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Blue Jays Rumors

Rays, Blue Jays Complete Eric Sogard Trade

By George Miller | September 1, 2019 at 2:23pm CDT

The Rays and Blue Jays have completed the July 28 trade that sent infielder Eric Sogard to Tampa Bay. Juan Toribio of MLB.com reports that the two players to be named later are minor-league pitchers Curtis Taylor and Edisson Gonzalez, who will both join the Toronto organization and finalize the deal.

Taylor, 24, is a former fourth-round pick by the Diamondbacks in the 2016 draft. He was sent to the Rays in the trade that brought Brad Boxberger to Arizona. In 15 games with the Rays’ Double-A affiliate, he has posted a 3.06 ERA over 17 2/3 innings of work. Across two seasons at Double-A, he has struck out 90 batters in 78 1/3 innings, good for a 2.53 ERA. However, Taylor has not pitched since May after he was shut down with elbow pain. As Scott Mitchell of TSN notes, there’s a possibility that Taylor could undergo Tommy John surgery if he suffers a setback, though there is no indication that’s the case. Otherwise, the right-hander should be available to pitch for the Blue Jays in the spring.

Notably, Taylor is eligible to be selected in the Rule 5 draft this winter, meaning that he will need to be added to Toronto’s 40-man roster if he is to remain in the organization. It’s likely part of the motivation for the Rays, who have considerable depth and little room to add to the roster, parting ways with Taylor.

Gonzalez, meanwhile, was signed as an international amateur from Panama in 2016. Now 19 years old, Gonzalez has spent his first three professional seasons between rookie ball and Low-A ball toggling between starting and relieving. In 158 2/3 innings as a professional, he’s struck out 187 batters to go with a posted a 2.72 ERA.

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Tampa Bay Rays Toronto Blue Jays Transactions Eric Sogard

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Blue Jays Reinstate Ryan Tepera, Designate Neil Ramirez

By Anthony Franco | September 1, 2019 at 8:38am CDT

The Blue Jays announced today they’ve reinstated right-handed reliever Ryan Tepera from the 60-day injured list. Fellow righty Neil Ramírez has been designated for assignment in a corresponding move.

Tepera, a reliable middle reliever in Toronto between 2017-2018, has been limited to eleven big league innings this season by right elbow troubles. He’s not been especially productive at any level in 2019, but he’ll have a month to pitch his way into the team’s 2020 plans. Tepera agreed to a $1.525MM contract to avoid arbitration last winter and comes with two additional seasons of control, but the 31 year-old could be a non-tender candidate if he doesn’t return to form. He’s been in the Blue Jays organization since they used a 19th-round pick on him in 2009.

Ramírez is being cut loose by his second organization this season. Signed to a minor-league deal after being released by the Indians, Ramírez was added to the Jays’ active roster after just one minor-league appearance. Over 8.1 innings north of the border, he allowed five runs with six strikeouts and walks apiece, continuing a trying season for the former Cub.

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Toronto Blue Jays Neil Ramirez Ryan Tepera

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Nate Pearson Unlikely To Receive September Call-Up

By Mark Polishuk | August 29, 2019 at 5:37pm CDT

  • In a radio interview on the Fan 590’s Good Show today, Blue Jays pitching prospect Nate Pearson said that he doesn’t think he’ll be making this MLB debut this season.  “[The Blue Jays] haven’t really talked to me about anything,” Pearson said. “I’m just assuming I’m going home if we don’t make the [Triple-A] playoffs and just taking some time off. That’s all I really have planned right now.”  Pearson has been dominant in working his way up the Jays’ minor league ladder this season, with an overall 2.05 ERA, 10.6 K/9, and 4.75 K/BB rate in 96 2/3 combined innings at the high-A, Double-A, and Triple-A levels.  This performance has elevated Pearson’s already-high prospect stock, as he placed 14th and 15th on midseason top-100 prospect lists from MLB.com and Baseball America, respectively.  Since Pearson has made only two Triple-A starts and missed almost all of 2018 due to injuries, the Jays are being cautious in bringing along the prized right-hander (plus, service time considerations are likely in mind).  Given Pearson’s ability, however, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Pearson in the big leagues before the halfway point of the 2020 season.
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Boston Red Sox Notes Tampa Bay Rays Toronto Blue Jays Brock Holt Kevin Kiermaier Nate Pearson

