Blue Jays Rumors

Health Notes: Venters, Ohtani, Caratini, Tepera

By Jeff Todd | April 16, 2019 at 12:07am CDT

The Braves announced today that they’ve placed southpaw Jonny Venters on the 10-day injured list. He’s dealing with a strained calf, though his struggles likely played a role in the timing. Venters made a miraculous return to the majors last year after five full seasons away owing to a brutal run of arm injuries. He pitched well enough to be tendered by the Atlanta organization. But Venters struggled this spring and has continued to do so through six regular-season appearances, over which he has surrendered six earned runs in just 2 2/3 innings.

Blue Jays Select Eric Sogard, Option Lourdes Gurriel Jr.

By TC Zencka | April 15, 2019 at 3:55pm CDT

April 15: The Blue Jays announced the move. In order to open a spot on the 40-man roster for Sogard, the team has transferred left-hander Ryan Borucki from the 10-day injured list to the 60-day injured list. Borucki has already been on the IL all season but will now be definitively ruled out until May 27.

April 14: The Blue Jays are sending infielder Lourdes Gurriel Jr. to Triple A, per Scott Mitchell of TSN Sports. Gurriel the younger was removed from today’s game for a “mental break” per manager Charlie Montoyo. The team hopes their young infielder can get back on track with a Triple-A reset, per Mitchell (Twitter links). MLB.com’s Gregor Chisholm tweeted about the possibility of a Gurriel demotion earlier today.

While Gurriel Jr. heads to Buffalo, veteran infielder Eric Sogard is set to join the major league roster. The spectacled Sogard received the bulk of his big league playing time with the A’s from 2010-2015, where he slashed .239/.295/.313 over 1331 plate appearances while playing second, third and short. He spent the last two seasons with the Brewers, hitting .234/.351/.318 across 412 PAs.

Gurriel, meanwhile, has flashed moments of athletic playmaking, such as when he stole home off of Chris Sale last week, while also misfiring on a pair of routine throws from second base. An overall rough go of it at the dish (49 wRC+) also likely bolstered the case in favor of demotion. Given the long-term, if reasonable, financial investment the Blue Jays have made to Gurriel, he likely gets ample opportunity to figure it out, though there’s also little reason to rush him back to the majors. Toronto owes the 25-year-old infielder an average of roughly $3.14MM per season until he hits free agency after the 2023 seasons.

Injury Notes: Miller, LeBlanc, Borucki, Blue Jays

By Mark Polishuk | April 13, 2019 at 12:00pm CDT

The Nationals have placed right-hander Justin Miller on the 10-day IL due to a lower back strain. Righty Austen Williams has been called up to take Miller’s spot on the 25-man roster. Miller has a 5.68 ERA over 6 1/3 frames out of Washington’s bullpen this season, with all of that damage coming from runs allowed in each of his last three appearances. Miller’s absence is yet another problem for the beleaguered Nats bullpen, which has a league-worst 8.12 cumulative ERA this season. The Nationals were seemingly close to a deal with Bud Norris before that rumored contract fell through, so the team is actively looking for ways to upgrade its relief core. There’s certainly opportunity here for a new face like Williams to make an impact, as the 26-year-old had an outstanding Spring Training and has turned in good results out of the bullpen at the minor league level since becoming a full-time reliever last season. Williams made his MLB debut in 2018, tossing 9 2/3 innings over 10 games with the Nats.

