Blue Jays Claim Nick Robertson
4:10pm: The Jays have now made it official, announcing that they have claimed Robertson and optioned him to Triple-A Buffalo. Infielder Will Wagner was placed on the 60-day injured list with left knee inflammation to open a 40-man roster spot. That also created an active roster spot for shortstop Bo Bichette, who has been reinstated from the 10-day IL, as expected. The Jays also placed outfielder Daulton Varsho on the 10-day IL with a right shoulder strain, retroactive to September 14, and recalled Steward Berroa in a corresponding move.
2:00pm: The Blue Jays have claimed right-hander Nick Robertson off waivers from the Angels, reports MLBTR’s Steve Adams on X. The Halos had designated him for assignment a couple of days ago. The Jays have a full 40-man roster and will need to make a corresponding move to make the claim official.
Robertson, 26, has a bit of major league experience with poor baseline results though more encouraging peripherals. He has pitched for the Dodgers, Red Sox and Cardinals over the past two seasons, with a 5.45 earned run average in 34 2/3 innings. His .386 batting average on balls in play and 65.1% strand rate are both on the unlucky side, while his 25.3% strikeout rate and 7% walk rate are both solid figures. His 4.12 FIP and 3.49 SIERA suggest he may be capable of posting better results than he has managed so far.
It’s a somewhat similar story in the minor leagues. From 2021 to the present, he has tossed 203 innings on the farm with a 4.39 ERA, 27.8% strikeout rate, 9.5% walk rate, .326 BABIP, 66.6% strand rate and 4.01 FIP.
Despite the runs crossing the board, teams have clearly been intrigued by the encouraging strikeout to walk ratios. The Red Sox acquired him from the Dodgers in last summer’s trade that sent Enrique Hernández to Los Angeles. Just a few months later, the Cardinals acquired him from the Sox as part of the December 2023 deal that sent Tyler O’Neill to Boston.
Robertson only got limited big league action with the Cards this year, tossing 12 1/3 innings. He struck out 26.9% of batters faced and only walked 3.8% of them, but gave up three homers in that limited time. That and a .364 BABIP led to an 85.9% strand rate and 4.38 ERA in that time. In the minors, he tossed 21 2/3 innings but had control problems, an oddity for him, posting an uncharacteristic 15.7% walk rate.
The Cards put him on waivers just over a month ago, with the Angels putting in a claim. He was sent to Triple-A Salt Lake and tossed 13 innings there, striking out 25.8% of batters faced with a 12.1% walk rate, improved control from his previous Triple-A stint but still a bit worse than average. A .438 BABIP and 58.6% strand rate were once again culprits in a small sample, leading to a 6.92 ERA but 4.30 FIP. The Angels put him back on waivers just over a month after claiming him with the Jays now swooping in, bringing Robertson to the same city as his hockey namesake.
Perhaps the Jays feel the results will even out in time or maybe they have a plan to limit the damage that hitters are doing against Robertson. They don’t need to commit a major league roster spot to him, as he will still have another option season remaining after this one. For now, they can get a close-up look at him and see if they can find a way to translate those strong peripherals into better results. If things work out, he has less than a year of service time and can be cheaply retained well into the future.
The Toronto bullpen was undone by injuries and underperformance earlier in the year, with the club then subtracting from the group by trading Yimi García, Trevor Richards and Nate Pearson prior to the deadline. To compensate for the many absences from trades and injuries, they have been taking fliers on all sorts of relievers, having acquired Ryan Burr, Tommy Nance, José Cuas, Joel Kuhnel, Luis Frías, Yerry Rodríguez, Easton Lucas, Dillon Tate, Emmanuel Ramírez, Brett de Geus and now Robertson in waiver claims or small trades. Some of those guys have since lost their roster spots but the club is clearly willing to turn over any stone as they attempt to find paydirt.
Bichette On Future In Toronto, Long-Term Goals
Throughout a disappointing season for the Blue Jays, the long-term future of stars Bo Bichette and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. has been a focal point. Rumors surrounding the pair of second-generation stars dominated headlines early in the summer as the Jays struggled, though they were somewhat quelled by GM Ross Atkins saying in early June that trading either Guerrero or Bichette “doesn’t make any sense” for the organization.
Even as their 2024 playoff hopes dwindled, the Jays only sold off impending free agents in advance of the trade deadline. Yusei Kikuchi, Danny Jansen, Yimi Garcia and Trevor Richards were all on the move. Bichette, Guerrero, Chris Bassitt, Kevin Gausman and others stayed put, with the clear indication being that the Blue Jays hope to retool this offseason and get back on track to contend in 2025.
Bichette and Guerrero are only controlled through the end of the 2025 season, which has brought continued speculation about the possibility of one or both players being moved this winter. Some of the Guerrero speculation has died down in the weeks since the trade deadline, though. USA Today’s Bob Nightengale reported after the deadline that the team still hoped to sign Guerrero long-term. Bassitt appeared on Chris Rose’s podcast and voiced his belief that even though Guerrero has not yet signed an extension, he indeed wants to be in Toronto long-term. Now, it appears Bichette’s teammates needn’t do any talking or speculating on his behalf. He’s publicly making it clear that he hopes to stay in Toronto alongside his longtime friend, Guerrero, and win a title as a Blue Jay.
