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Blue Jays Claim Zack Godley

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TODAY: The Jays officially added Godley to the active roster, optioning right-hander Brock Stewart to Triple-A in a corresponding move.

YESTERDAY: The Blue Jays have claimed righty Zack Godley off waivers from the Diamondbacks, according to Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic (via Twitter). Toronto will owe Godley the remainder of his $609K salary.

It’s easy to see why the Jays took a shot on the 29-year-old Godley. In need of some additional arms to finish out the season, there’s no harm in giving him an opportunity. And the club could tender Godley a contract for 2020 if he manages to bounce back.

Make no mistake, though: it has been a rough campaign to this point for Godley. His strikeout rate has plummeted to just 6.9 K/9 after sitting at better than a batter-per-inning in the prior two seasons. Godley is giving up more homers than he had in those immediately preceding campaigns as well. The result: a 6.39 ERA over 76 innings.

A mid-season move to a multi-inning relief role did help, as Godley’s velocity turned up a bit. He held opposing hitters to a .218/.297/.414 batting line and posted an improved 28:13 K/BB ratio. But he was also tagged for seven long balls and a 4.62 ERA in his 37 relief frames.

Godley is just two years removed from an excellent 2017 campaign and also posted reasonably promising peripherals last year. But he’ll have to figure some things out if he’s to get back on an upward trajectory. Rediscovering some of the lost velo would help. He’s generating swinging-strikes at a significantly lower rate than he did in his ’17 effort (10.1% vs. 13.3%), with the difference residing almost entirely in the fact that hitters have made way more contact on pitches out of the zone. His groundball rate has sagged from 55.3% at its peak to to just 43.0% this year.

Blue Jays Designate David Paulino For Assignment

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The Blue Jays announced that they’ve designated right-hander David Paulino for assignment. His spot on the roster will go to right-hander Zack Godley, who has been claimed off outright waivers from the Diamondbacks (as previously reported by Nick Piecoro).

Paulino, 25, was once considered to be among baseball’s 100 best prospects but has seen his star dim in recent seasons — beginning with an 80-game PED suspension issued back in July 2017. Since that half-season ban, Paulino has also undergone surgery to remove bone spurs from his pitching elbow and generally performed at diminished levels. Toronto acquired him alongside Ken Giles in the 2018 trade that sent Roberto Osuna to Houston.

Paulino pitched 6 2/3 innings of one-run ball with the Jays late in the 2018 season but has been limited to 28 2/3 innings in Triple-A Buffalo in 2019. He’s currently on the minor league injured list, meaning that Toronto’s only course of action with Paulino will be to release him. Clubs can no longer trade players who’ve been on 40-man rosters under the league’s new August trade restrictions, and teams are also unable to pass injured players through outright waivers. Another club could claim Paulino off release waivers, and he’ll have the opportunity to sign with a new organization if he clears. However, it’s also fairly common in these situations for the released player to sign a new minor league deal with his former club.

Blue Jays To Sign Neil Ramirez

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TODAY: The deal is done, per Scott Mitchell of TSN (via Twitter). It’s a minors pact.

YESTERDAY: The Blue Jays are closing in on a contract with free-agent reliever Neil Ramirez, according to Roster Roundup. It’s unclear whether it’ll be a major league pact for Ramirez, whom the Indians released Aug. 2.

A veteran of several organizations, the 30-year-old Ramirez cracked Cleveland’s bullpen earlier this season and struggled to a 5.40 ERA/6.57 FIP in 16 2/3 innings. Ramirez logged a solid number of strikeouts (9.72 K/9), which he has done throughout his career, though he also issued 4.86 walks per nine and posted a paltry 25.0 percent groundball rate. The right-hander wasn’t that much more successful this season as a member of the Tribe’s Triple-A team, with which he recorded a 4.91 ERA/5.11 FIP. Ramirez did, however, manage 13.81 K/9 against 3.38 BB/9 during that 29 1/3-inning span.

A deal with the Blue Jays could present a quick path back to the majors for Ramirez, as the team dealt relievers Daniel Hudson, Joe Biagini and David Phelps prior to last week’s trade deadline. Out-of-contention Toronto’s now stuck with a fairly uninspiring group of options in front of closer Ken Giles.

Blue Jays Release Alen Hanson

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The Blue Jays have released utilityman Alen Hanson, as per the Twitter page of the Triple-A Buffalo Bisons.  Hanson struggled to a .187/.232/.271 slash line over 180 PA for Buffalo this season.

It’s been an all-around rough year for Hanson, who had only a .392 OPS over 48 Major League plate appearances for the Jays before the club outrighted him off their 40-man roster in May.  Hanson was part of the three-player trade package Toronto acquired from the Giants for Kevin Pillar soon after the start of the season, though Hanson didn’t produce in what little playing time he received in a Jays uniform.

After receiving some top-100 prospect recognition while coming up in Pittsburgh’s farm system earlier in the decade, Hanson hasn’t delivered on that promise over 625 MLB plate appearances (.232/.266/.368) for the Pirates, White Sox, Giants, and Blue Jays from 2016-19.  Hanson is still only 26 and has multi-positional ability, so it’s possible he could get another look on a minors contract from another team interested to see if he could be a late bloomer.

