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White Sox Sign Carl Edwards Jr.; Kyle Crick Opts Out Of Minors Deal

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The White Sox signed reliever Carl Edwards Jr. to a minor league contract yesterday, per an announcement from their Triple-A affiliate in Charlotte. He had been released by the Blue Jays earlier in the week.

Edwards has appeared in the big leagues with both the Braves and Toronto already this season. Between the two clubs, he has only tallied 5 2/3 innings, allowing seven runs. Edwards landed on the injured list with an oblique strain in mid-June and has spent the past couple months recovering. While he recently embarked upon a rehab assignment, the Jays evidently decided to release him rather than bring him back to the big league roster.

It has been a difficult few seasons for Edwards, who was once high-end reliever during his time with the Cubs. Between 2016-18, Edwards posted a 3.03 ERA across 154 1/3 innings for the North Siders. Injury issues and an increasing propensity for issuing walks, however, have knocked him off course in recent seasons.

While the White Sox didn’t announce their deal with Edwards until this morning, that it was finalized yesterday is significant. Players in an organization by August 31 are eligible for a team’s postseason roster, so Edwards could be an option for the ChiSox come playoff time. There’s no question Chicago will reach the playoffs, given their insurmountable lead in the AL Central. Of course, Edwards would have to pitch his way into the big league bullpen to warrant that consideration.

While Chicago adds some right-handed relief depth with the Edwards signing, they’re losing Kyle Crick to free agency. MLBTR’s Steve Adams reports that Crick has triggered an opt-out clause in his minor league deal and been granted his release. The former Pirate signed with Chicago a month ago and tossed 10 1/3 innings of one-run ball with Charlotte, striking out fifteen while issuing just three walks. That strong showing should help him find another opportunity elsewhere in relatively short order.

Diamondbacks Acquire Two Players From Blue Jays To Complete Joakim Soria Trade

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The Diamondbacks announced they’ve acquired two minor league players — catcher J.J. D’Orazio and left-hander Yaifer Perdomo — from the Blue Jays. The move completes the teams’ deadline day deal that sent veteran reliever Joakim Soria to Toronto.

Arizona picks up a pair of low-level developmental prospects. Entering the season, Eric Longenhagen of FanGraphs ranked the 19-year-old D’Orazio the #26 prospect in the Jays’ system, praising his frame and bat-to-ball skills. Perdomo has never appeared on an organizational ranking at either FanGraphs or Baseball America. The 20-year-old posted gaudy strikeout totals with the Jays’ Florida Complex League affiliate this season though. Both D’Orazio and Perdomo were recently bumped up to Low-A.

Soria hasn’t yet had much of an opportunity to make an impact for his new club. The 37-year-old went down with inflammation in his right middle finger on August 4 and missed three weeks. He’s tossed 3 2/3 scoreless innings with five strikeouts for the Jays and will be a free agent at the end of the season.

Blue Jays Promote Nate Pearson, Bryan Baker

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The Blue Jays announced they have recalled righty Nate Pearson and selected the contract of right-hander Bryan Baker. Ken Rosenthal of the Athletic first reported the moves last night. No corresponding transactions were necessary, as active rosters are expanding from 26 to 28 players today. Toronto created the vacancy on the 40-man roster required to promote Baker yesterday when they designated Brad Hand for assignment.

Pearson is one of the sport’s top prospects, with evaluators long suggesting his power arsenal could make him a top-of-the-rotation starter. The 25-year-old has gotten a few looks at the big league level over the past couple seasons but hasn’t yet had a real opportunity to fulfill his immense promise because of health issues. Pearson has had a couple stints on the injured list this year, limiting him to just one big league outing and twelve appearances (six starts) with Triple-A Buffalo.

Since returning from the minor league IL in the middle of August, Pearson has worked exclusively in relief, never facing more than five hitters in an outing. That’ll surely be the role he plays for Toronto down the stretch, with the hope that he can aid a bullpen that has struggled collectively for much of the season. Difficulty locking down late leads is perhaps the biggest reason the Jays enter the final month-plus of the season needing to erase a four and a half game deficit in the American League Wild Card standings. Presumably, the Jays will again look to lengthen Pearson back out as a starter next spring.