Here’s some more injury news from around the league…

Wade LeBlanc left during the fifth inning of last night’s game due to right oblique strain, and the Mariners southpaw is likely headed to the injured list. (MLB.com’s Greg Johns was among those with the details.) Tommy Milone or possibly Justus Sheffield seem like the top candidates to replace LeBlanc in Seattle’s rotation, though nothing will be confirmed until LeBlanc undergoes an MRI today to access the damage. The 34-year-old LeBlanc has been a solid arm for the M’s since rejoining the team on a minor league deal in March 2018, posting a 3.79 ERA while starting 30 of 35 games. This success resulted in an option-heavy extension between LeBlanc and the Mariners last July.
Blue Jays righty Ryan Borucki’s bothersome elbow will be re-evaluated in two weeks after the hurler received a cortisone shot, Sportsnet.ca’s Shi Davidi writes. Borucki first experienced the problem in the final week of Spring Training, and hasn’t thrown since a bullpen session on April 3.
In other Blue Jays injury news from Davidi’s piece, Ryan Tepera has begun a rehab assignment and could potentially join the team as early as this weekend, as the reliever tries to bounce back from his own elbow problems. David Phelps is set to begin bullpen sessions next week as the reliever continues his recovery from Tommy John surgery, with an eye towards a midseason return. Devon Travis is scheduled for baseball activities next week, though a 60-day IL placement in the wake of meniscus surgery means that Travis isn’t eligible to return to the Jays’ big league roster until late May.

Quick Hits: Epstein, Cubs, Hunter, Straily, Japan

By Mark Polishuk | April 6, 2019 at 11:14pm CDT

After a 1-6 start to the Cubs’ season, Chicago fans are already pointing fingers in many directions, including criticism of ownership for not greenlighting more offseason spending, or of the team’s desultory pitching performance. President of baseball operations Theo Epstein, however, told ESPN.com’s Jesse Rogers and other reporters that the blame falls with him. “There is always a search for scapegoats when you get off to a tough start. [Pitching coach] Tommy Hottovy is not the problem. He’s a big part of the solution,” Epstein said. “[Owner] Tom Ricketts is not the problem. It’s not a resource issue. I know he’s another one that’s been taking a lot of heat. It’s not a resource problem. If people have a problem with the allocation of resources, then that’s on me. And it has been ever since I got here, with a lot of good and some bad.”

While it’s obviously still early in the season, the Cubs are already facing a big deficit in the NL Central due to the Brewers’ 7-1 start, as Rogers notes. The Cubs can make up some of that ground in their ongoing series with Milwaukee, plus there’s also really nowhere to go but up after this opening week. “It’s been real close to, if not, a worst-case scenario for us, defensively and in terms of our pitching….We’re sorry we’re putting our fans through this,” Epstein said.

Some more from around the National League…

Phillies reliever Tommy Hunter has been shut down from throwing after receiving a PRP injection in his right arm. (MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki was among those to report the news.) Hunter won’t resume throwing for three weeks, so factoring in those days plus the time Hunter would require to get into game readiness after missing much of Spring Training, the veteran righty might not be back in the Philadelphia bullpen until late May or perhaps early June. A flexor strain sidelined Hunter during the spring, and while the injury wasn’t thought to be overly serious at the time, it will result in a lengthy absence for the 32-year-old. Hunter was a solid contributor for the Phils last season, posting a 3.80 ERA, 3.40 K/BB rate, and 7.2 K/9 over 64 relief innings in the first year of a two-year, $18MM contract.
The Rangers and Blue Jays were two of the teams that had interest in Dan Straily before the right-hander signed with the Orioles last week, MLB Network’s Jon Heyman reports (Twitter link). Both Texas and Toronto are dealing with rotation injuries, though the Rangers had a more immediate need for starting help now that Edinson Volquez has been sidelined with a UCL injury.
Japan used to be seen as something of a last resort for players that couldn’t crack the Major Leagues, though as The Athletic’s Peter Gammons writes (subscription required), more and more players are returning from stints in Nippon Professional Baseball capable of thriving at the MLB level. Colby Lewis, Ryan Vogelsong, Miles Mikolas, and Ryan Brasier are some of the pitchers who revived or kickstarted their careers while playing in Japan, which some players and executives feel is a more conducive environment than Triple-A. NPB not only offers a higher level of competition, but just competition in general — players are playing to win in pressurized games in front of large crowds, rather than the more developmental nature of the minor leagues. Plus, players can earn much more in guaranteed NPB deals than in playing for meager minor league salaries or even minimum-level Major League contracts, and the extra security allows more focus on performance. “I’m not looking over my shoulder after every outing,” said Frank Herrmann, who is in his third season as a star reliever for Rakuten Golden Eagles after tossing 135 1/3 innings for the Indians and Phillies between 2010-16. “When you are that ’4A guy,’ a bad outing or even an extra-inning game in which you did your job could potentially be a demotion to the minors. That’s a grind mentality.”

