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Wilmer Font Elects Free Agency

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Sept. 29: Font rejected the outright assignment in favor of free agency, tweets Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet. He’d have had the right to do so after the postseason anyhow, barring a surprise addition back onto the roster.

Sept. 28: Blue Jays righty Wilmer Font cleared waivers and was outrighted off the 40-man roster, per the transactions log at MLB.com. Font remains in the club’s 60-man player pool, however, and because he was on the team’s initially listed playoff player pool, he’d be eligible to pitch in the postseason should injuries prompt a need to select him back to the 40-man roster. That’s assuming Font accepts the outright assignment, of course. He does have the right to reject the assignment both by virtue of service time (three-plus years) and having previously been outrighted (back in 2014).

Font, 30, has pitched for five different clubs over the past three seasons, seeing time with each of the Dodgers, Athletics, Mets, Rays and Blue Jays while bouncing around the DFA circuit. He spent all of 2020 with the Jays but was tagged for 18 earned run in just 16 1/3 innings. Eight of those earned runs came in a pair of four-run meltdowns, but Font wasn’t exactly reliable even setting those two drubbings aside. He made 21 relief appearances this season, only three lasting more than an inning, and surrendered runs in nine of them.

Font has above-average velocity and solid spin rates on his heater and hook, all of which has contributed to five clubs rolling the dice on him since 2018 despite a lack of consistent success. Font did notch a sub-2.00 ERA in 27 frames with the 2018 Rays, but he struggled through 14 innings with Tampa Bay the next season before being cut loose. Overall, he’s pitched 151 2/3 innings in the big leagues but has just a 5.82 ERA and 5.41 FIP to show for his efforts.

MLB Finalizes 16-Team Playoff Bracket

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With a hectic final day of play in the books, the 2020 playoff field is officially set – which visual learners can view here from MLB Network. The defending World Series champion Nationals and their newly-crowned batting champion Juan Soto will watch from home.  The Mets and Phillies turned in disappointing seasons, while the Marlins stunned their NL East counterparts to enter the postseason as the #6 seed in the National League. The Braves weathered a line change in their starting rotation to win their third consecutive NL East title.

Elsewhere in the National League, Dodgers are the team to beat, while the Padres are the team to watch. The Rockies and Diamondbacks will face some hard questions in the offseason after disappointing years, while the Giants exceeded expectations but narrowly missed the postseason.

The Central makes up half the playoff field in the National League with everyone but the Pirates continuing into MLB’s second season. The Cubs took home their third division title in five seasons behind stellar years from Yu Darvish and Kyle Hendricks, but it was a difficult season for many of their core offensive players. They were also the only team in the majors to go the entire season without a single player testing positive for COVID-19, per NBC Sports Chicago and others. The Cardinals will be the #5 seed after playing two fewer games than the rest of the league, Trevor Bauer led the Reds back to the postseason by winning the NL ERA title (in a free agent year no less), and the Brewers backed into the NL’s #8 seed without ever being above .500 in 2020.

In the American League, small markets had themselves a year. The A’s took the AL West back from the defending AL champion Astros. Speaking of, Houston finished a tumultuous year without their ace Justin Verlander. Manager Dusty Baker will lead his fifth different team to the postseason, this one joining the Brewers as one of two under-.500 teams to reach the postseason. The Angels will reboot after firing their GM earlier today, while the Rangers and Mariners continue their rebuilds.

The Rays, meanwhile, won the AL East for the first time in a decade and they’re the top seed in the American League. The Yankees settle for second place and the Blue Jays arrive to the postseason a little earlier than expected as the AL’s #8 seed. The Red Sox took an expected step back, while the Orioles performed better than expected, staying in the playoff hunt for most of the season.

The Twins lost in extras today, but they nonetheless secured their second consecutive AL Central title. Shane Bieber put up a potentially MVP season to get the Indians back to the playoffs. The White Sox arrived in a major way led by Tim Anderson and Jose Abreu. Only a late season slide kept them from a division crown. They’ll head to Oakland as the #7 seed. The Tigers debuted a number of players they hope will be a part of their next competitive team, while the Royals said goodbye to a franchise icon in Alex Gordon’s final season.

