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Blue Jays Rumors

Blue Jays Acquire Julian Merryweather To Complete Josh Donaldson Trade

By TC Zencka | October 5, 2018 at 10:12am CDT

The Indians announced the completion of the August 31st Josh Donaldson trade today, sending right-hander Julian Merryweather to Toronto as expected.

To make room for Merryweather on the 40-man roster, Jon Berti was designated for assignment, per Sportsnet.ca’s Shi Davidi. The 28-year-old Berti got his first taste of the big leagues this season, starting four games at second base and hitting .267 for the Blue Jays in September.

Playoff contributions notwithstanding, we now know Cleveland’s return on this deal – Donaldson’s small-sample September batting line of .280/.400/.520 across 16 games was good for 0.7 rWAR and a stellar 146 OPS+. With the division locked up for most of the season, Donaldson’s acquisition was designed for the playoffs, beginning today in Houston – still, they seem to have gotten a fair imitation of the bat they were hoping for thus far.

Fancred’s Jon Heyman reported last month that Merryweather would be the PTBNL, but at the time the right-hander wasn’t healthy enough to be passed through waivers – having undergone Tommy John surgery in Spring Training. Merryweather missed the entire 2018 season, but because he was on the minor-league disabled list, he has yet to accrue any MLB service time.

The Blue Jays are banking on Merryweather being more valuable than the compensatory draft pick they would have received if they issued – and Donaldson rejected – a qualifying offer. Perhaps they were wary of Donaldson accepting, which we now know would cost them $17.9 MM for 2019, but whether their thinking was financial, evaluative, or simply in the interest of keeping third-base unoccupied for uberprospect Vlad Guerrero Jr., the return for the 2015 AL MVP now hinges on the health and continued development of Merryweather.

Before losing the 2018 season to Tommy John, the 6’4″ right-hander was 17th on Baseball America’s list of Cleveland prospects. He’s on the older side for a player yet to make his MLB debut (he’ll turn 27 on October 14th), but he pitched well enough in AA as a 25-year-old to turn some heads, and he has an arsenal that could play up to the level of a mid-rotation starter, per Eric Longenhagen of Fangraphs. Merryweather may end up in the bullpen, but remember, a rising tide lifts all boats, and the past few Octobers have done nothing if not raise the value of tweener bullpen arms like Merryweather.

It’s not a flashy return, but six to seven years of a control for a near Major League-ready arm is nothing to scoff at. There’s health and development that need to break in Merryweather’s favor, but a supplemental draft pick was no less risky and ultimately, Toronto adds a controllable arm in exchange for an injured player on his way out of town. That undersells Donaldson’s impact in Toronto (as well as his abilities on the field), not to mention what they might have netted if they’d moved him last offseason – but if you squint hard enough, Merryweather’s upside at least hints at the possibility that Donaldson’s free agency isn’t a total loss.

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Cleveland Guardians Newsstand Toronto Blue Jays Transactions Josh Donaldson Julian Merryweather

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Latest On The Mets’ General Manager Search

By Mark Polishuk | October 4, 2018 at 3:25pm CDT

3:25pm: MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo hears differently regarding Duquette, tweeting that the longtime Orioles GM is not a candidate for the Mets’ job and is not in line to receive an interview. Martino agrees, tweeting “definitively” that Duquette will not be interviewed.

2:34pm: The Mets haven’t yet contacted Dan Duquette, though he is expected to receive an interview with the team, Mike Puma of the New York Post writes.  As a further detail about Cherington, The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal reports (Twitter link) that he also removed himself from consideration for the Giants’ search. Cherington is open to GM opportunities but would prefer the opportunity to “build an organization from the ground up,” per Rosenthal.

9:12am: The Mets are beginning to compile names and line up interviews to determine the identity of their next general manager, though Blue Jays VP of baseball operations Ben Cherington won’t be interviewing for the position, SNY.tv’s Andy Martino reports.  While neither Cherington or the Mets commented on the situation, Martino hears that Cherington is happy in his current job in Toronto.

Cherington won a World Series during his tenure as Boston’s general manager (covering the 2012 season to August 2015), and joined the Jays in September 2016.  He was linked to previous front office vacancies with the Twins and Braves over the last two years, though declined offers to interview for those positions; the Giants are also reportedly interested in Cherington for their current GM opening.

Cherington recently stated that while he was open to the idea of becoming a general manager again, he was enjoying his work for the Jays.  There doesn’t appear to be much urgency on Cherington’s part to leap back into the fray of running a front office, and there seems to be enough consistent interest in his services that he can afford to pick and choose from potential situations.