Blue Jays Notes: Roster Moves, Pitching Health, Prospects

By Jeff Todd | April 4, 2019 at 5:42pm CDT

While there’s not much hope of the Blue Jays contending in 2019, that doesn’t mean it’ll be a quiet season. There has been some early-season roster maneuvering already in Toronto and more could ensue in the course of the campaign.

The latest:

With Alen Hanson and Socrates Brito reporting for duty, the Jays have a pair of new position players to work into the mix. Whether either or both have staying power remains to be seen, but the out-of-options players would need to be exposed to waivers if they’re not held on the active roster. To create space, the Jays optioned back outfielder Anthony Alford (who’s evidently not yet in line for a real look at the majors) and hurler Sean Reid-Foley. Lefty Thomas Pannone is jumping into the rotation vacancy, though he may ultimately just be keeping that spot warm.
The Toronto pitching staff will at some point feature bounceback candidate Clay Buchholz. As MLB.com’s Gregor Chisholm reports (links to Twitter), he’s one of several hurlers on the mend. Buchholz has already built up to sixty pitches and may be ready for the majors in the next ten days or so. Relievers Ryan Tepera and Ryan Borucki are also working back from injuries; the former seems to be on Buchholz’s timeline while the latter could return by the end of April. Meanwhile, David Phelps has resumed throwing as he tries to work back from Tommy John surgery. His timeline is not apparent at present.
Much of the intrigue this year will come from the young talent trying to force its way onto the MLB roster. No player has more hype than Vladimir Guerrero Jr., though he’s only one of several top prospects with obvious ability and intriguing MLB bloodlines. Vladito is also still working back from an oblique injury. He’s set to launch a rehab assignment this evening, Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet.ca tweets, with a Class A stop to open the season.
The possibility of an early (even pre-MLB) extension for Guerrero or other top Jays prospects seems interesting. GM Ross Atkins discussed that possibility recently, as Emily Sadler of Sportsnet.ca writes, though he didn’t really tip his hand on the likelihood of such a deal. If anything, he seemed to downplay such a scenario (at least in the immediate term). “It happens with a lot of discussion, a lot of interaction, a lot of back-and-forth,” said Atkins of extensions for younger players, “and what’s important to a player and what’s important to an organization has to line up and those risks are very different.” Regardless of contract possibilities, the Jays are still preparing to face multiple near-term promotion questions. On that issue, Atkins struck much the same tone he has previously, saying: “We want to have the most well-rounded and complete player as possible, but we’re not going to wait for that. We’re going to do the best of our ability to balance that.”