It was a short and bizarre season, but the playoffs – while expanded – aren’t going to be all that different from most years. There will be neutral sites and a wild card round of 3-game series, and playoff bubbles, but once the field is pared down to eight, it’s more or less business as usual for the postseason. It should be an exciting month of October.

Here’s the final field of 16:

National League

(8) Brewers at (1) Dodgers

(5) Cardinals at (4) Padres

(6) Marlins at (3) Cubs

(7) Reds at (2) Braves

American League

(8) Blue Jays at (1) Rays

(5) Yankees at (4) Indians

(6) Astros at (3) Twins

(7) White Sox at (2) A’s

The playoffs begin on Tuesday, September 29.

AL Notes: Eloy, Royals, Tigers, Rangers, Rowdy

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White Sox left fielder Eloy Jimenez suffered a mid-foot sprain on Thursday, and the club doesn’t expect to have him for its season-ending series against the Cubs, manager Rick Renteria told Scott Merkin of MLB.com and other reporters. It’s unknown whether an early playoff return is in jeopardy for Jimenez, who has helped the White Sox to a 34-23 record and a postseason berth with his stellar offensive output. The 23-year-old’s regular season concluded with a .296/.332/.559 line and 14 home runs in 226 trips to the plate.

  • The Royals have placed reliever Greg Holland and outfielder Jorge Soler on the 10-day injured list with oblique strains, per a team announcement. They reinstated reliever Ian Kennedy from the IL and recalled first baseman/outfielder Ryan McBroom in corresponding transactions. The season’s now officially over for Holland, who enjoyed a major bounce-back year in his return to KC after signing a minor league deal in the offseason, as well as Soler. A 48-home run hitter a season ago, Soler totaled eight in 173 plate appearances this year and finished with a .228/.326/.443 line. He’ll be eligible for arbitration for the final time during the offseason.
  • Tigers third baseman Jeimer Candelario is done for the year, as the club announced that it has placed him on the 10-day IL with a low back strain. Candelario, whom the Tigers acquired from the Cubs in 2017, made notable strides in 2020. The switch-hitting 26-year-old significantly upped his hard-contact rate en route to a .297/.369/.503 mark and seven homers in 206 PA. He leads all Tigers in fWAR with 1.6.
  • The Rangers will be looking for starters in the offseason, especially if they trade Lance Lynn, but it doesn’t appear reliever Jonathan Hernandez will fill any voids in their rotation in 2021. Hernandez informed the Rangers that he’d rather stay in the bullpen next year than transition to a starting role, TR Sullivan of MLB.com tweets. The rookie Hernandez has been one of the main bright spots this season for Texas, with which the 24-year-old has posted a 2.51 ERA/2.49 FIP and registered 9.42 K/9 against 1.57 BB/9 across 28 2/3 innings. Hernandez has averaged almost 98 mph on his fastball along the way.
  • The Blue Jays don’t expect first baseman/designated hitter Rowdy Tellez to be ready for the wild-card playoff round, GM Ross Atkins told Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet and other reporters. Tellez has been on the IL with a right knee strain since Sept. 9. He put up a career-best .283/.346/.540 line with eight homers in 127 plate appearances before then.

Blue Jays Activate Nate Pearson, Designate Wilmer Font

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5:16pm: Toronto has designated Font for assignment, Nicholson-Smith tweets.

3:39pm: The Blue Jays are activating right-hander Nate Pearson from the 10-day injured list and removing fellow righty Wilmer Font from their roster, Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet was among those to report. It’s not clear what the Blue Jays will do with Font, but he’s out of minor league options, so they can’t send him down without possibly losing him.

Pearson, one of the game’s elite pitching prospects, hasn’t taken the mound since Aug. 18 because of elbow tightness. It’s obviously a relief for him and the team that he’s ready to return just over a month after that, as elbow problems often lead to far longer absences.

The 24-year-old Pearson made four appearances, all starts, for Toronto before going on the IL, but the club’s set to break him back in as a reliever, per Nicholson-Smith. Despite averaging 96.1 mph on his fastball, Pearson has struggled to a 6.51 ERA/7.65 FIP with 7.71 K/9 and 6.61 BB/9 in 16 1/3 innings this season.