“When I had time to think about what I want, basically, my ultimate goal really is to play with Vladdy (Guerrero Jr.) forever, to win a championship with him and to do that with this organization,” Bichette tells Sportsnet’s Shi Davidi. “I’m 100 percent committed to doing whatever it takes to accomplish those things. That’s where I’m at.”
As Davidi explores at length in a piece Jays fans, in particular, will want to read in its entirety, that sets the 2024-25 offseason as one of the most pivotal in franchise history with regard to player personnel decisions. There’s nothing that says the Jays can’t let Guerrero and/or Bichette reach free agency, test the market, and then re-sign both players anyhow — but it’s certainly an easier and more controlled process when they’re not competing with an open market and other potential bidders for the 26-year-old Bichette and 25-year-old Guerrero.
From a payroll perspective, the Jays should be able to make dual extensions for the pair of former All-Stars work. Jose Berrios and Yariel Rodriguez are the only players signed beyond the 2026 season. Berrios, Rodriguez, the aforementioned Gausman and George Springer are the only four Blue Jays on guaranteed contract beyond the 2025 campaign. Toronto opened the 2024 season with a roughly $225MM payroll, currently sits at about $217MM after their deadline sell-off, and only has about $124.5MM in commitments for the ’25 season at the moment, per RosterResource.
That number notably does not include an arbitration raise for Guerrero — a figure that’ll likely shoot well beyond $25MM on the heels of his outstanding 2024 season. Arb raises for Jordan Romano, Erik Swanson, Genesis Cabrera, Daulton Varsho, Alejandro Kirk, Dillon Tate, Alek Manoah and Ernie Clement could all be in the offing as well, though some members of that class will be non-tendered or traded.
Even if the bulk of that class is retained, it’s reasonable to think that between arb raises and rounding out the roster with league-minimum players, the Blue Jays could still come in around $185-190MM in total commitments. New contracts for Guerrero and/or Bichette wouldn’t necessarily need to come with substantial raises until the 2026 season. That’d leave $35-40MM for the Blue Jays to still augment their existing roster even while simply adhering to last year’s payroll levels.
Of course, nothing says that the payroll can’t and won’t rise. The Jays are owned by a multi-billion dollar company — Rogers Communications — in theory giving them room to pursue just about any player they want (as we saw with last offseason’s earnest pursuit of Shohei Ohtani). There’s no firm indication yet that they plan to be aggressive bidders for top free agents like Juan Soto, Corbin Burnes, Alex Bregman or Willy Adames, but there’s also no reason to think they can’t swim in the deepest waters the free agent pool has to offer.
The question facing the Jays will be one of how much they want to tie up in long-term allocations. Extending either Guerrero or Bichette would presumably require signing said players well into the 2030s. So would signing Soto, while the remaining top names on the market could all sign through somewhere in the 2030-32 range if their markets come together as hoped. Long-term deals for homegrown talents like Bichette and Guerrero will only maintain the status quo; it’s clear there are further reinforcements needed, so Atkins and president Mark Shapiro — assuming both stay in place after this year’s disappointing campaign — will need to balance potential extensions with the need to further fortify a roster that fell woefully shy of expectations in 2024.
Obvious as it seems, it also bears emphasizing that Bichette’s pledge only carries so much weight. He doesn’t have any no-trade protection under the three-year, $33.6MM contract he signed to buy out his three arbitration seasons. He has no direct say over whether he’ll even be in Toronto next year, let alone for the next six, seven, eight, nine or ten years. At the same time, his assertion to Davidi plainly underscores that he’s not only open to but hopeful of signing a long-term deal to stay in Canada alongside his longtime teammate and friend.
Bichette speaks to Davidi about reflecting during his current injury absence, thinking back to his A-ball days with Guerrero when the two were fresh-faced 18-year-olds talking about winning as many championships as possible together. He adds that through reflection, he’s “learned a lot more about myself through failure,” referencing his 2024 struggles, both in terms of what he hopes to accomplish on the field and as a leader in the Blue Jays’ clubhouse. (Again, Jays fans are encouraged to read the interview in full, as it’s rife with candid quotes and earnest self-assessment from Bichette.)
The 2024 season has indeed been an ugly one for Bichette. Even before sustaining the calf injury that’s sidelined him for more than a month (his second calf strain of the season), he was stumbling through the worst season of his professional career. In 331 plate appearances, he hit just .222/.275/.320 with four home runs and five stolen bases. Bichette’s 19% strikeout rate is actually lower than his career 20.6% mark, but while he was still making frequent contact, the quality of his batted balls took a nosedive. Bichette has career-low marks in exit velocity, barrel rate and hard-hit rate this season. His line-drive rate is the third-lowest of his career. His ground-ball rate is the third-highest. He hit only six infield flies in 601 plate appearances in 2023 but popped up five times in this year’s 331 plate appearances. Bichette’s contact rate on pitches in the strike zone was a career-best 91.7% — but his contact rate on balls off the plate was a career-worst 57.5%.
Prior to his ’24 struggles, Bichette was one of the most consistently impressive hitters in the American League. From 2019-23, he slashed a combined .299/.340/.487, averaging 27 homers, 40 doubles, two triples and 16 steals per 162 games played. Bichette may not have had top-of-the-scale power, speed or contact skills, but every component of his offensive tool kit played out at an above-average level, and while he’s never been a plus shortstop he’s also only had one year with truly poor defensive grades (2022).