The Mets have reportedly had interest in speaking to Cherington for weeks, though even if he isn’t a candidate, the club still has roughly 10-12 people under serious consideration to be their next general manager.  MLB executive Kim Ng, Braves assistant GM Perry Minasian, Royals assistant GM Scott Sharp, and former Orioles GM Dan Duquette are just a few of the names who have been rumored to be on the Mets’ radar, and it was reported yesterday that former Rangers and Brewers GM Doug Melvin would be receiving an interview.

Cardinals director of player development Gary LaRocque is also expected to be interviewed in the near future, Fancred Sports’ Jon Heyman tweets.  LaRocque was initially mentioned as a candidate of interest back in August, owing to his past tenure with the Mets organization from 1998-2008 and his 40+ years of experience in a wide variety of different scouting, front office, and on-field roles in the Dodgers, Mets, and Cardinals organizations.

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New York Mets San Francisco Giants Toronto Blue Jays Ben Cherington Dan Duquette

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Managerial Notes: Snitker, Espada, Blue Jays, Orioles

By Mark Polishuk | October 4, 2018 at 11:07am CDT

The Braves were considering parting ways with Brian Snitker at the end of the 2017 season, and the manager revealed to MLB.com’s Mark Bowman that he considered quitting out of frustration with then-Braves GM John Coppolella and president of baseball operations John Hart.  Snitker reached the point of contacting a clubhouse attendant back in Atlanta to say “Pack my things, I’m not coming back” after Coppolella criticized one of Snitker’s decisions during the Braves’ third-to-last game of the season, an otherwise meaningless matchup against the Marlins.  Snitker stuck around long enough, however, to see his situation unexpectedly change, due to Coppolella’s shocking resignation in the wake of a league investigation into international signing violations.  With Coppolella and, eventually, Hart both leaving the organization, Snitker formed a good relationship with new Atlanta GM Alex Anthopoulos and the rest is history, with the Braves winning the NL East.  Bowman’s piece is well worth a full read, as it details Snitker’s unlikely path to his first Major League managerial job after spending four decades in the Braves organization as a player, coach, and minor league skipper.

Here’s more on some of the open managerial situations around baseball…

  • The Angels have interest in Astros bench coach Joe Espada as a managerial candidate, ESPN.com’s Marly Rivera reports.  The 43-year-old Espada previously worked as a third base coach for the Marlins and Yankees before taking his current position in Houston last winter, and Espada has also been a coach for Puerto Rico in the World Baseball Classic and a manager in the Puerto Rican winter league.  Espada has ties to Angels GM Billy Eppler, as both worked together with the Yankees in 2014-15, plus Espada briefly played in the Rockies’ minor league system in 2001 when Eppler was a scout in the Colorado organization.
  • The Blue Jays are considering Giants VP of player development David Bell and MLB Network analyst Dave Valle as part of their managerial search, as per The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal (Twitter links).  As Rosenthal notes, Bell is also a candidate for the Reds’ manager position, and has been mentioned as a potential successor to Bruce Bochy in San Francisco.  Before becoming the Giants’ farm director, Bell worked for the Cardinals as a bench coach and assistant hitting coach, the Cubs as a third base coach, and as a manager for the Reds’ Double-A and Triple-A affiliates.  Valle would be something of an outside-the-box choice, as his only pro managing or coaching experience was one season managing Seattle’s A-ball affiliate in 2014.  Since wrapping up his 13-year playing career in 1996, Valle has been a TV and radio broadcaster for the Mariners, as well as a broadcaster for MLB Network since 2009.
  • In another tweet, Rosenthal also listed Eric Wedge, John McDonald, Sandy Alomar Jr., and Stubby Clapp as likely candidates for the Blue Jays job.  The four names have often been mentioned in connection with the Jays’ search in recent weeks, plus bench coach DeMarlo Hale and Double-A manager John Schneider are also known to be under consideration.
  • The Orioles officially announced yesterday that Buck Showalter and Dan Duquette wouldn’t be returning to the club in 2019, though the fact that the team waited until after the season to announce the changes “makes absolutely no sense” to ESPN.com’s Buster Olney (Twitter link).  Both Showalter and Duquette were in the last year of their contracts and there was a clear sense that changes would be made in the wake of Baltimore’s disastrous 115-loss season, so in Olney’s view, “valuable time [was] squandered” by the Orioles.  Rather than begin their search for a new manager and GM over the last several weeks or months, the O’s will now be competing for candidates with other teams looking to fill managerial or front office vacancies.
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Atlanta Braves Baltimore Orioles Houston Astros Los Angeles Angels San Francisco Giants Toronto Blue Jays Brian Snitker Joe Espada John McDonald Sandy Alomar Jr.

