Joey Loperfido

Joey Loperfido Replaces Anthony Santander On Blue Jays’ Playoff Roster

By Anthony Franco | October 16, 2025 at 5:58pm CDT

Major League Baseball has officially approved the substitution of Joey Loperfido for Anthony Santander on the Blue Jays’ playoff roster. Manager John Schneider told reporters (including Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet) this evening that Santander was dealing with back stiffness. His season is over.

Teams set their postseason rosters at the beginning of each series. They can only make changes mid-series in the event of an injury. A player removed midway through a series is ineligible for the following series if his team advances, so Santander could not participate in the World Series if the Jays come back to beat the Mariners.

Injuries essentially ruined Santander’s first season in Toronto. He was out between the end of May and the middle of September with a left shoulder issue. He didn’t return until the final week of the regular season. Santander has appeared in five of the Jays’ seven postseason games. He missed Game 2 of the ALCS with lower back soreness. Santander returned to the lineup for Game 3 but was replaced by Myles Straw as a defensive substitute in the fifth inning. He finishes his postseason with a 3-15 showing with a pair of runs batted in.

While Davis Schneider drew into the lineup when Santander was out for Game 2, it’s Isiah Kiner-Falefa who picks up the extra playing time tonight. He’s in at second base and batting eighth against Luis Castillo. That pushes Ernie Clement to third base and Addison Barger from the hot corner to right field.

The Jays have carried the same 13 position players for their Division Series and the ALCS. Loperfido had been inactive for both series despite hitting .333/.379/.500 across 41 games during the regular season. He was the only real candidate to join the roster as a left-handed bench bat in Santander’s place. Bo Bichette and Ty France are injured and weren’t ready to go for the beginning of the series. Leo Jiménez finished the season on the Triple-A injured list, leaving light-hitting outfielder Jonatan Clase (who spent the entire second half in Triple-A) as the only other healthy position player on the 40-man roster.

Mitch Bannon and Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic first reported that Santander would be removed from the roster. Nicholson-Smith was first to confirm that Loperfido would be the replacement.

Blue Jays Place Bo Bichette On Injured List

By Steve Adams | September 9, 2025 at 3:15pm CDT

3:15pm: There’s no immediate timetable for Bichette’s return. Manager John Schneider tells the Jays beat that Bichette, who first felt discomfort in his shin and knee on Sunday, will rest for the remainder of the week and be reevaluated early next week (link via Shi Davidi of Sportsnet).

2:07pm: The Blue Jays announced Tuesday that shortstop Bo Bichette is headed to the 10-day injured list due to a left knee sprain. The IL placement is retroactive to Sept. 7. Bichette will be eligible to return in eight days, though the team hasn’t provided any sort of timetable just yet. Outfielder Joey Loperfido has been recalled from Triple-A Buffalo to take Bichette’s spot on the active roster.

Losing the 27-year-old Bichette for any period of time is a potential gut-punch to the first-place Jays, who hold a two-game lead over the Yankees and a three-game lead over the Red Sox in the AL East. Bichette has not only bounced back from last year’s injury-ruined season — he’s enjoyed one of the most productive seasons of his career. In 628 plate appearances, he’s slashing .311/.357/.483 with 18 home runs, 44 doubles, a triple, a 6.4% walk rate (well shy of league average but one of his best marks) and a tiny 14.6% strikeout rate.

Bichette has been particularly hot over the past two months, posting a ridiculous .380/.431/.580 batting line (182 wRC+) with six homers, 23 doubles, an 8% walk rate and an 11.6% strikeout rate in a span of 225 plate appearances.

With Bichette sidelined for at least the next eight games, Ernie Clement and/or Isiah Kiner-Falefa will likely step up and fill the void at shortstop. Clement gets the first shortstop nod tonight, and while he can’t match Bichette’s offense, he’s a superior defender at the position. That’ll free up Addison Barger to play third base more, while Loperfido joins Kiner-Falefa, Nathan Lukes, Daulton Varsho, George Springer, Davis Schneider and Myles Straw among the team’s outfield options. It’ll be Loperfido, Varsho and Lukes tonight (left field to right field, respectively). Springer is hitting leadof in the designated hitter slot.

