Blue Jays Rumors

Quick Hits: Donaldson, Holliday, Rangers, Perez, Cubs, Hamels

By Connor Byrne | August 25, 2018 at 10:25pm CDT

Injured Blue Jays third baseman Josh Donaldson will be eligible to go on August trade waivers if he embarks on a rehab assignment, but “it appears unlikely” that’s going to happen, Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet tweets. Donaldson has been out since the end of May with a calf strain, which has stopped the out-of-contention Blue Jays from dealing him as he closes in on free agency. If Toronto’s unable to trade Donaldson this month, it’ll have to keep him through season’s end and then decide before the market opens whether to issue the soon-to-be 33-year-old a qualifying offer (worth $17.4MM last winter). Donaldson was among the majors’ best players as recently as last year, which suggests the Blue Jays will tender him a QO, though multiple DL stints this season have limited him to 36 games and an unspectacular .234/.333/.423 line in 159 plate appearances.

Injury Notes: Smith, Samardzija, Tulo, Pineda

By Kyle Downing | August 25, 2018 at 3:51pm CDT

The Rays had a scare yesterday in regards to outfielder Mallex Smith, who was hospitalized due to a viral infection and has since been placed on the 10-day DL. Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times has the full details here, noting that the infection doesn’t seem gravely serious and is a far cry from the severity of the bacterial infection that ended Indians outfielder Leonys Martin’s season. Smith was hitting .307 and functioning as the Rays’ leadoff hitter prior to being hospitalized, so the club will be keeping a close eye on his recovery. For the time being, right-hander Andrew Kittredge will take his spot on the active roster.

Other injury news and updates from around baseball…

Though recent trends would have led Giants fans to believe Jeff Samardzija would be making a return to the mound in 2018, a new development has made that significantly less likely. Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle hears that Samardzija has suffered a setback in his rehab from a shoulder injury. “There is a little concern there, to be honest,” manager Bruce Bochy said of the right-hander’s shoulder. “There’s some soreness. He’s not real close.” Samardzija has only taken the mound for ten starts so far this season, posting a nauseating 6.25 ERA.
The Blue Jays don’t expect Troy Tulowitzki to make a return to the field this season, Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet.ca tweets. The message comes courtesy of manager John Gibbons. That means Tulo will have missed the entirety of the 2018 season after undergoing surgery on both of his heels at the outset of April. Even last season, Tulo played at replacement level by measure of Fangraphs’ WAR formula. With the shortstop’s lengthy injury history, it’s fair to wonder whether his playing career is in jeopardy.
Though Michael Pineda was set to make a rehab start on Monday for the Twins’ Triple-A affiliate, Phil Miller of the Star Tribune reports that it’s been canceled in favor of a trip to the doctor. Pineda will undergo an MRI to get to the bottom of the irritation in his right knee. Pineda signed a two-year pact with Minnesota this offseason, even though it was well-known that he wouldn’t pitch for most of the season while recovering from a Tommy John surgery he underwent in 2017.

Blue Jays Designate Jaime Garcia

By Kyle Downing | August 25, 2018 at 12:12pm CDT

The Blue Jays have designated left-hander Jaime Garcia, the club announced today. The move was made in order to make room for Aaron Sanchez on the active roster, whom they activated from the disabled list.

It’s the end of a dramatic fall from grace for the 32-year-old hurler, whom the Blue Jays gave a $10MM guarantee to pitch for them this year. Part of that contract is a $2MM buyout for next season’s $10MM option; that buyout will clearly be used. If his 5.93 ERA wasn’t enough of a convincing factor to that end, the added shoulder issues that have cost him significant playing time would seal the deal. Garcia’s had multiple DL stints this season owing to inflammation in his pitching shoulder.

