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Blue Jays Reportedly Considering Trevor Williams, Chad Kuhl

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The Blue Jays picked up another victory Monday, defeating the Rays by a 6-4 count to improve to 14-13 at almost the halfway point of the season. Few expected the Blue Jays to push for a playoff spot this season, but they’re a mere two games back of wild-card position in the American League. With the trade deadline just a week away, Toronto could wind up as a buyer. Indeed, general manager Ross Atkins said last week that the Jays are aiming to improve their rotation, and Jon Morosi of MLB.com reports that the team’s “considering” a pair of Pirates right-handers in Trevor Williams and Chad Kuhl.

Toronto’s rotation has taken multiple hits in recent days, as Nate Pearson, Matt Shoemaker and Trent Thornton have gone on the injured list. As a result, Hyun Jin Ryu, Tanner Roark and Chase Anderson are the only sure things in the club’s rotation, though Ryu’s the lone member of the trio who has offered a blend of strong bottom-line production and encouraging peripherals so far this season.

In Williams or Kuhl, the Blue Jays would land a hurler capable of contributing to their rotation beyond this season. Both are controllable for multiple years, but Williams is the more proven of the pair. The 28-year-old was a solid starter for the Pirates from 2017-18 before falling off last year, when he logged 145 2/3 innings of 5.38 ERA/5.12 FIP ball, but seems to be amid a rebound campaign. Williams has made five starts in 2020 and posted 24 1/3 innings of 3.70 ERA/4.21 FIP ball with 8.51 K/9 and 2.96 BB/9. He’s on a prorated $2.825MM salary this year and has another two arbitration-eligible seasons remaining.

Kuhl also has two arb years left after 2020, though he’s currently earning a less expensive salary than Williams (a prorated $840K). The 27-year-old is off to a decent start this season after missing all of 2019 as a result of Tommy John surgery. Kuhl has made five appearances (three starts) in the early going, averaged upward of 94 mph on his fastball and registered a 2.84 ERA/4.98 FIP with 9.0 K/9 and 3.32 BB/9 over 19 innings.

Neither Williams nor Kuhl would command a haul for the Pirates, who are well out of playoff contention. As Morosi notes, though, the Blue Jays could make for a logical trade partner because of the familiarity first-year Bucs general manager Ben Cherington has with Toronto’s farm system. Before taking over the Pirates, Cherington was a promiment part of the Jays’ front office.

Blue Jays Put Thornton On IL, Select Bergen, Designate Pannone

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The Blue Jays have placed right-hander Trent Thornton on the injured list and selected the contract of lefty Travis Bergen to the Major League roster in his place, the team announced. In order to open a spot for Bergen on the 40-man roster, the Jays have designated left-hander Thomas Pannone for assignment.

Thornton’s injury is the latest in a mounting series of pitching ailments for the Jays. He joins Ken Giles, Nate Pearson and Matt Shoemaker among the notable names on the injured list for Toronto (in addition to star shortstop Bo Bichette). There’s no immediate timetable on Thornton’s return, but he lasted just one inning in this weekend’s spot start. Meanwhile, manager Charlie Montoyo tells reporters that Shoemaker is dealing with a lat strain and is considered “week to week” at this point (Twitter link via Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet).

Bergen, 26, will be making his Jays debut when he first takes the hill. The southpaw was the team’s seventh-round pick back in 2015 but spent much of last season with the Giants after being selected in the 2018 Rule 5 Draft. Bergen didn’t get the full year he needed to stick with the Giants, however, as San Francisco returned him to the Jays last August following an IL stint due to a shoulder strain. Bergen pitched just 19 2/3 innings with the Giants and stumbled in that time: 12 runs on 18 hits, nine walks and a hit batter with 18 strikeouts (5.49 ERA).

Bergen has excellent when healthy in the minors, pitching to a 1.69 ERA across five levels. However, because he spent most of last season with the Giants’ MLB roster, has not pitched in a game this year in the absence of a minor league season and spent time on the IL in both 2016 and 2017, Bergen has just 106 2/3 total minor league innings under his belt.