Beyond the immediate roster and postseason ramifications, the injury is particularly ill-timed for Bichette from a personal standpoint. He’d surely say this talk takes a backseat to team needs and postseason hopes, but Bichette is a free agent at season’s end. His bounceback effort has positioned him as one of the top free agents on the upcoming market. If he’s able to return following a relatively brief stay, this isn’t likely to have any real impact on his earning power at all. But if Bichette requires a notable absence or struggles in his return while dealing with lingering effects from the injury, his health will be a far more prominent question when looking at his free agent market this winter.

Blue Jays Reinstate George Springer From Injured List

By Mark Polishuk | August 16, 2025 at 10:48am CDT

The Blue Jays announced that George Springer has been activated from the seven-day injured list for concussion-related injuries. Outfielder Joey Loperfido was optioned to Triple-A Buffalo in the corresponding move.

Springer last played on July 28, when a wayward pitch from the Orioles’ Kade Strowd caught the Toronto slugger on the earflap of his helmet. Springer was removed from the game and was officially placed on the concussion IL a few days later, to give him some extended time to recover. A clean slate of tests earlier this week paved the way for Springer to start a Triple-A rehab assignment, and he’ll now join the Jays lineup after two games in Buffalo.

After posting underwhelming numbers in both 2023 and 2024, it seemed as though Springer was hitting a decline phase as he entered his age-35 season. Instead, he has bounced back with one of the best seasons of his 12-year career, hitting .291/.383/.506 with 18 home runs over 408 plate appearances. Only eight qualified hitters in baseball (including teammate Vladimir Guerrero Jr.) have a better wRC+ than Springer’s 148 figure.

One element to this turn-around may be Springer’s increased usage as a designated hitter, as he has already set a new career high for DH days by appearing 52 times at the position, as opposed to 45 appearances as an outfielder. It is perhaps noteworthy that Springer didn’t see any action in the outfield during his two rehab games, and it could hint that the Blue Jays will continue to lean towards using the veteran primarily as a DH down the stretch in order to keep him fresh. In any case, having Springer back in any capacity is naturally a big help to a Toronto club trying to secure its first division title since 2015.

Loperfido was the odd man out of the roster mix with Springer back, likely just because Loperfido has minor league options remaining. Performance-wise, Loperfido was very impressive since being called up in July, delivering a .358/.409/.506 slash line over 89 plate appearances. It seems likely that Loperfido will be back up at least by September 1 when the rosters expand, if another injury doesn’t earn him a quicker ticket back to the Jays’ active roster.

Blue Jays Reportedly Willing To Trade Major League Position Players

By Darragh McDonald | July 29, 2025 at 2:35pm CDT

The Blue Jays are first in the American League East and clear buyers ahead of Thursday’s deadline. Mitch Bannon of The Athletic reports that they are willing to trade from their position player depth, including guys who are currently on the big league roster or in Triple-A.

The Jays came into this year with a cluster of players on the roster who hadn’t yet taken hold as big league regulars. That group includes Addison Barger, Nathan Lukes, Davis Schneider, Joey Loperfido, Will Wagner, Leo Jiménez, Jonatan Clase, Alan Roden and Orelvis Martínez.

Every player in that group apart from Martínez has seen some big league time this year, some more than others. Barger has separated himself from the rest of the pack and established himself as a middle-of-the-order bat in Toronto’s lineup. He has 14 home runs, a .264/.316/.500 slash and 122 wRC+ this year. He hits from the left side while most of the club’s other everyday players are righties. He provides defensive versatility by moving between third base and right field. Presumably, the Jays wouldn’t let go of him without getting something massive in return.

The other players in that group have played smaller roles. Lukes has 257 plate appearances on the year but almost exclusively against righties, with just 28 of those coming against southpaws. He’s been good as a strong-side platoon guy, which has been great for the Jays with Daulton Varsho missing so much time this year. Schneider is also having a good year, though doing most of his damage against lefties.