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GM Ross Atkins On Blue Jays’ Offseason, Manager Search

By Mark Polishuk | October 3, 2018 at 11:30am CDT

Blue Jays general manager Ross Atkins discussed some of his team’s offseason plans in an end-of-season chat with reporters (including the Athletic’s John Lott, and Sportsnet.ca’s Shi Davidi and Ben Nicholson-Smith) on Tuesday.  Some of the highlights…

  • The team has been in contact with a few managerial candidates already, though the Jays are still “gathering information” on their list of candidates, Atkins said.  Initial phone interviews with 10 or more candidates will begin within the week, with a final field of around five candidates then selected for in-person interviews with various members of the Jays organization.  The connection between the manager and the franchise as a whole is an important factor, as Atkins describes his ideal hire as possessing an “understanding what it takes for communication to keep not just [a] 25-man roster, but also the 40-man roster, the 200 minor-league players, the 100-plus scouts, the 100-plus coaches and medical staff people pulling in one direction and feeling connected.  That person has to be an organizational leader and spokesperson, not just a leader of the 25-man clubhouse.”
  • Bench coach DeMarlo Hale and Double-A manager John Schneider are two of the in-house candidates, and it seems as if the Blue Jays are leaning towards people with some type of managing or coaching background.  The new Jays manager “will have experience leading,” Atkins said.  “That is something extremely important for us.”  The new manager must also be adept at requesting and interpreting the available analytical information, with Atkins specifying that while the manager (and not the front office) will still handle all in-game decision-making.  Beyond these requirements, the Blue Jays will “cast as big a net as time and bandwidth can handle” in looking for a new manager, Atkins said.
  • The Jays will be open to re-signing Marco Estrada or possibly bringing back J.A. Happ, who was dealt to the Yankees at the trade deadline.  Atkins said that Toronto will first focus on the trade market before looking at free agents, however, and “We’d be looking for complementary pieces, and I think the focus would be slightly more short-term.”  This would seem to count out a pursuit of Happ, who wouldn’t require a long contract (he turns 36 later this month), but his solid performance will likely price him out of the Jays’ range.
  • There will be a focus on adding arms to the organization, with Atkins noting “we need to turn some of our position-player depth into pitching.  That doesn’t mean we won’t trade from our young core or guys that haven’t even gotten to the major leagues.”  Some of the names on the move could be prospects who are eligible for the Rule 5 Draft, as the Jays have a 40-man roster crunch forthcoming and not everyone can be protected.  As it is, Atkins expects to lose at least one player in the Rule 5 Draft in December.
  • Beyond pitching, Atkins said Toronto will also prioritize improving the team’s poor defense and baserunning.
  • After Troy Tulowitzki spent the entire 2018 season on the disabled list, Atkins said that the veteran shortstop’s status for 2019 “starts with health.”  When asked if Tulowitzki can still be an everyday player amidst the Jays’ younger infield options, Atkins answered “If Tulo’s healthy and performing at a very high rate, then yes. If he’s healthy and his performance isn’t to the calibre that major-league environments demand, then no.”  Tulowitzki has been adamant about remaining at shortstop, though it remains to be seen if he can handle any position at all given his lengthy injury history over the years; in addition to missing 2018, Tulowitzki averaged just 98 games a season from 2012-17.  Obviously Tulowitzki has virtually no trade value in the wake of his lost year, so the Jays might have to consider releasing him and eating the $38MM still owed to him through 2020.
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Toronto Blue Jays J.A. Happ Marco Estrada Ross Atkins Troy Tulowitzki

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AL East Rumors: Rays, Blue Jays, Orioles

By Steve Adams | October 1, 2018 at 9:32am CDT

On the heels of a surprisingly strong season, Rays general manager Erik Neander tells Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times that the team’s “arrow [is] pointing up” as it looks to the future. Neander plainly suggests that the expectation for the club moving forward with this core will be consistent playoff berths, beginning next season. Tampa Bay, stunningly, has just over $9MM on the books in guaranteed contracts next season, though both Matt Duffy and Tommy Pham will be in line for arbitration raises. Both C.J. Cron and Jesus Sucre will also be arbitration-eligible, but Topkin suggests that Cron, Sucre, Carlos Gomez and Sergio Romo may all have played their last game with the organization. Cron is owed a raise on this year’s $2.3MM salary, while Sucre will see a raise on his own $925K salary. Both Gomez and Romo are free agents.

