed some time in camp with quad and wrist problems, respectively, though Counsell indicated that he wouldn’t push Cain or Bradley hard in the early stages of the season.  The Brewers were already planning to deploy something of a timeshare in the outfield in order to keep everyone fresh, and beyond Cain, Bradley, Christian Yelich, and Avisail Garcia, Billy McKinney might yet make the team in a bench role for further depth.

Speaking of Milwaukee’s bench, Counsell also said that Daniel Vogelbach made the Opening Day roster.  Though the Brewers tendered Vogelbach a contract over the winter, there was some thought that the team could still cut Vogelbach (whose $1.4MM deal isn’t guaranteed until Opening Day) because Vogelbach doesn’t offer much in the way of bench versatility.  The slugger is blocked by Keston Hiura at first base, and since the NL won’t have the designated hitter spot available this season, Vogelbach is likely just limited to pinch-hit opportunities and DH duty in interleague games.  Still, the Brewers decided Vogelbach was worth keeping in the fold, considering his .987 OPS in 67 PA for Milwaukee last season.

Brewers Notes: Infield, McKinney, Lauer, Cain, Williams

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The most likely scenario for the Brewers at shortstop is turning back to Orlando Arcia while giving third base to Travis Shaw, per the Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal. Luis Urías, meanwhile, could begin the year in Triple-A. Urías has been hampered by a left hamstring injury, which could account for a potential early-season demotion. The Brewers were hopeful the former top prospect would show enough to claim a starting job in the infield this spring, going so far as auditioning Arcia at different spots around the diamond. If Urías isn’t totally full speed, the Brewers can use his minor league options as a means of keeping Daniel Robertson and Billy McKinney, each of whom they’d have to expose to waivers if they don’t start the season on the roster. McKinney wasn’t a lock to stay in Milwaukee, but he has done his part with a strong spring, writes Andrew Wagner of the Wisconsin State Journal. The Brewers don’t have an outright need for McKinney, although it helps that the left-handed outfielder can play first base as well.

More out of Milwaukee:

  • It has been a tough Spring Training for Eric Lauer, note Tom Haudricourt and Todd Rosiak of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Over five innings between three appearances, the left-hander has issued seven walks and given up three home runs. The Brewers optioned Lauer to Triple-A Nashville Friday, taking him out of the mix for a season-opening rotation spot. Acquired from the Padres as part of the deal that also brought in Urías and sent out Trent Grisham and Zach Davies, Lauer suffered through a brutal first season in Milwaukee. He allowed sixteen runs in eleven innings last year, issuing nine walks while striking out twelve.
  • Lorenzo Cain and Devin Williams made their Cactus League debuts in last night’s game against the Reds, Haudricourt and Rosiak were among those to relay. Cain, delayed by a quad injury early in camp, took three plate appearances and played some center field. He’ll rest today but expects to be back in the lineup tomorrow. The Brewers have proceeded cautiously with Williams, who missed their playoff series last year with a shoulder injury. The reigning NL Reliever of the Year says he’ll have “three or four” more tune-up appearances before Opening Day, per Haudricourt and Rosiak.

Central Notes: Cubs, White Sox, Brewers, Pirates

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The Cubs will welcome fans back to Wrigley Field in 2021, the team announced today. They have been approved by the city to fill the stadium to 20 percent capacity, beginning on opening day. “In coordination with MLB, top health experts and local officials, we developed a comprehensive plan that prioritizes the health and safety of our players, staff and fans,” said Cubs President of Business Operations Crane Kenney. “Our goal is to create a safe, clean and friendly environment for everyone to enjoy Cubs baseball beginning Opening Day.” The Cubs will require masks for patrons two-years-old and above while hosting pod-style seating and practicing social distancing.