Loperfido has a huge .341/.396/.500 slash line this year but in just 16 games, as he was only just recalled from the minors a few weeks ago. Wagner has a .236/.331/.302 line in 37 games, having also spent some time in the minors. Jiménez was playing well in the minors but has a .071/.133/.179 line in the big leagues.

Those guys are all currently on the big league roster. As noted by Bannon, both Varsho and Andrés Giménez are expected to return from the injured list soon, which will push a couple of those guys back down to Triple-A, where they would join Roden, Clase and Martínez. Roden has a massive .331/.423/.496 line for Buffalo but just a .204/.283/.306 slash for Toronto. Clase also has some decent Triple-A numbers but a big league line of just .210/.288/.300. Martínez is not having a good year but is not too far removed from being a top 100 prospect.

The Jays won’t be able to give playing time to all of these guys down the stretch, so it’s logical for the club to think about using some of that depth to add to the pitching staff. They are known to be looking for both rotation and bullpen upgrades. Many selling clubs, meanwhile, will be looking for upper level players who could be plugged right onto a big league roster. A team doing a long-term rebuild might prefer younger prospects but some clubs are looking to do a quick sell at the deadline before attempting to return to contention in 2026. It’s also possible a team looking to do a buy/sell hybrid, such as the Padres, might look to acquire some of these cheaper players in a win-now move.

Since these guys are controllable, the Jays would be subtracting from their long-term position player depth. But if they can work out a trade involving guys in this cluster, it could allow them to hang onto more highly-touted prospects who are further away from the big leagues, such as Arjun Nimmala or Trey Yesavage. They also don’t face huge roster turnover this coming offseason, as Bo Bichette is the only position player slated for free agency after this season.

Jiménez, Clase and Martínez are all slated to be out of options next year and haven’t fully established themselves as big league regulars, so the Jays might be especially motivated to move on from that group. Though of course, those players will have less trade value than some of the other guys who are putting up more impressive numbers or who still have more option years after this one.

The Jays are presumably evaluating various possibilities ahead of Thursday’s deadline. Bannon reported yesterday that the front office is “turning over every stone” in pursuit of bullpen additions. The Jays have also been connected to starting pitchers such as Dylan Cease, Zac Gallen and Mitch Keller.

Photo courtesy of Brian Fluharty, Imagn Images

Blue Jays Place Andres Gimenez On 10-Day Injured List

By Nick Deeds | July 6, 2025 at 10:16am CDT

The Blue Jays announced a flurry of roster moves this morning, headlined by their move to place second baseman Andres Gimenez on the 10-day injured list with an ankle sprain. Outfielder Joey Loperfido was recalled to the big league roster to replace Gimenez. In a second set of moves, right-hander Ryan Burr was activated from the 60-day injured list. Right-hander Lazaro Estrada was optioned to Triple-A and outfielder Will Robertson was designated for assignment to make room for Burr on the active and 40-man rosters respectively.

Gimenez suffered an ankle injury on Wednesday, and aggravated the issue further on Friday after initially attempting to play through it. He was viewed as day-to-day initially, but Arden Zwelling of Sportsnet noted yesterday that Gimenez was being sent for an MRI. That MRI revealed a sprain, and the Blue Jays evidently felt the issue was severe enough to warrant a trip to the injured list. Gimenez’s exact timeline for return is not yet known, but the timing of the injury means he won’t be back until after the All-Star break at the very earliest.

It’s a tough blow for the division-leading Blue Jays, as while Gimenez is batting just .218/.300/.322 on the year he’s offered his trademark strong glove at second base and has heated up considerably since returning from a quad strain at the start of June. In 25 games since returning, Gimenez had slashed .253/.340/.349 with a wRC+ of 101. A combination of league average offense and Gimenez’s stellar defense is enough to make him an extremely valuable player, as seen in 2023 when he posted 3.8 fWAR for the Guardians despite a 97 wRC+.

