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Blue Jays To Activate Hyun Jin Ryu On Tuesday; Use Six-Man Rotation

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Hyun Jin Ryu, who underwent Tommy John surgery last summer, will be reinstated to start Tuesday’s game against the Orioles. Manager John Schneider told reporters, including Scott Mitchell of TSN, that the club will use a six-man rotation for a while.

Ryu, 36, signed a four-year, $80MM deal with the Jays going into 2020. He was brilliant in that first year, posting a 2.69 ERA in the shortened season. That figure ticked up to 4.37 the next year, then was at 5.67 last year before he required Tommy John in June. He has since been targeting a return around the 2023 All-Star break and will now be back just slightly beyond that.

It’s been an open question as to how the Jays would handle Ryu’s return. Their five starters have remarkably remained healthy all year, with none of Kevin Gausman, Chris Bassitt, José Berríos, Yusei Kikuchi or Alek Manoah requiring a stint on the injured list. Manoah did struggle immensely and get optioned down to the club’s Florida Complex for a month from early June, but has since returned.

It seems the club will stick with all six of those starters for now. As pointed out by Keegan Matheson of MLB.com, the Jays have a stretch of 17 games in 17 days, starting tonight and going until August 13. They then have three off-days in just over a week and will likely need to make a decision at that point as to how they proceed.

Kikuchi has previously been pushed to the bullpen and could be an option for that again, though he’s having good results so far this year. His 3.79 ERA would be a career best if he could maintain it, though a 84.8% strand rate points to some regression, hence his 4.79 FIP and 3.96 SIERA. Manoah was already optioned once and could perhaps receive that treatment again. His first start back from the wilderness saw him strike out eight Tigers while walking none. He then walked five Padres in his next start without a single punchout. His third start was a middle ground, as he walked four Mariners while striking out six.

Back in June, when Manoah was still on optional assignment and Ryu still on the IL, general manager Ross Atkins said that starting pitching would be an “obvious area” for the club to target at the deadline. Perhaps the returns of those two pitchers changes that calculus, though that will be seen over the coming days. The deadline is August 1.

Mariners Acquire Trent Thornton From Blue Jays

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2:05pm: The Mariners have now announced the trade, with Gonzales indeed transferred to the 60-day IL as the corresponding move. The lefty has been on the IL since late May due to a left forearm strain and has yet to begin a rehab assignment. He’ll be eligible to return from the IL as soon as this weekend but that doesn’t seem to be a possibility.

2:00pm: The Mariners are acquiring right-hander Trent Thornton from the Blue Jays, reports Jeff Passan of ESPN. Thornton was designated for assignment last week when the Jays acquired Génesis Cabrera. The Mariners are sending infielder Mason McCoy to the Jays in exchange. The M’s will need to open a 40-man roster spot for Thornton, though they can do that fairly easily by transferring Marco Gonzales to the 60-day injured list.

Thornton, now 29, came over to the Blue Jays in a November 2018 trade that sent utility player Aledmys Díaz to the Astros. The righty jumped into Toronto’s rotation the next year and tossed 154 1/3 innings with a 4.84 earned run average. He struck out 22% of batters faced while walking 9% of them.

But in 2020, he was limited to just three starts by elbow inflammation and has been transitioned into a relief role since then. He served as a frequently-optioned depth piece for the Jays in the past few seasons, logging 100 1/3 frames in the big leagues since the start of 2021 with a 4.31 ERA, 22% strikeout rate and 8% walk rate. He’s also been able to throw 66 1/3 innings at the Triple-A level with a 2.98 ERA, striking out 21.8% of opponents while walking 10.9%.

Despite those decent numbers, Thornton was pushed down Toronto’s depth chart by other acquisitions and has only been able to make four big league appearances this year. He’s also in his final option year, meaning he’ll be out of options next year and will therefore have diminished roster flexibility. But the Mariners will still have the ability to option him for the rest of the year, allowing him to provide them with a bit of extra depth for their pitching staff. Daniel Kramer of MLB.com relays that Thornton will initially report to Triple-A Tacoma.

Heading the other way is McCoy, 28, who was originally drafted by the Orioles but was traded to the Mariners in a cash deal in April of 2022. Baseball America ranked him the 29th best prospect in Baltimore’s system in 2020, praising his glove and bat-to-ball skills but expressing some concern about a lack of future power.

