Blue Jays Claim Zac Rosscup, Designate Jimmy Cordero
The Blue Jays have claimed lefty Zac Rosscup off waivers from the Mariners, per a club announcement. In order to open a spot on the 40-man roster, Toronto has designated right-hander Jimmy Cordero for assignment.
Rosscup, 30, inked a Major League deal with the Mariners this offseason, although that came with a modest $610K guarantee at the MLB level, so the Blue Jays aren’t really adding any salary to the books. Through 14 innings in Seattle, Rosscup pitched to a palatable 3.21 ERA with a whopping 20 strikeouts, but he also walked 14 batters and threw a pair of wild pitches.
As noted yesterday, Rosscup had some appealing qualities to him — namely a hefty 40 strikeouts and 18.3 percent swinging-strike rate in his past 25 1/3 big league innings. He’s fallen behind way too many hitters this season but has also generated a swinging strike on 30 of the 101 sliders he’d thrown, so there’s certainly some level of intrigue surrounding his ability to miss bats. If the Jays can sort him out, he’d be controllable through the 2021 season.
Cordero, meanwhile, was a recent waiver claim himself but barely lasted a week in his return to the Blue Jays organization. He appeared in one game with the Jays and allowed a solo homer in 1 1/3 innings pitched. Cordero has a 5.75 ERA, 12 strikeouts and 12 walks in 20 1/3 MLB frames to go along with a career 3.41 ERA, 10.4 K/9 and 4.7 BB/9 in 63 1/3 innings of Triple-A ball. The 27-year-old has averaged 97.5 mph on a blistering heater in his limited big league action over the past two seasons and can be optioned freely for the remainder of the 2019 season, but he’ll be out of minor league options come 2020.
Nationals Claim Javy Guerra, Designate Dan Jennings
WEDNESDAY: Jennings has elected to become a free agent, the Nationals announced.
MONDAY: The Nationals announced that they’ve claimed right-hander Javy Guerra off waivers from the Blue Jays and designated veteran lefty Dan Jennings for assignment to open a spot on the 40-man roster. Toronto had designated Guerra for assignment last week.
Guerra, 33, appeared in 11 games with the Jays to open the season and has turned in 14 innings of 3.86 ERA ball with a 15-to-5 K/BB ratio and a 27 percent ground-ball rate. It’s a solid showing, though it comes on the heels of a 5.55 ERA in 35 2/3 frames with the Marlins last season. The Nationals, however, need bullpen help perhaps more than any club in the game and will hope that Guerra can maintain his early success from Toronto and stabilize a relief corps that has been the worst in MLB in terms of ERA (6.60) and xFIP (5.15) as well as 25th in FIP (5.03).
Washington brought the 32-year-old Jennings aboard last month under similar circumstances, hoping that he could help to smooth things over. That didn’t prove to be the case, however, as he was tagged for seven runs on eight hits and seven walks with nine strikeouts in just 4 2/3 innings. A team in less dire circumstances might’ve given Jennings a bit more leash given his strong track record, but the Nats are eight games under .500 and eight games back in the NL East.
Blue Jays Release Ben Revere
The Blue Jays have released veteran outfielder Ben Revere from their Triple-A club, per Baseball America’s Kegan Lowe. He was in his second stint with the Jays after signing a minor league deal in late April. He’d previously had a brief but solid run as a regular in left field with Toronto after being acquired prior to trade deadline in 2015.
Revere initially reported to extended Spring Training upon signing, and he appeared in just eight games before returning to the open market. He collected multiple hits in four of those eight contests and hit .286/.286/.371 with only three strikeouts in his 35 plate appearances back in the Jays organization.
Revere, who turned 31 a couple of weeks ago, hasn’t played in the Majors since hitting .275/.308/.344 in 308 plate appearances with the Angels in 2017. He spent last season with the Halos’ Triple-A affiliate and batted .277/.319/.406 in a limited sample of 40 games. He’s long been known for his blistering speed and knack for putting the ball in play, although he’s swiped just three bags in those 48 games at the Triple-A level across the past two seasons. Revere is capable of handling all three outfield positions and was playing in games as recently as this past weekend, when he recorded consecutive multi-hit efforts, so he could land with another organization in need of some upper-level depth and step directly into a lineup in Triple-A.