While Gimenez is on the shelf, the Jays appear likely to rely on some combination of Will Wagner, Leo Jimenez, and Davis Schneider at the keystone. Loperfido is replacing Gimenez on the roster after posting a 111 wRC+ at the Triple-A level throughout this season, but he hit just .214/.264/.350 in 81 games for the Jays last year and seems unlikely to be much more than a depth option for the club during this return to the majors. Acquired from the Astros as part of the Yusei Kikuchi trade, Loperfido does actually have some experience at second base in the minors but has been limited to the outfield and first base at the big league level.

As for Burr, the right-hander is now poised to make his season debut after being sidelined by a bout of right shoulder inflammation during Spring Training. Burr posted a 4.08 ERA in 75 innings with the White Sox between 2018 and 2022 before spending the 2023 campaign in the Rays’ minor league system. He joined the Blue Jays for the 2024 season and posted a 4.13 ERA in 32 2/3 innings of work with an impressive 33.6% strikeout rate. Toronto is surely hoping Burr can leverage that high strikeout rate into stronger results going forward, and if he can it wouldn’t be hard to see him become a late-inning option for the Jays to help set up Jeff Hoffman.

Making room for Burr on the 40-man roster is Robertson, who crushed the ball at Triple-A this year to the tune of a .288/.410/.582 slash line (159 wRC+) in 51 games to break down the door to the majors and force himself onto the big league roster for the first time in his career. He ultimately appeared in just three games at the big league level, however, and struck out in seven of his 12 plate appearances in the majors. He did notch his first big league hit before getting sent back down, however, and since then he’s continued to hit at a high level in the minors. The Blue Jays will now have one week to either trade Robertson or attempt to pass him through waivers. If he goes unclaimed, he can be outrighted to the minor leagues as a non-roster depth option for the remainder of the season.

Daulton Varsho To Begin Season On Blue Jays’ Injured List

By Mark Polishuk | March 22, 2025 at 9:04am CDT

After undergoing rotator cuff surgery last September, Daulton Varsho’s status for Spring Training or Opening Day was up in the air, with the general expectation being that the center fielder would need to miss at least some time at the start of the season. Blue Jays manager John Schneider confirmed Varsho’s IL status to reporters (including Sportsnet’s Shi Davidi and Arden Zwelling) today, though the belief is that Varsho should be able to make his 2025 debut before the first month of the season is over.

Varsho has been able to play as a DH during Spring Training, and he has posted some big numbers in this somewhat limited capacity. Simply using Varsho as a designated hitter until his shoulder fully heals isn’t an ideal situation, of course, since the Jays don’t want to do anything to aggravate the injury, and so much of Varsho’s import comes as a defensive player. Varsho won his first career Gold Glove last season, and was recognized by the Fielding Bible as the best overall defender in all of baseball.

While sidelined, Varsho will continue to work at the Jays’ spring complex in Dunedin, with Zwelling writing that Varsho will play in simulated games and in official minor league games. If all goes well, Varsho will start a proper rehab assignment with Triple-A Buffalo before returning to the Blue Jays’ active roster.

As to who will play center field until Varsho is ready, it appears the competition is down to Nathan Lukes, Myles Straw, and Alan Roden. Zwelling notes that the Jays want Roden (who has yet to make his MLB debut) to play on a regular basis, which could hint that Roden might instead be used in an everyday role in Buffalo rather than in what might be a platoon role in Toronto. Roden may not have much less to prove after posting big minor league numbers in 2023-24, plus he has been making a strong case for a roster job with some impressive spring numbers.

Lukes and Straw could operate in a center-field platoon, as Varsho’s placement on the IL will naturally open up another roster spot. The Jays also made more cuts by optioning Joey Loperfido (once also a candidate for part-time center field work) and Leo Jimenez to Triple-A yesterday, and Schneider said today that Davis Schneider and Tyler Heineman will both break camp with the team. Schneidrer will work as backup or part-time player at second base and in left field, while Heineman will back up starting catcher Alejandro Kirk.

In other Jays roster news, Davidi reports that Eric Lauer’s minor league deal contains an assignment clause that can be exercised tomorrow. Should Lauer use the clause, other teams can reach out to the Jays within a 48-hour window to express interest in adding Lauer to their active rosters, and Toronto then have 48 hours to decide whether to move Lauer or add him to the Blue Jays’ own roster.