On the other side of town, the White Sox will be allowed up to 8,122 patrons per game while practicing social distancing, per Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times (via Twitter). The Southsiders home opener will be on April 8th. That means every team except for the Blue Jays will have at least a limited number of fans in the seats this season, notes Bob Nightengale of USA Today. Now, the latest in roster news from the Central…

  • The Brewers are facing a roster crunch at the end of the bench. It’s a side effect of the Jackie Bradley Jr. signing, writes MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy. Pablo Reyes and Derek Fisher have impressed manager Craig Counsell so far, notes McCalvy. Manny Pina and Avisail Garcia are locks to be a member of the bench, which probably only leaves two spots. Assuming Travis Shaw makes the roster, that puts one of Shaw, Orlando Arcia, and Luis Urias on the bench as well. Daniel Robertson has been viewed as a favorite to win that final bench spot, in part because the infielder is out of options. Daniel Vogelbach is also out of options and on the 40-man roster. The big first baseman brings a limited, though valuable skill-set as a power bat off the bench. Of those players on the 40-man roster, Fisher, Jace Pederson, and Billy McKinney are also out of options, giving the Brewers much to think about as we inch closer to April 1.
  • Milwaukee may have a little bit of extra time to decide on that final roster spot, however. Lorenzo Cain hasn’t played in a week because of a quad issue, and there’s a chance he won’t be ready in time for opening day, per McCalvy (via Twitter). There’s still hope that he’ll be ready from the jump, but if not, the Brewers could roll with Bradley Jr. in center and Garcia in right, while taking the extra time to evaluate someone from their out-of-options pool.
  • Pirates manager Derek Shelton won’t spend much time thinking about who might claim the closer role until the last few days of camp, per the Athletic’s Rob Biertempfel. Said Shelton, “We have a guy who we know can go to the back end and do it in Richie (Rodríguez), who did it last year, so I’m really not thinking about it.” That certainly sounds like Richard Rodriguez has the inside track on the job. There will certainly be enough bodies to choose from, as the Pirates plan to break camp with eight or nine relievers, notes Biertempfel. That said, there aren’t a lot of proven late-inning options to immediately wrench the role from Rodríguez. Kyle Crick is the most obvious challenger, with Chris Stratton perhaps snagging an opportunity or two after striking out close to 30 percent of hitters last season.

Brewers Claim Billy McKinney; Trey Supak, Ronny Rodriguez Designated For Assignment

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The Brewers announced Monday that they’ve claimed outfielder Billy McKinney off waivers from the Blue Jays, who had designated him for assignment on Friday. He’s been optioned to the Brewers’ alternate training site. Milwaukee also added righty Justin Topa as the 29th man for their doubleheader today and reinstated right-hander Ray Black from the 45-day injured list.

In order to make room on the 40-man roster for McKinney and Black, the Brewers designated right-hander Trey Supak and infielder Ronny Rodriguez for assignment.

The 26-year-old McKinney was a first-round pick (No. 24 overall) by the Athletics back in 2013 and has since bounced around the league in a series of high-profile swaps. Oakland initially sent him to the Cubs as part of the Jeff Samardzija/Jason Hammel trade, but McKinney never made it to the big leagues in Chicago. Instead, the Cubs shipped him to the Yankees alongside Gleyber Torres in 2016’s Aroldis Chapman deadline swap. Nearly two years to the day later, the Yankees flipped McKinney to Toronto as part of their return for lefty J.A. Happ.

McKinney appeared in only two games for the Yankees and has spent the other 122 games of his big league career with the Toronto organization. He’s shown some pop, evidenced by a .209 ISO, 18 homers, 21 doubles and a triple in 407 plate appearances with the Jays, but McKinney has also been prone to strikeouts and infield flies without drawing much in the walk department.

Overall, McKinney is a .231/.291/.437 hitter with a 25.8 percent strikeout rate and a 7.3 percent walk rate in the Majors. He’s drawn average reviews for his glovework in right field and below-average marks in left. McKinney has never played center in the Majors but does have a handful of innings at first base. He’s out of minor league options after this season, so there will be increased pressure for him to make the club in 2021 — if he survives on the 40-man roster until next year’s Spring Training, that is.