This year’s struggles will complicate any extension talks with Bichette, of course. With a typical season, he’d have been on track to be a free agent heading into his age-28 season — a middle infielder with plus offense at a younger-than-typical age for free agency. Talk of a $250MM+ or even $300MM contract could have been in play. Such lofty heights probably aren’t attainable on the heels of a career-worst year at the plate that’s now seen multiple calf injuries keep him on the bench for two to three months. Finding a middle ground could be difficult, though an extension that allows Bichette to increase his earning power — whether via opt-out opportunities or perhaps via a series of vesting options, a la Carlos Correa in Minnesota — could offer create alternatives to help bridge the gap.
For now, the goal will simply be to get back on the field in 2024. Bichette tells Davidi that getting back on the field, knowing the injury is behind him and feeling like himself again will all be a mental boost heading into the offseason. Sportsnet’s Arden Zwelling tweets that Bichette is slated to begin a rehab assignment with the Jays’ Triple-A affiliate tomorrow, which will likely last four to five games and include time at both shortstop and designated hitter. That could at least give Bichette two weeks to feel confident that his calf is back to full strength, but the bigger questions — for both him and the organization — are looming as the winter approaches.
AL East Notes: Bichette, Kjerstad, Hendriks
Bo Bichette is scheduled to begin a Triple-A rehab assignment beginning on Tuesday, the Blue Jays told reporters (including Sportsnet’s Shi Davidi and Arden Zwelling). Bichette has been on the injured list since suffering a right calf strain on July 19, which was the third calf-related issue for Bichette within about a month’s time. It wasn’t clear at the time of the placement if Bichette would be able to return before the season was over or if the Jays might just shut him down, but it looks like the shortstop should be able to make it back for at least a bit more action before the 2024 campaign wraps.
While the Jays are well out of contention, returning to the field should provide some peace of mind for Bichette about his health as he wraps up the worst season of his six-year career. The two-time All-Star hit only .222/.275/.320 over 331 plate appearances, delivering a 69 wRC+ that was far below his previous career mark of 127. Bichette’s turn from star to replacement-level player was one of many reasons behind the Jays’ rough season, and it has raised fresh speculation about Bichette’s long-term future in Toronto, or even if he’ll still be a Blue Jay by next Opening Day. These questions obviously won’t be answered in the small sample size of however many MLB games Bichette is able to play in September, but returning to the Jays lineup and hitting like his old self would allow him to take something positive from an otherwise lost year.
Other updates from around the AL East…
- The Orioles announced that Heston Kjerstad will start a rehab assignment at the team’s A-ball affiliate in Aberdeen beginning tomorrow. Kjerstad has been on the concussion-related injury list since August 1, marking his second stint on the concussion-IL since he was hit in the head by a Clay Holmes pitch on July 12. The good news is that Kjerstad has cleared concussion protocol and now looks ready to return to action. Now in his second MLB season, the former top prospect has continued to show glimpses of his potential with a .261/.370/.420 slash line in 81 plate appearances with Baltimore this season, and a healthy Kjerstad could provide a nice boost for the O’s heading into the playoffs.
- Liam Hendriks was slated to throw back-to-back outings as part of his ongoing minor rehab assignment, though the Red Sox and the reliever have pulled back on the idea since Hendriks is feeling some slight discomfort. “There was a little bit of an issue [in the elbow], but nothing that can’t be worked out,” Hendriks told the Boston Globe’s Julian McWilliams and other reporters. “I think I need to limit my own throwing….The muscle groups right there aren’t quite built up to withstand that just yet. I need to kind of ease them in a little bit better.” Hendriks and manager Alex Cora downplayed the setback, and the hope is that Hendriks will be able to make it back to the Red Sox roster before the season is over. Hendriks hasn’t pitched in the majors since June 2023, as a Tommy John surgery in August of that year has put his career on hold.
Blue Jays Notes: Bassitt, Guerrero, Bichette
The Blue Jays are playing out the stretch on a rough season. Toronto is well below .500 and seems headed for a last place finish, a very disappointing outcome for a team coming off consecutive playoff berths that believed they were squarely in the midst of their contention window. Toronto had little choice but to sell at the deadline once it became clear they weren’t going to come close to the postseason.
Even as they shopped veteran pieces, the front office wasn’t keen on a huge overhaul. Most of the Jays’ trades shipped off impending free agents (e.g. Yusei Kikuchi, Justin Turner, Yimi García, Trevor Richards, Danny Jansen, Kevin Kiermaier). They moved a couple role players under contract or team control beyond this season, shipping out Isiah Kiner-Falefa and Nate Pearson. Yet they never seemed close to dealing any core players whom they could keep around for 2025.
Chris Bassitt is one such veteran. The right-hander is in the second season of a three-year, $63MM free agent deal. He’s playing on an $18MM salary and will make a matching amount next year. Bassitt finished tenth in Cy Young balloting a season ago. This year’s work has been solid but not as impressive, as he carries a 4.34 ERA through 139 frames.
There was an argument for the Jays to shop Bassitt this summer, especially if they could find a taker for his entire ’25 salary. While he remains an effective pitcher, he’ll be going into his age-36 campaign on a roster that needs a lot of work next offseason. Sportsnet’s Ben Nicholson-Smith reported five days before the deadline that the Jays had no intention of moving either Bassitt or Kevin Gausman, though. Neither pitcher found himself in any trade rumors of substance.
