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Blue Jays Set Opening Day Roster

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The Blue Jays announced their Opening Day, 30-man roster this morning. Left-hander Brian Moran and right-hander A.J. Cole were both selected to the 40-man roster and will make the club. Toronto also placed righty Chase Anderson on the 10-day IL (retroactive to July 20) with an oblique strain and opted to carry infielder Santiago Espinal, lefty Anthony Kay and right-handers Thomas Hatch and Jacob Waguespack.

Notably absent is right-hander Nate Pearson, one of the game’s elite pitching prospects. He’s on the team’s three-man taxi squad (along with southpaw Ryan Borucki and catcher Caleb Joseph) but won’t accrue service time in that role. He’ll reportedly be called up next week, when the Jays will be able to promote him while extending their club control of him for an additional season (as has long been expected).

Moran, 31, is the older brother of Pirates third baseman Colin Moran. He made his big league debut at 30 years of age with the Marlins last season, pitching 6 1/3 innings while yielding three runs with a 10-to-2 K/BB ratio. A seventh-round pick in 2009, Moran has had quite the odyssey to the Majors, twice taking to the independent circuit as a showcase to get back into affiliated ball. But he carries a career 3.67 ERA with 11.5 K/9 against 3.2 BB/9 in 176 1/3 Triple-A frames and will now get his second opportunity in the Majors.

Cole, 28, is a former top prospect who’s yet to find his footing despite multiple MLB chances. He’s seen action with three teams in parts of five seasons but posted a pedestrian 4.86 ERA and 5.03 FIP in 174 innings. Cole had some success both with the Nats in 2017 and the Indians last year, logging identical 3.81 ERAs in both years. He’s averaged better than a strikeout per frame in the big leagues but has also surrendered an average of 1.8 homers per nine innings pitched.

The Jays don’t need to make any corresponding transactions to add Moran and Cole to the 40-man. The team recently placed Breyvic Valera on the restricted list after he was unable to leave his native Venezuela and report to Jays Summer Camp in Toronto. The club also has Brandon Drury, Jonathan Davis, Wilmer Font and Elvis Luciano on the Covid-19 IL, and none of the four will count against the team’s 40-man roster while on that list.

Pennsylvania Department Of Health Will Not Approve Blue Jays’ Use Of PNC Park

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2:10pm: The Pennsylvania Department of Health has formally vetoed the Blue Jays’ Pittsburgh plan, per Will Graves of the Associated Press (Twitter thread). In a statement issued to the AP, Dr. Rachel Levine said the following: “To add travelers to this region for any reason, including for professional sports events, risks residents, visitors and members of both teams.”

2:00pm: With the Blue Jays unable to play their home games at Toronto’s Rogers Centre in 2020, the club thought it had worked out an arrangement to use Pittsburgh’s PNC Park as an alternate site. That deal, however, appears to be in jeopardy. ESPN’s Buster Olney tweets that neither the Jays nor MLB have received the go-ahead from the Pennsylvania government yet, adding that the team is again exploring alternate sites. The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal tweets that the deal with Pittsburgh is “falling apart.”

Exactly what this means for the Jays remains unclear. They’ve previously explored playing home games at their spring facility in Dunedin, Fla., but Florida’s rapid rise in Covid-19 cases has complicated that idea. The Jays have been working to upgrade their Triple-A facilities in Buffalo in order to bring the lighting and clubhouses up to MLB code, although the organization’s preference has been to be able to play its “home” games in an MLB park, general manager Ross Atkins stated this week. Oriole Park at Camden Yards has also been suggested as an alternative, and the fact that the Pittsburgh plan appears in danger of being scrapped entirely could push the Jays to look more closely into that possibility.

One more extreme possibility, per Olney, would be for the Jays to travel to the home city of every team they’re scheduled to play in 2020, but function as the “home” team on days where they’d been scheduled to host an opponent. With fans unlikely to attend games for much or all of the 2020 season, that may not be quite as detrimental as it would be playing in front of each opponent’s fans, although the aggressive travel and constant changes in scenery would likely make that an unpalatable last resort.

The Jays don’t have a “home” game scheduled until July 29 when they’d host the Nationals, which provides at least a bit of cushion as the team scrambles to find a suitable venue. The clock is ticking, though, and Pennsylvania’s rejection casts some doubt on whether other U.S. cities — particularly those already home to one franchise — will be more amenable to welcoming the Jays for the length of the season.

Blue Jays Will Reportedly Play 2020 Home Games In Pittsburgh

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JULY 21: The Blue Jays will play “home” games at Pittsburgh’s PNC Park this year, Hazel Mae of Sportsnet reports.

JULY 20, 3:18pm: The Pirates issued a statement Monday confirming they’re in “active discussions” with MLB and the Blue Jays about Toronto playing in Pittsburgh.