Font, 30, has been a liability for Toronto in 16 1/3 innings this year. He owns a bloated 9.77 ERA (with a much more palatable 4.77 FIP) and 8.27 K/9 against 4.96 BB/9. Font has been victimized by a .448 batting average on balls in play against, though he also ranks toward the bottom of the league in several important Statcast categories.

Blue Jays Pitching Updates: Shoemaker, Pearson, Romano

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After a rough three-game sweep at the hands of the Yankees, the Toronto Blue Jays have lost six in a row and fallen into the final qualifying wild card spot in the American League. Now trailing the Yankees by 5 games for second place, the Toronto/Buffalo Blue Jays are pretty well locked into their current spot in the standings, with Fangraphs giving them a 0.9% chance to re-take 2nd place from the Yankees, but a 91.5% chance to hold off the Mariners, Angels, and Tigers for the final playoff spot in the American League postseason bracket. Though they share a record with the Astros, Houston should secure 2nd place in the AL West. The Indians are currently the other wild card team, and they hold a 2 game lead over the Blue Jays with 8 games remaining.

That sets up Toronto for a first-round, 3-game series with the Rays, White Sox, or A’s, with Tampa holding the top spot if the season ended this minute. Hyun Jin Ryu would figure to start the first game of any playoff series, but the rest of the rotation is open to interpretation. With improving health, however, the Jays are on the cusp of adding a few more options to the stable.

Matt Shoemaker has thrown upwards of 60 pitches while preparing to return to the team, which he could do any day now, per Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet.ca (via Twitter). Shoemaker has 5 starts under his belt in 2020 with an average of just over 5 innings per start and a 4.91 ERA/6.11 FIP. 8.8 K/9 is a strong mark for Shoemaker, but he’s been doomed by the long ball with 2.8 HR/9. In terms of the playoffs, Shoemaker’s role is up in the air, but he’ll return to the rotation to make a start against the Yankees on Monday, per Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca.

The Blue Jays remain hopeful that hard-throwing right-hander Nate Pearson will return before the end of the season as well. Should he return, the Jays will use him for 1 to 2 innings at a time, presumably because there’s not enough time to work him back to full-strength before the playoffs. Pitching Coach Pete Walker reports a return to normal velocity levels for Pearson, per Nicholson-Smith, who suggests Pearson could work in relief to Tom Hatch or Julian Merryweather.

Regardless, the Blue Jays look as though they’ll be piecing together the rotation game-by-game following Ryu. Given their heavy reliance on the pen, a return from Jordan Romano will certainly help. Romano should throw off a mound shortly, and the Blue Jays are hopeful to see him back in their bullpen for the playoffs, per Nicholson-Smith. Romano, 27, enjoyed a breakout 15 appearances before hitting the injured list with a right middle finger strain. He’s been worth 1.1 rWAR with a 1.23 ERA/3.12 FIP and 12.9 K/9 to 3.1 BB/9 while picking up 2 saves and 5 holds.

AL Injury Notes: Osuna, Cruz, Mariners, Guerrero, Iglesias

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Some injury notes from around the American League:

  • Astros’ closer Roberto Osuna has progressed to throwing, per GM James Click (via Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle). Osuna was seemingly ticketed for a Tommy John surgery after going down with an elbow injury earlier, although the reliever instead elected to rehab and attempt to return this season. The likelihood of that happening isn’t clear, but it’s generally encouraging to hear that he’s throwing again.
  • Twins’ DH Nelson Cruz was scratched from today’s lineup against the Cubs. He’s dealing with right knee soreness, per various reporters (including Do-Hyoung Park of MLB.com). Eddie Rosario, who was initially slated to start in left field, got to DH instead, with LaMonte Wade, Jr. taking over in left. Cruz has again been among MLB’s best hitters, slashing .314/.403/.623 over 201 plate appearances.
  • A pair of Mariners are unsurprisingly out for the season, per Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times (Twitter links). Catcher Tom Murphy has been shut down; he’ll miss the entire year due to a fractured metatarsal in his left foot. Outfielder Mitch Haniger continues to build up strength and endurance but hasn’t yet begun baseball activities, per Divish. Like Murphy, Haniger missed all of 2020.
  • The Blue Jays held Vladimir Guerrero, Jr. out of today’s lineup as a precaution, per Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet (via Twitter). The young first baseman felt “a little dizzy” after being hit by a pitch in the helmet last night, per Nicholson-Smith. The Jays can afford to slow play things with Guerrero, as they sit four games up on Seattle for the final playoff spot in the American League.
  • Orioles’ shortstop José Iglesias left tonight’s game after getting hit on the left hand by a Charlie Morton pitch, relays Jon Meoli of the Baltimore Sun (Twitter link). Pat Valaika stepped in at short in his stead. The 30-year-old Iglesias, a longtime defensive stalwart, has been stellar when healthy for Baltimore, hitting .377/.406/.515 in 139 plate appearances. He has been diagnosed a left wrist contusion, per Roch Kubtako of MASNsports.com (Twitter link).

Blue Jays Place Ken Giles On IL, Activate Teoscar Hernandez

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Blue Jays reliever Ken Giles has returned to the 10-day injured list with a right forearm strain, Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet reports. The team also placed outfielder Derek Fisher on the IL with a knee issue, optioned lefty Anthony Kay, activated outfielder Teoscar Hernandez, and recalled righties Jacob Waguespack and Hector Perez.

It’s an alarming situation for Giles, whom arm injuries have weighed down dating back to 2019. He was enjoying an all-world campaign last year before elbow troubles shelved him and prevented the Blue Jays from dealing him before the trade deadline. Giles came back healthy this year, but after making two appearances at the beginning of the campaign, he sat from late July until Sept. 11. The 29-year-old struggled in the two outings sandwiched between IL stints, and has given up four earned runs in 3 2/3 frames this season.

Giles’ season could be over at this point, though he may have a chance to return if the Blue Jays qualify for the playoffs. For now, though, his loss is a blow to their bullpen and potentially to his bank account. As a pending free agent, Giles could have been in for a sizable contract had he been healthy and effective this season. That could still prove to be the case when the offseason rolls around, but Giles’ value certainly hasn’t risen in 2020.

The good news for Toronto is that it’s getting back Hernandez, who was among the league’s top hitters before he went on the IL on Sept. 7 with a left oblique strain. So far, Hernandez has slashed .308/.358/.637 with 14 home runs in 159 plate appearances.

Reds Acquire Justin Miller From Blue Jays

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The Reds have acquired right-handed reliever Justin Miller from the Blue Jays for an undisclosed amount of international spending space, Shi Davidi of Sportsnet reports.

Miller, whom the Blue Jays signed to a minor league contract last winter, had been at their alternate training site. The former Tiger, Rockie and National, 33, has recorded a 4.43 ERA/4.35 FIP with 9.15 K/9 and 3.11 BB/9 over 156 1/3 innings in the majors. He most recently tossed 15 2/3 frames as a Nat in 2019 and logged a 4.02 ERA (with a disastrous 7.11 FIP), posted 6.11 K/9 and 2.3 BB/9, and registered a career-worst 19.1 percent groundball rate.

Minor MLB Transactions: 9/15/20

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The latest minor moves from around baseball….

  • The Blue Jays outrighted catcher Caleb Joseph to their taxi squad after he cleared waivers, Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet tweets. The club designated Joseph for assignment on Sept. 11 and replaced him on its roster with young catcher Alejandro Kirk. The 34-year-old Joseph has taken only nine trips to the plate with the Blue Jays this season, and as a .223/.270/.351 hitter in 1,367 PA, the former Oriole and Diamondback hasn’t posed much of a threat on offense since he debuted in 2014.

Earlier moves:

  • The Indians outrighted Dominic Leone off their 40-man roster after the right-hander cleared waivers, and the team announced that Leone has reported to its alternate training site.  Leone was designated for assignment earlier this week.  The veteran reliever struggled to an 8.38 ERA over 9 2/3 innings for the Tribe this season, allowing three home runs (for a 2.8 HR/9) over that brief span.  While six of Leone’s nine runs allowed came over two disastrous outings against the Royals and Tigers, Leone wasn’t exactly solid otherwise, as he allowed at least one baserunner in all but two of his 12 appearances.  On the plus side, Leone did record 16 strikeouts over his 9 2/3 frames.