In an interview with Chris Rose of Jomboy Media last week (YouTube link), Bassitt said that the Toronto front office made clear early in the process that he would not be traded. “There (were) a lot of articles and a lot of people saying that I was leaving or should be leaving. They told me I wasn’t leaving,” Bassitt said. While he didn’t specify the exact time of that conversation, he added that he “knew for a while” in advance of the deadline that he wasn’t moving. Bassitt acknowledged some disappointment that he wasn’t in position to battle for a playoff spot this year, though he added that he’s optimistic about the organization’s desire to make another effort to compete in 2025.
Talented as Bassitt is, he’s only the third-most important Blue Jays player who is on track for free agency after next season. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Bo Bichette will be two of the headlining pieces of the 2025-26 free agent class. GM Ross Atkins made clear early in deadline season that the Jays had no interest in trading either. There’s no indication they ever seriously reconsidered even as the team fell firmly out of ’24 playoff contention.
Asked by Rose whether the Jays should’ve traded or extended Guerrero this summer, Bassitt expressed some optimism that the Jays will be able to keep him around for the long haul. “I don’t know this, I don’t want to speak for him on this, but I think Vladdy wants to be a Blue Jay for the rest of his career. I don’t think he wants to leave,” the pitcher opined. “I don’t think it’s a super, super, super rush to get an extension done. They obviously didn’t trade him because they don’t want him to be in another uniform. … I think both sides want to be together. I don’t think it’s a bad relationship.”
Guerrero is playing this year on a $19.9MM salary. He should exceed $25MM and could push near $30MM for his final arbitration season. After a slow start to the season, Guerrero has been on a massive tear since the beginning of May. He’s up to a .317/.390/.552 slash with 26 home runs across 543 plate appearances. This has been Guerrero’s best year since his MVP runner-up campaign in 2021. He’s on track to get to free agency in advance of his age-27 season and could command a deal that exceeds $300MM.
Over the weekend, USA Today’s Bob Nightengale wrote that the Jays indeed remain hopeful of working out an extension with Guerrero before he gets to free agency. Nightengale suggests there’s less optimism about an extension with Bichette, writing that the Jays could field trade offers on the shortstop during the upcoming winter if they don’t feel they’ll make progress on an extension.
This would arguably be a poor time for either a trade or an extension. Bichette has had by far the worst season of his career. He’s hitting .222/.275/.320 with only four homers through 331 trips to the plate. The two-time All-Star has had a pair of injured list stints because of right calf issues. He has been out of action for exactly a month with a notable calf strain and seems unlikely to return until some point in September.
Unlike Guerrero, Bichette has a fixed salary next year. He’ll make $16.5MM in the final season of the three-year deal he signed to buy out all his arbitration years. There’d still be ample trade interest if the Jays shopped him. The free agent shortstop class, headlined by Willy Adames and Ha-Seong Kim, isn’t as barren as this past winter’s was. Things fall off quickly after Kim, though, and there aren’t many everyday shortstops who seem likely to be on the trade block. Bichette arguably still carries a higher offensive ceiling than any other shortstop who could reasonably be available in either free agency or trade.
Whether that’ll result in a deal remains to be seen. Atkins said as recently as last month that the Jays are hopeful of keeping Guerrero and Bichette for the long haul. Jon Heyman of the New York Post wrote shortly before the trade deadline that past extension talks with both players hadn’t made much progress. Heyman suggested at the time that the Jays didn’t have a great chance of extending Bichette — aligning with Nightengale’s recent report. Even if that is the case, trading Bichette would dig another hole for a team that believes it can rebound next season. Rookie Leo Jiménez has taken over shortstop in the past month. He’s hitting .221/.307/.368 with subpar strikeout (32.1%) and walk (5.5%) rates in 34 games.
AL East Notes: Refsnyder, Bichette, Lowe, Coulombe, Trevino
Rob Refsnyder turns 34 next March, and the utilityman is considering calling it a career after the 2024 season comes to an end. Speaking with Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe, Refsnyder said he is “undecided” about returning for what would be his tenth MLB season, and was even thinking about retirement even before he joined the Red Sox during the 2021-22 offseason. Once this year is over, Refsnyder said he’ll “take it step by step from there and decide what I do….You can still make a big impact not being in a uniform and it’s a lot easier for your family and their schedule.”
As per the terms of the contract extension Refsnyder signed in June 2023, the Sox hold a $2MM club option ($150K) on his services for 2025. This option looks like a lock to be exercised if Refsnyder wishes to keep playing, as he has an excellent .298/.384/.472 slash line over 251 plate appearances in part-time duty for the Red Sox this season. Still, Refsnyder is eager to spend more time with his family, and is perhaps keen to start working towards his longer-term goal of working in a front office.