Lauer split the 2024 season pitching in the KBO League and at the Triple-A level with the Astros and Pirates organization, thus marking his first season without any MLB action since 2017. From 2018-23 with the Padres and Brewers, Lauer had a 4.30 ERA over 596 2/3 innings, operating primarily as a starting pitcher. An injury-plagued 2023 campaign ended his stint in Milwaukee, and he is now looking to rebound in at least a depth role on a big league roster. Should he remain with the Blue Jays, Lauer will be one of the team’s top options at Triple-A should an injury hit anyone in the projected starting rotation.

AL East Notes: Varsho, Bello, Orioles

By Mark Polishuk | March 1, 2025 at 12:10pm CDT

Daulton Varsho underwent rotator cuff surgery in late September, with the expectation that he would likely start the season on the 10-day injured list, even if his absence wouldn’t stretch too far into April. That timeline isn’t much clearer now that Spring Training is well underway, but Varsho logged his first Grapefruit League action yesterday, going 1-for-3 with a homer while acting as the Blue Jays’ designated hitter in a 10-7 win over the Tigers. Getting back to regular hitting action is certainly a good sign for Varsho, and Jays manager John Schneider also provided reporters (including MLB.com’s Keegan Matheson) with some updates on Varsho’s defensive progress.

“There’s more boxes to check, like throwing to the bases on back-to-back days,” Schneider said. “This was another good day for him, throwing out to 120 feet, so I think it’s more about how he’s rebounding from those once he does start throwing to the bases and getting into games….We’re trying to take this in three- or four-day buckets. He’s progressing well. I don’t want to put anything past him or say [Opening Day is] not a definite possibility. It will go right down to the end as long as he doesn’t have any setbacks. If he’s there, great. If he’s not, we know he’s going to be soon.”

The defense is the biggest factor in Varsho’s recovery, as the Gold Glove winner is one of baseball’s best defensive players. Matheson figures Joey Loperfido is the top candidate to fill in for Varsho in center field if an IL stint is indeed required, though these early results provide some optimism that Varsho could be ready to go for March 27.

Astros Acquire Yusei Kikuchi

By Anthony Franco | July 30, 2024 at 1:59am CDT

The Astros are paying up to get one of the top pitchers on the market. Houston and Toronto announced a trade sending Yusei Kikuchi to the Astros for rookie righty Jake Bloss, outfielder/first baseman Joey Loperfido and minor league infielder Will Wagner. Toronto already had ample 40-man roster space to accommodate the move.

Kikuchi is behind Jack Flaherty as arguably the second-best rental starter on the market. Houston was tied to Flaherty as well as more controllable pitchers like Jameson Taillon, Erick Fedde and Zach Eflin last week. There was never much doubt that the Astros would bring in a starter, as general manager Dana Brown hasn’t been shy about the team’s need for a mid-rotation arm. The asking price on Flaherty always seemed like it might be beyond Houston’s comfort zone, making Kikuchi a sensible fallback.

The 33-year-old Kikuchi has had mixed results this season and throughout his career more broadly. Over 115 2/3 innings this year, he carries a 4.75 ERA that’s right in line with his 4.72 mark in parts of six MLB campaigns. Kikuchi’s strikeout and walk profile is quite a bit more impressive than that run prevention figure suggests. He has punched out 26.2% of opposing hitters while walking only 6% of batters faced. Among pitchers with 100+ innings, Kikuchi ranks 19th in strikeout percentage and 16th in strikeout/walk rate differential. He’s getting swinging strikes at a 12.4% rate that places him among the top 30 in that group.

A .340 average on balls in play and modest 70.6% left on base rate have nevertheless pushed his ERA close to 5.00. Those marks were nearer to league average in 2023, when the Japanese southpaw turned in a 3.86 ERA over 32 starts with similar strikeout and walk rates as he’s posted this season. Houston is betting on positive regression in those sequencing and batted ball results.