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Blue Jays Rumors: Travis, Shoemaker

By Connor Byrne | August 29, 2019 at 1:55am CDT

Oft-injured Blue Jays second baseman Devon Travis is unlikely to remain with the team next season, per Gregor Chisholm of the Toronto Star. Travis hasn’t played at all this season (and nor will he) as a result of left knee issues, and his absence has opened the door for rookie Cavan Biggio to take over the keystone. While Travis could stay with the Jays next year as a backup infielder (or they could simply option him to Triple-A Buffalo), Chisholm suggests he’s not a fit to stick around because the team wants a reserve who’s capable of playing shortstop. As of now, Travis – who’s on a $1.93MM salary – has two more years of arbitration control remaining.

  • Unlike Travis, odds are “good” that right-hander Matt Shoemaker will be back with the Blue Jays next season, Chisholm reports. It’s possible, though, that Toronto will first non-tender Shoemaker and then attempt to re-up him at a lower cost. Otherwise, the 32-year-old would earn a raise over his current $3.5MM salary in his fourth and final trip through arbitration. The Jays signed Shoemaker in free agency last winter, and the former Angel initially justified the investment with 28 2/3 innings of 1.57 ERA/3.94 FIP pitching with 7.53 K/9 against 2.83 BB/9. Shoemaker’s potential bounce-back year came to an end April 21 when he suffered a torn left ACL.
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Detroit Tigers New York Yankees Notes Toronto Blue Jays Clint Frazier Devon Travis Matt Shoemaker Ron Gardenhire

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Blue Jays Release Nick Kingham

By Jeff Todd | August 28, 2019 at 11:00pm CDT

  • The Blue Jays have released swingman Nick Kingham after he cleared waivers following his own DFA, also per the International League transactions page. Kingham was on the injured list when he was designated for assignment, and injured players cannot be placed on outright waivers. With August trades eliminated, the only possible outcome for Kingham was to be released by the Jays. The former top prospect has tallied 55 2/3 frames between Pittsburgh and Toronto this season but been clobbered for a 7.28 ERA with a 46-to-25 K/BB ratio and 11 home runs allowed in that time.
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Kansas City Royals Los Angeles Angels New York Mets Toronto Blue Jays Transactions Aaron Altherr Adam McCreery Nick Kingham

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Blue Jays Announce Flurry Of Roster Moves

By George Miller | August 25, 2019 at 1:36pm CDT

The Blue Jays made a series of roster moves on Sunday, according to Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet. The club has optioned pitchers Brock Stewart and Justin Shafer, allowing for the activation of Clay Buchholz from the injured list and Ken Giles from the paternity list. In addition, right-hander Nick Kingham has been designated for assignment.

Buchholz last pitched for the Jays on May 5, before a shoulder strain forced him onto the 60-day injured list and kept him out of commission for more more than three months. After completing a rehab assignment in which he made three starts, the veteran will rejoin the Toronto rotation in time to start Sunday’s game. He’ll certainly face some restrictions in his workload as he works back into Major League action; his pitch count maxed out at 67 during his rehab.

After a resurgent season in Arizona last year, Buchholz hasn’t gotten much of a chance to ingratiate himself to the Toronto organization, having made just five starts with his new club. However, that five-game sample hasn’t given the Blue Jays much to be optimistic about, as Buchholz has managed to strike out just 4.4 batters per nine innings, fueling an unimpressive 5.67 FIP. Regardless, he’ll have just over a month to straighten things out and make good on the $3MM contract he earned last winter.

Giles, meanwhile, will return to the Toronto bullpen after a few days away from the game. He’s been far and away the Jays’ most reliable pitcher, enjoying his best season since he was traded out of Philadelphia. In 40 innings this year, he’s posted a 1.80 ERA while striking out batters at a career-best rate. While the 29-year-old, who can be a free agent after next season, may not be a part of the promising Blue Jays’ future plans, he certainly provides a boon to a club that has turned some heads with its young core.