Toronto had initially hoped that Garcia could perform at least serviceably, as he had across the past two seasons, with perhaps the upside of the 2.43 ERA he flashed across the 2015 season with the Cardinals. Instead, he’s gone from okay to dreadful, resulting in a demotion to the bullpen and now a loss of his spot on the club’s roster. That’s significant, considering the Jays haven’t got much to play for, and even more significant considering there’s only about a week left until active rosters expand. The Jays could have simply demoted one of their players with options remaining and kept Garcia through September, but it appears as though he’d fallen out of favor with the organization to a point at which even that minor inconvenience wasn’t worth the trouble.

Players Clearing Revocable Waivers: Smoak, Cron, Flores, Duda

By Jeff Todd | August 21, 2018 at 12:34am CDT

The end of August is in sight, which means that final player transaction jockeying is taking place. To this point, we haven’t heard of many players to have cleared waivers, but the details of the process are rarely revealed as they unfold. August maneuvering involves multi-factor strategies that play out largely in the dark; that makes this time of year fascinating, in theory, but generally difficult to examine.

This evening’s reporting has revealed a few intriguing nuggets, though, two of which we’ve already covered (see here and here). And now we can add some new names to our list of players that can be freely traded, according to a report from Joel Sherman of the New York Post.

Blue Jays first baseman Justin Smoak went through without a claim. While that’s perhaps surprising at first glance, other organizations are surely aware that the Jays won’t be allowing the 31-year-old to walk for nothing. Accordingly, a claim isn’t likely to do much to facilitate an agreement. The switch-hitting slugger has largely carried forward his surprising 2017 output, turning in 487 plate appearances of .257/.363/.465 hitting on the current season. But he’s cheap this year ($4.125MM) and controllable for an affordable rate ($6MM) for 2019. While there’s obviously no reason to believe that Smoak is particularly likely to be dealt, he could still be an interesting chip for the Toronto organization — particularly if other quality hitters don’t make it through the wire.
The Rays have been rewarded for rolling the dice on first baseman C.J. Cron over the winter, and could now cash him in via trade. Of course, the 28-year-old first baseman cleared waivers in large part because there’s no pressure for the Tampa Bay club to part ways with him. Cron is earning just $2.3MM in 2018 with two more years of arbitration control remaining. He’s sporting a .250/.317/.480 slash with a career-high 24 long balls.
Elsewhere, Mets infielder Wilmer Flores has long seemed like an interesting target for a club in need of a little defensive versatility and an option against left-handed pitching (though he has, atypically, produced reverse splits this year). He’s earning a reasonable $3.4MM this year and comes with another arb year as well. Flores has been a steadily above-average producer at the plate for the last several years and has taken his plate discipline to another level this season (7.2% walk rate vs. 9.4% strikeout rate). While he has never been loved for his baserunning or glovework, he’s capable of playing anywhere on the infield (at short only in a pinch).
Former Flores teammate Lucas Duda, on the other hand, finds himself on this list for different reasons. The 32-year-old has struggled this year with the Royals, slashing just .235/.304/.395 with 11 long balls in his 313 plate appearances. But he has still handled right-handed pitching, with a 111 wRC+ when batting with the platoon advantages this year, and has certainly shown more overall in years past. Duda is also earning just $3.5MM this year before reaching free agency.

Blue Jays Place Marcus Stroman On 10-Day DL

By Mark Polishuk | August 19, 2018 at 11:29am CDT

The Blue Jays announced that right-hander Marcus Stroman has been placed on the 10-day disabled list due to a blister on his right middle finger. Right-hander Justin Shafer had his contract selected from Triple-A while Aaron Sanchez was shifted to the 60-day DL (retroactive to June 22) to create a 40-man spot for Shafer. Left-hander Thomas Pannone was also recalled from Triple-A Buffalo, with righty Luis Santos going down to Buffalo in a corresponding move.

Though this is the first time the problem has forced Stroman to the DL, he has been bothered by blister issues dating back to last season, and Stroman had been particularly hampered by the blister over his last few starts. His outing against the Yankees yesterday was cut short after just four innings, and finally necessitated a DL stint to fully rest and treat the bothersome finger.