Since that trade, he’s been playing for Triple-A Tacoma in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League. He hit 20 home runs last year but struck out in 25.8% of his plate appearances. His .256/.332/.473 batting line amounted to a wRC+ of 96 in that offensively-charged environment. This year, he’s added another 11 homers but struck out at a 29.5% clip. His .234/.330/.407 line this year translates to a 77 wRC+.

Despite the subpar offense, he should have a decent floor due to his other qualities. He stole 22 bases last year and has swiped another 20 already here in 2023. He also has defensive versatility, having played the three infield positions to the left of first base as well as some brief appearances in the outfield. He will be eligible for minor league free agency at the end of this season if not added to Toronto’s 40-man roster.

Shohei Ohtani Drawing Widespread Trade Interest

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The biggest question of this year’s trade deadline is whether or not the Angels will trade Shohei Ohtani. Unsurprisingly, several rival clubs are interested in acquiring his services, with Jeff Passan of ESPN connecting him to the Rangers, Dodgers, Orioles, Rays and Blue Jays. That’s in addition to reporting from yesterday connecting him to the Diamondbacks and Orioles.

The fact that several clubs are interested in Ohtani is hardly shocking, given that the superstar has played so well in recent years to make it a legitimate question as to whether he’s the greatest player of all time. He’s hit at least 34 home runs in each of the past three seasons, having already hit 36 this year for the league lead with still a few months to go. His overall batting line of .302/.398/.674 amounts to a wRC+ of 184, which also leads all major league hitters. In addition to that, he’s thrown 408 innings as a pitcher since the start of 2021 with a 2.98 ERA, including a 3.71 ERA in his 19 starts this year.

Given the unprecedented nature of his performance, it would be a shock if any contender weren’t interested in him, so it stands to reason that several of them are reportedly on the phone lines. Whether Ohtani can actually be pried loose from the Angels is an open question, however. Recent reporting has suggested that the club will be listening to offers but that a deal is still considered unlikely. Ohtani is an impending free agent but the Halos aren’t completely buried in the standings. Their 51-49 record has them 4.5 games behind the Blue Jays for the final playoff spot, but with the Yankees and Red Sox in between. FanGraphs pegs their playoff odds at 13.7% while Baseball Prospectus puts them at 13.2%.

Rival clubs will only be able to acquire a few months of Ohtani’s services, but the offers will likely still be robust. Since a player like Ohtani has never previously existed, it’s hard to know exactly how much clubs would be willing to relinquish in order to acquire him. But since he’s the most impactful individual player that any club could conceivably add, it’s possible the bidding goes to unexpected levels. Beyond his on-field talents, there would also be opportunities for increased ratings and merchandise sales, not to mention the ability to try to negotiate an extension with the two-way player. It seems highly unlikely he would forego the open market at this point, but the opportunity to start the conversation early surely has appeal.

The Rangers make a ton of sense for Ohtani, in that their rotation has lost Jacob deGrom and Jake Odorizzi to season-ending injuries. They also don’t have an everyday designated hitter and could easily accommodate Ohtani in their lineup. They are currently leading the American League West but the Astros are just two games back and Ohtani could go a long way to helping them fend off Houston. However, since they are in the same division as the Angels, lining up on a trade could be difficult. The Halos may not want to watch Ohtani thrive with their rivals, while the Rangers may have some hesitation about looking across the dugout at their former prospects for the next decade or so.

The Dodgers also make plenty of sense from a roster perspective. They currently have five starters on the injured list, including Clayton Kershaw, Dustin May, Walker Buehler, Noah Syndergaard and Ryan Pepiot. That’s forced them to bring up rookies like Bobby Miller, Michael Grove and Emmet Sheehan. The DH slot is usually taken by J.D. Martinez but he can at least play the outfield from time to time, a problem the club would likely be happy to work around. But the Angels may not prefer to send Ohtani across Los Angeles, given the public relations aspect. They and the Dodgers don’t compete in the same division, but they compete for customers and attention in the area, with the Angels usually the second fiddle to the Dodgers. Sending Ohtani to succeed in Dodger blue might be a bitter pill that they’d prefer not to swallow.