Baker will also step into the bullpen, as he’s exclusively a reliever. It’s the first major league call for the 26-year-old, who joined the pro ranks as a Rockies’ draftee in 2016 out of the University of North Florida. The Jays acquired Baker in August 2018 to complete the deal that sent reliever Seung-hwan Oh to Colorado.

Assigned to Buffalo to begin the year, Baker has spent the entire season to date with the Jays’ top affiliate. Over 34 innings, he’s posted a 1.32 ERA while striking out a strong 28.2% of opponents. Baker’s 11.3% walk rate is a bit high, but he’ll earn a big league look with his swing-and-miss numbers in the minors. The Jays would have had to add Baker to the 40-man roster this winter to keep him from selection in the Rule 5 draft, and they’ll make that call a bit ahead of schedule in hopes of finding a reliable middle innings option for manager Charlie Montoyo down the stretch.

Blue Jays Designate Brad Hand For Assignment

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The Blue Jays are designating reliever Brad Hand for assignment, relays Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet (Twitter link). Catcher Danny Jansen is being activated from the 10-day injured list in a corresponding move. Hand’s designation also creates a vacancy on the 40-man roster, which now sits at 38.

It’s a rather surprising move, as Toronto acquired Hand from the Nationals the week of the trade deadline. That proved to be a rather significant misstep. The hope was that Hand could serve as a stabilizing force for a Blue Jays’ bullpen that struggled throughout the season’s first half. But his time north of the border proved brief and unproductive, as Hand was tagged for ten runs (seven of them earned) in 8 2/3 innings. He struck out five batters, issued three walks and served up three home runs.

To make matters worse, young catcher Riley Adams — whom the Jays sent to the Nats in exchange for Hand — has been on a tear since landing in Washington. The 25-year-old has hit .341/.442/.568 with a pair of homers in 52 plate appearances. That’s an extraordinarily small sample and public prospect evaluators have long suggested Adams is likelier to wind up a quality backup than a true regular catcher. But swapping Adams for Hand is unquestionably a move the Jays’ front office wishes it had back after just a few weeks.

While Hand’s tenure in Toronto didn’t pan out, he figures to latch on elsewhere rather quickly. Hand broke out upon a move to the bullpen with the Padres in 2016 and remained one of the game’s best late-inning arms up through last season. Over that five-year run, the southpaw posted a 2.70 ERA/2.92 FIP across 320 innings split between San Diego and the Indians.

His results were strong as ever in 2020, when Hand pitched to a 2.05 ERA/2.80 SIERA over 22 frames with Cleveland. He’d seen a worrying dip in velocity, though, and the Indians waived Hand before declining a $10MM club option on his services. That actually worked in his favor financially, as Hand picked up a $1MM buyout before signing a $10.5MM guarantee with Washington upon hitting the market.

Hand’s velocity has bounced back this season, though. After dipping from a 92.7 MPH average four-seam in 2019 to 91.5 MPH last season, the 31-year-old is averaging 93.3 MPH on his heater in 2021 (per Brooks Baseball). His slider velocity hasn’t gotten back to peak levels, although that too is up relative to last season’s mark. And Hand was still fairly productive during his early-season run in Washington, where he posted a 3.59 ERA over 42 2/3 innings.

That’s not to say he was at peak form. Even during his time with the Nationals, Hand’s strikeout rate had dipped from 33.7% last season to 23.1%. His swinging strike rate had dropped from 10.5% to a subpar 7.3%. That declining swing-and-miss was a red flag, but Hand’s track record and continued decent results were enough to attract interest on the trade market just a month ago.

It stands to reason some other club will look past Hand’s terrible past few weeks and give him another look. Claiming him off waivers would require assuming the remainder of his $10.5MM salary (approximately $1.9MM). That might prove too pricey given Hand’s recent struggles, but any team that signs him after he clears waivers would only have to pay the prorated portion of the league minimum while leaving the Jays on the hook for the bulk of the remaining money.

Blue Jays Sign Gregory Polanco To Minor League Deal

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The Blue Jays have signed outfielder Gregory Polanco to a minor league deal, the team informed reporters (including Shi Davidi of Sportsnet). Toronto also re-signed right-hander Elvis Luciano, who had been released last week, on a minors pact.