Other items from around the AL East…
- Bue Jays manager John Schneider gave MLB.com’s Keegan Matheson and other reporters an update on Bo Bichette, noting that the shortstop has started to increase baseball activities while working out at the Jays’ spring training facility in Dunedin. A timeline isn’t yet in place this early in Bichette’s recovery from a right calf strain, as the club will monitor his progress in the coming days or weeks before deciding on a possible rehab assignment. Bichette suffered the calf strain on July 19 in Toronto’s 5-4 loss to the Tigers, continuing an all-around disastrous season that has seen Bichette bat only .223/.276/.321 over 330 plate appearances. The former All-Star’s struggles are one of several reasons why the Blue Jays are out of the playoff race, and if Bichette isn’t showing progress in relatively short order, it wouldn’t be surprising if the Jays just shut him down for the remainder of the season.
- 2024 is the last guaranteed season of the six-year, $24MM extension Brandon Lowe signed with the Rays prior to Opening Day 2019, but Tampa still has a pair of club options ($10.5MM with a $1MM buyout for 2025, $11.5MM for 2026 with a $500K buyout) covering Lowe’s immediate future. “Whether they pick up the option or they don’t, I feel like I’m putting myself in a good position to still be on a team next year,” Lowe told Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times, but Lowe noted that playing with the Rays “is all I know. I like it here. My friends are here. We have a house here. It’s comfortable. I don’t know anything else. I know this.” Given how the Rays dealt a number of higher-priced veterans at the deadline, Topkin figures that Lowe’s continued presence on the roster means that the team will exercise the 2025 option and keep Lowe in Tampa Bay for an eighth season. Lowe is more than doing his part at the plate to sway the Rays’ mind, as he is hitting .248/.330/.488 with 14 homers over 282 PA.
- Danny Coulombe is “on track” in his rehab process and is aiming to return in late September, the Orioles left-hander told MASNsports.com’s Roch Kubatko. Coulombe is on the 60-day IL after undergoing surgery in June to remove bone spurs from his left elbow. While he is still a few weeks away from getting onto a mound, Coulombe is up to throwing from 90 feet in games of catch. The Orioles’ bullpen has struggled badly in August, leaving Baltimore in even greater need for whatever the ace setup man can provide whenever he is able to return to action.
- The Yankees activated catcher Jose Trevino from the 10-day injured list on Friday, and Carlos Narvaez was optioned to Triple-A in the corresponding move. Yesterday’s game marked Trevino’s first action since a left quad strain forced him out of the Yankees’ 4-1 win over the Orioles on July 12. Trevino figures to resume his catching platoon with Austin Wells, though Wells’ hot bat over the last month might have earned him a larger share of the playing time.
The Blue Jays Shouldn’t Be Resisting A Reset
The 2024 season clearly hasn't gone the way the Blue Jays hoped. Expected to contend for a Wild Card spot at the very least, the Jays have instead encountered notable injuries (Jordan Romano, Alek Manoah) and seen career-worst performances from several key players (Bo Bichette, Alejandro Kirk, Justin Turner, Kevin Kiermaier). Top prospect Orelvis Martinez received an 80-game PED suspension. Very, very little has gone well in Toronto -- as evidenced by their 46-56 record and -82 run differential.
Unsurprisingly, Toronto has become a deadline seller. The front office reportedly isn't interested in any kind of large-scale rebuild, however, and is focused on primarily selling off rental assets. Reliever Yimi Garcia has already been traded to the Mariners. Starter Yusei Kikuchi and the aforementioned Turner are among the candidates to change hands. That'll bring back some modest returns in terms of prospects. It's also not sufficient for a team in Toronto's situation.
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Bo Bichette To Miss “Multiple Weeks” Due To Calf Strain
5:05pm: Schneider told reporters (including MLB.com’s Keegan Matheson) this evening that an MRI revealed a “moderate” calf strain for Bichette and that he will be sidelined for “multiple weeks” due to the issue.
10:57am: Bo Bichette left yesterday’s game due to a right calf strain, and it comes as no surprise that the Blue Jays have now placed the shortstop on the 10-day injured list. Infielder Addison Barger has been called up from Triple-A to take Bichette’s spot on the active roster.
Bichette broke out of the batter’s box after lining out to right field at the end of the sixth inning, but immediately came up limping after a few steps. Last night’s injury was the latest occurrence in what has been a collection of calf injuries for Bichette over the last month, as he spent a minimal 10-day stint on the IL with another strain to his right calf in June. He also left Toronto’s game on July 10 with what was described as a right calf fascia strain, though with the All-Star break looming, the Jays opted to not place Bichette on the IL again, hoping that the time off would allow him to heal up.
Unfortunately, Bichette now again finds himself sidelined, and likely for well beyond a 10-day minimum. Blue Jays manager John Schneider should soon update media on the outcome of Bichette’s MRI, yet even if the MRI was clean, the recurring nature of this calf injury probably means the Jays will opt on the side of caution in giving Bichette plenty of time to fully overcome this issue. This almost surely means that Bichette will still be on the injured list when the trade deadline hits on July 30, all but eliminating the possibility that Toronto could part ways with the former All-Star.
Though it isn’t unheard of for teams to still make offers for injured players if an injury appears to be fairly minor in nature, two calf injuries for Bichette in a month’s time would likely give pause to any potential suitor. From the Jays’ perspective, they’re not going to accept a diminished trade package for a player who (if healthy) is one of their strongest trade chips. Even as it looks more and more apparent that Toronto will be deadline sellers, the team reportedly is still planning to contend in 2025, so their July 30 moves might be limited to pending free agents rather than longer-term core pieces.