The other three clubs also make plenty of sense, given their tight American League East rivalry. The Orioles, Rays and Blue Jays currently occupy the top three spots in the division, separated by just 6.5 games. The Orioles have a 62-38 record but their rotation is clearly the weakest spot. Their starters have a collective 4.51 ERA that puts them in the bottom half of the league. They don’t have a clear DH either, often rotating various players through that spot.

The Rays actually have the strongest rotation ERA in the league, though that number may be skewed by their frequent use of openers. They certainly have a solid foursome in Tyler Glasnow, Shane McClanahan, Zach Eflin and Taj Bradley, but have lost Jeffrey Springs and Drew Rasmussen to season-ending surgeries while Josh Fleming seems likely to miss significant time as well. Given their fondness for versatile players, they could easily slot Ohtani into the DH role and move other players around as necessary.

The Jays have some rotation question marks, particularly in the case of Alek Manoah. He struggled badly enough in the beginning on the season to get optioned down to the club’s Florida Complex. He’s since returned and made three starts without much consistency. Hyun Jin Ryu is on a rehab assignment and could be back with the club shortly, rejoining Kevin Gausman, Chris Bassitt, Jose Berrios and Yusei Kikuchi. The Jays use Brandon Belt as designated hitter most of the time but likely wouldn’t mind replacing him with Ohtani and figuring out a solution to that problem. The bigger issue might be their relatively weaker farm system compared to the other clubs listed here, as Passan lists them as a longer shot for that exact reason.

All in all, it’s still unknown how seriously the Angels are entertaining any offers coming their way. It’s important for them to do their due diligence so that they have all the information necessary to make the decision that is best for their organization, but that doesn’t obligate them to make a deal. The club starts a road trip tonight with three in Detroit, three in Toronto and then the first game of a series in Atlanta before the August 1 deadline. It’s possible that the results of those games will push the club in one direction or another, for the most significant decision of this trade deadline and arguably ever.

AL East Notes: Orioles, Red Sox, Hernandez, Jansen, Torres, Cortes

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The Orioles’ 5-3 victory over the Rays today extended Baltimore’s lead over Tampa Bay to two games, and continued a dream month for the upstart O’s.  Between Baltimore’s 13-6 record and the Rays’ 4-14 record in July, the Orioles have completely wiped out their 6.5-game deficit from the start of the month, and now look like genuine World Series contenders.  Even with this big surge, it remains to be seen how the O’s might approach the trade deadline, as ESPN’s Buster Olney tweets that according to executives on other teams, the Orioles have thus far looked like “measured buyers” who are “willing to deal from position player surplus to upgrade pitching, but not perceived to be fishing for big, pricey deals, at this point.”

Should such a stance continue through August 1, Baltimore fans might not be pleased, as the fanbase was already annoyed enough last summer when the O’s dealt Trey Mancini and Jorge Lopez at the deadline rather than make a push for a playoff spot.  (Of course, landing Yennier Cano from the Twins has made the Lopez trade a lot more popular in hindsight.)  Obviously selling isn’t on the radar for GM Mike Elias this year, but that also doesn’t necessarily mean a blockbuster move is in store.  Since the Orioles’ core of young talent is so promising, Elias might not see 2023 as the time for an all-in type of trade, especially considering that the O’s might not yet have decided which of their many star prospects they see as building blocks, and which might be trade chips.  Of course, history has shown that lower-level deadline trades can often lead to postseason success just as easily as a headline-grabbing transaction, so Elias can pursue plenty of avenues as he looks to put the final pieces to an exciting young team.