Teams have long been intrigued by Kikuchi, who boasts some of the best raw stuff of any left-hander in baseball. His fastball sits north of 95 MPH and he has the ability to miss bats with all four of his offerings (four-seam, curveball, slider, changeup). Kikuchi has had a difficult time keeping the ball in the park throughout his MLB career, though. He’s allowing homers at an elevated 1.32 clip per nine this season and has given up more longballs than the average pitcher in every full season of his major league tenure. Right-handed batters have generally given him trouble, though he’s holding them a more manageable .280/.323/.441 slash in 409 plate appearances this year.

While Kikuchi isn’t without flaws, he’s a plug-and-play option for the middle of a Houston rotation that certainly needed one. The Astros have been hit hard by starting pitching injuries all year. They lost Cristian Javier and José Urquidy to Tommy John surgery. Depth starter J.P. France went down with a season-ending shoulder issue. Justin Verlander has had two injured list stints and has been shelved since the middle of June because of neck soreness. Lance McCullers Jr. has hit continued snags in his effort to return from a flexor tendon surgery. They had to slow down Luis Garcia in his work back from Tommy John surgery, though he’s again throwing bullpen sessions after being pulled off a minor league rehab stint earlier this month.

Framber Valdez is leading the rotation and has a 3.43 ERA over 18 starts. Hunter Brown has bounced back from a disastrous April and pitched like a top-of-the-rotation arm for the last three months. Ronel Blanco has been a godsend after injuries pushed him into the fifth starter role out of camp. He carries a 2.95 ERA across 119 frames.

While that’s a decent top three, the depth is questionable. Spencer Arrighetti has a 5.58 ERA over his first 19 MLB starts. Houston had pushed Bloss to the majors within a year of drafting him, largely reflecting their lack of alternatives in the upper minors. The Astros are hoping to get Verlander and Garcia (and potentially McCullers) back at some point, but they’ve also pushed Blanco to new workload heights. The 30-year-old righty had never thrown more than 88 innings in a major or minor league campaign before this year. He’s already 31 innings beyond that.

Kikuchi, who hasn’t missed a start in two years, has provided the kind of durability that the Astros have generally lacked. There’s injury risk with any pitcher, of course, but the Astros are no doubt thrilled to land a pitcher who is tied for fifth in MLB in starts going back to last year’s Opening Day.

Doing so comes at a cost. Bloss is arguably the top pitching prospect in a fairly thin Houston farm system. A third-round pick out of Georgetown last summer, the 6’3″ righty quickly pitched his way towards the top of the prospect pipeline. Baseball America recently ranked him the #2 prospect in the organization, while he’s in the overall Top 100 (and second in the organization) at FanGraphs.

BA suggests he’s likely to fit at the back of a rotation, while FanGraphs credits him with mid-rotation potential. Both outlets write that his mid-90s fastball plays especially well at the top of the strike zone because of its backspin and Bloss’ deceptively low release height. He has a pair of solid breaking pitches, while his changeup is a work in progress.

Opponents have hit him hard over his three big league starts. He has given up nine runs on 16 hits (including five homers) over 11 2/3 innings. Were it not for Houston’s injury woes, he probably wouldn’t have made his MLB debut yet. Bloss has pitched very well in the minors this season, working to a 1.64 ERA with a 25.6% strikeout rate across 66 innings. Yet he’d made all of eight starts at Double-A and one Triple-A appearance before being pushed to the big leagues out of necessity. A more typical development path would probably still have him at Double-A right now.

Bloss has all three options remaining. The 23-year-old is under control for at least six seasons beyond this one and could stick around even longer if the Jays send him to the minors for further development. Bloss could factor into next year’s rotation as the Jays try to quickly return to contention, maybe slotting into the rotation spot vacated by Kikuchi’s departure.

Getting Bloss alone would’ve been a strong return for a half-season of Kikuchi’s services. Loperfido, 25, ranked as Houston’s #5 prospect on BA’s latest update. A seventh-round selection out of Duke in 2021, he hit his way to the big leagues earlier this year. Loperfido combined for a .278/.370/.510 slash between three minor league levels last season. He was obliterating Triple-A pitching early this season and owns a .272/.365/.568 mark with 13 homers over 39 games in the Pacific Coast League this year.