Minor MLB Transactions: 4/4/19

By Steve Adams | April 4, 2019 at 8:57am CDT

We’ll keep track of the latest minor transactions from around the league here…

Catcher Raffy Lopez cleared waivers and was sent outright to Triple-A Gwinnett by the Braves, per the league’s transactions log at MLB.com. Lopez, 31, was designated for assignment when Atlanta selected Matt Joyce and Josh Tomlin to their Opening Day roster. The journeyman catcher hit .176/.265/.284 in 117 plate appearances with the Padres last season and has never produced much in limited time at the MLB level. He is, however, a career .266/.340/.401 hitter in 1078 Triple-A plate appearances. The Braves acquired him from San Diego in exchange for cash back in early November, but he didn’t have a place on the active roster behind Tyler Flowers and Brian McCann.
Blue Jays catching prospect Max Pentecost has opted to retire, MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo reports (via Twitter). Sportsnet’s Shi Davidi reported late in camp that Pentecost was considering retirement as an option. The 26-year-old was the No. 11 pick of the 2014 draft but has undergone three different surgeries on his right shoulder since being selected. He missed the entire 2015 season as a result of those shoulder woes and has played in a total of just 260 minor league games (plus 11 more in the Arizona Fall League) since being drafted nearly five years ago. A healthy Pentecost showed a good bit of promise, particularly in 2016 when he hit .302/.361/.486 across two Class-A levels.
Tigers right-hander Grayson Long announced on Twitter that, due to “continuous injury,” he’s hanging up the spikes and returning to college to finish his degree at Texas A&M. Detroit acquired Long, now 24 years old, in the 2017 trade that sent Justin Upton to the Angels. The 2015 third-round pick didn’t pitch in 2018 as he recovered from thoracic outlet surgery — a procedure that has become increasingly common among professional pitchers in recent years but comes with a middling success rate, at best. Long showed plenty of potential in his last healthy season, tossing 137 2/3 innings of 3.01 ERA ball with averages of 8.4 K/9, 2.8 BB/9 and 0.6 HR/9 in 137 2/3 innings of Double-A ball.

Blue Jays To Release Bud Norris

By Steve Adams | April 2, 2019 at 9:05pm CDT

9:05pm: It doesn’t appear as though there’s an injury to Norris. Sportsnet’s Shi Davidi tweets that the Jays wanted Norris to continue building up arm strength in extended Spring Training despite having an open 40-man roster spot following today’s Kevin Pillar trade. Norris felt as though he’s ready to go, however, so the two sides will instead part ways.

7:42pm: The Blue Jays have released right-hander Bud Norris from his minor league contract, TSN’s Scott Mitchell reports (via Twitter). He’ll head back to the open market in search of a new opportunity.

Toronto slowed Norris, 34, down after a couple of spring appearances in what was said at the time to be an effort to allow him to build up strength after a late start to Spring Training. Norris was reportedly throwing 90-91 mph recently — well south of the 94.6 mph he averaged in 2018 — but that was chalked up to the fact that he didn’t sign until mid-March rather than any kind of legitimate injury concern. The Jays certainly didn’t seem concerned about his health, as they paid Norris a $100K retention bonus to keep him in the organization after informing him that he wouldn’t make the Opening Day roster.

Norris has had a pair of solid seasons with the Angels and Cardinals over the past two seasons. Over the life of 57 2/3 innings in St. Louis last year, the righty notched a 3.59 ERA with 10.5 K/9, 3.3 BB/9, 1.25 HR/9 and a 42.6 percent ground-ball rate. Fielding-independent metrics like FIP (3.99), xFIP (3.65) and SIERA (3.30) all felt that he was a generally solid bullpen piece with an ERA that was largely reflective of his overall performance. Last year was Norris’ second straight year with a swinging-strike rate of 12 percent or better — the first two such campaigns of his career — and he induced swings at pitches outside the strike zone at a career-best 35.9 percent clip as well, tying him for 18th among 151 qualified relievers.

The reasons for his release remain unclear, but assuming that Norris is indeed in good health and hasn’t been diagnosed with an injury that’d cause him to miss substantial time, he’ll likely latch on as a bullpen option with another club before long.

Blue Jays Extend Randal Grichuk

By Steve Adams | April 2, 2019 at 8:20pm CDT

8:20pm: USA Today’s Bob Nightengale tweets that there are some escalators in the contract as well. Grichuk’s 2023 salary would jump by $1MM if he makes a combined 1200 plate appearances from 2021-22. It’ll increase by $1.5MM if Grichuk makes 1250 PAs over that same time period and by $2MM if he tallies 1300 PAs between those two seasons.