Even beyond Bichette’s injuries, his trade value has been lowered by an unexpectedly disastrous 2024 season. Bichette is hitting .222/.275/.320 with four home runs over 331 plate appearances, and his 69 wRC+ is the third-lowest among all qualified hitters in baseball. Even if a low .266 BABIP and a big gap between his wOBA (.264) and his xwOBA (.306) count as some misfortune, Bichette’s power numbers have absolutely cratered from his career norms. His .098 Isolated Power number is almost half the .187 ISO he posted from 2019-23, and his traditionally strong barrels and barrel rates are both well under the league average in 2024.
It is also worth noting that this isn’t entirely a one-year trend for Bichette. His strong 2023 season sputtered to an end thanks to a pair of IL stints in the second half, as Bichette missed time to patellar tendinitis in his right knee and then a right quad strain. Bichette’s first IL stint began on August 1, 2023, and he hit only .254/.292/.402 over his final 130 PA of the 2023 season.
With almost a full year of sample size, it is clear that Bichette simply hasn’t been right since that initial bout of tendinitis last August, and it is an additional concern that all of these injuries have come to his right leg specifically. If Bichette is facing a fairly lengthy (say, a month or so) stay on the injured list anyway with his latest calf problem, it isn’t out of the question that the Blue Jays might just shut him down to get him ready for 2025, since the team won’t be in contention for the remainder of this year.
If the Jays’ next two months indeed become an information-gathering session for 2025, one silver lining to Bichette’s absence could be more playing time for Leo Jimenez at shortstop. Jimenez has hit and fielded well in his small nine-game sample size as a big leaguer, and could become a shortstop of the future if Bichette is traded at some point, or if he leaves in free agency following the 2025 season.
Jays Notes: Bichette, Garcia, Votto
Bo Bichette exited tonight’s game after six innings. The Blue Jays shortstop came up limping out of the batter’s box after hitting a line drive to right field. Toronto announced that Bichette suffered a right calf injury. Manager John Schneider said postgame that he was headed for an MRI (link via Keegan Matheson of MLB.com).
A strain in the same calf sent Bichette to the injured list last month. The 26-year-old infielder returned after a minimal stint. Tonight’s evident setback could send him back to the shelf. Even a minimal IL stay would keep him out through the July 30 trade deadline.
With the Jays plummeting out of playoff contention, Bichette and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. have been the subject of some trade speculation. GM Ross Atkins shot down the chance of moving either player last month, but the Jays have fallen more definitely from the postseason fringe since then. Mark Feinsand of MLB.com reported last week that Toronto was still more focused on moving impending free agents. Bichette is under contract for $16.5MM next season and will hit free agency after the ’25 campaign.
This summer would be an inopportune time to deal Bichette even if the Jays listen to offers on more controllable players. This has been by far the most challenging season of his career. He’s hitting .222/.275/.320 over 331 trips to the plate. Bichette has four longballs after reaching the 20-homer threshold in three consecutive seasons. He might now be headed for his second IL stint in as many months.
In more positive injury news, the Jays welcomed Yimi García back from the 15-day injured list before today’s game. The veteran reliever missed a month with ulnar neuritis in his elbow. García is one of six impending free agents on the Toronto roster and has a strong chance to move before the deadline. The right-hander owns a 2.57 ERA through 28 innings. García is running a personal-best 34.6% strikeout rate while generating swinging strikes on 13.4% of his offerings. He’s playing on a $6MM salary and should be a target for contenders seeking a setup option.
Justin Turner is another of the rentals whom the Jays could look to move this month. Dealing Turner would open the designated hitter spot. That’d theoretically open an opportunity for Joey Votto. Unfortunately, the former MVP’s homecoming with the Jays has been sidetracked by injuries. Votto hurt his right ankle during Spring Training and has spent the season on the Triple-A injured list. He was set to begin his stint for Triple-A Buffalo tonight before tweaking his ankle during pre-game work (relayed on X by Kaitlyn McGrath of the Athletic). He’ll be reevaluated tomorrow.
Blue Jays Reportedly Expressing Openness To Moving Rentals
After another tough loss in San Francisco last night, the Blue Jays enter play this evening at 41-50. They’ve dropped nine games behind the Red Sox for the American League’s final postseason spot. Only the Angels, A’s and White Sox have a worse record in the AL.
With less than three weeks until the deadline, time is running out for the Jays to avoid selling. On June 27, GM Ross Atkins called the next few weeks “exceptionally important” in determining the team’s direction. The Jays have gone 5-7 since then.
Unsurprisingly, that looks like it’ll leave the front office to contemplate dealing short-term pieces. Mark Feinsand of MLB.com wrote last night that the Jays have indicated to other teams that they’re willing to move impending free agents. Feinsand suggested that Toronto is still disinterested in dealing players who are under team control beyond this season. Feinsand left open the possibility of Toronto holding onto players if they author a dramatic turnaround in the next couple weeks, but he noted that the Jays “are prepared to sell” if they don’t reverse course quickly. Including tonight, they have 16 games until the deadline.
A reluctance to trade controllable players aligns with Atkins’ prior public comments. The GM said in early June that moving Vladimir Guerrero Jr. or Bo Bichette — each of whom are slated for free agency at the end of next season — “just doesn’t make any sense for us.” While Atkins didn’t categorically shoot down the idea of moving any other players, a reluctance to deal Guerrero and Bichette indicates the team expects to rebound in 2025.