Polanco finds a new home shortly after being released by the Pirates over the weekend. That brought an end to Polanco’s twelve-year tenure in the Pittsburgh organization, which began when he was signed during the 2009-10 international signing period. The powerful corner outfielder eventually emerged as one of the game’s most talented prospects, peaking as Baseball America’s #10 overall farmhand entering the 2014 season.

That year, Polanco made his MLB debut and took over as the Pirates regular right fielder. While his career got off to a slow start, the left-handed hitter eventually made good on some of his promise. Polanco hit .254/.340/.499 (123 wRC+) over 535 plate appearances in 2018, seemingly setting the stage for him to settle in as a core piece of the Bucs future.

Unfortunately, Polanco underwent season-ending shoulder surgery that September. He’s never been anywhere close to the same since that point. Over the past three seasons, he has hit just .203/.270/.364 across 723 trips to the dish. Those struggles continued to mount this season, as the 28-year-old posted only a .208/.283/.354 line before Pittsburgh moved on.

Needless to say, the past few years haven’t gone as Polanco or the Pirates had hoped. There’s no risk for the Blue Jays in brining him aboard on a minor league deal to see if a change of scenery and coaching can help him regain any of the promise he showed a few seasons ago. The Pirates remain on the hook for the balance of Polanco’s $11MM salary (as well as a $3MM buyout on a 2022 club option).

Toronto will only Polanco the prorated league minimum salary if he makes it onto the big league roster, with that mark subtracted from Pittsburgh’s obligations. Because the Jays worked out a deal with Polanco before September 1, he would be eligible for their postseason roster. That’d require him to perform well enough to earn an MLB look and the Jays to erase a four and a half game deficit in the Wild Card race over the season’s final month. Polanco will again reach free agency this offseason.

Luciano was cut loose last week to open a spot on the Jays’ 40-man roster. He’ll now return without requiring a 40-man spot. Luciano has spent the season with Double-A New Hampshire, where he’s posted a 3.41 ERA across 34 1/3 innings but suffered through a pair of stints on the injured list.

Blue Jays Activate George Springer From Injured List

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The Blue Jays are reinstating George Springer from the 10-day injured list, general manager Ross Atkins told reporters (including Scott Mitchell of TSN and Shi Davidi of Sportsnet). Fellow outfielder Josh Palacios is being optioned to Triple-A Buffalo to open an active roster spot.

Springer will work as a designated hitter for the time being, according to Atkins, as he continues to progress from the sprained left knee that has kept him out of action. While it’ll hurt not to have Springer patrolling center field in the near-term, getting anything at all this quickly is something of a blessing. The Jays didn’t release any sort of timetable on Springer’s return in the immediate aftermath of his injury, leading to fears it could be an extended absence. Instead, Springer returns to the lineup after fifteen days away.

That was Springer’s third separate IL stint during his first season in Toronto, as nagging quad issues kept him from playing regularly until late June. When healthy, Springer has been incredible. Through 211 plate appearances, the 31-year-old is hitting .269/.362/.610 and has already launched sixteen home runs. On a rate basis, that’s among the best performances of Springer’s career, as his 157 wRC+ matches his single-season high during his time with the Astros (which came in 2019).

Even without any defensive value, Springer performing at that level at the plate would be a huge boon for the Jays. At 68-61, Toronto has fallen to the periphery of the playoff picture, as they enter play tonight five and half games back of the Red Sox for the final postseason spot (with the A’s and Mariners also ahead of them). They’ll need a stellar run of play over the season’s final five weeks to get to the playoffs, but Springer’s return to the lineup increases their odds of pulling that off.

Blue Jays Place Santiago Espinal On 10-Day Injured List

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The Blue Jays have placed Santiago Espinal on the IL with a right hip flexor strain, per a club announcement. His roster spot will go to Jarrod Dyson, who was claimed off waivers from the Royals on Friday.

Espinal has been a solid fill-in for the Blue Jays this season, slashing .290/.354/.378 for a wRC+ of 105, while playing third base. He’s seen his playing time increase due to the multiple IL stints of Cavan Biggio this year. With Espinal now out and Biggio recently suffering a setback during his rehab, the Jays will likely turn to Kevin Smith and Breyvic Valera at the hot corner. Smith, who got the start at third today, is off to a slow start to his MLB career, though in a tiny sample of just seven games. Valera’s only had 46 plate appearances this year, producing a meager wRC+ of 45, thanks to a line of .227/.261/.273.