Blue Jays Place Nick Kingham On IL, Recall Yennsy Diaz

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The Blue Jays have placed pitcher Nick Kingham on the 10-day injured list with an oblique strain, per team announcement. Righty Yennsy Diaz will be recalled to the active roster and will be present for tonight’s game at Baltimore.

For the 27-year-old Kingham, this news comes at an especially inopportune time. Formerly a top-30 prospect with the Pirates organization, the righty was beginning to put together his first consistently effective stretch in a major league uniform following his acquisition by Toronto on June 13th. News of his injury comes on the heels of a three-inning scoreless outing on August 2nd; all told, he’s logged 21 innings of 3.00 ERA ball in Toronto, after struggling to the tune of a 6.67 ERA during two stints with Pittsburgh. Underlying metrics have still been unenthused with his north-of-the-border output, but Kingham’s endurance of an ever-tricky oblique injury is still surely an unwelcome development for the organization.

Then again, getting a look at the 22-year-old Diaz should provide something of a consolation. At 6’1, the righty doesn’t cast an imposing figure on the mound, but he’s been nonetheless praised for his plus fastball and average-or-better curve. In 112.2 Double-A innings this year, Diaz has logged a 4.15 ERA, with a 7.03 K/9 mark. He’s primarily been a starter in the minors, though his immediate role with the Toronto parent club remains to be seen.

Latest On Ryan Borucki

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  • This has been an injury-ravaged year for Blue Jays left-hander Ryan Borucki, whom elbow issues prevented from making his 2019 debut until July 22. Borucki’s season is only two starts old, but he’s already back on the IL with elbow inflammation. The Blue Jays now plan to consult with famed orthopedist Dr. James Andrews in regards to Borucki, Shi Davidi of Sportsnet writes. Andrews performed Tommy John surgery on Borucki in 2013, and the hurler required another procedure to remove bone spurs from the joint in 2015. The 25-year-old’s latest injury has stopped him from building on a solid 2018 in which he pitched to a 3.87 ERA/3.80 FIP in his 17-start, 97 2/3-inning major league debut.

Fisher Will Receive Regular Playing Time With Jays

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  • The Blue Jays have a crowded outfield mix, but newly acquired Derek Fisher is going to get regular playing time and an opportunity to establish himself as a fixture in the Toronto outfield, Shi Davidi of Sportsnet writes. Most of Fisher’s reps will come in center or right field, as Toronto doesn’t want to disrupt Lourdes Gurriel Jr.’s transition to left field (or his offensive breakout). That leaves Fisher, Teoscar Hernandez, Randal Grichuk and Billy McKinney vying for playing time between center, right and occasional reps at DH. Hernandez has been on an otherworldly tear, clubbing seven homers and three doubles in his past 15 games, which should help to keep him in the lineup. If there’s to be an odd man out, McKinney seems the likeliest candidate, given that he has minor league options remaining. But the semi logjam also serves as a reminder that Randal Grichuk hasn’t performed anywhere near as well as hoped in the first season of the head-scratching extension to which the Jays signed him back in April. He’s played solid defense, but Grichuk hasn’t exactly seized an everyday role with his .232/.290/.418 batting line.

Lack Of Deadline Interest In Justin Smoak, Freddy Galvis

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Blue Jays first baseman Justin Smoak and shortstop Freddy Galvis looked like prime trade candidates going into Wednesday’s deadline, but it doesn’t appear either player generated much interest. The markets for Smoak and Galvis were just about nonexistent on deadline day, Scott Mitchell of TSN reports. Both players may have wound up on the move this month had the August waiver deadline stuck around, as Mitchell notes, but that’s no longer a factor.

Smoak was reportedly drawing a fair amount of interest as of Tuesday, when the Indians and Rays were said to be among the teams in on him. But things went unfavorably from there for rebuilding Toronto, which first saw the Indians augment their offense by acquiring outfielders Yasiel Puig and Franmil Reyes late Tuesday. The Rays then added first baseman Jesus Aguilar in a trade with the Brewers early Wednesday. Aguilar’s far cheaper and controllable for longer than Smoak – a pending free agent on an $8MM salary.

There has been speculation about the Blue Jays extending Smoak, which could be more realistic now that they won’t be able to trade the soon-to-be 33-year-old. A Blue Jay since 2015, the switch-hitting Smoak broke out with the club from 2017-18, but his bottom-line production has declined this season. Smoak has slashed .213/.356/.420 (110 wRC+) with 18 home runs in 368 plate appearances.

Smoak’s numbers aren’t going to put him in position to break the bank on his next contract, especially as an aging first baseman, though he has likely deserved better this year. Smoak has drawn almost as many walks (61) as strikeouts (72), while his .219 batting average on balls in play is 48 points below his career mark (.267), and he boasts an excellent .389 expected weighted on-base average. That figure vastly outdoes Smoak’s real wOBA (.343) and ranks among the best in baseball.