The decision to designate Supak is somewhat of a surprise, given that he’s long been regarded among the organization’s better pitching prospects and put together a nice season in Double-A last year. True, the Milwaukee farm has been regarded as one of the lower-ranking systems in the game for several seasons, but Supak looked to have an opportunity to make it to the Majors this year.

Supak spent most of last year in Double-A, where he pitched 122 2/3 frames of 2.20 ERA ball with 6.9 K/9, 1.7 BB/9, 0.44 HR/9 and a 44.8 percent grounder rate. It’s a very pitcher-friendly setting, and the right-hander’s fielding-independent metrics weren’t as bullish as that rudimentary ERA — 3.14 FIP, 3.59 xFIP — but it was still a promising season all around. Supak was hit hard in a brief seven-game Triple-A stint, but that was true of most pitchers, given the offensive eruption throughout Triple-A that coincided with changes to the composition of the ball itself.

Milwaukee can’t trade Supak at this point, so he’ll now surely be run through outright waivers. He has a minor league option remaining beyond this season and a relatively strong minor league track record, so it wouldn’t all be a surprise to see another club place a claim. Perhaps of note, the club that originally drafted Supak, the Pirates, has the top waiver priority at present. (They’ve since turned over the top of their front office, however.) If Supak goes unclaimed, Milwaukee will be able to outright him to its alternate site and keep him both in the organization and in the 60-man player pool.

As for the 28-year-old Rodriguez, he never got into a game with the Brewers after coming over from the Tigers in a December waiver claim. He’s a versatile utility piece with a bit of pop but overwhelming on-base issues, as can be seen in his career .221/.254/.396 batting line. Rodriguez did swat 14 big flies in 294 MLB plate appearances last year, but he also carries a career 24.8 percent strikeout rate and has seen a dismal 18.2 percent of his fly-balls register as infield pop-ups. Thirty percent of Rodriguez’s plate appearances have resulted in either a punchout or a pop-up, and he’s walked at just a 4.6 percent pace in the Majors.

Blue Jays Announce Several Roster Moves

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The Blue Jays announced several roster moves on Friday, including the activation of reliever Ken Giles from the 45-day injured list. They also promoted catcher Alejandro Kirk, designated outfielder Billy McKinney and backstop Caleb Joseph, recalled righty Jacob Waguespack and optioned righty Sean Reid-Foley.

Giles made just two appearances this year (on July 24 and 26) before landing on the IL with a right forearm strain. It’s the second consecutive season limited by arm injuries for Giles, but when he’s right, he’s dominant. The 29-year-old was among the league’s best relievers last season, when he threw 53 innings and registered a 1.87 ERA/2.27 FIP with 14.09 K/9, 2.89 BB/9 and 23 saves in 24 chances. Giles’ production didn’t help lead to contention for the Jays then, but they’re 24-19 this season and in possession of a playoff spot. Therefore, if Giles is able to revisit his 2019 form, he could be an enormous down-the-stretch addition for Toronto.

Kirk, 21, has done nothing but hit in the minors over the past couple years. Even though he only reached the High-A level before this promotion, Kirk should be in line to at least back up Danny Jansen right now. He ranks as one of the top Blue Jays prospects at Baseball America (No. 5), MLB.com (No. 6) and FanGraphs (No. 6), with BA writing that Kirk “has an innate ability to barrel baseballs consistently, along with a good sense of the strike zone.”

Kirk will take over for Joseph, a former Oriole whom the Blue Jays signed to a minors pact in the offseason. Toronto selected Joseph back on Sept. 5, but it’s now booting the light-hitting 34-year-old from its roster after less than a week.

McKinney, along with the recently outrighted Brandon Drury, was part of the Blue Jays’ return for left-hander J.A. Happ in a deal they made with the Yankees in 2018. McKinney was effective after the Jays picked him up, as he hit .252/.320/.470 with six home runs in 118 plate appearances, but he didn’t come close to that production last year and hasn’t been part of Toronto’s plans this season. The 26-year-old totaled just three PA in 2020 before the Jays designated him.