Pannone, also 26, came to the Blue Jays in the 2017 trade that sent righty Joe Smith to Cleveland. He’s pitched 116 innings in the big leagues but has just a 5.43 ERA and 5.14 FIP to show for it, with averages of 7.6 K/9 against 3.6 BB/9. He’s worked mostly as a starter in the minors and has a decent track record in both Double-A and Triple-A. Pannone will be out of options next spring but can be optioned freely for the rest of the 2020 season, so a club in need of some flexible rotation/bullpen depth — e.g. the Mets, who play six games in nine days beginning tomorrow — could conceivably take a look.

Blue Jays Acquire Daniel Vogelbach

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The Blue Jays have acquired first baseman Daniel Vogelbach from the Mariners in exchange for cash considerations, both teams announced.  Vogelbach was designated for assignment earlier this week following an .094/.250/.225 slash line over his first 64 plate appearances of the 2020 season.

It was a little over a year ago that Vogelbach was enjoying a selection to the All-Star Game and seemingly cementing his claim as the Mariners’ first baseman/DH of the future.  A red-hot start to the 2019 season was followed by a steep decline, however, as Vogelbach hit only .162/.297/.344 over his final 310 plate appearances.

A second-round pick for the Cubs in the 2011 draft, Vogelbach was a blocked prospect behind Anthony Rizzo in Chicago, and he was sent to the M’s as part of the July 2016 trade that brought Mike Montgomery to the Cubs.  Seattle had hopes that Vogelbach would build on his impressive minor league numbers and become a power bat at the MLB level, though that breakout just hasn’t come, as he has a .196/.326/.397 career slash line over 768 PA and has particularly struggled (career .547 OPS) against left-handed pitching.

It’s probably safe to assume that Toronto didn’t surrender much cash in the trade, making this a pretty low-risk acquisition for the Jays.  Still, Vogelbach’s addition gives the club a third player (beyond Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Rowdy Tellez) who can play only first base or DH, plus Vogelbach and Tellez are both left-handed bats.  It doesn’t make for much of an obvious fit, unless the Blue Jays simply want to have some extra depth for the bench or even down at their alternate training site.

Blue Jays Place Matt Shoemaker On 10-Day IL

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The Blue Jays have placed right-hander Matt Shoemaker on the 10-day injured list due to shoulder inflammation, the club announced.  Righty Jacob Waguespack was recalled from the club’s alternate training site to take Shoemaker’s spot on the active roster.

Shoemaker has a 4.91 ERA, 3.57 K/BB, and 8.8 K/9 over 25 2/3 innings this season.  An ugly 2.8 HR/9 is responsible for much of that ERA, as Shoemaker has allowed a league-leading eight home runs.  While the performance has been a little shaky thus far, Shoemaker had at least been a somewhat reliable source of innings for a Jays team that hasn’t had much consistency from its rotation.

If the losses of Shoemaker and star prospect Nate Pearson weren’t enough for Toronto, Trent Thornton lasted only an inning in today’s 5-4 loss to the Rays due to his own case of right elbow inflammation.  This was the same injury that put Thornton on the IL earlier this month, and while there hasn’t yet been any word on his status, it seems likely that Thornton might again be sidelined so he can get fully healthy.

Hyun Jin Ryu, Tanner Roark, and Chase Anderson now stand as the only three healthy options in the Blue Jays rotation, though Anderson is being brought along slowly after he missed several weeks recovering from an oblique injury.  Waguespack and Anthony Kay are among the candidates to fill in as starters, Jays manager Charlie Montoyo told Sportsnet’s Ben Nicholson-Smith and other reporters, though naturally moving them into starting roles will also lessen a Toronto bullpen that has seen a lot of work this season.  As Nicholson-Smith noted, the recent pitching injuries will only intensify the club’s already-stated desire to acquire more arms by the trade deadline.

Blue Jays Looking For Rotation Upgrades

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The Blue Jays might’ve looked like a potential deadline seller just one week ago, but they’ve rattled off five straight wins to boost their record to 12-11. That, Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet writes, has them back in the playoff picture and thinking about ways to add to the club with the Aug. 31 trade deadline looming. Specifically, general manager Ross Atkins cites starting pitching as an area of focus.