Galvis, set to turn 30 in November, joined the Blue Jays on the open market last winter for a guaranteed $5MM. His pact includes a $5.5MM club option for 2020, but the Jays might reject it in favor of a $1MM buyout now that high-end middle infield prospects Bo Bichette and Cavan Biggio have come up to the majors.

With Bichette and Biggio in the mix, Galvis’ time as a regular in Toronto appears to be over. However, to Galvis’ credit, the switch-hitter has continued his impressive run of durability this season and chipped in a career-best .264/.299/.436 line (91 wRC+) with 16 HRs over 435 trips to the plate. That production wasn’t enough to excite a contender, though, and it didn’t help Toronto’s cause that there wasn’t a great deal of demand for middle infielders approaching the deadline.

Details On The Twins’ Trade Deadline Talks

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Sam Dyson and Sergio Romo represented the sum total of the Twins’ midseason additions as the club tries to hold its lead atop the AL Central.  While Dyson and Romo address needs in the bullpen, Minnesota was also very aggressive in looking for starting pitching, though ultimately came up short in reinforcing the rotation.

Rival teams continually asked the Twins about top prospects Royce Lewis and Alex Kirilloff, with the Mets among the multiple clubs who asking for both youngsters.  New York wanted both Lewis and Kiriloff in discussions about Noah Syndergaard, and if premium minor league talent wasn’t available for the ace, the Mets were also focused on adding Major League players, to the point of asking Minnesota about Byron Buxton in a possible Syndergaard deal.

Lewis and Kirilloff were also on the mind of the Blue Jays’ front office, as Toronto was looking for either of the prospects in exchange for Marcus Stroman.  Minnesota turned down this initial request, and The Athletic’s Dan Hayes reports that the Jays never called back with any other offers before trading Stroman to the Mets.  This would seem to indicate that the Jays were only interested in Lewis and Kirilloff specifically, though Hayes writes that “the Twins were disappointed when Toronto didn’t give them a chance to match an offer they believed they could have outdone.”

Beyond the prospects, Hayes tweeted that Luis Arraez was “everyone’s favorite ask” amongst teams who were offering rental players to Minnesota.  Arraez has been a revelation for the Twins over his first 43 Major League games, as the rookie is hitting .349/.422/.445 over 166 plate appearances.  Arraez has long boasted strong averages and on-base numbers in the minors, and while regression is inevitable, his .361 xwOBA isn’t far off his .388 wOBA.  With this much potential, it isn’t hard to see why the Twins were reluctant to part with a 22-year-old, multi-positional talent for only a rental player (or potentially anyone).

Hayes reports that the Twins were considering both Robbie Ray and Mike Minor, though concerns about Ray’s durability and Minor’s July struggles diminished the interest.  On the relief front, the Twins also had interest in Pirates closer Felipe Vazquez.

“It was one of the most unique trade deadlines I’ve ever experienced,” Twins GM Thad Levine told Hayes and other reporters.  “One error I made was assuming that early in the trade cycle that the leverage was towards the seller.  I assumed that there was going to be a little bit of a shift of that see-saw back to the buyer as we got closer to the deadline. I’m not sure we ever saw the shift in the see-saw. The sellers felt pretty emboldened. They set the prices high, which is very normal in a trade deadline. But I’m not sure they moved off of those high asks at any point, and as a result, there were just a finite number of players that meaningfully changed the fortunes of playoff-contending teams.”

Early talks with the Giants involving multiple players (including Dyson, Madison Bumgarner, and Will Smith) did result in the late Dyson trade.  Minnesota and San Francisco re-engaged in talks just 45 minutes before the 3pm CT deadline, medicals on the four players in the deal were exchanged at 2:50pm, and the trade was finalized with just five minutes to spare.

Blue Jays Activate Trent Thornton From 10-Day IL, Select Jason Adam’s Contract

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The Blue Jays officially added newly-acquired outfielder Derek Fisher to the roster, while also activating right-hander Trent Thornton from the injured list.  Thornton is scheduled to start tonight’s game against the Orioles.  Right-hander Jason Adam also had his contract selected from Triple-A.

It was a brief IL stay for Thornton, whose placement with inflammation in his throwing elbow was retroactive to July 21.  Acquired from the Astros for Aledmys Diaz last winter, Thornton has shown some flashes of promise within an inconsistent season, posting a 5.45 ERA, 9.1 K/9, and 2.22 K/BB rate over 99 innings in Toronto’s rotation.  He’ll continue to receive a long look at the Jays figure out their future pitching plans now that Marcus Stroman and Aaron Sanchez have both been dealt.

Adam was acquired in a minor deal with the Royals in March, though injuries have limited to just 13 1/3 total innings in the minors this season.  The righty has a 4.24 ERA, 2.87 K/BB rate, and 7.8 K/9 rate over 579 1/3 career frames in the minor leagues, working almost exclusively as a relief pitcher in the last three seasons.  Adam made his MLB debut last season, tossing 32 1/3 innings for Kansas City while posting a 6.12 ERA, as he allowed a whopping nine homers over his brief stint in a Royal uniform.

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