Blue Jays Option Billy McKinney, Activate Chase Anderson

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Billy McKinney has been optioned to the Blue Jays’ taxi squad, clearing the way to for Chase Anderson to join the active roster, per Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.

Anderson starts today’s game against the Red Sox, who are struggling themselves to fill out the starting rotation. The Jays rotation ranks 25th in fWAR for the season with a total of just 0.2 fWAR. Their big offseason acquisition Hyun Jin Ryu has been mediocre early on, though he’s within the realm of acceptable outcomes for just a three-start sample (5.14 ERA, 4.14 FIP, 3.69 xFIP). Top prospect Nate Pearson has had an encouraging couple of starts. The back end of the rotation has struggled, however, where Tanner Roark (5.63 ERA/6.62 FIP) and Matt Shoemaker (5.91 ERA/6.93 FIP) have yet to hit their stride.

Anderson, 32, debuted in 2014 as a 26-year-old for the Diamondbacks. He spent two seasons in Arizona’s rotation before taking turns as part of the Brewers starting five for the last four. Though he’s never logged more than 158 innings in a given season, he’s been remarkably consistent, making between 25 and 30 starts per season for somewhere between 139 and 158 innings in each of the last five seasons. The right-hander carries a career 53-40 record with a 3.94 ERA/4.54 FIP. That’s steady production for Anderson, who has flown relatively under the radar as a back-end rotation piece. 

The Blue Jays scooped him up from Milwaukee this past September for minor league first baseman Chad Spanberger. At the time of the deal, the Blue Jays had a completely uncertain rotation situation for 2020, though they continued to add all winter. The full amount for Anderson’s deal was set for $8.5MM this season before the shutdown, with a team option at $9.5MM for 2021, making him a relatively affordable arm if he can continue to put forth the consistent workload he has thus far in his career. The Jays hold a $500K buyout option for next season.

For McKinney, he’ll return to Toronto’s taxi squad for now, though this move represents just some of the roster management that’s becoming standard this season. McKinney has been a semi-regular fourth outfielder for the Blue Jays since being acquired from the Yankees with Brandon Drury for J.A. Happ. He’s appeared in just one game thus far this season as a pinch-runner. 

The Blue Jays’ Uncertain Outfield Mix

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When the Blue Jays were at their peak in 2015-16, the outfield wasn’t much of an issue. Jose Bautista was holding down right field as one of MLB’s most feared hitters — the brash owner of a .243/.372/.499 slash line that underscored his patience at the plate and his thunderous power. In center field, Kevin Pillar was a staple on highlight reels thanks to a superhuman defensive prowess that led to his gaudy 38 Defensive Runs Saved in that two-year stretch. Pillar’s .272/.309/.388 slash wasn’t particularly impressive, but paired with his world-beating defense, that made him a plenty valuable player on the whole.

Left field was a bit shakier, if only because of persistent injury troubles for the since-retired Michael Saunders. More often than not, Saunders was in the lineup, though the Jays also trotted out Ben Revere, Ezequiel Carrera and Danny Valencia at times. That was the closest they’ve come to any real inconsistency in that time.

That continuity feels like a distant memory now, as the Jays have since turned over their entire outfield mix on multiple occasions and yet still don’t have much certainty. It appears likely that 2019 breakout slugger Lourdes Gurriel Jr. will get the first look in left field whenever play resumes. His 2019 season at the plate was undeniably impressive — .277/.327/.541, 20 homers in 343 PAs — but it also came in a season that was skewed by a juiced ball. Gurriel’s glovework didn’t rate well, either, though he’s a converted infielder so perhaps there’ll be an uptick with more experience.