More from the division…

  • The Blue Jays will have plenty of roster decisions on their hands this offseason, as Gregor Chisholm of MLB.com explores thoroughly. Chisholm reports that “early indications” are that the Blue Jays are seeking a “fresh face” rather than a veteran manager to replace John Gibbons, mentioning former Jays infielder John McDonald, Double-A skipper John Schneider and Cardinals Triple-A skipper Stubby Clapp as possible candidates. Chisholm also calls it “likely” that the Jays will add a veteran starter to the rotation this winter, looks at the future of both Marcus Stroman and Aaron Sanchez with the organization and previews a likely roster crunch in advance of the Rule 5 Draft.
  • There’s still no official word on the status of longtime Orioles manager Buck Showlter, but it’s been reported for weeks that he’s unlikely to return. Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com writes that official word on Showalter could come as soon as today, and expectations of his departure have not changed. Kubatko also chatted with Adam Jones following what is quite likely his final game as an Oriole (barring a return late in his career). Jones acknowledged the strangeness he felt in hearing the word “rebuild” in Baltimore, as the only time he’d previously heard it was when he was breaking onto the scene with fellow upstarts Nick Markakis and Chris Tillman. Not that it’s been in doubt, but Jones certainly didn’t speak like someone who anticipated a return to Baltimore. “It’s been a great run here, great tenure here, so hopefully go somewhere and see what the next chapter in my career has for me,” said Jones, who received quite the tribute in his final game at Camden Yards yesterday. Showalter allowed Jones to take the field — center field, at that — alone in the first inning of the game before being removed in the top of the ninth to a roaring ovation from O’s fans (video link via MLB.com).
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Baltimore Orioles Tampa Bay Rays Toronto Blue Jays Aaron Sanchez Adam Jones C.J. Cron Carlos Gomez Jesus Sucre John McDonald Marcus Stroman Matt Duffy Sergio Romo Tommy Pham

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Giants Notes: GM Search, Pence, Hundley, Holland

By Mark Polishuk | September 30, 2018 at 11:15pm CDT

Some items out of San Francisco…

  • Royals assistant GM Scott Sharp, Brewers assistant GM Matt Arnold, and Blue Jays VP of baseball operations Ben Cherington have all been linked to the Giants’ general manager position, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe writes.  Going into more detail on Cherington, Cafardo believes Cherington’s use of both traditional scouting and modern analytics makes him an ideal all-around candidate for both the Giants and Mets jobs, as Cherington is reportedly also under consideration in New York.
  • Hunter Pence may have played his last game in a Giants uniform on Sunday, but the veteran outfielder tells reporters (including Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area) that he isn’t ready to retire.  In fact, he said he plans to “reinvent myself” after two unproductive seasons; Pence intends to overhaul his swing this offseason, and is planning a winter ball stint in Mexico or the Dominican Republic.  “I feel strong, I feel healthy, I feel fast. I’m going to work on flexibility and changing my swing completely.  I want to still play. It’s uncertain — hopefully I can find an opportunity, and I’m going to look for it,” Pence said.
  • Free agents Derek Holland and Nick Hundley are both hoping to return to the Giants in 2019, the duo told reporters (including NBC Sports Bay Area’s Alex Pavlovic).  Holland signed a minor league deal last February but will command a much more significant commitment this winter after posting a 3.57 ERA, 8.9 K/9, and 2.52 K/BB rate over 171 1/3 innings.  He’d be a nice addition to the Giants’ rotation if the price is right, given how many lingering injury questions remain within the team’s pitching staff.  Hundley has spent the last two years with the Giants as Buster Posey’s backup, and Pavlovic notes that the team would prefer a veteran backup presence behind the plate given that Posey will be recovering from hip surgery.
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Kansas City Royals Milwaukee Brewers San Francisco Giants Toronto Blue Jays Ben Cherington Derek Holland Hunter Pence Nick Hundley

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East Notes: Phillies, Quinn, Herrera, Yanks, CC, Rays, Jays, Estrada

By Connor Byrne | September 29, 2018 at 10:00pm CDT

Thanks to the presence of rookie Roman Quinn, Phillies outfielder Odubel Herrera has recently shifted from center field to right. It’s unclear whether that alignment will hold up in 2019, but manager Gabe Kapler said Saturday (via Todd Zolecki of MLB.com) that he wants both players to enter next season prepared to handle center. Kapler also suggested that Herrera hasn’t been at top physical condition this season, per Zolecki, saying: “I think he can come into camp in better shape in 2019 than he came in 2018. … This is something that he and I have discussed and will continue to discuss. I think he can be in incredible physical shape. We’ve seen it from him in the past. If you look back a couple years you see a version of him that is fast, athletic, explosive and I think that’s in there and I’m excited about helping him and supporting him to bring that out.”