Even if the Jays focus trade discussions on rentals, the roster could look very different in a few weeks. Toronto has six impending free agents, each of whom has a realistic chance to go. That group is headlined by Yusei Kikuchi, who slots alongside Jack Flaherty as the top rental starting pitchers who should be available.
Kikuchi is coming off one of the best outings of his career. The lefty set a personal high with 13 strikeouts over 7 1/3 innings of two-run ball in San Francisco yesterday. He has allowed an even four earned runs per nine through 101 1/3 innings. Kikuchi has fanned an above-average 26.1% of opponents while cutting his walks to a career-low 5.4% clip. Home runs have always been an issue for the veteran southpaw, particularly against right-handed hitters. Yet Kikuchi is working on a second straight season with an ERA around 4.00 with plus strikeout and walk numbers.
This is the final season of his three-year, $36MM free agent deal. The contract was frontloaded, so Kikuchi is making just $10MM this year. Around $3.28MM would remain at the deadline. That should be affordable for most contenders. Kikuchi would be a realistic qualifying offer candidate if the Jays don’t trade him. If Toronto exceeds the luxury tax threshold, they’d only receive a compensation pick after the fourth round in the 2025 draft if a qualified free agent signs elsewhere.
That’s also a potential factor for Danny Jansen, who is the top impending free agent catcher. Jansen’s free agent and trade appeal looked a lot stronger as recently as a month ago. The righty-hitting backstop carried a .287/.371/.535 batting line into June. He has hit an ill-timed power outage in the past six weeks. Jansen has gone without a homer while running a .122/.241/.162 slash since the end of May. His season line (.217/.315/.377 over 203 plate appearances) is exactly league average, as measured by wRC+.
Despite the slump, the Jays should still get calls on Jansen. There aren’t likely to be many starting caliber catchers available this summer. Jansen has shown that kind of talent throughout his career, though his value has generally been undercut by a lengthy injury history. Even if he’s not currently in top form, Jansen has excellent strike zone discipline with double-digit home run power. He’s a quality receiving catcher but doesn’t have a great arm. The 29-year-old is making $5.2MM in his final arbitration season.
Kevin Kiermaier and Justin Turner are both playing on one-year free agent deals, respectively valued at $10.5MM and $13MM. They’re established veterans who could generate some interest for a bench role on a contender. The Jays would likely need to pay down most of the money to facilitate a trade of either player, though. Kiermaier remains an excellent defensive center fielder but has a career-worst .187/.232/.295 batting line over 181 plate appearances. The 39-year-old Turner is hitting .240/.347/.360 with five homers over 294 trips to the plate. He is working mostly as a designated hitter with sporadic reps at the corner infield spots.
Relievers Yimi García and Trevor Richards are the final two impending free agents. García, who is playing on a $6MM salary, got out to an excellent start to the year. He fired 28 innings of 2.57 ERA ball with a huge 34.6% strikeout rate over 27 appearances. An elbow issue sent him to the injured list in mid-June. García is on a rehab assignment with Triple-A Buffalo. Keegan Matheson of MLB.com tweets that neck stiffness has delayed him but the Jays are hopeful that García will be ready for reinstatement this weekend.
Richards, who is making just $2.15MM in his last arbitration season, owns a 3.40 earned run average in 47 2/3 frames. The changeup specialist has fanned a quarter of opponents against a 9% walk rate. Richards doesn’t have eye-popping velocity and this year’s 10% swinging strike rate is the lowest of his career. He’s best suited for a middle relief role but should have some appeal on the trade market as an affordable multi-inning arm.
Moving the bulk or all of those players could have significant financial ramifications for the organization. RosterResource estimates the organization’s luxury tax commitments just north of $247MM. Cot’s Baseball Contracts calculates the team’s CBT mark closer to $250MM. Those outside projections put the team $10-13MM above this year’s $237MM base tax threshold. An organization’s competitive balance tax number is calculated at the end of the season.
If the Jays commit to selling, they could get close to or below the tax line. They should be able to offload the prorated portions of Kikuchi’s $12MM and Jansen’s $5.2MM respective CBT numbers. If García is healthy, they could probably find a taker for what remains of his contract. Depending on what portion of the Kiermaier and Turner money another team might be willing to eat, there may be a path to getting their CBT number under $237MM. That would reset the team’s tax bracket and free them from the escalating penalties as a repeat payor if they decided to spend back above the tax line in 2025.
Getting under the CBT marker would be much easier if the Jays were willing to go beyond the rentals. Guerrero, Bichette, Chris Bassitt, Kevin Gausman, José Berríos and Chad Green are all on notable arbitration or multi-year salaries. Moving anyone from that group would make a return to competitiveness in 2025 more of an uphill battle, of course. It doesn’t seem that’s an avenue the front office is eager to take. It remains to be seen if they’ll more seriously consider that kind of roster overhaul over the coming weeks.
Blue Jays’ GM Ross Atkins Talks Deadline Approach
Even after last night’s 9-2 drubbing of the Yankees, the Blue Jays sit six games below .500. They’re at the bottom of the AL East with a 37-43 record and have three teams between them and the Royals — the current holder of the American League’s final playoff spot.