Of course, the PCL is an extremely favorable environment for hitters. BA’s scouting report credits Loperfido with above-average but not elite power. He was striking out an elevated 28% clip against Triple-A pitching. The whiffs have carried over in his first look at MLB arms. Loperfido has fanned in 36.4% of his 118 MLB plate appearances to date. He’s hitting .236/.299/.358 in 38 games.

Loperfido isn’t a great athlete or defensive player. He was drafted as a second baseman but he’s moved off the position entirely this year. Houston has divided his time between the outfield and first base in Triple-A. They haven’t given him any major league starts at first base, which is a bit of a surprise considering the mediocre production they’ve gotten out of the position from Jon Singleton and the since-released José Abreu.

Wagner is the third piece in the deal, but he’s a prospect in his own right. The son of seven-time All-Star Billy Wagner, Will ranks 19th in the Houston system at Baseball America. A former 18th-round pick out of Liberty, Wagner has outperformed his draft stock and is posting huge numbers in Triple-A. He’s hitting .307/.424/.429 with a massive 16.2% walk percentage against a tiny 10.2% strikeout rate across 324 plate appearances.

The left-handed hitting Wagner is old for the level — today is his 26th birthday — but he has little more to prove in the minors. He has divided his time between first, second and third base this year. He’d be eligible for the Rule 5 draft this winter if not selected onto the 40-man roster but could get a look in Toronto before the end of this season.

That’s three controllable players at or near the MLB level. The Astros were fine giving them up while they’re in a tight battle with the Mariners and Rangers for the AL West crown. Beyond the prospects, they’re adding salary to what is already a franchise-high payroll. The Astros had a competitive balance tax estimate around $256MM before the deal (as calculated by RosterResource). Unless there are cash considerations involved, they’ll take on roughly $3.33MM remaining on Kikuchi’s $10MM salary. That pushes them beyond the $257MM threshold that marks the second tier of luxury penalization. They’re taxed at a 32% rate on spending up to $277MM, so they’ll take on roughly $1MM in taxes on top of the money they owe Kikuchi.

Toronto sheds some money from its tax ledger — more than the Astros are taking on. Kikuchi’s three-year, $36MM free agent deal was frontloaded to pay him $16MM in the first season. Toronto’s competitive balance tax hit was nevertheless the contract’s $12MM average annual value, so Kikuchi had a higher CBT hit than actual salary this year.

When a player on a guaranteed contract is traded, the CBT ledger is recalculated based on the salary remaining at the time of the trade. The Astros assume the prorated amount of a $10MM salary while the Jays drop the prorated portion of the $12MM for which Kikuchi had counted against their books — approximately $4MM. That could aid them in trying to slip below the $237MM base threshold this year. Their exact CBT number is pending the reporting of the amount of cash they included in the Justin Turner trade with Seattle this afternoon.

The Athletic’s Jim Bowden first reported the Astros were nearing a deal for Kikuchi that would send Bloss to Toronto. ESPN’s Jeff Passan confirmed a Kikuchi trade was in place. Ken Rosenthal, Kaitlyn McGrath and Chandler Rome of the Athletic reported that the Jays were acquiring two other prospects. Ben Nicholson-Smith and Shi Davidi of Sportsnet first reported Loperfido and Wagner were in the deal.

Images courtesy of USA Today Sports.

Astros Designate Blair Henley For Assignment

By Darragh McDonald | June 21, 2024 at 3:30pm CDT

The Astros made a series of roster moves today, including the previously-reported promotion of Jake Bloss. They also recalled outfielder Joey Loperfido, a move that was relayed on X last night by Ari Alexander of KPRC 2. To open active roster spots for those two, catcher Victor Caratini was placed on the 10-day injured list with a left hip flexor strain, retroactive to June 20, and right-hander Luis Contreras was optioned to Triple-A. To open a 40-man spot for Bloss, right-hander Blair Henley was designated for assignment.