Going by fWAR (1.1), this has been a dud of a season for Herrera, who posted between 2.9 and 3.8 in that category from 2015-17. Perhaps Herrera will be an offseason trade candidate, then, though the Phillies would be “selling low” on him, Zolecki points out. He also notes Quinn’s history of injuries could make it all the more difficult to part with Herrera, who’s set to turn 27 in December and has four guaranteed seasons left on the five-year, $30.5MM extension he signed prior to 2017.

Here’s more from the East Coast…

  • Major League Baseball has issued a five-game suspension to Yankees left-hander CC Sabathia and a three-game ban to Rays right-hander Andrew Kittredge, Daniel Kramer of MLB.com was among those to report. Both players will serve their suspensions at the beginning of the 2019 season, if they’re upheld through the appeals process. Sabathia was ejected from a win over the Rays on Thursday after throwing at catcher Jesus Sucre, a retaliatory move which served as a response to Kittredge nearly hitting Yankees backstop Austin Romine in the previous half-inning. Sabathia’s ejection may have cost him a significant amount of money, considering he was cruising through five innings and was only two frames away from notching 155 for the season. Had Sabathia reached that mark, he’d have secured a $500K bonus. It’s still possible the 38-year-old will earn that money, though, with George A. King III of the New York Post noting the Yankees could use him for a couple innings Sunday in Boston in a postseason tuneup. However, Sabathia told reporters on Saturday that he’s not interested in doing that (via Erik Boland of Newsday). “Nah, man, the season’s over for me. I’m ready for the lights to come on,” he said.
  • Blue Jays righty Marco Estrada won’t make his scheduled start Sunday on account of a sore back, per Gregor Chisholm of MLB.com, meaning the pending free agent may have thrown his last pitch as a member of the team. The 35-year-old Estrada, a Blue Jay since 2015, said he’d “love to hear from” the club again and is “comfortable” in Toronto, though he’s not sure whether the club’s interested in re-signing him. Thanks in part to the Jays’ youth movement, not to mention Estrada’s struggles this season, a parting of ways may be in order. Estrada had been a quality starter for the Jays from 2015-17, but he only managed a 5.64 ERA/5.44 FIP over 143 2/3 innings this year.
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New York Yankees Philadelphia Phillies Tampa Bay Rays Toronto Blue Jays Andrew Kittredge C.C. Sabathia Marco Estrada Odubel Herrera Roman Quinn

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AL East Notes: Kiermaier, Sanchez, Didi, Biagini

By Steve Adams | September 26, 2018 at 9:05pm CDT

Rays center fielder Kevin Kiermaier was hit on the foot by a pitch tonight and later diagnosed with a hairline fracture, per a team announcement. Kiermaier originally stayed in the game after being plunked, but with only a handful of games remaining, it seems likely that he’ll get an early start on his offseason. The 28-year-old already missed more than two months earlier this season with a torn ligament in his thumb and has averaged just 97 games per season across the past three years due to injury. His 2016 season was shortened by a pair of fractures in his hand sustained while diving for a ball in the outfield, while his 2017 season was truncated by a fractured hip incurred while sliding. Kiermaier is one of the game’s premier defenders and an outstanding baserunner, but tonight’s news won’t do anything to quell the “injury-prone” label that has been attached to him in recent years. He’s set to earn $8MM in 2019, $10MM in 2020, $11.5MM in 2021 and $12MM in 2022 as part of the six-year, $53.5MM extension he signed in 2017.

