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Ken Giles May Soon Resume Throwing

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Blue Jays closer Ken Giles appears to be making progress in his effort to work back from a forearm strain. He’s “recovering well” and “could be throwing soon,” GM Ross Atkins informed reporters including Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet.ca (via Twitter).

This sounds quite promising, though there are still some hurdles left to clear. Giles is due for an MRI and a checkup tomorrow. And he’ll still need to ramp back up without incident once he gets the green light.

The Toronto organization will surely hope for a fairly rapid return. If the team is to make a surprise run, which seems unlikely but can hardly be ruled out, it’d surely help to have the 2019 version of Giles at the back of the pen. Perhaps it’s still possible he could throw well enough to warrant a qualifying offer at season’s end, though that would represent a fairly spendy bet on a player who has had a few injury questions of late.

The more intriguing possibility, of course, is that Giles could get back in the saddle in time to be traded. It’d be a rather tight timeline, and would surely require some faith on behalf of a potential trade partner, but a swap is still possible.

Blue Jays Option Billy McKinney, Activate Chase Anderson

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Billy McKinney has been optioned to the Blue Jays’ taxi squad, clearing the way to for Chase Anderson to join the active roster, per Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.

Anderson starts today’s game against the Red Sox, who are struggling themselves to fill out the starting rotation. The Jays rotation ranks 25th in fWAR for the season with a total of just 0.2 fWAR. Their big offseason acquisition Hyun Jin Ryu has been mediocre early on, though he’s within the realm of acceptable outcomes for just a three-start sample (5.14 ERA, 4.14 FIP, 3.69 xFIP). Top prospect Nate Pearson has had an encouraging couple of starts. The back end of the rotation has struggled, however, where Tanner Roark (5.63 ERA/6.62 FIP) and Matt Shoemaker (5.91 ERA/6.93 FIP) have yet to hit their stride.

Anderson, 32, debuted in 2014 as a 26-year-old for the Diamondbacks. He spent two seasons in Arizona’s rotation before taking turns as part of the Brewers starting five for the last four. Though he’s never logged more than 158 innings in a given season, he’s been remarkably consistent, making between 25 and 30 starts per season for somewhere between 139 and 158 innings in each of the last five seasons. The right-hander carries a career 53-40 record with a 3.94 ERA/4.54 FIP. That’s steady production for Anderson, who has flown relatively under the radar as a back-end rotation piece. 

The Blue Jays scooped him up from Milwaukee this past September for minor league first baseman Chad Spanberger. At the time of the deal, the Blue Jays had a completely uncertain rotation situation for 2020, though they continued to add all winter. The full amount for Anderson’s deal was set for $8.5MM this season before the shutdown, with a team option at $9.5MM for 2021, making him a relatively affordable arm if he can continue to put forth the consistent workload he has thus far in his career. The Jays hold a $500K buyout option for next season.

For McKinney, he’ll return to Toronto’s taxi squad for now, though this move represents just some of the roster management that’s becoming standard this season. McKinney has been a semi-regular fourth outfielder for the Blue Jays since being acquired from the Yankees with Brandon Drury for J.A. Happ. He’s appeared in just one game thus far this season as a pinch-runner. 

Blue Jays Place Trent Thornton On IL

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The Blue Jays have placed right-hander Trent Thornton on the injured list with elbow inflammation, Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet reports. Thornton “felt kind of weird” when throwing a bullpen, but he’s not in line for an MRI at this point, per Nicholson-Smith.

Set to turn 27 years old next month, Thornton joined the Blue Jays in a trade with the Astros for infielder Aledmys Diaz in November 2018. Thornton wound up as one of the Blue Jays’ most relied-on starters in 2019, when he threw 154 1/3 innings and notched a 4.84 ERA/4.59 FIP with 8.69 K/9 and 3.56 BB/9. Prior to his IL placement this year, he made one appearance on July 27 and yielded one earned run on eight hits with three strikeouts and two walks across four innings in a win over the Nationals.

Victories have been in short supply for Toronto, which is off to a 4-6 start, and its rotation has been a mixed bag in the early going. Thornton, Tanner Roark and Nate Pearson have kept runs off the board at a good clip so far. That hasn’t been the case for Hyun Jin Ryu and Matt Shoemaker, but they’ve shown they’re capable major league starters. That’s especially true of Ryu, who was a star with the Dodgers in recent seasons. In his best Blue Jays performance to date, he tossed five shutout innings of one-hit ball in a win over the Braves on Wednesday.