More from around the AL East…

  • During an appearance on The Front Office on MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM, Red Sox chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom reiterated that the club was looking for starting pitching at the deadline, as well as a left-handed hitting middle infielder.  Enrique Hernandez, Yu Chang, Christian Arroyo, and even part-time second baseman Justin Turner all swing from the right side, as do the injured Trevor Story and Pablo Reyes.  Story’s return from the injured list should give the Red Sox more clarity on their muddled infield picture, yet there’s also a chance Boston could both buy and sell at the deadline, as the club did last year.  To this end, pending free agent Hernandez could be expendable, and The Athletic’s Fabian Ardaya writes that the Dodgers would have interest in a possible reunion if Hernandez was open to more of a part-time role.  Whereas Boston has too many right-handed bats, the Dodgers have a surplus of left-handed hitters in the outfield, so Hernandez could add both lineup balance and positional versatility as a player capable of working in multiple positions — essentially his old role when he previously played in L.A. in 2015-20.
  • X-rays were negative on Danny Jansen’s left forearm after the Blue Jays catcher was hit by a Bryan Woo pitch in today’s game.  Jansen was hit in the fifth inning and remained in the game until the seventh, and the Jays announced Jansen’s injury as a forearm contusion.  It seems like Jansen will be day-to-day for now, though the Blue Jays could be shorthanded behind the plate until he is ready, since the Jays’ next offday isn’t until Thursday.  Alejandro Kirk figures to be the starting catcher in the interim, with Tyler Heineman a call-up possibility from Triple-A, or Daulton Varsho perhaps an emergency catcher if Jansen only misses a game or two.
  • In a pair of Yankees injury updates, Gleyber Torres also left today’s game due to left hip tightness.  The issue isn’t serious enough at this time to require any tests, and manager Aaron Boone told The Athletic’s Chris Kirschner and other reporters that Torres was already feeling better postgame.  Since New York doesn’t play on Monday, Torres might well not miss any game action after a day of rest.
  • Nestor Cortes will begin a rehab assignment at Double-A today, the Yankees announced.  Cortes hasn’t pitched since May 30 due to a strained rotator cuff, and the long layoff suggests that he’ll need multiple rehab outings before returning from the 60-day IL.  Cortes struggled to a 5.16 ERA over his first 11 starts of the season, but if he returns in his 2021-22 form, he’ll provide a major boost to New York’s rotation in August.

Blue Jays Sign Gabe Klobosits To Minors Deal

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The Blue Jays have signed right-hander Gabe Klobosits to a minor league deal, according to MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand.

A 36th round pick by the Nationals in the 2017 draft, Klobosits worked his way through the club’s minor league system until 2021, when he dominated the minors with a 1.64 ERA in 38 1/3 innings of work between the Double-A and Triple-A levels. Those strong numbers led Washington to call Klobosits up to the big leagues. The then-26-year-old hurler struggled in his cup of coffee, however, posting a 5.56 ERA in 11 1/3 innings of work.

That weak performance in the majors led the Nationals to designate Klobosits for assignment prior to the start of the 2021 campaign. Klobosits was claimed off waivers by Oakland, with whom he started the season at Triple-A, though his struggles from his major league debut carried into his time with the A’s as he posted a brutal 7.59 ERA in 10 1/3 innings with the club’s affiliate in Las Vegas before the club released Klobosits in June of last year.

Klobosits has spent the first half of the 2023 campaign outside of affiliated ball, pitching for the Atlantic League’s Gastonia Honey Hunters. In 8 innings of work with the Honey Hunters, Klobosits has posted a strong 1.13 ERA in eight innings of work, with Feinsand noting that he’s touched 98 mph on the radar gun during his time in Gastonia.

Now 28, the right-hander is poised to get another shot in affiliated ball with the Blue Jays. The club has a deep group of relievers in Triple-A on the 40-man roster that includes Genesis Cabrera, Zach Pop, and Thomas Hatch, but if Klobosits can carry his strong appearances in the Atlantic League over to the minors, it’s possible he could crack a deep Toronto bullpen that ranks fifth in the majors with a 3.67 ERA this season.

AL East Notes: Story, Mullins, Green

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Red Sox infielder Trevor Story is beginning a rehab assignment today, with Ian Browne of MLB.com relaying the details. Story will play five innings at shortstop in Friday’s game before serving as the designated hitter on Saturday and returning to the shortstop position on Sunday.

The shortstop position in Boston has been in flux since it was reported in January that Story had undergone internal brace surgery on his right elbow. They’ve rotated various players through the position in his absence, including Enrique Hernández, Yu Chang, Pablo Reyes and others. The Red Sox have a collective .216/.272/.322 batting line from the position, which translates to a wRC+ of 59, placing them 27th out of the 30 clubs in the league.