More from the division…

  • Yankees skipper Aaron Boone acknowledged tonight that Gary Sanchez’s ongoing troubles with passed balls are a “concern” but left no doubt that Sanchez is expected to be the starter for the team in the postseason (Twitter link via the YES Network’s Jack Curry). Sanchez, 25, has an MLB-worst 17 passed balls this season despite catching just 631 innings heading into tonight’s game. The issue is hardly unique to 2018, either, as he led the league with 16 passed balls last year (in 881 innings). He’s also taken a step back in nearly all facets with his bat in 2018, hitting .181/.281/.393 through 365 PAs. Sanchez is still among baseball’s most powerful catchers and, to his credit, has improved his walk rate to a robust 11.8 percent this season.
  • Sticking with the Yankees, Bryan Hoch of MLB.com writes that shortstop Didi Gregorius was cleared to resume baseball activities on Wednesday. Gregorius, who is dealing with a cartilage injury in his right wrist, is optimisitc about returning before the end of the regular season. Even if he doesn’t return before season’s end, Boone said that wouldn’t rule out a possible appearance in the AL Wild Card Game, though the manager generally spoke with caution rather than putting down a definitive timetable on Gregorius’ return.
  • Right-hander Joe Biagini has bounced between the bullpen and rotation since being selected in the Rule 5 Draft by the Blue Jays prior to the 2016 season, but he tells Sportsnet’s Arden Zwelling that he’s now focused on a relief role moving forward. “I’m looking forward to having one role for the whole season to see if that helps,” said Biagini. The struggles to which Biagini alludes there have been pronounced; the righty pitched to a brilliant 3.06 ERA with strong peripherals as a rookie in 2016 while working exclusively as a reliever. He’s bounced between the ’pen and the rotation in the two seasons since, however, and been tattooed for a 5.51 ERA in 189 1/3 innings. As Zwelling notes, the Jays will be on the hunt for both rotation and relief help this offseason, so knowing where Biagini will fit into the equation should help when plotting their offseason trajectory.
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New York Yankees Tampa Bay Rays Toronto Blue Jays Didi Gregorius Gary Sanchez Joe Biagini Kevin Kiermaier

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Blue Jays Announce They Will Not Retain Manager John Gibbons

By Jeff Todd | September 26, 2018 at 12:03pm CDT

12:03pm: GM Ross Atkins announced in a joint press conference with Gibbons that the latter will not return to his position.

9:06am: The Blue Jays will announce today that they will not retain manager John Gibbons for the 2019 season, according to Steve Phillips of MLB Network Radio (via Twitter). As Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca explains in reporting the same, this news represents a formal acknowledgement of an outcome that was more or less already decided.

Gibbons, 56, has run the dugout for the past six seasons in his second stint with the organization. He originally took over the team in the middle of the 2004 season but was let go in the midst of a disappointing 2008 campaign. After a few years in the Royals and Padres organizations, Gibbons returned for the 2013 season after the Jays allowed John Farrell to move to the division-rival Red Sox.

Most recently, Gibbons signed an extension that included a guarantee for the 2019 campaign. Accordingly, he’ll be paid under that deal regardless of where he ends up. As Davidi writes, Gibbons says he’d prefer to continue managing. Whether that’ll come to pass in the near term isn’t clear, but it seems to suggest that he’ll continue to look for opportunities on major or minor-league staffs.

In his return effort with Toronto, Gibbons guided the club to memorable campaigns in 2015 and 2016, including an AL East title in the first of those years. While the Jays were unable to break through to the World Series, suffering consecutive ALCS defeats, the period represented a return to prominence for what had been a dormant organization.

Things have turned south since, of course, though it’s tough to lay the malaise at the feet of Gibbons. In the aggregate, he carries a 791-787 record as the Blue Jays manager. As Davidi notes, that places Gibbon second only to the legendary Cito Gaston in games managed and wins in franchise history.

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Newsstand Toronto Blue Jays John Gibbons

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Blue Jays Select Jon Berti

By Jeff Todd | September 26, 2018 at 11:54am CDT

The Blue Jays announced today that they have selected the contract of infielder/outfielder Jon Berti. To create a 40-man spot, fellow utilityman Brandon Drury was shifted to the 60-day DL.

Berti, 28, will make his MLB debut after wrapping up his eighth minor-league campaign. He has spent all of those with the Blue Jays, excepting a portion early this year when he was traded to, then re-acquired from, the Indians.

Though he once earned an Arizona Fall League placement, and performed rather well there, Berti hasn’t generally shown much with the bat in the upper minors. This season, however, he posted strong numbers during his 72 games at Double-A. Through 316 plate appearances, he put up a .314/.399/.498 batting line with eight home runs and 21 steals. Berti has swiped 265 bags during his time in the minors.

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Toronto Blue Jays Transactions Brandon Drury

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