6:12pm: The Blue Jays and outfielder Randal Grichuk are in agreement on a five-year contract worth a guaranteed $52MM, Shi Davidi of Sportsnet reports. Toronto announced the extension shortly after that report. The deal increases Grichuk’s current salary from $5MM to $7MM and pays him a $5MM signing bonus as well. The 27-year-old will then earn $12MM in 2020 before scaling back to a $9.333MM annual salary from 2021-23. Grichuk is a client of Excel Sports Management.

In all, Grichuk is securing a additional four years and $47MM in guaranteed money with the new arrangement. And while it’s impossible to know precisely what he’d have earned in his final season of arbitration eligibility in 2020, the $5MM base at which he was slated to play this season provides a reasonable window into what he might’ve earned.

If we put down a theoretical $3MM raise for what would’ve been Grichuk’s final arb year, the Blue Jays are effectively valuing his trio of free-agent seasons at about $39MM — a rough contract template that has been common among free agents in recent years (e.g. Jay Bruce, Zack Cozart, Mark Trumbo, Daniel Murphy pre-2016).

Grichuk would’ve been a free agent upon conclusion of his age-28 campaign in 2020 but will instead be signed through his age-31 season. He’ll presumably take over as Toronto’s primary center fielder for the next half decade now that the Jays have traded Kevin Pillar to the Giants (though he’s certainly capable of playing a corner as well). Other potential long-term pieces in the Toronto outfield include Teoscar Hernandez and Anthony Alford.

As a career .247/.297/.490 hitter, Grichuk may not immediately stand out as an extension candidate, but the Jays feel they have reason to be optimistic regarding his long-term value. Grichuk has a strong defensive track record according to each of Defensive Runs Saved, Ultimate Zone Rating and Outs Above Average, and he belted a career-best 25 home runs in just 462 plate appearances last season. Statcast ranks his sprint speed in the 88th percentile of active players, so Toronto surely feels that while Grichuk may never be an on-base threat, he’ll provide quality defense and plenty of power over the next five seasons.

That said, the deal carries more risk than some of the other extensions we’ve seen for players with less service time. Grichuk’s walk rate has hovered between 5.8 percent and 6.3 percent in each of his full MLB seasons, and his strikeout rate has never dipped lower than last year’s 26.4 percent. It’s possible that that mark was a prelude to future improvement, but it’s also worth noting that the improved contact rate didn’t necessarily lead to improved contact all the time; Grichuk popped up at a career-high rate in 2018, which largely counteracted the dropoff in strikeouts.

Unless he can find a way to boost his on-base percentage into league-average territory, Grichuk will have less margin for error with regards to his power and defensive proficiency. A step back in either of those categories at any point over the five-year deal would make it difficult for him to provide adequate value. Similarly, because his on-base skills lag well below the league average, his ceiling is curbed to the point that it’s difficult to envision this contract looking like a true bargain at any point.

The approximately $13MM rate at which this contract appears to value Grichuk’s would-be free-agent seasons has been the going rate for players older than him for awhile now. In addition to Bruce, Josh Reddick, Shane Victorino, Chase Headley and A.J. Pollock were all valued in that range on an annual basis on their own free-agent deals. It seems like the Blue Jays believe Grichuk to be capable of elevating his value beyond that $13MM price point in the coming two seasons, otherwise they wouldn’t have felt it necessary to commit this far in advance. If he can continue to barrel 14.4 percent of the balls he puts in play (as measured by Statcast), perhaps that is indeed the case.

However, the possibility also exists that the Blue Jays paid market prices for a player whose earning power isn’t likely to increase dramatically, and did so two seasons before they’d have been contractually forced to make the call. Having already made a trade to acquire Grichuk from the Cardinals, the Ross Atkins/Mark Shapiro-led Toronto front office clearly believes in the player, and today’s extension underscores that faith.