Giants Designate Jandel Gustave For Assignment

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Prior to today’s game, the Giants designated right-handed reliever Jandel Gustave for assignment, per Maria Guardado of MLB.com (Twitter link). The move cleared roster space for the addition of fellow right-hander Andrew Triggs, whose contract was selected. Additionally, Rule V draftee Dany Jiménez cleared waivers and was returned to the Blue Jays organization after being designated earlier in the week, per Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle (Twitter link).

The hard-throwing Gustave was once a relief prospect of note in the Astros’ system, but his most extensive MLB action came last season with the Giants. He tossed 24.1 innings of 2.96 ERA ball, but mediocre strikeout (14.1%) and walk (9.1%) rates suggested that strong run prevention was unlikely to continue. He hadn’t been on the Giants’ active roster this season.

Triggs got off to an inauspicious start to his SF tenure this afternoon, allowing three runs on three walks while recording just one out in a loss to the Rangers. Nevertheless, the 31-year-old once looked like a solid back-end starter, flashing solid strikeout and ground ball tendencies across the bay with the A’s between 2016 and 2018.

Jiménez’s time as a Giant comes to an end after just two appearances (in which he walked three of eight batters faced). The 26-year-old returns to the Toronto organization, where he needn’t occupy a 40-man roster spot.

Marlins Claim Brian Moran, Sign Brett Eibner

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The Marlins announced they have claimed left-handed reliever Brian Moran off waivers from the Blue Jays. They’ve also purchased the contract of two-way player Brett Eibner from the Eastern Reyes del Tigre of the independent Constellation Energy League, per an announcement from the indy ball club. (Mark Berman of Fox 26 was first to report that agreement was close). They’re the latest additions to a pitching staff decimated by this week’s onslaught of positive COVID-19 tests.

The sidewinder Moran actually made his debut as a member of the Marlins last season. He worked 6.1 innings across ten games, leveraged heavily against left-handed batters (including his younger brother Colin, whom he struck out). While the elder Moran performed well both in Triple-A and in his brief MLB action, the Marlins outrighted him last fall. Moran signed a minor-league deal with the Jays over the offseason and made Toronto’s season-opening roster, but he only appeared in two games before they cut him loose.

Meanwhile, Eibner will return to affiliated ball for the first time since 2018. The onetime Royal and Dodger outfielder flirted with a two-way role toward the end of his L.A. tenure but was derailed by a Tommy John surgery. He’s stuck with playing both ways since his return, although he’s presumably being viewed as a primary pitcher in Miami. Eibner has not been added to the 40-man roster but seems likely to report to the club’s alternate training site. In 5.1 relief innings in indy ball this season, he’s struck out eight against one walk.

Blue Jays "Very Optimistic" Ken Giles Will Return In 2020

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  • Blue Jays reliever Ken Giles went on the injured list July 27 with a right forearm strain, but the team is “very optimistic” he’ll return this season, according to general manager Ross Atkins (via Kaitlyn McGrath of The Athletic). After getting a second opinion on the injury, Giles underwent a platelet-rich plasma injection. Not only would his return boost the Blue Jays’ of pushing for a playoff spot, but it would be a positive for Giles as he prepares for a trip to free agency in a few months. The 29-year-old was absolutely dominant when he was healthy enough to pitch in 2019, but arm problems have troubled him since last summer.

Phillies-Blue Jays Series Postponed

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4:05pm: Major League Baseball has formally announced the postponement of this weekend’s Jays/Phillies series and issued the following statement:

Out of an abundance of caution, the Philadelphia Phillies’ three-game weekend series with the Toronto Blue Jays, scheduled for Saturday, August 1st and Sunday, August 2nd at Citizens Bank Park, has been postponed. Major League Baseball will coordinate with health experts and the Major League Baseball Players Association in planning for the Phillies’ resumption of play, and will provide further scheduling updates as necessary.

12:34pm: The scheduled weekend series between the Phillies and Blue Jays has been postponed, Toronto skipper Charlie Montoyo tells reporters including Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet.ca (via Twitter). For the time being, the Jays will hang tight in D.C. and await further word after wrapping up their series with the Nats.

This adds to a still-building MLB scheduling pile-up that will require increasingly convoluted mid-season adaptations. The hope had been that the Marlins’ COVID-19 breakout would stay within that club. But it emerged this morning that two non-player members of the Phillies organization have come down with infections.