Center field seems likely to go to Randal Grichuk, though at this point that’s because of his contract more than his recent play. The Jays signed Grichuk to a surprising extension last spring, and Grichuk responded with a career-worst .232/.280/.457 slash. That .280 OBP was the worst in baseball among qualified hitters. Even without a 2020 season, Grichuk would still be owed $29MM from 2021-23, so he’s sure to get a chance (or multiple chances) at redemption — but a replacement-level showing in year one of the deal isn’t what the Jays had in mind.

The remaining outfield options (in alphabetical order):

  • Anthony Alford, drafted in third round (2012): A two-sport star who could’ve pursued a career in football as well, Alford has received just 59 plate appearances in the past three seasons and now finds himself out of minor league options. Alford was a top 100 prospect each year from 2016-18, but he’s yet to even hit in Triple-A and now has no clear path to playing time in such a crowded mix.
  • Jonathan Davis, drafted in the 15th round (2013): Davis will turn 28 in a few weeks and has just 122 MLB plate appearances to his credit (with a .185/.264/.259 slash). Davis runs well and has shown a patient eye at the plate in the upper minors, but he’s been a roughly average bat in Triple-A and seems more like a fourth outfielder than a big league regular.
  • Brandon Drury, acquired from Yankees in exchange for J.A. Happ: As recently as 2016-17, Drury looked like a solid multi-positional piece with the D-backs. Since hitting .275/.323/.453 in that stretch, though, he’s been traded to the Yankees and then the Jays, hitting just .210/.261/.362 in 533 plate appearances along the way. Drury popped up an astonishing 21 times in just 447 plate appearances this past season, and his strikeout rate has risen from 20 percent in ’16 to 25.3 percent in ’19.
  • Derek Fisher, acquired from the Astros in exchange for Aaron Sanchez, Joe Biagini: With George Springer, Josh Reddick, Michael Brantley, Jake Marisnick and Kyle Tucker all ahead of him during his time with Houston, Fisher never got much of a chance. Like McKinney, he’s not fooled by Triple-A pitching (career .289/.379/.520), but Fisher has whiffed in nearly 37 percent of his 419 Major League plate appearances — including a 40.2 percent mark in 107 PAs with Toronto. He, too, is out of minor league options.
  • Teoscar Hernandez, acquired from the Astros in exchange for Francisco Liriano: Hernandez came to the Jays as an exit-velocity darling and still makes plenty of good contact, but his hard-hit rate and average exit velo did trend in the wrong direction last year. His strikeout issues aren’t as pronounced as those of Fisher, but Hernandez has punched out at a 32 percent clip in just shy of 1000 Blue Jays plate appearances.
  • Billy McKinney, acquired from Yankees in exchange for J.A. Happ: A former first-round pick (Athletics, 2013), McKinney has been traded from Oakland to Chicago to New York to Toronto — never receiving a real big league opportunity prior to Toronto. He’s since appeared in 120 games and taken 404 plate appearances with the Jays, but he’s mustered a tepid .227/.289/.437 slash in that stretch. McKinney has consistently hit Triple-A pitching, but that hasn’t stopped the Jays from acquiring new outfield options to join the competition.

The Jays have a potential breakout candidate in left field (Gurriel), a rebound candidate in center (Grichuk) and what seems competition brewing in a make-or-break year for many of their remaining players. The DH spot will give them some extra opportunities to evaluate all of their options from an offensive standpoint, but they’ll also want to get a look at Rowdy Tellez in that spot.

Both Alford and Fisher need to remain on the big league roster or else be exposed to waiver, while Hernandez and McKinney each have just one option year remaining. Drury is more of a utility option than an everyday piece in the outfield, but he was already in danger of being non-tendered this winter and is down to his final option year as well.

On the whole, it’s a rather underwhelming cast of characters despite the club’s considerable efforts to bring together a mix of intriguing, often post-hype outfield candidates. Between this group’s eroding minor league options and talk of Cavan Biggio eventually moving to the outfield — although defensive metrics thought his work at second base was plenty good in ’19 — it’s possible that no one from this set of players will be a part of the next contending outfield unit in Toronto.