As for Dyson, he will be hard-pressed to get regular playing time, given that the Jays have an outfield of Teoscar Hernandez, Lourdes Gurriel Jr., Randal Grichuk and Corey Dickerson. George Springer also seems poised to return soon, with the star outfielder telling Jon Morosi of MLB Network that he hopes to be back as soon as tomorrow. Whether his own self-assessment lines up with the team’s vision remains to be seen. This is Springer’s third IL stint of the season, only appearing in 49 games so far this year. He’s made his limited time count, however, slashing .269/.362/.610, a wRC+ of 157. If he can return in that form, he would be a huge boost for a Blue Jays team that has slipped to 6 1/2 games out of a playoff spot in his absence.

Blue Jays Claim Jarrod Dyson

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1:11pm: The Royals and Blue Jays have now both announced the move.

12:39pm: The Blue Jays have claimed outfielder Jarrod Dyson off waivers from the Royals, reports Robert Murray of FanSided (Twitter link). Neither club has formally announced the move just yet.

Kansas City never formally designated Dyson for assignment, but it’s not uncommon for clubs to quietly place a player on waivers without first announcing a DFA. The Blue Jays, by claiming Dyson, are now on the hook for the remainder of his $1.5MM salary — about $306K between now and season’s end.

Dyson, 37, returned  for a second stint with the Royals this offseason when he inked a one-year, $1.5MM contract in free agency. He’s appeared in 77 games but tallied just 132 plate appearances, instead being utilized more for his blistering speed and defensive acumen late in games. Dyson carries a .221/.256/.311 batting line in that time. He hasn’t homered in 2021 but has doubled seven times, tripled twice and gone 8-for-11 in stolen base attempts this year.

The Royals likely didn’t find much interest in Dyson at the trade deadline, but he’ll only cost the Jays cash and a roster spot at this point. He’ll give the team some needed depth in center field with George Springer again on the shelf, and he’ll also provide Toronto with a dynamic late-game defensive replacement and pinch-running option as they try to close a deficit of five and a half games in the hunt for the second Wild Card spot.

The Royals will save a but of cash by placing him on waivers, but the move is surely more about giving a veteran player the organization respects an opportunity to return to the postseason. By waiting until late in the month of August to place Dyson on waivers, the Royals ensured that the cost of acquiring him was quite minimal, thereby enhancing the chances he’d be claimed. Because he’s joining the Jays organization prior to Sept. 1, Dyson would be eligible for their postseason roster, should Toronto manage to close that considerable gap in the standings.

Cavan Biggio Suffers Elbow Injury During Rehab Game

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Cavan Biggio suffered an injury to his left elbow while diving for a ball in a Triple-A game on Friday, the Blue Jays told TSN’s Scott Mitchell and other reporters.  The extent of the injury isn’t yet known.  Biggio was already seven games deep into a minor league rehab assignment, after being placed on the 10-day injured list on August 3 due to back tightness.

Between that injury and an earlier IL stint due to a cervical spine ligament sprain, it perhaps isn’t surprising that Biggio has struggled to a .215/.316/.350 slash line over 290 plate appearances this season.  It’s been a tough setback for a player who had seemingly emerged as part of the Jays’ young core, as Biggio produced a 118 wRC+ over 695 PA in 2019-20.  This elbow injury could hamper Biggio’s chances of returning to the big league roster and salvaging something from this season, and it remains to be seen how he’ll fit into Toronto’s plans for 2022.

Minor MLB Transactions: 8/23/21

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The latest minor moves from around baseball…

  • The Blue Jays announced that right-hander Elvis Luciano has been released.  Luciano was a Rule 5 Draft selection in 2018, and he posted a 5.35 ERA over 33 2/3 innings in his 2019 rookie season — not great numbers, though rather respectable considering Luciano was 19 years old and had never pitched above rookie ball.  Luciano spent the entire 2020 season on the injured list for unspecified reasons, and then battled more injuries this year at Double-A New Hampshire, though he posted a 3.41 ERA over 34 1/3 innings and 11 starts.
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