Injury Notes: McHugh, Davis, Tepera, Zunino, Duke
The Astros announced today that right-hander Collin McHugh is headed to the 10-day injured list due to discomfort in his right elbow. It’s an ominous-sounding injury but the cause for concern doesn’t appear to be great; McHugh told reporters after the move that an MRI has already been performed and did not reveal any structural damage (link via the Houston Chronicle’s Chandler Rome). He’ll spend two or three days resting the arm before playing catch, and the 31-year-old (32 next month) believes he’s only in line for a brief stay on the IL. Any injury for a free-agent-to-be is at least somewhat notable, of course, and McHugh’s stock is particularly worth watching now that he’s been dropped from the rotation to the bullpen. Right-hander Brady Rodgers will return to the Majors for the first time since 2016 to replace McHugh in the bullpen. Rodgers, a third-rounder in 2012, has had a long road back from 2017 Tommy John surgery to post a solid 3.22 ERA in 44 2/3 innings in Triple-A so far.
More injury updates of note…
- Athletics slugger Khris Davis exited tonight’s game after one plate appearance due to what the team announced to be “lingering effects from a left hip contusion suffered earlier this season.” It’s not clear if this’ll be another day-to-day situation for Davis or whether he might finally require a trip to the injured list to allow what has been a long-nagging injury time to heal up. Davis, king of the .247 batting average, is remarkably just a hair off that number, hitting .248/.318/.497 with a dozen homers through 179 plate appearances after making an out in the one at-bat he did have Tuesday.
- A right elbow impingement has landed Blue Jays righty Ryan Tepera on the 10-day injured list, per an announcement from the team. Right-hander Jimmy Cordero is up from Triple-A Buffalo in his place. The outlook on Tepera is of at least some concern, as Sportsnet’s Shi Davidi tweets that Tepera says he’s been unable to get the proper level of extension on his release of his pitches. He’s headed to see a specialist for further evaluation. The 31-year-old Tepera had quietly emerged as a very solid setup piece for the Jays over the past few seasons but has been torched for a 6.55 ERA with nine strikeouts against six walks (two intentional) through 11 innings this season. His average fastball has dipped from 95 mph in 2017-18 to 93.7 mph this season. A healthy Tepera would make for a nice trade chip for the Jays this summer, given that he’s controlled through 2021, so his diagnosis and recovery timetable are well worth monitoring despite the fact that the Jays are on pace for nearly 100 losses.
- Rays catcher Mike Zunino feels he’s making good progress on his return from a quad strain, tweets Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. Zunino, who was given a four- to six-week recovery timeline is optimistic that he can return toward the front end of that projection. That’s welcome news for a Rays organization that has cycled through various combinations of Nick Ciuffo, Anthony Bemboom, Travis d’Arnaud and Erik Kratz since seeing both Zunino and Michael Perez land on the injured list. Both d’Arnaud and Kratz were trade acquisitions prompted by the loss of the organization’s top two catchers. Once Zunino and/or Perez is ready to return, there’ll likely be further roster juggling.
- Lefty Zach Duke was placed on the injured list by the Reds due to a calf strain earlier today. Cincinnati will operate with a slightly shorter ‘pen for at least a day or two, as they recalled infielder Josh VanMeter in his place. The Reds still have a pair of lefties in the bullpen in Amir Garrett and Wandy Peralta. For Duke, who inked a one-year deal worth $2MM this offseason, the trip to the IL could give him an opportunity for a mental breather on the heels of an ugly start to the year. Through 15 2/3 innings, the 36-year-old Duke has a 6.32 ERA with more walks (11) than strikeouts (9). Duke’s ground-ball rate, which sat at a hefty 59.4 percent in 2018, is down to 49 percent to begin the year.
Minor MLB Transactions: 5/19/19
We’ll use this post to track the latest minor moves from around baseball…
- The Blue Jays have agreed to a minor-league deal with left-handed pitcher Buddy Boshers, tweets Scott Mitchell of TSN. Boshers, who formerly pitched in the bigs with the Angels and Twins, is the owner of a 4.59 ERA in 86 1/3 career innings. He spent last season toiling in Triple-A with the Astros and Pirates organizations, posting a 3.32 ERA. Per Mitchell, the 31-year-old has has been pitching in the Mexican League; however, he’ll now return to affiliated ball, joining the Jays’ Triple-A affiliate in Buffalo.
Latest On Clay Buchholz, Devon Travis, Ryan Borucki
Blue Jays right-hander Clay Buchholz went to the injured list May 10 with a shoulder injury, but a back problem could keep him out for a while longer. Buchholz is dealing with a Grade 2 strain of his teres major, per MLB.com’s Gregor Chisholm, who adds that the hurler will see famed orthopedist Dr. James Andrews early next week for a second opinion. Assuming the initial diagnosis holds up, Buchholz could stay on the shelf for a “significant” amount of time, Chisholm writes.
