Blue Jays Designate Travis Bergen For Assignment
The Blue Jays announced Tuesday that they’ve designated lefty Travis Bergen for assignment. Toronto needed to open a roster spot after this morning’s four-player trade, which sent righty Adam Cimber and outfielder Corey Dickerson from Miami to Toronto in exchange for infielder Joe Panik and minor league right-hander Andrew McInvale.
Bergen, 27, has a pristine 1.69 ERA in 10 2/3 innings this year, but the rest of his numbers don’t paint as rosy a picture. He’s yielded five hits (one homer), walked eight batters and plunked another pair while recording just six strikeouts. Bergen has faced 46 hitters this season and walked or hit 22 percent of them.
This marks the third season in which the left-handed Bergen has logged some Major League time. He’s totaled 38 2/3 frames of MLB work and notched a solid-looking 3.96 ERA, but a 20.9 percent strikeout rate and sky-high 15.6 percent walk rate are both notable red flags.
To his credit, Bergen has been excellent in the minors — when he’s been healthy enough to take the mound. Despite being a 2015 draftee, he’s only totaled 109 1/3 innings of minor league ball. Bergen tossed just five innings after being drafted in 2015 and spent the rest of that season on the injured list. He then had Tommy John surgery in 2016, which limited him to five innings that season and 18 frames in his return effort in 2017.
Bergen worked a healthy and dominant season in 2018, logging 56 1/3 innings with a 0.95 ERA, a 32.0 percent strikeout rate and a 6.5 percent walk rate between the Jays’ Class-A Advanced and Double-A affiliates. Toronto still left him off the 40-man roster, and the Giants took him in that December’s Rule 5 Draft. Bergen’s Rule 5 status in 2019 further limited his innings, and San Francisco eventually returned him to the Jays in August — shortly before the minor league season ended.
There were, of course, no minor league games for Bergen to work in 2020. He spent the summer at the Jays’ alternate training site before being traded to Arizona in return for Robbie Ray. The D-backs designated him for assignment over the winter — the trade of Ray was more about dumping the remainder of his salary at a time when he was struggling badly and had little trade value — and the Jays reacquired him for cash.
The end result of all this is a pitcher who, despite being six-plus years removed from his draft date, has just 148 professional innings under his belt. Bergen has a 1.81 ERA and 31.1 percent strikeout rate in the minors, but he’s also set to turn 28 in October and has far less experience than most in his situation would. That said, based on the minor league numbers and the fact that he has multiple minor league options remaining, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see another club take a chance on Bergen — even with the spotty command and lack of experience. The Jays will have a week to trade him or try to pass him through outright waivers.
AL East Notes: Mancini, Kirk, Anderson, McKay, Kluber
In a bit of good news for Orioles‘ fans, Trey Mancini will participate in this year’s Home Run Derby, per The Athletic’s Dan Connolly (via Twitter). Mancini should provide some feel-good coverage for the 2021 All-Star festivities. Having missed last season while being treated for stage 3 colon cancer, Mancini has returned to lead the Orioles with a .260/.337/.466 triple-slash line with 14 home runs and 52 runs batted in, good for a 121 wRC+. Let’s check in with the other clubs in the AL East…
- Alejandro Kirk has joined the Blue Jays‘ Triple-A club in Trenton with the possibility of returning from the injured list as early as July 1, per Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet.ca (via Twitter). Kirk must first prove himself ready in Triple-A. After making the team out of spring training, Kirk has been out since May 2nd with a flexor strain. The Jays have also been without starter Danny Jansen for almost three weeks now. Riley Adams, who has three options remaining, will head back to Trenton whenever Kirk is ready.
- Nick Anderson threw his second bullpen session for the Rays, and he appears on track for an August return. per Adam Berry of MLB.com (via Twitter). Anderson’s value as a bullpen ace is well-known after last year’s breakout campaign — 0.55 ERA in 16 1/3 regular-season innings. The Rays leaned hard on Anderson to get them to the World Series: he appeared in both games of the Wild Card sweep of the Blue Jays, two of the five games in their ALDS win over the Yankees, and three more apiece in the ALCS and World Series.
- Brendan McKay is in line for a 30-pitch bullpen soon, Berry also notes, and if that goes well, he’ll start to build his strength up to a starter’s workload. McKay last appeared in competitive action in 2019, when he threw 49 innings at the big-league level with a 5.14 ERA/4.03 FIP.
- The Yankees don’t expect to get Corey Kluber back until August at the earliest, but it could be as late as September, per MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch (via Twitter). Kluber gave the Yankees exactly what they’d hoped in his ten starts: 3.04 ERA/3.77 FIP in 53 1/3 innings. Unfortunately, he also realized their fears when he suffered a shoulder strain that will ultimately knock him out for more than half the year.