It’s certainly not where the Jays expected to find themselves at the season’s halfway point. Toronto had won between 89 and 92 games in each of the past three seasons and has gotten to the postseason in three of the last four years. They should be squarely in their competitive window.
That sets the Jays up as one of the more interesting pivot teams over the next month. They’re not eager to sell, but they’re running low on time to play their way back into the playoff mix. Toronto is 6.5 back in the Wild Card race. Any hope they had of winning the division coming into this year has long since disappeared.
GM Ross Atkins acknowledged the team’s precarious position when he spoke with the Toronto beat before Thursday’s win. “We’ve obviously put ourselves into a tough spot over the last seven days,” Atkins said (link via Keegan Matheson of MLB.com). “Ten days ago, we were feeling like there was positive momentum, and that has gone away.”
Jeff Passan of ESPN wrote earlier this week that the Jays weren’t yet willing to make key players available in trade. Atkins suggested similarly in his comments on Thursday, saying the front office’s “focus is on the 2024 team.” While the GM acknowledged that any decision also involves consideration of the future, he pointed to the organization’s investment in both payroll and prospect capital in this roster. “We’ll continue to do that until it doesn’t make sense to do so any more,” he added.
That naturally raises the question of when the front office could decide they have no choice but to turn their focus toward the future. That’ll largely depend on how things play out in the next four to five weeks — both in Toronto and around the rest of the American League. “The coming days are exceptionally important to us, and understanding the market is also exceptionally important to us in either way,” Atkins said (via Matheson). “We’re focused on winning. We’re focused on building the best possible team we can this year and supporting them the best we can. If we get to a point where we need to adjust, we’ll be prepared to do so.”
Toronto isn’t unique in that regard. There are only five or six (depending on one feels about the Tigers) teams who look like clear-cut sellers at this point. Yet there aren’t many more who can feel secure about their chances of getting to the postseason. Upwards of half the teams in the league could decide their deadline direction based on how they perform in July. Various clubs could also try to straddle the line by offloading some veterans while looking for immediate help in other areas of the roster.
The Jays have a more established roster than most of those fringe teams. Toronto has potentially impactful trade candidates with varying levels of club control. Neither Danny Jansen nor Yusei Kikuchi has played well in recent weeks, yet they’d both started the season quite well. Jansen is the top impending free agent catcher, while Kikuchi would be one of the more talented rental starting pitchers on the market if the Jays made him available.
Yimi García is pitching well and would be a straightforward target for teams seeking veteran bullpen help if he’s healthy by the deadline. (He went on the injured list with elbow neuritis two weeks ago.) Justin Turner and Kevin Kiermaier are having disappointing seasons. While the Jays would probably have to kick in cash to facilitate trades of either player, they could get calls based on their pre-2024 track records.
Things would become more interesting if the Jays seriously considered moving key players who are under control beyond this season. That would signify a bigger reset than merely trading rentals. There’s an argument for doing so if the Jays can’t claw back into contention over the next few weeks. Toronto has a handful of players who are in or at the back end of their primes. They’ve got dwindling control windows on franchise faces Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Bo Bichette, each of whom are slated for free agency after the 2025 campaign. Bichette will make $16.5MM next season, while Guerrero is going to be due a noteworthy raise on this year’s $19.9MM salary.
Atkins bluntly shot down the notion of trading either star hitter earlier this month. That presumably won’t stop teams from calling to gauge whether the Jays are willing to reconsider. Bichette himself told Hazel Mae (X link) that he wouldn’t be surprised if the Jays moved him, though that’d presumably change if the team plays its way back into contention.
Guerrero is amidst arguably the second-best offensive season of his career. He’s hitting .289/.370/.447 across 351 plate appearances. While he hasn’t hit for the same level of power he did in 2021-22, Guerrero has the second-highest average and on-base mark of his career. Bichette hasn’t performed to his usual standard, running a personal-worst .232/.282/.333 slash line over 287 trips. While that’d arguably make this summer an inopportune time to move him, Bichette would surely still draw ample attention if the Jays put him on the market. There aren’t many everyday shortstops who seem likely to be available.
Beyond that duo, the Jays have a handful of controllable players who could generate calls, particularly on the pitching side. Jordan Romano has spent the past month on the injured list with elbow inflammation. He’s a two-time All-Star closer who is under arbitration control through next season, though. Romano recently resumed throwing from 120 feet on flat ground (via the MLB.com injury tracker). Chris Bassitt is making $22MM this season and next. He turned in a 3.60 ERA over 33 starts a year ago and has worked to a 3.45 mark with decent strikeout and walk numbers over 91 1/3 innings. Trading Kevin Gausman, who is under contract through 2026, still seems unlikely unless the front office kicks off a more significant reboot.
If the Jays perform the way they’re hoping over the next month, adding to the bullpen and deepening the lineup would be the likely priorities. The Romano and García injuries — paired with Erik Swanson’s struggles — have contributed to the Jays running out one of the least consistent relief groups in the majors. The bottom half of the lineup hasn’t performed up to expectations either. That’s largely due to underperformance from the likes of Bichette, Turner, Kiermaier and George Springer. The Jays also entered the season with questions at second and third base. They’ve plugged rookie Spencer Horwitz into regular action at the keystone while free agent signee Isiah Kiner-Falefa (who has somewhat quietly impressed with a .283/.333/.402 showing) has gotten the bulk of the third base reps.