Headlines

Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Leo Jimenez

Daulton Varsho To Begin Season On Blue Jays’ Injured List

By | at

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.

Blue Jays Place Isiah Kiner-Falefa On Injured List, Recall Leo Jimenez For Major League Debut

By | at

The Blue Jays announced that infielder Isiah Kiner-Falefa has been placed on the 10-day injured list with a left knee sprain. Infielder Leo Jimenez has been recalled in a corresponding move and will be making his major league debut as soon as he gets into a game.

Kiner-Falefa, 29, was a late scratch from yesterday’s game. Manager John Schneider said that the infielder “felt something” which “popped up out of nowhere” during his pre-game stretches, per Hazel Mae of Sportsnet on X. It’s unclear how much time the Jays expect him to miss but the injury is significant enough that he’ll require an IL stint.

Signed to a two-year deal in the offseason, IKF has been having the best campaign of his career thus far. He has always been a glove-first utility guy but had hit just .261/.314/.346 coming into the year for an 81 wRC+. Though much has gone wrong for the Jays here in 2024, Kiner-Falefa’s deal has been a nice development, as he has hit .292/.338/.420 for a wRC+ of 117. He’s done that while playing the three infield positions to the left of first base and one inning in center field as well. His 2.0 wins above replacement are currently leading the team, according to the calculations at FanGraphs.

It’s a less than ideal development for the Jays, who have fallen back in the American League playoff picture. Though many contenders have been bunched up in the Wild Card race for a lot of the year, the Jays have slipped to 38-46, tied with the Tigers and Rangers and eight games out of the last postseason spot. With the trade deadline less than a month away, the club will need a serious hot streak to avoid a summer selloff, which will be harder to do without one of their more productive players on the season. If the summer selloff does end up coming to pass, there would also be an argument for selling high on IKF, though that could perhaps be less likely now, depending on how things develop in the next few weeks.

In the meantime, Jimenez gets his first call to the big leagues. An international signing out of Panama in 2017, he’s long been considered one of the better prospects in the Jays’ system. Baseball America has ranked him one of the top 30 farmhands in the organization since 2019, generally considering him a strong defender at shortstop but with a possibility that he ends up at second base due to his arm.

Offensively, Jimenez is considered more of a line drive hitter than a power threat but the plate discipline appears to be strong. He has stepped to the plate just under 1200 times since the start of 2021 with just 22 home runs but a 12.8% walk rate and a 16.4% strikeout rate. He’s slashed a combined .269/.404/.401 in that time for a wRC+ of 127. That includes a line of .271/.416/.431 and 129 wRC+ in 57 Triple-A games this year, with a 13.3% walk rate and 15% strikeout rate.

Jimenez has mostly played shortstop this year but also some second base. The Jays have Bo Bichette at short but the keystone could be available. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. has some sore fingers after being hit by a pitch and missed yesterday’s game, so Spencer Horwitz could perhaps move to first until Guerrero is ready to return. That would leave second base open for Jimenez and Davis Schneider, though Schneider has also been playing left field this year.

Though this is his first call to the big leagues, Jimenez was actually added to the 40-man roster back in November of 2021 to keep him out of the Rule 5 draft. That means he is in his final option year and will be out of options by next season. Given his solid profile, he’ll likely be ticketed for a role on next year’s team. If the 2024 season ends up being a lost year for the Jays, they can at least use the final months of the schedule to audition controllable players like Jimenez, Horwitz, Schneider and Addison Barger as they evaluate how to approach building next year’s roster.

Blue Jays Claim Shaun Anderson From Padres

By | at

The Blue Jays announced they’ve claimed right-hander Shaun Anderson off waivers from the Padres. Additionally, Toronto selected right-handers Hagen Danner and Bowden Francis, lefty Zach Logue and infielder Leo Jimenez to the 40-man roster to keep them from selection in the Rule 5 draft.

Now best known for his inclusion in a lopsided swap that sent LaMonte Wade Jr. from Minnesota to San Francisco, Anderson possesses a big slider and plenty of velocity that have piqued the interest of several clubs. Despite being torched for an 8.49 ERA in 23 2/3 innings this season, Anderson spent time with four different teams. He’s now failed to clear waivers four times in the past six months, demonstrating the quality of his raw arsenal. The 27-year-old still has a minor league option remaining, and the Jays will hope to tap into his raw talent and coax out some better results in 2022.

The 20-year-old Jimenez ranks 11th among Jays prospects at MLB.com and posted one of the more ludicrous lines fans will see, hitting .320/.523/.392 on the season. That’s not exactly a tiny sample, either; Jimenez tallied 262 plate appearances and reached base a comical 137 times. In addition to a ridiculous 20.6% walk rate, Jimenez was also plunked 25 times. He can play both middle infield positions but won’t realistically be an option until at least 2023, as he’s yet to even reach the Double-A level.

Bogh Francis and Logue rank on the back end of MLB.com’s Jays Top 30 and both posted sub-4.00 ERAs with promising strikeout rates. Francis joined the organization in the trade that sent Rowdy Tellez to the Brewers. Logue is a a former ninth-rounder who turned in an eye-opening 28.2% strikeout rate against a minuscule 5.2% walk rate.

As for Danner, he’s 2017 second-rounder who moved from catcher to the mound this season and posted a brilliant 2.02 ERA, 29.4% strikeout rate and 8.4% walk rate through 35 2/3 innings in High-A — his first pro experience on the mound. He’s still new to pitching, but with a debut like that, it’s understandable that Toronto had no interest in potentially losing him in the Rule 5 Draft.

Show all

MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

hide arrows scroll to top