The Jays already made one aggressive, win-now move this winter when they signed Hyun-Jin Ryu, and team president Mark Shapiro recently indicated that the Jays could use a center field upgrade. If this group can’t get it done whenever play resumes, it seems likely that Shapiro, GM Ross Atkins and the rest of the front office will be left with little choice other than pursuing more established options now that the club is moving away from its rebuilding phase.

AL East Notes: Red Sox, Devers, Blue Jays, Biggio, Yankees, Garcia

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The Red Sox have not broached the subject of a contract extension with Rafael Devers, though the player says he’s open to it, per Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com. Of course, that’s a boilerplate response from Devers, and one of the reasons agents are so important for players. Devers, represented by Nelson Montes de Oca of Rep 1 Baseball, can let a shoulder shrug do his talking while rightfully laying contract responsibilities at the feet of his agent. He will be arbitration-eligible for the first time after this upcoming season, so he can expect to field extension questions on a regular basis, though neither party has cause to be in any particular rush.After playing a starring role in the Red Sox 2018 World Series win, Devers didn’t disappoint with a .311/.361/.555 line last season with 32 home runs and 115 RBIs. He also notched a league-leading 54 doubles. Devers isn’t set to hit free agency until after the 2023 season. Let’s see what else is going on in the AL East…

  • Blue Jays manager Charlie Montoya  says Cavan Biggio is the Blue Jays second baseman. Still, given how spring training takes shape, Biggio will be keeping his outfielder glove within reach. The particularly contingency to track, per The Athletic’s Jayson Stark (via Twitter), is Joe Panik. Outside of those two, it’s not a deep field of second base contenders. Santiago Espinal, 25, hit .317/.360/.433 in his first taste of Triple-A in 2019, certainly showing enough to get a look this spring. Brandon Drury and Lourdes Gurriel Jr. also have experience at the keystone. Gurriel is ticketed as the everyday starter in left field, which is a position of equal or greater need for the Blue Jays unless something clicks for a youngster like Billy McKinney or Forrest Wall. Travis Shaw, theoretically, could also see time at second base, but he’s more likely to get his at-bats at first, third, or the designated hitter spot. Ruben Tejada, 30, and Kevin Smith, 23, are also both in camp as non-roster invitees. 
  • Yankees top pitching prospect Deivi Garcia is pushing to fill the injury void in manager Aaron Boone’s rotation, and good as he’s looked thus far, Garcia is unlikely to win a rotation job out of spring camp, per Newday’s David Lennon. The undersized right-hander has done nothing but impress over the last calendar year, and he continues to do so in spring training, keeping hitters off-balance with a power heater. Garcia, 20, won’t be rushed to the majors, despite the injuries. Still, given his progress last year, it wouldn’t be entirely shocking to see him in the majors sometime around his 21st birthday in May. That’s still too aggressive to be an expectant timetable – but given the uncertainty in the Yanks’ rotation and the level of competition in the division, an early debut for Garcia certainly can’t be ruled out. 

AL East Notes: Lowe, Mancini, Fisher

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The Rays’ decision to option Nate Lowe back to Triple-A Durham following the trade deadline was a “very tough call,” manager Kevin Cash tells Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. With the acquisition of Jesus Aguilar, however, the Rays had three first basemen on the roster and Ji-Man Choi’s lack of minor league options once again came into play. Tampa Bay seems loath to risk losing Choi on waivers, but Lowe has handily outperformed him at the plate so far, hitting .294/.362/.510 to Choi’s .265/.361/.423. Choi has shown better knowledge of the strike zone, but Lowe nevertheless appears to be the better offensive option between the two (even if he’s had some good fortune in terms of a .362 average on balls in play). Cash expects that Lowe will be back up with the club “soon,” but that redundancy will eventually be an issue the Rays need to address.