This is the latest negative turn in what has been a forgettable Blue Jays tenure for Buchholz, who parlayed a bounce-back 2018 with Arizona into a $3MM guarantee from Toronto this past March. An elbow issue kept Buchholz from making his season debut until April 13, however, and though he performed well in his first start with the Jays, his overall production has left plenty to be desired. Buchholz has averaged fewer than five innings during his five appearances and logged a disastrous 6.57 ERA/5.51 FIP with a career-low 4.38 K/9 and personal-worst velocity.
The 34-year-old Buchholz hasn’t been the picture of durability throughout his career, nor has teammate Devon Travis. The oft-injured second baseman, who underwent left knee surgery March 17 and hasn’t played this year, has suffered a setback and is without a timetable to return, Chisholm reports. Travis’ knee doesn’t have any structural damage, but he did undergo a platelet-rich plasma injection to tamp down inflammation.
Travis, 28, looked like a legitimate building block for Toronto during an excellent rookie showing in 2015. However, a series of lower body injuries and a decline in production have torpedoed Travis’ career since then and limited him to 254 of a possible 531 games.
In further unfortunate news for Toronto, injured lefty Ryan Borucki may not make his 2019 debut until mid- to late June, Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet tweets. Borucki has recovered slowly from an elbow ailment that surfaced toward the end of March and was only supposed to keep him out for a small amount of regular-season time. Two months later, though, the 25-year-old Borucki hasn’t yet gotten the opportunity to build on a solid rookie campaign in which he managed a 3.87 ERA/3.80 FIP with 1.6 fWAR over 97 2/3 innings and 17 starts.
Blue Jays Select Contract Of Ryan Feierabend, DFA Javy Guerra
The Blue Jays selected the contract of southpaw Ryan Feierabend, manager Charlie Montoyo tells reporters including Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet.ca (Twitter links). Javy Guerra is the roster casualty, per Ben Nicholson-Smith of sportsnet.ca (via Twitter).
Feierabend makes for quite a story. The 33-year-old last appeared in the majors — or in the affiliated ranks — in the 2014 season. Since his debut way back in 2006, Feierabend owns a 7.15 ERA in 113 1/3 innings at the game’s highest level.
In the intervening years, Feierabend has plied his trade in Korea. In four campaigns there, he worked to a 4.21 ERA with 7.2 K/9 and 2.3 BB/9 over 793 1/3 innings. In 16 2/3 innings this year at Triple-A Buffalo, Feierabend has allowed five earned runs on 15 hits (three of them home runs) with a 13:6 K/BB ratio.
It’s always interesting to see a pitcher make it back to the majors after a long layoff. Better still, in this case the hurler in question sports a rare left-handed knuckler.
Guerra, 33, gets the tough luck DFA after 11 outings with the Blue Jays. Per Nicholson-Smith, Guerra asked to eat innings when he sensed a roster move might be near. It’s both a savvy and gracious move on Guerra’s part, as his scoreless three-inning appearance yesterday helped save the arms of the rest of the pen while getting himself one last chunky appearance before the ax.
He pitched well for the Jays outside of a rough two-game patch versus Tampa where he was tagged for 5 runs in 1 1/3 innings. Away from the Rays, Guerra gave up just a single earned run in 9 appearances that spanned 12 2/3 innings. For his career, the former Dodger draft pick is 8-11 in 212 appearances out of the pen with 32 saves and a 3.44 ERA.
Blue Jays Starter Aaron Sanchez Leaves Start With Blister
10:50pm: Thankfully, it sounds as if the initial outlook is fairly positive. The hope is that Sanchez will be ready for his next star, Chisholm tweets.
9:08pm: Blue Jays righty Aaron Sanchez was pulled from tonight’s outing with a blister, the team announced to reporters including MLB.com’s Gregor Chisholm (via Twitter).
While the outlook isn’t yet known, and finger blisters aren’t necessarily devastating injuries, it’s a particularly concerning development for this particular hurler. Sanchez has missed extensive time dealing with finger problems in recent seasons.
Entering today’s game, Sanchez had turned in 48 innings of 3.75 ERA pitching over nine starts. The 26-year-old has generated a solid number of grounders and boosted his swinging-strike rate to a career-high 9.9% this year. He has also doled out five free passes per nine since the start of the 2018 season and rates as a prime regression candidate.
It’s tough news for the organization as well as the player. Sanchez, who’s earning $3.9MM this year in his second-to-last season of arbitration eligibility, could be a trade or extension candidate if in top form. Instead, this injury adds to the question marks in the pitching department. The Jays already brought in Edwin Jackson to help fill out innings and may again be forced to seek outside help.