1:00pm: The Orioles’ Camden Yards has emerged as a possible destination for the Blue Jays, Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet reports. General manager Ross Atkins said Monday (via Dan Shulman of ESPN) that “our focus is on getting into a major league facility.”

8:24am: The Jays have sent operations people to Buffalo to assess Sahlen Field, Scott Mitchell of TSN tweets. They’d need “about a week” to repair lighting and clubhouse issues, according to Mitchell.

JULY 19: After the Canadian government denied approval for the Blue Jays to play games in Toronto this season, the Jays still don’t know where they still be playing just 10 days removed from their first scheduled “home” game, hosting the Nationals on July 29.

To this end, a number of different options are being explored, such as another Major League venue — Pittsburgh’s PNC Park.  Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports that the Jays have “looked into playing select home games at PNC Park in 2020.”  As noted by Mackey in a follow-up tweet, the Blue Jays and Pirates only share seven conflicting dates for home games, with six of those coming after September 7.

If nothing else, a temporary move to Pittsburgh would give the Jays some time to spend the next six weeks getting another stadium up to Major League standards.  For instance, there has been some hint that Buffalo’s Sahlen Field (home of the Jays’ Triple-A affiliate) could undergo the clubhouse, lighting and overall infrastructure upgrades necessary to host MLB games, though nothing has been finalized on that front.

Talking to reporters (including Sportsnet.ca’s Shi Davidi) yesterday, Blue Jays president/CEO Mark Shapiro was “confident that Buffalo is a viable alternative,” even while noting that a move to Sahlen Field is “not a done deal.”  By comparison, the Jays’ Spring Training facility in Dunedin, Florida is “100 per cent seamless right now and ready to go….but from a player-health standpoint has some challenges,” given Florida’s COVID-19 spike.

Looking at the most recent coronavirus data, Pennsylvania is doing relatively well in managing its COVID-19 cases, though its most severely-hit region is Allegheny County, where Pittsburgh is located.  Areas with large population centers will naturally have bigger COVID numbers than less densely-populated areas, of course, though it underscores the difficulty faced by the Jays since all adequate MLB-level facilities in major cities.

If the Jays are discussing a possible timeshare with the Pirates, it stands to reason they’re exploring arrangements with other teams as well.  Shapiro mentioned “other alternatives” besides Buffalo and Dunedin that were under consideration, and right-hander Anthony Bass told the Associated Press and other media that GM Ross Atkins prioritized finding a Major League stadium after discussions with players.

“I just said, ’Look, we want to play in a major league ballpark.  We feel that’s the best opportunity for us,’ and he agreed and said, ’I listened to you guys loud and clear and that’s what we’re going to do for you because that’s what the team wants,’ “ Bass said.

Blue Jays Place Breyvic Valera On Restricted List

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The Blue Jays have placed utility player Breyvic Valera on the restricted list, Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet was among those to report. Valera has had difficulty getting out of his native Venezuela, Nicholson-Smith adds.

The 28-year-old Valera just joined the Blue Jays on July 2 as a waiver pickup from San Diego, though he did see a bit of action with Toronto last season in a previous stint. Valera has been quite popular around the league, in fact, having played for four other MLB teams besides the Blue Jays. The switch-hitter has only totaled 138 plate appearances in the majors, though, and has mustered a mere .223/.294/.298 line with one home run. Valera has been much better at the Triple-A level, where he owns a .302/.374/.442 mark with 31 homers in 1,550 PA.

Between his success in the minors and his ability to line up all over the field, it’s not hard to see why so many teams have taken a chance on Valera. The hope for the Blue Jays is that Valera will turn into a valuable major leaguer in their uniform, but it’s up in the air whether he’ll play for the club again.

Blue Jays To Place Chase Anderson On 10-Day IL Due To Oblique Strain

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TODAY: Anderson will begin the season on the 10-day injured list, Montoyo told reporters today.

JULY 12: Chase Anderson suffered an oblique strain while preparing for a bullpen session and is day-to-day with the injury, Blue Jays manager Charlie Montoyo told Sportsnet.ca’s Shi Davidi and other reporters.  Montoyo’s description would seem to indicate that Anderson suffered a very mild strain, as more serious oblique injuries have been known to keep players out of action for months at a time.

Still, the timing of Anderson’s issue creates doubt as to whether or not the right-hander will be ready for the beginning of the season.  If a replacement is needed within Toronto’s rotation, the Jays have several potential arms behind the starting four of Hyun-Jin Ryu, Tanner Roark, Trent Thornton, and Matt Shoemaker.