Story is a career .268/.336/.513 hitter and would certainly be a boost if he could come back at that level, though it’s no guarantee that he will. He hit .251/.329/.471 in his final year in Colorado and then .238/.303/.434 last year. After missing all of this season so far, it remains to be seen what form he will be in when he gets back. The Sox are currently three games out of a playoff spot and even a diminished version of Story should be an upgrade over the production they’ve had from the shortstop position thus far.

Some more notes from the toughest division in the league…

  • The Orioles placed outfielder Cedric Mullins on the injured list earlier this week due to a groin strain, his second trip to the IL this year for that injury. Just the day prior, he had said he was hoping to avoid the IL, which made it fair to expect this stint would be minimal. That may not be the case, however, with Mullins providing more details to the media yesterday. He said that new symptoms emerged once his soreness went away, per Danielle Allentuck of the Baltimore Banner, with no timeline for his return right now. He said he’s hopeful of returning for the back end of the season, per Rich Dubroff of Baltimore Baseball. That murkier timeline is surely an unpleasant development for the O’s, as Mullins continue to be an impact player when healthy. He’s hit .259/.347/.454 this year for a wRC+ of 123 and stolen 14 bases. His progress in the weeks to come will hopefully provide some more clarity but it doesn’t seem like an immediate return is likely.
  • Blue Jays reliever Chad Green is set to begin a rehab assignment on Saturday, per Shi Davidi of Sportsnet. The Jays signed Green in the offseason to a convoluted deal, knowing that he wouldn’t be an option in the first half after undergoing Tommy John surgery last year. He’s now rehabbing at an interesting time of the season, with the trade deadline just over the horizon. The righty has 272 appearances under his belt with a 3.17 ERA,  32.5% strikeout rate and 6.3% walk rate. All contending clubs are looking for relief help at this time of year but Green’s impending return gives the Jays a chance to have that bullpen boost come from within. They are currently 54-43 and tied with the Astros for the second Wild Card spot. Green’s return will also give the club a couple of months to evaluate his status before deciding on the layered option structure of his contract. They first have to decide on triggering a three-year, $27MM option with $1MM in bonuses. If they decline, Green can exercise a 2024 player option with a $6.25MM salary and $2MM in bonuses. If he declines that, the Jays can trigger a two-year, $21MM option with $1MM in bonuses.

Blue Jays Designate Trent Thornton For Assignment

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The Blue Jays have announced that right-hander Trent Thornton has been designated for assignment. His roster spot will go to lefty Génesis Cabrera, whom the Jays have acquired from the Cardinals, which was reported earlier today.

Thornton, now 29, made his major league debut for the Jays in 2019. He tossed 154 1/3 innings that year, mostly as a starter, allowing 4.84 earned runs per nine innings. In 2020, he was limited to just three starts, spending most of the shortened season on the injured list due to elbow inflammation.

The Jays moved him to a bullpen role in 2021 and he’s been serving as an up-and-down reliever for the past three seasons. He’s tossed 100 1/3 major league innings dating back to the start of that 2021 campaign with a 4.31 ERA in that time. His 22% strikeout rate and 8% walk rate for that stretch are both pretty close to league average. He’s also thrown 66 1/3 innings at Triple-A in that same timeframe with a 2.98 ERA, 21.8% strikeout rate and 10.9% walk rate.

It’s possible that Thornton’s time with the Jays was nearing an end even before this transaction. The club’s bullpen has been fairly strong this year, with their collective 3.62 ERA the fourth-best in the majors. Thornton has largely been squeezed out, only been able to make four appearances this year. He’s burning his final option year here in 2023 and will be out of options next year. He’s making a $1MM salary this year and will be eligible for arbitration again this winter.

The Jays will now have one week to trade him or pass him through waivers. Since he can still be optioned for the rest of the year, it’s possible a club in search of some extra bullpen depth would be interested in acquiring him. He could also be retained for future seasons via arbitration but, as mentioned, he’ll be out of options in 2024. If he were to clear waivers, he would be eligible to reject an outright assignment and elect free agency since he has more than three years of major league service time. However, since he has less than five years of service time, returning to the open market would mean forfeiting what’s left of that salary.

Blue Jays Acquire Génesis Cabrera From Cardinals

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The Blue Jays have acquired left-hander Génesis Cabrera from the Cardinals, reports Katie Woo of The Athletic. The Cards had designated Cabrera for assignment earlier this week. In exchange, the Cards received minor league catcher Sammy Hernandez. The Jays will need to open a spot on their 40-man roster to accommodate Cabrera.