Grichuk’s contract, remarkably, is the 26th extension of the calendar year and the 25th that buys out what would have been free-agent seasons for the player signing the pact. He’ll now join Lourdes Gurriel Jr. as the only player on the Blue Jays’ roster who is guaranteed any money beyond the 2019 season. The Jays have as much payroll flexibility as anyone in the game moving forward, and the manner in which they leverage that advantage will help to determine how quickly they’re able to return to contention in a stacked American League East division.

Blue Jays Acquire Socrates Brito

By Jeff Todd | April 2, 2019 at 1:14pm CDT

The Blue Jays have acquired outfielder Socrates Brito from the Padres, according to a club announcement. Outfielder Rodrigo Orozco goes to San Diego in return.

There’s quite a bit of change afoot in the Toronto outfield mix. The club shipped Kevin Pillar out earlier today. Anthony Alford is on his way up, per Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet.ca (via Twitter). And to create 40-man space for the latest moves, the Jays shifted Dalton Pompey to the 60-day injured list.

Brito will give the Jays a left-handed-hitting, defensive-oriented option in center. He could pair there with Randal Grichuk, who seems likely to slide into the opening created by the departure of Pillar.

It was never really clear what the San Diego organization had in mind with regard to Brito, but it seems they nabbed him off waivers with an eye to flipping him. They’ll be rewarded for their efforts with Orozco, who turns 24 today and hasn’t yet played above the High-A level. The switch-hitter posted a .304/.375/.389 slash with forty walks and 53 strikeouts in 424 plate appearances last year. He also swiped 18 bags.

Giants Acquire Kevin Pillar From Blue Jays In Four-Player Swap

By Jeff Todd | April 2, 2019 at 10:55am CDT

The Giants and Blue Jays have announced a trade that will send outfielder Kevin Pillar to San Francisco. Heading back to Toronto in return are righty Derek Law, recently designated infielder Alen Hanson, and righty Juan De Paula.

The Giants designated outfielder Michael Reed to create roster space. He joins both Law and Hanson as recent 40-man roster casualties. Law had already been outrighted prior to this move, while Hanson was still in DFA limbo.

It’s not immediately clear how the Giants will line up in the outfield. Youngster Steven Duggar is likely in line for most of the time in center, but Pillar would offer a platoon match there — the former hits from the left side, the latter from the right — and could also spend time in the corners. He was obviously preferred to the untested Reed, who was added to the mix via late in camp.

Pillar, 30, has some pop but struggles in the on-base department. He’s a lifetime .260/.297/.396 hitter, but has been better (100 wRC+) against left-handed pitching. Pillar’s appeal lies in his glovework and baserunning. While metrics dimmed on his overall defensive work last year, Pillar has a history of outstanding work up the middle and has one of the game’s most impressive highlight reels on the outfield grass. He could end up being moved at the deadline, kept as a one-year fill-in piece, or kept for 2020 via arbitration (his final season of control).

For the Jays, Pillar simply wasn’t part of the long-term plans. This transaction is the latest that clears out roster space and sheds some payroll. The club could have held onto Pillar in hopes that he’d turn in a quality first half and become a mid-season trade chip, but will instead drop his $5.8MM salary and open the door for Anthony Alford to get a shot at the majors.

The Toronto organization does pick up a few potentially helpful roster assets in Law and Hanson. The former had a nice 2016 debut but has struggled since. Law will be available as a depth relief piece if a need arises. Hanson, 26, was a major contributor least year in San Francisco but faded down the stretch. He could take up a utility role, though the Jays have several such players on the roster already.

But the only player with notable potential future value is De Paula, a 21-year-old who has had some success in the minors. He reached the Class A level last year, making one start there. Over 233 innings in parts of four seasons in the low minors, he carries a 2.47 ERA with 8.8 K/9 and 3.0 BB/9.

De Paula originally came to the Giants last year in the swap that sent Andrew McCutchen to the Yankees. As JJ Cooper of Baseball America notes on Twitter, he has now been swapped three times already in his still-nascent career.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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