Speculation has already focused on whether or not top prospect Nate Pearson could take that fifth starter’s role, and such hurlers as Anthony Kay, Ryan Borucki, Thomas Hatch, Jacob Waguespack, or others could also potentially get the call if the Jays wanted to limit Pearson’s service time.  As Davidi notes, the team would gain an extra year of control over Pearson by keeping him on the taxi squad for roughly a week into the season.  Regardless of the specific timing of the promotion, it seems very likely that Pearson will make his MLB debut at some point in 2020.

Anderson was acquired from the Brewers at the start of November, coming off a season that saw him post a 4.21 ERA, 2.48 K/BB rate, and 8.0 K/9 over 139 frames (starting 27 of 32 games).  The 32-year-old has posted solid numbers over his six MLB seasons with Arizona and Milwaukee, working mostly as a starter and averaging 143 innings per year.  Anderson has been relatively durable over his career, though it’s worth noting that he missed close to two months of the 2017 season due to a left oblique strain.

Health Notes: Mallex, Chirinos, Lourdes, Lowrie, Smith

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Some health updates from around the league with the regular season just four days away:

  • Mariners center fielder Mallex Smith made his Summer Camp debut Saturday, notes Greg Johns of MLB.com. The speedster had not been previously been available for undisclosed reasons. Nevertheless, manager Scott Servais says he’s “pretty confident” Smith will be ready to go for the season opener, per Johns. This could be something of a make-or-break year for Smith, who fell flat in his first season in Seattle. He figures to take the bulk of the center field playing time, presumably flanked most days by Kyle Lewis and Jake Fraley.
  • Rays right-hander Yonny Chirinos made his first Summer Camp appearance today, per various reporters (including Juan Toribio of MLB.com). Chirinos confirmed he’d tested positive for COVID-19 last month, experiencing mild symptoms, adds Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times (Twitter link). Fortunately, he’s now feeling better, and apparently cleared all MLB protocols for a return. The 24-year-old expressed an expectation he’ll be ready for Opening Day (via Toribio). Given the lack of ramp-up time, Chirinos’ innings will certainly be closely monitored in the early going. Nevertheless, it’s encouraging the 26-year-old is healthy again and in the process of getting back up to speed.
  • Blue Jays left fielder Lourdes Gurriel, Jr. was held out of activities yesterday with left side discomfort, Shi Davidi of Sportsnet was among those to relay. It doesn’t seem there’s huge cause for concern at the moment, but even a brief absence would threaten his availability for Opening Day. Gurriel repeating his strong 2019 effort (.277/.327/.541 with 20 home runs in 343 plate appearances) would go a long way if the Jays are to make a surprising push for the postseason in the shortened campaign.
  • Mets infielder Jed Lowrie continues to be plagued by left leg issues, notes Tim Healey of Newsday. He won’t participate in today’s Summer Camp matchup with the Yankees. As Mike Puma of the New York Post points out, that doesn’t bode particularly well for Lowrie’s chances of being ready for Opening Day. It’s the latest setback for the well-respected veteran in a Mets’ tenure unfortunately marred by them. Injuries held Lowrie to just eight plate appearances in the first season of a two-year, $20MM deal.
  • Orioles outfielder Dwight Smith, Jr. was cleared to participate in camp Friday. The 27-year-old acknowledged that a positive COVID-19 test was the reason he’d been delayed, per Rich Dubroff of Baltimore Baseball. Fortunately, he’s obviously now managed to clear the protocols for a return and hopes to be ready for Opening Day. Smith hit just .241/.297/.412 (83 wRC+) with 13 home runs in 392 plate appearances last season.

Blue Jays Denied Canadian Approval To Play Games In Toronto

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The Canadian government has denied the Blue Jays approval to play games in their home city of Toronto during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a report from Rob Gillies of the Associated Press. While the Blue Jays were given the go-ahead by the city of Toronto and the province of Ontario to host regular season games at the Rogers Centre, they were still awaiting clearance from the Canadian federal government.

As of now, the likely outcome is that the Blue Jays pivot their regular season games to Buffalo, the home of the franchise’s Triple-A affiliate. Dunedin, Florida, where the team holds Spring Training, has also been floated as an alternative, though Buffalo now looks preferable given the state of the virus in Florida.

In an official team statement, the Blue Jays said they are “in the process of finalizing the best home location for the remainder of the 2020 season and will share an update as soon as it is available.”

This development comes as something of a surprise, as just days ago it was looking like a good bet that the Rogers Centre would host regular season games as intended this year. However, shuttling MLB teams back and forth across the U.S.-Canada border poses undeniable concerns about preventing the spread of COVID-19, which have only been heightened in light of diverging COVID-19 trends between the United States and our neighbors to the North.

As reported by Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet, the Canadian government has informed the Blue Jays that it would be “open to considering future restart plans for the post-season” if at that time risk of virus transmission has been tempered. But for the time being, it’s looking like Toronto will have to wait until 2021 for Blue Jays home baseball.