MLB Suspends Blue Jays Alek Manoah Five Games For Hitting Maikel Franco With Pitch
TODAY: After starting yesterday, Manoah has dropped his appeal and will begin his suspension. Since the Blue Jays have an off-day Monday, Manoah likely won’t miss a start during his five games off.
JUNE 22: Major League Baseball announced that Blue Jays right-hander Alek Manoah has been suspended for five games and fined an undisclosed amount for “intentionally throwing” at Orioles third baseman Maikel Franco during last Saturday’s start in Baltimore. He is appealing the ban.
After surrendering back-to-back home runs to Ryan Mountcastle and DJ Stewart, Manoah hit Franco on the elbow with a 94 MPH fastball in the fourth inning of Saturday’s game. Franco took exception and jawed at Manoah, leading the benches to empty. Manoah was ejected by first base umpire Jerry Meals.
Additionally, Toronto manager Charlie Montoyo has been suspended for one game as a result of Manoah’s actions. He’ll serve his punishment tonight, sitting out the Jays game against the Marlins.
KBO’s KT Wiz Sign Jared Hoying
The KT Wiz of the Korea Baseball Organization have signed outfielder Jared Hoying to a contract for the rest of the 2021, the team announced (hat tip to reporter Daniel Kim). Hoying elected to become a free agent after the Blue Jays outrighted him off their 40-man roster earlier this week.
Hoying is no stranger to the KBO, as he hit .284/.345/.498 with 52 homers and 50 steals (in 69 chances) over 1249 plate appearances with the Hanwha Eagles from 2018-20. After signing a minor league deal with Toronto in May, he ended up playing in two games for the Jays, representing Hoying’s first MLB action since the 2017 season when he was a member of the Rangers.
Originally a 10th-round pick for the Rangers in the 2010 draft, Hoying hit .220/.262/.288 over 126 PA with Texas in 2016-17, and then spent a bit of time in the Angels organization before signing with the Eagles prior to the 2018 campaign.
AL East Injury Notes: Means, Arroyo, Walls, Borucki
Orioles manager Brandon Hyde told MASNsports.com’s Roch Kubatko and other reporters that John Means is slated to return “at some point right after the All-Star break.” Means hit the 10-day injured list on June 6 due to a shoulder strain, and his timeline wasn’t entirely clear at the time of the placement. For now, Means is able to play catch, and will gradually work his way up to readiness over the next few weeks.
Though it’s good news that a projected return date is in place, the timing confirms that Means won’t be participating in the All-Star Game, and the left-hander certainly looked like a strong candidate for his second All-Star selection based on his first two months of work. A return shortly after the July 12-15 All-Star break would allow time for Means to show that he is healthy for any teams interested in a deal prior to the July 30 trade deadline, though since Means is controlled through the 2024 season, there isn’t any immediate pressure on the Orioles to move Means unless a great offer comes along.
More on other injury situations from around the AL East…
- The Red Sox placed Christian Arroyo on the 10-day IL due to a right knee contusion, with the placement backdated to June 21. Michael Chavis was called up from Triple-A in the corresponding move. Arroyo left Sunday’s game after a collision with teammate Enrique Hernandez, though x-rays were negative on what the club described as a bone bruise in his right shin. Arroyo has hit a solid .264/.324/.432 over 138 plate appearances while getting the bulk of playing time at second base this season, though this is his second trip to the IL, after missing two weeks in May with a hand contusion after being hit by a pitch.
- The Rays placed shortstop Taylor Walls on the 10-day IL (retroactive to June 23) due to right wrist tendinitis, and right-hander Drew Rasmussen has been called up to take Walls’ spot on the active roster. Walls told Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times and other reporters that he received a cortisone shot after trying to play through the injury for around two weeks, and he doesn’t expect to miss time beyond the minimum 10 days. Walls made his MLB debut just over a month ago, and he has posted a respectable 95 OPS+ while hitting .222/.337/.333 over his first 95 big league plate appearances. The Rays have used Walls as their starting shortstop since his promotion, though now that star prospect Wander Franco is on the roster, Franco is likely to get the bulk of time at the position while Walls is out. Given how the Rays mix and match players around the diamond, Walls probably isn’t in danger of getting Wally Pipp’d by Franco, who made his own debut on Tuesday as Tampa’s starting third baseman.
- Ryan Borucki is slated to throw a bullpen session on Friday, Blue Jays manager Charlie Montoyo told Sportsnet’s Arden Zwelling and other reporters. Borucki hasn’t pitched since May 7 due to a left flexor strain, and while the southpaw was tentatively scheduled to return sometime before the end of June, Montoyo didn’t commit to any firmer timeline. “We’ll see how he does….If he throws a good bullpen, then we’ll go from there,” Montoyo said.