The blister is the latest setback in what has become a lost season for Stroman (and the Jays as a whole). The righty looked to have emerged as a frontline starter after an outstanding 2017 campaign, but Stroman battled shoulder problems in Spring Training and got off to a rough start in 2018 before eventually landing on the disabled list to address his shoulder issues. He has been decent, if inconsistent, since returning from the DL, posting a 3.84 ERA over 63 1/3 innings.

All told, Stroman has delivered just a 5.27 ERA, 6.8 K/9, and 2.11 K/BB rate over 100 2/3 frames this season. ERA predictors (3.92 FIP, 3.80 xFIP, 4.02 SIERA) paint a more favorable view of his performance, and it’s worth noting that the Jays’ poor infield defense is a particular impediment to a groundball-inducing pitcher like Stroman, who has a 62.4% grounder rate this season. Stroman’s contact rates are up, however, from his 2017 totals, and his .324 wOBA is actually outperforming his .332 xwOBA, so it’s more than just bad luck that has led to his struggles.

Pannone will take Stroman’s spot in the rotation and will start for Toronto on Wednesday against Baltimore. The 24-year-old made his big league debut earlier this season out of the Blue Jays’ bullpen, tossing three innings over three games. Shafer will also be getting his first taste of MLB action, after tossing 358 2/3 innings in the minors since being taken by the Jays in the eighth round of the 2014 draft. Shafer has pitched exclusively as a reliever over the last two seasons, and he has posted a 1.55 ERA, 1.94 K/BB rate, 7.3 K/9 and zero home runs allowed over 40 2/3 IP at the Triple-A level.

Pitcher Notes: Stroman, Syndergaard, Ray, Cobb

By Kyle Downing | August 18, 2018 at 10:54am CDT

Somewhat overlooked in last night’s rain-shortened 7-5 loss to the Yankees was the fact that Blue Jays right-hander Marcus Stroman experienced a resurfacing of his blister issues. Though Stroman himself didn’t speak to reporters after the game, manager John Gibbons told reporters that Stroman’s blister tore in the seventh inning of a recent dominant start against the Red Sox (h/t Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca). Gibbons also admitted that the club is considering a DL stint in order to get Stroman right again after he took 88 pitches to get through four innings last night (while giving up five earned runs).

More notes on a few pitchers around the league…

Packed deep in a piece by Laura Albanese of Newsday are a few notable quotes by Mets right-hander Noah Syndergaard that shed some (admittedly vague) light on his struggles and seeming fall from “ace” status. Not only is Thor upset about his inability to hold baserunners (the Phillies swiped five bags off him and batterymate Kevin Plawecki last night), but he also hinted at some wider mechanical issues he’s trying to work through. “It’s something I battle every day when I go out there,” said Syndergaard. “I’m just trying to correct a lot of things that I’ve been doing wrong for a long time.”
Elsewhere in the National League, Diamondbacks lefty Robbie Ray still hasn’t been able to get back on track, as Nick Piecoro details in a piece for the Arizona Republic. After a breakout 2017 campaign, Ray’s been unable to deliver any semblance of a repeat performance this season after starting the year with diminished velocity and succumbing to an oblique injury. After walking five batters last night, Ray had the following to say about his command issues. “I just need to get back to what I do best and that’s pound the zone. I’ve got too good of stuff to be pitching around the zone. I’ve just got to attack guys and then my off-speed stuff gets better.” Interestingly, Ray felt confident while warming up yesterday and felt in complete command of his pitches. He wonders whether a “lack of focus” could be to blame.
Though the early returns of the Alex Cobb signing didn’t look good for the Orioles, the return to effectiveness of his change-up seems to have vaulted the right-hander back to his previous form, as Jon Meoli of the Baltimore Sun details in this piece. He notes that Cobb’s given up just nine hits on 184 change-ups since the All-Star break. His confidence in the pitch has led to him almost doubling its usage lately, and the results have spoken for themselves. Cobb’s strung together four consecutive quality starts of late, posting a 2.08 ERA with a 54.9% ground ball rate during that span.