More out of the AL East…

  • Trey Mancini remains in Baltimore after the trade deadline, but the decision not to move him doesn’t mean an extension is the next step for the slugger. “Looking at contract extensions is just not at the forefront of my plate right now,” Orioles general manager Mike Elias tells MASNsports.com’s Roch Kubatko, “but certainly he’s an attractive guy to have here for a while.” It’s not the first time that Elias, hired to spearhead the Orioles’ rebuild this offseason, has suggested that he views Mancini as a potential long-term piece. But Mancini is already controlled through 2022 — his age-30 season. Given that he won’t even reach arbitration until this winter, there’s simply not much urgency to extend Mancini, even if he’s in the midst of the best season of his young career. Through 443 plate appearances, Mancini has posted a robust .282/.343/.539 slash (130 OPS+) with a career-high 25 home runs. Elias also praised the recent play of outfielder Anthony Santander the manner in which he has begun to establish himself as a viable big league hitter.
  • The Blue Jays have a crowded outfield mix, but newly acquired Derek Fisher is going to get regular playing time and an opportunity to establish himself as a fixture in the Toronto outfield, Shi Davidi of Sportsnet writes. Most of Fisher’s reps will come in center or right field, as Toronto doesn’t want to disrupt Lourdes Gurriel Jr.’s transition to left field (or his offensive breakout). That leaves Fisher, Teoscar Hernandez, Randal Grichuk and Billy McKinney vying for playing time between center, right and occasional reps at DH. Hernandez has been on an otherworldly tear, clubbing seven homers and three doubles in his past 15 games, which should help to keep him in the lineup. If there’s to be an odd man out, McKinney seems the likeliest candidate, given that he has minor league options remaining. But the semi logjam also serves as a reminder that Randal Grichuk hasn’t performed anywhere near as well as hoped in the first season of the head-scratching extension to which the Jays signed him back in April. He’s played solid defense, but Grichuk hasn’t exactly seized an everyday role with his .232/.290/.418 batting line.

Blue Jays Promote Cavan Biggio

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May 24: The Blue Jays have made Biggio’s promotion official.

May 23: The Blue Jays will promote infield/corner outfield prospect Cavan Biggio, Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca was among those to report on Twitter. He’ll be joined in the majors by Lourdes Gurriel Jr.

Cavan Biggio

With a need for two roster spots, the Toronto organization will send down two players. Outfielder Billy McKinney and infielder Richard Urena will be optioned out.

It’s fun to see Biggio and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. share a MLB roster. They’ll likely be joined before too long by fellow top prospect Bo Bichette, at which time the Jays will be in position to compile a fearsome father-son softball team. (For the record, Cavan’s dad out-WAR’ed Vlad’s dad. Both are recent Hall of Fame inductees.)

If that trio can do anything to the 2020’s like their dads did to the 1990’s and 2000’s, it’ll make for heady times in Toronto. For now, the focus is on finishing off the development of these talented youngsters.

Biggio is the least hyped of the group, though he has already exceeded the expectations placed on him as a fifth-round draft pick. Entering the present season, he graded out as one of the ten or so best prospects in the Blue Jays system, but wasn’t considered an elite youngster on a leaguewide scale.

Notably, however, the 24-year-old has increased his offensive output at each step up the minor-league ladder. Through 168 plate appearances at Triple-A, he owns a robust .306/.440/.507 batting line with six home runs.

Having put the ball over the fence 26 times last year at Double-A, Biggio obviously possessed more power than might have been expected. He’s now combining that with the plate discipline that had long been his calling card — and doing so at the highest level of the minors. Biggio has ramped his walk rate all the way up to 19.0% while dropping his strikeout rate to 16.7% thus far in 2019.

Though he has primarily appeared at second base in the minors, Biggio also has experience at third, first, and the corner outfield. He and Gurriel could both appear at multiple positions in the big leagues. The latter was introduced to the outfield (where he has some prior experience in Cuba) after being optioned down due to his struggles at the plate and some yips that arose at second base.

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