Latest On Steven Matz
JUNE 24: Matz has cleared protocols and rejoined the team, Sportsnet.ca’s Arden Zwelling tweets. Matz threw a 60-pitch live BP session today, and he is slated to return to the rotation during the Jays’ series with the Mariners next week (June 29-July 1).
JUNE 15: The Blue Jays announced yesterday that left-hander Steven Matz has tested positive for COVID-19 (via Shi Davidi of Sportsnet). Fortunately, he is asymptomatic, although he’ll still need to isolate for ten days from the date of the test. The team conducted follow-up testing in the wake of Matz’s result but no other players have turned up positive.
Matz was placed on the COVID-19 IL over the weekend when his first test showed an inconclusive result. Acquired from the Mets over the winter, the 30-year-old has gotten off to a decent start with his new team. Matz has tossed 69 2/3 innings of 4.26 ERA/3.77 SIERA ball, a bounce back effort after a disastrous 2020 campaign. It’s not clear who will replace Matz in the rotation while he’s out, although each of Nate Pearson, T.J. Zeuch and Anthony Kay have been starting games at Triple-A Buffalo.
In other Jays news, Scott Mitchell of TSN reports that reliever Julian Merryweather won’t be reinstated from the injured list until late June at the earliest. The fireballing 29-year-old went on the IL with a left oblique strain April 14, so he’s eligible for activation whenever he returns to health. Merryweather was off to a fantastic start to the season, striking out seven of the fourteen batters he faced while holding opponents hitless through 4 1/3 innings.
Nate Pearson Seeking Additional Opinion On Groin Strain
Blue Jays right-hander Nate Pearson was recently placed back on the minor league injured list due to a groin strain — his second IL placement for the injury in 2021. It appears there’s some difficulty in ascertaining the root of the issue, as Jays CEO Mark Shapiro said today on Sportsnet 590 that Pearson is headed for what will be a fourth opinion on the injury (Twitter link via Sportsnet’s Arash Madani).
Pearson, 24, has been one of the prized prospects in the the organization for the past four years. Selected with the No. 28 pick back in 2017, Pearson dominated in 2019 to the point that he was not only considered the Blue Jays’ best pitching prospect, but one of the premier pitching prospects in all of baseball. Baseball America, MLB.com and FanGraphs all listed Pearson as one of the sport’s top ten minor leaguers prior to the 2020 campaign, and he garnered similar fanfare heading into 2021.
Pearson made his big league debut in 2020, firing five shutout innings against the Nationals and flashing a triple-digit heater which he complemented with a plus slider (and less-utilized changeups and curves). Elbow tightness sent him to the injured list just a few starts later, however, and Pearson wound up pitching just 18 innings during his debut campaign as the Jays took a cautious approach with their prized young righty.
Injuries have been a persistent source of frustration for Pearson, though some of his troubles have been rather fluky in nature. He suffered a fractured forearm in his first minor league start of the 2018 season when he was hit by a comeback liner, only to later sustain an oblique strain while rehabbing that injury. That pair of issues limited him to just 1 2/3 innings that season, and it’s now looking as though another set of injuries will significantly hamper his workload in 2021. Pearson has tallied just 27 innings overall so far in 2021.
Another injury-marred season is surely disheartening for Pearson, and it’s also likely thrown a bit of a wrench into the Blue Jays’ expectations. Pearson likely would’ve been on some type of innings limit in 2021, but he still reported to camp seen as an MLB-ready option in the rotation.
Pearson’s injuries and the early struggles of Tanner Roark — which prompted the right-hander’s release — have left the Jays with a rotation that probably doesn’t look quite like they envisioned but has still been solid. Steven Matz is currently out after testing positive for Covid-19, but he’s given the Jays 69 2/3 innings of 4.26 ERA ball. Fellow southpaw Robbie Ray is enjoying an excellent rebound campaign on a one-year deal, while righty Ross Stripling has stepped up as a dependable option. The Jays’ second-ranked pitching prospect, Alek Manoah, has been quite good in three of his five outings since his own MLB debut a month ago.
Combined with top starter Hyun Jin Ryu, the quartet of Matz, Ray, Stripling and Manoah gives the Jays a solid enough starting five for the time being. That said, as is the case with Pearson, Manoah is surely someone whose workload the Blue Jays will want to monitor. Matz threw just 30 2/3 innings last season, while Stripling (49 1/3) and Ray (51 2/3) also had fairly light workloads even by 2020 standards.
The Jays have some depth at the moment. Anthony Kay is starting tonight’s game, and down in Triple-A, the trio of Jacob Waguespack, T.J. Zeuch and Nick Allgeyer has thrown reasonably well. But the Blue Jays are lacking veteran arms with an established track record, making rotation help a logical target as the trade deadline approaches. GM Ross Atkins has already acknowledged a desire to add bullpen help and perhaps a left-handed bat, but the newfound uncertainty surrounding Pearson likely enhances the need for some innings in the rotation as well.