27-year-old Kingham has been on the injured list since early August owing to a strained oblique, and will now be removed from Toronto’s 40-man in favor of Buchholz. While he could remain in the organization, he’ll first need to pass through waivers. He’s already done that once this year, when the Pirates designated him and later traded him to the Blue Jays. Despite his outwardly impressive 3.00 ERA in Toronto, most indicators suggest that Kingham’s performance is roughly in line with the poor numbers that earned him a ticket out of Pittsburgh.

After more than three seasons bouncing between the ranks of the Dodgers organization, Stewart now finds himself doing more of the same, only now with Toronto. Since joining the Jays, he’s already been optioned several times, though he’s shown himself to be a serviceable long-man for the starter-thin Blue Jays. Shafer, for his part, has been a solid bullpen choice for a Toronto organization that has shuttled seemingly dozens of relievers into and out of the Major League bullpen. The 26-year-old has struck out 29 batters in 31 innings, though he has had trouble keeping the walks in check, surrendering 22 free passes for an average of 6.4 per nine innings pitched.

 

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Toronto Blue Jays Brock Stewart Clay Buchholz Justin Shafer Ken Giles Nick Kingham

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Blue Jays Notes: In'tl Prospects, Defense

By Mark Polishuk | August 22, 2019 at 10:32am CDT

  • We’re over ten months away from the opening of the next international signing period on July 2, 2020, though Baseball America’s Ben Badler (subscription required) looks ahead by profiling ten of the most notable prospects in the upcoming class.  Dominican outfielder Pedro Pineda could potentially claim the highest bonus of the bunch, as he has been connected to the Athletics for a bonus that could approach $5MM.  The Cubs, Rays, Tigers, Dodgers, Marlins, Nationals, Angels, Blue Jays, and Twins are all unofficially linked to the other nine names on Badler’s list, with several other players also reportedly in line for multi-million dollar bonuses.  Of course, the entire signing process as we know it could become moot should Major League Baseball adopt an international talent draft for next year, though nothing has yet been confirmed on that front.
  • The Phillies are exactly in the middle of the pack in Defensive Runs Saved, as the Phils’ +12 DRS ranking 15th among all teams.  This modest number, however, represents a gigantic upgrade for their glovework, as The Athletic’s Mark Simon (subscription required) explores in a look at the most improved defensive teams in baseball.  Philadelphia’s minus-146 DRS was by far the worst in baseball in 2018, yet the team has shored up their defense due to a number of factors, such as the additions of J.T. Realmuto and Bryce Harper, and moving Rhys Hoskins back to first base after he supremely struggled as a left field last year.  The other big gainers were the Blue Jays, who went from minus-100 DRS in 2018 (29th among all teams) to minus-1 DRS and 18th place this season, and the Dodgers, who have gone from being very good to a potentially record-setting defensive unit.  Los Angeles finished eighth in the league with +47 DRS in 2018, and now lead all of baseball with a +125 score, giving them a shot at breaking the Diamondbacks’ record-setting mark of +157 from a year ago.  The eight teams on Simon’s list share at least one of two commonalities — either the teams are shifting more frequently, or else they are simply using better personnel, whether those are new players joining the team or players who have personally improved their glovework since last season.
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2020-21 International Prospects Los Angeles Dodgers New York Mets Philadelphia Phillies Toronto Blue Jays Amed Rosario

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Rule 5 Selection Travis Bergen Returned To Blue Jays

By George Miller | August 21, 2019 at 7:04pm CDT

  • After the Giants designated him for assignment, Rule 5 selection Travis Bergen has cleared waivers and will return to his former organization, the Blue Jays. He’s been assigned to Triple-A Buffalo as he makes his return to the team that drafted him in 2015. Bergen, a left-handed reliever, got into 21 games for the Giants this year and compiled a 5.49 ERA in his first taste of the big leagues. Between two levels of the minors in 2018, he posted a 0.95 ERA while striking out 74 batters in 56 2/3 innings.
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San Francisco Giants Toronto Blue Jays Washington Nationals Sam Freeman

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Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Could Return This Week

By Dylan A. Chase | August 20, 2019 at 10:57am CDT

Blue Jays rookie third baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. could be back in the Toronto lineup in short order, as Jon Morosi of MLB Network relays that the 20-year-old Canada native could return for this week’s tilt with the Dodgers (link). The team has apparently indicated that Vlad Jr.’s status is more “day-to-day than week-to-week”.