Latest On Blue Jays, Toronto

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6:55pm: Ontario Premier Doug Ford is fully confident the Blue Jays will receive the go-ahead to play in Toronto, Shi Davidi of Sportsnet writes. In the event that doesn’t happen, though, the team has identified Buffalo (home of its Triple-A club) as its Plan B, according to Davidi. Dunedin, Fla., also remains a possibility.

3:27pm: The Canadian federal government has not yet given the Blue Jays clearance to play in Toronto, Mitchell tweets. The city of Toronto and the province of Ontario have, on the other hand, but the Blue Jays will also need approval at the federal level, per Mitchell, who adds that a decision should come within a few days.

3:15pm: Despite MacLeod’s statement, this isn’t a done deal yet, per reports from Scott Mitchell of TSN, Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet and David Cochrane of CBC.

3:02pm: The Blue Jays have received authorization from the relevant authorities to host regular season 2020 contests at the Rogers Centre, Ontario’s Heritage, Sport, Tourism and Culture Minister Lisa MacLeod revealed on TSN 1200 (Twitter link).

The organization had previously received clearance only to host Summer Camp activities in Toronto. That’s a much more limited undertaking, as it involved bringing players and personnel into the ballpark complex (which includes a hotel) only once, after completion of coronavirus testing occurred in the United States.

Holding home games in Toronto, while traveling elsewhere for away contests, will present quite a different logistical challenge when it comes to limiting potential COVID-19 transmission. There is presently a mutual ban on non-essential travel between the neighboring nations. Canadian authorities are no doubt concerned with the skyrocketing case numbers coming out of many U.S. cities (including some that host MLB teams).

It’s obviously good news for the Jays that they’ll get to have a relatively normal experience during the season. That’s not to say that there’s much hope of paying fans. But setting up a whole separate operation in some other place might’ve been a costly and challenging venture.

Ken Giles Still Open To Extension Talks With Blue Jays

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Blue Jays reliever Ken Giles will be pitching for his fate as a free agent in 2020. But he says he’s open to staying off of the market entirely, as Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca reports.

That’s not to say that a new contract is a front-burner issue at this point. Giles says he’s “just focused on the season right now,” which is certainly sensible with the sport knee deep in a hurried run-up to competition.

That said, the Toronto closer reiterated his interest in staying with the organization. “If those talks do ever happen,” he said of potential extension chatter, “I’m all ears.”

It could be that this season will require too much of a sprint to allow for the measured development of extension talks. Ongoing economic uncertainty remains a major limiting factor as well. But mid-season chatter is certainly possible and Giles’s willingness to talk opens a potential path for the Jays.

As things stand, the club could have a tough mid-season choice. There’s enough talent on hand to imagine a competitive roster in a short-season format, but it’ll also be tempting to cash in Giles on the trade market. If he makes it through the year on the Toronto roster, the team could consider a qualifying offer and explore further contract talks.

There are still quite a few ways this could all shake out. Giles will have a big say, beginning with his performance on the mound. He acknowledged the importance of this campaign to his career, saying he’ll exercise ample precaution against COVID-19 infection but never considered sitting it out. The 29-year-old has had some ups and downs, but turned in a sparkling 1.87 ERA with 14.1 K/9 and 2.9 BB/9 over 53 frames in 2019.

Blue Jays Add Austin Martin To Player Pool

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A day after signing the fifth overall selection of this year’s draft to a significantly over-slot deal, the Toronto Blue Jays have added him to their 60-man player pool, per TSN’s Scott Mitchell.

Austin Martin received the largest signing bonus of anyone not picked first overall yesterday, and he received more good news today. Martin will presumably head to Toronto for intake testing before joining the Blue Jays’ summer camp.

With third base vacated earlier today, it’s tempting to connect the dots and install Martin at the hot corner from day one. And while the Jays certainly hope the 3-year Vanderbilt star will be a quick riser – and his placement alongside Cavan Biggio, Vlad Guerrero Jr., and Bo Bichette is easy to dream on – Martin is still highly unlikely to see the major leagues anytime soon. His role on the 60-man player pool is almost certainly just an opportunity to get acclimated to professional ball, meet some players and coaches from the organization, and to begin the development process.

The Jays initially put together a 58-man pool, but they made three additions to the list yesterday. Add Martin to that group and they would seem to have a 62-man pool. However, teams can exceed the limit for players on the disabled list after testing positive for COVID-19. The Jays had at least one player test positive, but they also put four players on the 10-day disabled list without a noted injury (Brandon Drury, Elvis Luciano, Hector Perez and Jonathan Davis). Anything beyond that would be pure speculation.

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