Blue Jays Activate George Springer
The Blue Jays announced that star outfielder George Springer has been reinstated from the injured list before tonight’s game against the Marlins. He’ll get the start in center field, hitting fifth in the order. The team also activated recently-acquired righty Jacob Barnes and optioned first baseman Rowdy Tellez and outfielder Jonathan Davis to Triple-A Buffalo. Additionally, outfielder Jared Hoying has passed through waivers and been sent outright to Buffalo.
Springer returns for the first time since May 2. Toronto’s prized offseason signee missed the first month of the year with a right quad strain. He made his team debut on April 28, appeared in four games, and then reinjured that quad. His second quad strain of the season knocked him out of action for almost seven weeks.
Surely, the Jays and their fans are hoping that today marks a new beginning for Springer. The 31-year-old was one of the sport’s top performers on both sides of the ball throughout his tenure in Houston, inspiring the Jays to hand him a six-year deal over the offseason. He’ll further deepen a Jays lineup that has been one of the league’s best even in spite of his absence. Toronto hitters have a .262/.326/.447 cumulative slash line, the fourth-best mark in the league.
The Jays just selected Hoying to the roster last week. He only appeared in two games, logging three hitless plate appearances, before being removed. Hoying, who played for the Rangers from 2016-17 and had spent the past three seasons in the Korea Baseball Organization, has the right to reject the outright assignment in favor of free agency.
Blue Jays To Sign John Axford
The Blue Jays are in agreement on a contract with reliever John Axford, reports Jamie Campbell of Sportsnet (Twitter link). The 38-year-old hasn’t pitched in the majors since 2018.
Axford is best known for his early-career stint with the Brewers. He pitched to a 3.35 ERA with Milwaukee between 2009-13, compiling an MLB-leading 46 saves in 2011. As he entered his 30’s, the righty became something of a journeyman. He would go on to suit up for the Cardinals, Indians, Pirates, Rockies, A’s, Blue Jays and Dodgers over the next five years.
A Canada native, Axford signed a minors pact with the Jays in 2019 but spent essentially the entire season on the minor league injured list. His hope of a comeback in 2020 was derailed by the pandemic, but he’ll now return to affiliated ball. The Blue Jays relief corps has scuffled in recent weeks, with general manager Ross Atkins telling reporters today that upgrading the bullpen is a priority. Certainly, the Axford signing won’t stop the front office from continuing to hunt for external options, but there’s little risk in adding the veteran to the organization as non-roster depth.
Blue Jays Targeting Bullpen Help, Left-Handed Bat
The Blue Jays are “focused on” upgrading the relief corps, general manager Ross Atkins told reporters (including Keegan Matheson of MLB.com). Presumably, that’ll involve acquiring some help from outside the organization, but rival clubs have set high asking prices on potential trade candidates to this point, reports Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet.
On the whole, the Toronto relief unit hasn’t fared all that poorly. Jays relievers have posted middle-of-the-road numbers (3.94 ERA, 24.9% strikeout rate, 10.8% walk rate, 3.98 SIERA) over the course of the season. They’ve fallen on harder times recently, though, pitching to just a 5.25 ERA/4.89 FIP since the start of June. Only Jordan Romano and Trent Thornton have backed up strong run prevention numbers with quality peripherals all year. The Jays did just acquire Jacob Barnes from the Mets, but he’s amidst a poor season of his own, so there’s surely room for further additions.
As always, there are a few quality relievers who figure to be available in advance of the July 30 trade deadline. Pirates closer Richard Rodríguez and Orioles southpaw Paul Fry are each having good years. Cole Sulser, Ian Kennedy, José Cisnero, Michael Fulmer, John Curtiss and Mychal Givens (currently on the 10-day IL) are among the other relievers performing well for non-contenders.
There’s also some chance of the Jays deepening the bullpen with internal options. Atkins didn’t rule out the possibility of Nate Pearson and Tom Hatch, both of whom are working out the rotation at Triple-A Buffalo, being recalled to pitch in relief capacities. The GM also suggested (via Matheson) the Jays could welcome back Ryan Borucki and Julian Merryweather from the injured list in the coming weeks. Borucki is expected back sometime around the end of the month, per Atkins, with Merryweather looking at a potential return in early July.
While the pitching staff looks to be the top priority for the 35-35 Jays, the front office is also looking for ways to add to the offense. Toronto is seeking another left-handed bat, according to Nicholson-Smith, who reports they were interested in first baseman Mike Ford before the Yankees traded him to the Rays this week. Toronto’s incumbent lefty first baseman/DH, Rowdy Tellez, has struggled to a .209/.272/.338 slash line across 151 plate appearances.