It’s been a rather inauspicious start to the year for the Toronto rotation, which ranks 19th in the Majors in ERA (4.93), 26th in FIP (5.34) and 24th in xFIP (4.84). Further complicating matters is the fact that prized pitching prospect Nate Pearson just landed on the injured list due to tightness in his right elbow after a pair of rough starts.

Lefty Hyun-Jin Ryu has been a solid presence atop the starting staff, giving the Jays five starts and a 3.46 ERA with terrific K/BB and ground-ball numbers. Beyond that, however, it’s been a struggle. Fellow winter signee Tanner Roark has battled uncharacteristic control issues and run up an ERA of 4.76. Pearson’s last two starts were ugly, and Matt Shoemaker has not at all resembled the 2019 form he showed prior to sustaining an ACL tear. Chase Anderson has been limited by an oblique strain and is still building up his workload (though he’s pitched well through 9 2/3 frames).

There’s some depth beyond that group down at the alternate training site, but none of Sean Reid-Foley, T.J. Zeuch or Sam Gaviglio can necessarily be relied upon to stabilize the rotation. The Jays plan to utilize left-hander Ryan Borucki as a reliever for the foreseeable future, per Atkins, which only further limits their in-house options.

The expanded postseason field might drive down the number of motivated sellers, but that should also drive up the number of buyers and create a market for the interesting arms that are out there. Lance Lynn, Mike Minor, Taijuan Walker, Kevin Gausman, Johnny Cueto, Alex Cobb and perhaps Dylan Bundy (among others) could all draw varying levels of interest this year. Nicholson-Smith reports that Gausman was of interest to the Jays before he signed with the Giants this winter.

Given the big-picture status of the Blue Jays — a young club just now beginning to emerge from a rebuilding effort — it’s unlikely that they’d part with anything of particular significance for a short-term piece. It stands to reason that they’d be interested in low-cost rentals or in arms they could control beyond the 2020 season. The rental market, in general, seems unlikely to yield any major returns, given that acquiring teams would only be picking up a month or less in terms of regular-season control over said player (plus any possible postseason contributions).

Atkins also discusses the team’s defensive outlook, his thoughts on Teoscar Hernandez’s upside, Borucki’s future role and several other topics in a broad-reaching piece that Jays fans will want to take in. Nicholson-Smith also suggests that a bench bat with some pop could be a potential target for the Jays, which opens no shortage of additional possibilities as the deadline looms.

As noted earlier when looking at the D-backs’ hunt for bullpen pieces, it’s worth pointing out that any current fringe contender is, to a degree, at the mercy of their next week’s results. A substantial losing streak or additional key injuries could tamp down the motivation to make a win-now trade or even swing the pendulum in the other direction. One could also argue that that reality only increases the urgency to make a move proactively, but recent history suggests that today’s breed of front office will wait until closer to the deadline to gather more information before making a rash move. Perhaps that trend will be bucked in this atypical 2020 campaign, but we’ve yet to see a notable swap throughout the league.

Blue Jays Designate Anthony Alford

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The Blue Jays have designated outfielder Anthony Alford for assignment, per Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet.

A former football standout, Alford joined the Blue Jays as a third-round pick in 2012 and became a prospect of note across the majors within a few years. He ranked as a top 100 farmhand in each year from 2016-18, owing in part to impressive production at the minors’ lower levels. In the last of those years, Baseball America wrote that Alford’s “ability to get on base and play plus defense at a premium position give him the potential to be an above-average regular.”

Despite the promise he showed in his younger days, MLB opportunities have been hard to come by for the 26-year-old Alford. So far, he has amassed just 75 big league plate appearances, including 16 this season, and batted .155/.200/.254 (18 wRC+) with two home runs, five steals and a 40 percent strikeout rate. Meanwhile, Alford’s numbers have been uninspiring in Triple-A, where he has taken 749 plate appearances and hit .250/.326/.374 with 12 homers and 39 steals on 54 attempts.