With two teams sidelined, their planned opponents are also on ice. In this case, the Jays and Nats may actually end up hanging out waiting in the same place. There’s no word yet whether the league will somehow attempt to stage contests between those two organizations in order to keep logging games.

Ken Giles Shut Down Due To Forearm Strain

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July 28: Giles has been “shut down” for awhile after being diagnosed with a forearm strain, manager Charlie Montoyo told reporters Tuesday (Twitter link via Mitchell). He’s getting a second opinion on the injury.

July 27: The Blue Jays announced today that closer Ken Giles is heading to the injured list, Scott Mitchell of TSN was among those to cover on Twitter. He is still awaiting the results of an MRI on his injured right elbow.

Two new arms will head onto the Toronto roster: Ryan Borucki and Wilmer Font. The club had another opening because infielder Travis Shaw is temporarily away due to a family matter.

It remains to be seen just how significant an issue Giles is dealing with, but the team is obviously concerned enough not only to order an MRI but also to go ahead with an IL placement. The righty dealt with elbow problems last year as well, though he was ultimately able to work back to the mound.

Even a relatively minor injury could doom any thought of a mid-season trade of Giles. He has long seemed a candidate to be dealt, but the Jays evidently never received a good enough offer to make a move. It’s even rougher news for Giles, who’ll hit the open market at season’s end.

Blue Jays’ Nate Pearson To Debut July 29

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JULY 27, 8:50pm: Montoyo confirmed that Pearson will debut Wednesday, per Davidi.

3:35pm: Pearson is indeed still scheduled for his debut on Wednesday, Campbell tweets. Manager Charlie Montoyo still wasn’t ready to announce a move, but did acknowledge the possibility of a call-up, as Sportsnet’s Shi Davidi tweets.

JULY 22: The Blue Jays plan to activate standout pitching prospect Nate Pearson on July 29, Jamie Campbell of Sportsnet reports. Pearson is not on the Blue Jays’ 40-man roster, which is currently full.

Toronto will gain an extra year of control over Pearson by keeping him off its roster during the first week of its season. So, considering the league’s rules on service time, it’s no surprise that the team will open its schedule without the 23-year-old right-hander. But Pearson may wind up as a game-changing addition to the Blue Jays’ roster when he does make his debut, and perhaps someone who could challenge for American League Rookie of the Year honors.

The flamethrowing Pearson joined Toronto as the 28th overall pick in the 2017 draft and has proven himself an elite farmhand since then (MLB.com ranks him first in the team’s system and No. 8 in the sport, for instance). Pearson made his debut in Triple-A last year with 18 innings of 3.00 ERA ball, but he spent most of his season in Double-A, recording a terrific 2.59 ERA/2.90 FIP with 9.91 K/9 and 3.02 BB/9 over 62 2/3 frames. Pearson also acquitted himself well during spring training this year, as he held hitters to a paltry .194 batting average and totaled 16 strikeouts against five walks in 10 2/3 innings before the sport shut down.

If Pearson does come up and make a serious impact in 2020, Toronto could have an enviable duo atop its rotation with him and left-hander Hyun-Jin Ryu – an $80MM offseason pickup who finished as the National League Cy Young runner-up as a Dodger in 2019. Until Pearson makes his first start and Chase Anderson returns from the injured list, though, the Blue Jays appear likely to fill out their rotation with Tanner Roark, Matt Shoemaker, Trent Thornton and Ryan Borucki behind Ryu.

Predict The AL East Division Winner

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With final roster decisions in the books and the 2020 season underway at long last, it’s time to make some predictions. We’re polling the MLBTR readership on each of the game’s six divisions — though plenty more teams will crack the postseason under the rather inclusive new playoff qualification system. We’ve already surveyed the AL Central, NL Central, and NL East landscapes, and now we’ll turn to the American League East.

The Yankees have certainly been tabbed the favorite by most observers, but several key players have questionable injury histories and the short-season format opens the door for challengers. The Rays are perhaps the prime contender for a surprise, with a deep and versatile roster that’s far more talented than the payroll would suggest. Then again, we may all be overlooking the Red Sox, who have certainly shed some talent but still have several rather high-ceiling players. There’s a ton of young talent on the Blue Jays roster; maybe the team could surprise if those precocious performers develop ahead of schedule. It’s quite difficult to make a case for the Orioles, even in a pithy blurb, but … hey, they’re tied for the division lead at 2-1 entering play today!

Which team do you think is going to take the division title? (Poll link for app users.)

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