Injury Notes: Piscotty, Blue Jays, Dean, Pirates

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Injuries continue to mount for the Athletics, who could now face an absence for right fielder Stephen Piscotty. Per Shayna Rubin of the San Jose Mercury News, manager Bob Melvin revealed after Game 1 of yesterday’s doubleheader that Piscotty suffered a knee sprain when leaping in an attempt to rob a Jose Marmolejos home run. Piscotty will be further evaluated today, but Melvin added that Piscotty “had a pop” when he jumped. The 29-year-old Piscotty’s bat has gone cold this month, but he was one of Oakland’s best hitters in August, when he posted a .289/.323/.511 slash with five homers and five doubles on the month. His recent slump has dropped his season slash to .248/.289/.406, however. Mark Canha, who has already been spending time in right field, would likely be in line for more playing time should Piscotty require an IL stint.

A few more injury notes from around the game…

  • Blue Jays righties Nate Pearson and Matt Shoemaker will throw live batting practice this week and could return to the roster before season’s end, writes Sportsnet’s Ben Nicholson-Smith. Neither can be expected to build back up to a full starter’s workload at this point, however, so their likeliest roles would be shorter stints out of the ’pen. Putting Pearson in a short, multi-inning relief role or even an inning-at-a-time relief role would give Toronto a potentially formidable postseason weapon if he is indeed able to make it back from his current flexor strain. Shoemaker, meanwhile, is working back from shoulder inflammation that has sidelined him since Aug. 23.
  • The Cardinals placed outfielder Austin Dean on the 10-day injured list due to a right elbow strain, per a club announcement. His injury comes just three days after returning from the Covid-19 injured list. The three games in which the 26-year-old Dean were his only appearances on the season. He went 1-for-4 with a double and three walks in that short time. Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch writes that Dean might have avoided the IL were the club not pressed for bullpen arms, so it seems there’s a chance Dean will return before season’s end. Acquired in a January trade with the Marlins, Dean hasn’t yet had the opportunity to prove himself with his new club. He’s just a .224/.274/.390 hitter in 318 MLB plate appearances, but he carries a much more robust .331/.398/.546 line in 640 plate appearances at the Triple-A level.
  • Pirates righty Jameson Taillon chatted with reporters about the rehab of his second career Tommy John surgery and offered an optimistic outlook (link via MLB.com’s Adam Berry). Taillon is facing live hitters and said his elbow feels “amazing” at this point in the process. He’s worked with senior rehab coordinator A.J. Patrick, pitching coach Oscar Marin and bullpen coach Justin Meccage on what he believes to be a more mechanically sound delivery, Berry notes. Taillon acknowledged that changing the way he’s thrown since childhood is “tricky… But I came to the realization that two Tommy Johns kind of lets you know that what you’re doing isn’t working.” He also added that he’s seen his spin rate and spin efficiency increase — a reminder that pitchers are more data-focused than ever before in today’s game.
  • The Pirates placed righty Kyle Crick on the 10-day injured list with a lat strain, manager Derek Shelton announced to reporters yesterday (Twitter link via Mike Persak of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette). The 27-year-old missed more than a month due to shoulder and lat discomfort earlier this season as well. Crick has pitched just 5 2/3 innings in 2020, and while he’s only surrendered one earned run with seven strikeouts, he’s given up another five unearned runs on seven hits and four walks. Crick hasn’t looked right in 2020, as he’s averaged just 91.3 mph on his four-seamer — a pitch that averaged 95.4 mph in 2019 and 96.4 mph in 2018. Crick was lights-out in 2018, but he’s struggled with control issues and now a velocity dip since that time. He still carries a 3.44 ERA and 4.32 FIP with 10.4 K/9 in 115 frames since coming over from the Giants in the Andrew McCutchen deal, but there are some visible red flags at the moment. Crick is controlled through 2023 and will be arbitration-eligible for the first time this winter.
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