After tweaking his knee while fielding a groundball, Guerrero Jr. went for MRI testing–testing that ultimately showed only minor inflammation. After Padres rookie Fernando Tatis Jr. was shut down for the season following a back injury, there was trepidation that even a moderate issue would similarly spell the end of Vladito’s rookie campaign. About that rookie campaign, it’s fair to say that on-field results have been mixed–though ultimately very encouraging for a player of his age.

Across a sizable sample of 386 at-bats, Guerrero Jr. has slashed .274/.345/.464, while wRC+ indicates that he has been 13 percent better than a league-average hitter. When not inside the batter’s box, however, the infielder has shown some warts that the Jays surely hope will iron out as he matures, including a -4.4 BSR measurement on the bases and generally subpar defense as evidenced in part by his -4 DRS mark. The Blue Jays enter play in Los Angeles today with a 52-75 record.

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Toronto Blue Jays Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

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Lourdes Gurriel Headed For MRI

By Anthony Franco | August 18, 2019 at 7:50am CDT

We’ll kick off this Sunday by taking a look at some injuries and minor-league news around the Junior Circuit.

  • Athletics center fielder Ramón Laureano is making slow but steady progress from a stress reaction in his shin, he tells Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle (via Twitter). Laureano plans to begin running next week in an effort to mount a late-season comeback. His July 31 injury was always expected to shelve him for at least a month, and there’s little indication his early-September target date to return has changed. The 25 year-old has quietly emerged as one of baseball’s better young players. In 595 MLB plate appearances since debuting last August, Laureano has coupled well above-average offense (a .285/.341/.506 slash, good for a 122 wRC+) with a flair for the dramatic on defense, even if he’s not always the most consistent at tracking down fly balls, per Statcast. His return would be welcome news to a club just a half game out of the league’s final postseason spot.
  • Laureano might not be the A’s only end-of-season reinforcement. Matt Harvey, whom the club brought aboard on a minor-league deal this week, acquitted himself well in his first action with his new employer, notes Melissa Lockard of the Athletic (via Twitter). Harvey tossed four scoreless Triple-A innings in the hitters’ haven that is Las Vegas, striking out five without issuing a walk along the way. He’ll obviously need more than one encouraging outing to erase the memories of his woeful past few seasons, but as MLBTR’s Connor Byrne noted Wednesday, it’s not hard to imagine Harvey factoring into the club’s uncertain pitching mix down the stretch.
  • Harvey isn’t the only minor-league pitcher who could impact his team’s playoff push in the coming weeks. As Do-Hyung Park of MLB.com pointed out, the Twins have pushed pitching prospects Brusdar Graterol and Jorge Alcala up to the minors’ highest level, where both will work out of the bullpen. The promotion of Graterol, a husky 20 year-old righty from Venezuela, will generate the most attention. A top 100 prospect at Fangraphs, Baseball America and MLB Pipleline, Graterol pitched well in 11 games with Double-A Pensacola. The organization surely hopes he can emerge as an above-average starter long-term, but it isn’t hard to imagine him contributing in the bigs in short stints imminently thanks to his plus three-pitch arsenal. Alcala, too, might factor into the Twins’ end-of-season bullpen, where command issues always figured to push him anyways. The 24 year-old Dominican righty was acquired from Houston in the Ryan Pressly trade last summer and boasts mid-high 90’s gas, but he’s long issued too many walks to be an elite prospect and has an ERA pushing 6.00 in Pensacola. Both hurlers have to be added to the 40-man roster this offseason to avoid selection in the Rule V draft, so the Twins could expedite their promotions a few months given their tenuous hold on the AL Central.
  • In non-playoff news, young Blue Jay Lourdes Gurriel, Jr. will get more clarity on a return date from a left quad strain after an MRI today, tweets Shi Davidi of Sportsnet. The 25 year-old has been out since August 9 and hopes to return by the end of the month. Gurriel’s yet to settle in defensively- he’s now playing left field after breaking in as a subpar infielder- and doesn’t sport great plate discipline, but he’s emerged as a solid right-handed power bat in 2019. Over 321 plate appearances, Gurriel’s hitting .279/.331/.548 (127 wRC+).
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Minnesota Twins Notes Oakland Athletics Toronto Blue Jays

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