Toronto will now have a week to trade, release or pass Alford through waivers. Alford has no minor league options remaining, so any team that acquires him would have to sneak him through waivers if it were to send him to its alternate site.

Nate Pearson Undergoes MRI For Elbow Injury

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Aug. 20: Pearson underwent an MRI, general manager Ross Atkins tells reporters (Twitter link via Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet). The team is “not initially overly concerned,” per Atkins. They’ll get official results and provide additional information later today.

Aug. 19: In an ominous bit of injury news, the Blue Jays have placed top pitching prospect Nate Pearson on the 10-day injured list due to “tightness” in his right elbow, manager Charlie Montoyo tells reporters (Twitter link via Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet). Pearson, who alerted the Jays to some discomfort following last night’s start, is being sent for some testing but did say he’s feeling better this morning.

Lauded as one of the game’s top 10 overall prospects entering the year, Pearson’s debut effort was excellent. The righty flashed a power fastball and hurled five shutout frames against the Nationals, punching out five batters along the way. Things have been rough since that time, though, particularly in his two most recent outings. Pearson has yielded a dozen earned runs with more walks (10) than strikeouts (9) in 11 1/3 frames — all while serving up a whopping five long balls. Pearson seemed to avoid his fastball last night, throwing it just 40 percent of the time after leaning on it at a 53 percent clip through his first three outings.

The hope for both the Jays and baseball fans in general, of course, is that Pearson is dealing with a minor ailment and can quickly bounce back to health. He’s missed time as a prospect, but never due to elbow or shoulder woes. (An intercostal strain and fractured forearm have previously suppressed his workloads.) Scouts seem to agree that the 23-year-old Pearson carries legitimate top-of-the-rotation talent, and he’s viewed as a critical core component for an up-and-coming Jays club.

For the time being, Jacob Waguespack is up from the alternate training site to take Pearson’s spot on the roster. The Jays are will also activate righty Trent Thornton off the injured list to make a start in tomorrow’s doubleheader. That pair gives the team some rotation depth, and the Jays also have Sean Reid-Foley, T.J. Zeuch, Thomas Pannone and Sam Gaviglio at their alternate site.

Bo Bichette Lands On 10-Day IL With Knee Sprain

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AUG. 17: The second opinion on Bichette revealed a Grade 1 LCL sprain, Davidi tweets. It’s a “minor” injury that won’t have a long-term effect, per Davidi, but there’s no word on when Bichette will return.

AUG. 16, 8:57pm: Bichette’s injury is a “low-grade” sprain, and he is getting a second opinion on the injury, Sportsnet.ca’s Shi Davidi reports (Twitter links).  The fact that Bichette is getting a second opinion could tie into an earlier report from the Toronto Sun’s Rob Longley, who hears from a source that Bichette could be out until the middle of September.  More will be known tomorrow, Davidi notes, once a specialist views Bichette’s MRI results.

2:45pm: The Blue Jays have placed Bichette on the 10-day injured list with a right knee sprain, according to Scott Mitchell of TSN. Santiago Espinal was recalled to replace him on the active roster. Beyond the 10 days he’ll spend on the IL, a timetable for Bichette’s return is not yet known.

10:51am: Blue Jays prized shortstop Bo Bichette is headed for an MRI on his right knee, manager Charlie Montoyo announced to reporters (including Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet). He reported some discomfort following last night’s game against the Rays, relays Scott Mitchell of TSN (Twitter link).

There’s no indication the situation’s particularly worrisome just yet. Any absence from Bichette, though, would be a serious blow to the 7-9 Jays’ hopes of contending. Despite the team’s lackluster start, the 22-year-old Bichette has come out on fire. He’s hitting .356/.387/.678 with five home runs over his first 62 plate appearances. In the early going, he’s significantly upped his contact rate while cutting down on strikeouts. Bichette’s seemingly well on his way to the stardom he’s appeared ticketed for since emerging as an elite prospect early in his pro career.

If Bichette were to miss time, the Jays figure to turn to Joe Panik and/or Santiago Espinal at shortstop. Veteran Rubén Tejada is also in the organization’s player pool, but he’s not on the 40-man roster.

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. 

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