Henley, 27, was selected to the club’s roster in April. The Astros were scrambling to fill their rotation at the time due to injuries. Justin Verlander and José Urquidy were each part of the planned Opening Day rotation but both started the season on the injured list. Then Framber Valdez had some elbow soreness pop up, which prompted the club to turn to Henley and give him his major league debut.

Unfortunately, he didn’t get the storybook version of getting to the show. His first and thus far only major league start saw him record just one out while surrendering five earned runs on four hits and three walks. He was optioned back to the minors after that and has been pitching in Triple-A since then.

His numbers for Sugar Land haven’t been especially impressive. In his 13 starts, he has a 4.50 earned run average but might even be lucky to have that. His 19.2% strikeout rate and 13.2% walk rate are both a few points worse than average and he has stranded 76% of baserunners despite allowing ten home runs, which leads to a 6.69 FIP at that level this year.

The Astros will now have one week to trade Henley or pass him through waivers. The results this year haven’t been great but he’s a former seventh-round pick with a full slate of options. Tommy John surgery wiped out most of his 2021-22 seasons before he returned to the mound last year. He logged 106 2/3 innings at Double-A last year with a 5.06 ERA, 22.3% strikeout rate, 11.1% walk rate and 51.2% ground ball rate.

Players with a previous career outright or three years of service time can reject an outright assignment in favor of free agency. Henley doesn’t qualify on either count and would therefore stick with the Astros if he were passed through waivers unclaimed.

Astros Place Cristian Javier On IL, Recall Jose Abreu

By Anthony Franco | May 27, 2024 at 6:04pm CDT

The Astros made a few transactions before tonight’s series opener in Seattle. Houston placed starter Cristian Javier on the 15-day injured list, retroactive to May 24, with forearm discomfort. They also recalled José Abreu and reliever Alex Speas from Triple-A Sugar Land, optioning out Joey Loperfido to clear an additional roster spot.

Javier heads to the IL for the second time this season. The right-hander missed a couple weeks between April and May with neck soreness. Forearm discomfort is naturally a more concerning development, but there’s no indication the team believes it to be a serious issue at the moment. It’s nevertheless a frustrating setback for Javier, who has been limited to seven starts this year after avoiding the IL between 2020-23.

Around the injuries, Javier has gotten off to a middling start. He has a reasonable 3.89 ERA over 34 2/3 innings, yet he’s carrying an 18% strikeout rate that would easily be a personal worst. Javier has also walked nearly 13% of opposing hitters and is averaging only 91.7 MPH on his fastball, the softest velocity of his career.

Even a diminished version of Javier has played an important role for a Houston rotation that has battled numerous injuries. He rejoins Lance McCullers Jr., Luis Garcia and José Urquidy on the IL. Urquidy was expected to make his return from forearm discomfort in the coming weeks, but he felt renewed soreness during a rehab start last Friday.

Houston has tried to lean on a six-man rotation to navigate an ongoing stretch of 29 games in 30 days. That hasn’t really worked as planned, as Ronel Blanco served a 10-game foreign substance suspension before Javier’s injury. Houston has a five-man starting staff of Framber Valdez, Justin Verlander, Blanco, Hunter Brown and Spencer Arrighetti at the moment. Recently-signed lefty Eric Lauer is at Sugar Land as an experienced non-roster depth option.

Abreu is back on the MLB roster after spending nearly a month in the minors. The former MVP is in the lineup at first base tonight, hitting eighth against Seattle right-hander Bryce Miller. Abreu has worked to rediscover his timing after hitting .099/.156/.113 over his first 77 big league plate appearances this season. Lefty-swinging Jon Singleton has been Houston’s primary first baseman since Abreu was optioned; Singleton is at designated hitter tonight.

How Abreu performs over the next two months could be a key storyline as the front office considers its deadline approach. Houston has played their way back to the fringe of the playoff picture after an atrocious start to the season. They’re 24-29, sitting in third place in the AL West at three and a half games behind Seattle. If they’re in contention by late July, the Astros would certainly try to bolster a veteran roster that has won at least one playoff round in seven straight seasons. First base would be an obvious target area unless Abreu authors a remarkable turnaround in the coming weeks.

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