Players Who Have Cleared Revocable Trade Waivers

By Steve Adams | August 17, 2018 at 8:42am CDT

It’s been somewhat quiet on this front in 2018, but we’ll use this post to keep track of the names of all of the players who’ve reportedly cleared revocable trade waivers. As is the case every year, there are a few things that should be re-emphasized before diving into names.

First and foremost, the vast majority of Major League players will be placed on revocable trade waivers this month — many assuredly already have been — with most instances going unreported. By month’s end, there will likely be dozens of players who have cleared waivers without garnering any sort of headlines. It also bears repeating that players can still be traded in September, but Aug. 31 serves as the deadline for postseason eligibility, making it a sort of soft trade deadline. Deals of note are rarely consummated in September, though Juan Nicasio did change hands after Aug. 31 in 2017.

Lastly, for those who aren’t familiar with the inner-workings of waiver trades or simply need a quick refresher, MLBTR published a full explanation of how August trades work to kick off the month. We’ll keep this post updated throughout the remainder of the month for those who wish to bookmark it.

Onto the names…

(Last update: 8/29)

Jerry Blevins, Mets (link): Blevins has a long track record of shutting down left-handed opponents, but lefties have clobbered him so far in 2018 while righties have been unusually ineffective. He’s a specialist who’s owed $1.23MM through season’s end before reaching free agency, making him an expensive piece with a fairly limited role.
Kendrys Morales & Marco Estrada, Blue Jays (link): Both relatively expensive veterans went unclaimed, with Morales still owed $13MM through the end of the 2019 season and Estrada owed more than $2.5MM through the end of the current campaign. Morales has been one of baseball’s hottest hitters but comes with no defensive value, largely limiting him to an AL club or an NL club with an opening at first base. Estrada has pitched through back struggles for the past couple of seasons and recently acknowledged that he’s been playing through discomfort again recently. He has an ERA north of 6.00 dating back to July 30.
Josh Harrison, Pirates (link): A run of success in advance of the non-waiver deadline led the Bucs to add two controllable pitchers, but the team has since sunk in the standings. That could lead to some late-August salary dumping, with Harrison among the most likely candidates to be moved. He’s not hitting much this year and is playing on a fairly hefty $10MM annual salary, but it’s certainly possible to imagine a contender adding the scrappy, athletic, and versatile utilityman. It seems likely the Pirates will be paying Harrison $1.5MM in buyouts at season’s end regardless, so perhaps the team will cover that expense while trying to offload Harrison’s remaining 2018 salary.
Alex Cobb & Andrew Cashner, Orioles (link): Both Cashner and Cobb have struggled through disappointing seasons after signing multi-year deals this past winter. Cobb, in particular, was a lock to clear waivers with three years remaining on an ill-fated four-year deal that promised him $57MM. Cashner’s two-year deal is worth a more palatable $16MM in total, but he’s barely been able to keep his ERA under 5.00 while delivering middling K/BB numbers and career-worst 42.6 percent ground-ball rate.
Gio Gonzalez, Matt Wieters & Ryan Zimmerman, Nationals (link): A trio of expensive Nats vets reportedly cleared waivers at the same time, though there’s virtually no chance that Zimmerman is moved with more than $23MM owed to him through next season and full trade veto power via his 10-and-5 rights. Wieters hasn’t hit enough to make himself a very desirable trade chip, though perhaps a contender would add him as a backup if the Nats absorbed most of the just over $2MM remaining on his contract. Gonzalez is the most plausible of this bunch, though, as very few starters have made it through waivers. While he was still owed about $2.5MM at the time he was reported to have cleared and is having a down season, Gonzalez still misses bats and induces grounders, and he has a lengthy track record of solid mid-rotation work.