Cabrera, 26, once looked to be establishing himself as an impact relief lefty at the big league level. Across the 2020 and 2021 seasons, he made 90 appearances for the Cards with a 3.41 earned run average. He struck out 27.8% of batters faced and kept the ball on the ground at a 40.4% clip but also allowed walks at a 13.3% rate. Despite the obvious control issues, the punchouts were enough for him to move into a high-leverage role, recording 28 holds in 2021.

Things haven’t gone as smoothly for him since then, however. His strikeout rate dropped to 16.5% last year, helping his ERA climb to 4.63. This year, he’s got those strikeouts back, punching out 26.6% of hitters. But it hasn’t led to improved results, as he has a 5.06 ERA on the year. Home runs have become an increasing issue of late, as he allowed eight in the 2019-2021 period, but then eight more last year alone and another six this year.

The Cardinals are having a disappointing season and seem to be bound for some selling between now and the trade deadline. President of baseball operations John Mozeliak has been forthright about the club turning its attentions towards 2024, with various trades possible in the days to come. Cabrera got bounced off the roster ahead of time, likely due to his struggles but also because he apparently expressed some frustration with his role in St. Louis.

Despite his poors results of late, there are some logical reasons for the Jays to be interested in taking a shot. Cabrera is averaging 95.8mph on his fastball, a rare trait for southpaws. Statcast data has him in the top 10 in that category among left-handers with at least 500 pitches thrown this year. It’s also possible he has even more in the tank since he was at 97.6mph back in 2021. He also has an option remaining, which will give the Jays the ability to send him in Triple-A if they so desire.

He also relatively cheap, making $950K this season, which is barely above this year’s $720K minimum salary. He can also be retained for future seasons via arbitration, as he began this year with three years and 11 days of service time. That means he’s not slated for free agency until after 2025, and that could even get pushed back by a year if he spends some time on optional assignment. The Cards already optioned him at the start of the season, though he was quickly recalled on April 8 and stayed on the active roster until his recent DFA. If the Jays can help him get back into the form he showed a few years ago or help him rein in his command, he could be a multi-year asset for them.

The Jays have operated with Tim Mayza as their only left-handed reliever this year. He’s having a great season with a 1.10 ERA in 44 appearances, but Cabrera could give them a second option to call upon. They might make additional acquisitions before the trade deadline but Cabrera’s option means he can be a depth piece in the minors, even if he’s squeezed out of the picture at the big league level. The Jays are clear buyers, given that their 54-43 record has them tied with the Astros for the second Wild Card spot in the American League. The nearest non-playoff team, the Red Sox, are three games back of the Jays and Astros at the moment.

For the Cards, this is likely to be the first of many deals they make in the coming days, given their aforementioned seller position. Despite currently enjoying a six-game win streak, they are 8.5 games out of the playoff picture in the National League. They have various impending free agent pitchers that seem likely to be moved, such as Jordan Montgomery, Jack Flaherty, Jordan Hicks and Chris Stratton, as well as a position-player logjam that could lead to a trade.

For now, they will add Hernandez, a 19-year-old catcher. He was selected by the Jays in the 14th round of last year’s draft and has been playing in the lower levels of their farm system. He’s hit .213/.287/.367 in 42 games across two different levels this year. He hasn’t generally been considered one of the club’s top 30 prospects.

MLB Trade Rumors Podcast: All Eyes on the Angels, Cardinals Trade Options and Buyers or Sellers

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The latest episode of the MLB Trade Rumors Podcast is now live on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you get your podcasts! Make sure you subscribe as well! You can also use the player at this link to listen, if you don’t use Spotify or Apple for podcasts.

This week, host Darragh McDonald is joined by Anthony Franco of MLB Trade Rumors to discuss:

Plus, we answer your questions, including:

  • Do you feel that the Yankees should be sellers? (17:25)
  • If the Rangers were to acquire Marcus Stroman and Cody Bellinger from the Cubs, would that make them the favorite in American League? (21:30)
  • What are the Blue Jays going to target at the deadline? (24:00)

Check out our past episodes!

Blue Jays Select Jordan Luplow

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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.

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