AL East Notes: Gurriel, Orioles, Pop, Pedroia
The latest from around the AL East…
- The Blue Jays have gotten little from their outfielders this season, though reinforcements could be on the way in the form of Lourdes Gurriel Jr. Sportsnet.ca’s Shi Davidi checks in on Gurriel’s development as a utilityman, after Gurriel was sent to Triple-A in mid-April following some rough defensive showings at second base. While Gurriel has continued to see a lot of time (10 games) as a second baseman at Triple-A, he has also been moved around to shortstop and left field. The latter position seems like Gurriel’s clearest route to playing time with the Jays, as the veteran combo of Freddy Galvis and Eric Sogard have performed well as Toronto’s middle infield duo, plus Brandon Drury and (when healthy) Devon Travis will be in the second base mix.
- The Orioles are facing more challenges than just an extensive on-field rebuild, as The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal explores in a wide-ranging look at the organization. The piece touches on such topics as the ownership transition to John and Lou Angelos from their father Pete, the league’s displeasure at the Orioles continuing their longstanding legal dispute with the Nationals over MASN broadcast rights, and the team’s declining attendance, which reflects both the Orioles’ losing records and the larger economic realities facing the city of Baltimore as a whole. Despite the latter issues, it doesn’t seem likely that the Orioles would actually move out of Baltimore — Rosenthal notes that negotiations are already underway to secure a new lease for the team at Camden Yards, as the current deal expires in 2021.
- Orioles pitching prospect Zach Pop underwent Tommy John surgery earlier this week, sidelining the right-hander for the rest of this season and likely at least half of the 2020 season. As MASNsports.com’s Roch Kubatko notes, Pop was shut down in Spring Training due to a significant drop in velocity, though the 22-year-old did eventually take the field and post an 0.84 ERA over 10 2/3 relief innings at Double-A Bowie. Pop was one of the five prospects Baltimore acquired for Manny Machado last summer, and MLB.com (which ranked Pop as the 19th-best minor leaguer in the Orioles’ farm system) touted his high-90’s fastball and a “plus-plus” sinker in its scouting report.
- After his rehab assignment was shut down over the weekend, Dustin Pedroia will be back playing on Friday, Alex Speier of the Boston Globe tweets. Pedroia experienced some discomfort in his bothersome left knee, though things have improved enough for the longtime Red Sox second baseman to begin games at Triple-A (Pedroia had previously been rehabbing for Boston’s Double-A affiliate). Knee problems have kept Pedroia out of action for all but nine games since the start of the 2018 season, and with rookie Michael Chavis on fire at the plate, it will interesting to see how the Sox handle things when Pedroia is finally ready to resume regular duty.
Blue Jays Option Teoscar Hernandez, Outright Socrates Brito
The Blue Jays announced Thursday that outfielder Teoscar Hernandez has been optioned to Triple-A Buffalo and that fellow outfielder Socrates Brito cleared waivers and has been assigned outright to Buffalo following his recent DFA. Infielder Richard Urena is up from Triple-A in place of Hernandez.
Toronto has held high hopes for Hernandez since acquiring him from the Astros back in 2017, but while he’s shown flashes of his potential, the 26-year-old has yet to establish himself as a consistent producer. Hernandez treated the Jays to about a half season’s worth of production last year, hitting at an impressive .268/.319/.550 pace with 12 homers, 16 doubles and five triples through the season’s first 54 games (238 plate appearances). Hernandez routinely lit up Statcast leaderboards with premium exit velocity readings and hit some prodigious home runs, but he slumped badly in the season’s second half and has seen his quality of contact take a nosedive in 2019.
So far this season, Hernandez is hitting just .189/.262/.299 with a near-30 percent strikeout rate. He’s connected on three home runs but has seen his average exit velocity dip from a hearty 91.8 mph to just 89 mph in 2019. His hard-hit rate, as measured by Statcast, has plummeted from 45.9 percent all the way to 34.9 percent, and he’s seen both his ground-ball and infield-fly rates increase over last season as well.
The endpoint here is arbitrary, but dating back to the middle of last June when his struggles seemingly begun, Hernandez is hitting .206/.279/.366 with a 35.2 percent strikeout rate through 426 plate appearances. That’s a far cry from his encouraging first two and a half months in 2018, and the Jays will hope that some time against lesser competition in a lower-pressure setting can get Hernandez back on track. If he can rebound, there’s still room for him to be a long-term option in the outfield or at designated hitter, but he’ll need to pare back the strikeouts and rediscover the frequent hard contact he made last season when he was in the 97th percentile of all big league hitters in terms of barreled-ball rate.
Brito, meanwhile, was designated for assignment last week after hitting just .077/.163/.128 in 43 plate appearances with the Jays. He’s already bounced from the D-backs to the Padres to the Blue Jays in a series of DFAs, but he went unclaimed this time around and will join Hernandez in attempting to get back on track in Triple-A.