Andrew McCutchen, Giants (link): Cutch was owed $3.155MM at the time he cleared waivers, and while he’s not the MVP-caliber bat he was in his mid-20s now that he’s approaching his 32nd birthday, he’s still a solidly above-average hitter. In 538 plate appearances with the Giants, he’s slashed .255/.353/.412 with 14 home runs, 26 doubles and two triples. McCutchen’s 44.6 percent hard-hit rate is the best of his career and ranks 22nd among qualified hitters. The Giants would likely be willing to pay down some of his deal to get a decent prospect, and there should be trade interest.
Starlin Castro, Marlins (link): Castro is owed the balance of this year’s $10MM salary plus another $11MM in 2019 and at least a $1MM buyout on a $16MM option for the 2020 season. He’s given the Marlins slightly above-average offense with respectable defense at second base, but there aren’t too many contenders looking for upgrades at second base. Even if he’s not moved in August, the Marlins will likely shop him again this winter.
Justin Smoak, Blue Jays (link): It’s at least a moderate surprise that Smoak, an affordable switch-hitting slugger in the midst of a productive season, cleared waivers. He was hitting .255/.365/.463 with 18 homers at the time he was reported to have cleared, and while that’s not up to his Herculean 2017 levels, it’s still plenty productive. He’s earning $4.1MM in 2018 and has a cheap $6MM club option for the 2019 season that the Jays will surely pick up if he is not dealt.
C.J. Cron, Rays (link): Cron has rewarded the Rays for buying low on him this past offseason, delivering a career-best .250/.317/.480 slash with a personal best 24 home runs through 454 plate appearances as of the time he was reported to have cleared waivers. He’s earning just $2.3MM in 2018 and is controlled for another two seasons, though he doesn’t bring any defensive or baserunning value to the table. Cron also doesn’t walk at an especially high clip, so he’s unlikely to emerge as a serious on-base threat.
Wilmer Flores, Mets (link): Flores has experience at all four infield positions and was hitting .275/.326/.444 at the time he was reported to have cleared waivers. But he’s been unusually inept against left-handed opponents in 2018 and is due a raise on this season’s $3.4MM salary in arbitration this offseason. He could deepen a team’s bench, but contenders would likely have had more interest were he performing well against southpaws. The Mets maintain that they’re aiming to contend in 2019, so perhaps they prefer to hang onto Flores.
Lucas Duda, Royals (link): Duda has played far too much against lefties in 2018, dragging down his overall numbers, but he’s still a threat against right-handed opposition. He’s limited to first base, but with a $3.5MM salary he’d be an affordable bench bat for any contending club.
Logan Forsythe, Twins (link): Forsythe, acquired in the Brian Dozier trade largely as a means of offsetting the duo’s identical $9MM salaries, wasn’t even a lock to stick around with Minnesota after being acquired, but he’s batted .361/.418/.426 through his first 67 PAs in Minnesota, helping to rebuild some stock after a miserable season in L.A. He won’t net the Twins much of anything in a trade if he’s moved, but the Twins might not mind simply shedding the remaining $2.1MM on his salary (as of Aug. 19).
Adam Jones, Orioles (link): Jones was reported to have cleared waivers on Aug. 16 and was owed $4.27MM of his $17MM salary at the time. While he’s eligible to be traded to any team, it’s entirely up to Jones whether he moves. The five-time All-Star has 10-and-5 rights (10 years of MLB service, the past five with one team), meaning he can veto any trade. Jones reportedly already exercised those rights rather than approving a trade to the Phillies. He’s hitting .285/.317/.438 as of this writing and is in the midst of a torrid hot streak, but he has family and charity reasons (among others) for wanting to remain in Baltimore.
Curtis Granderson, Blue Jays (link): Now 37 years of age, the Grandy Man isn’t the star that he once was, but he remains a reasonably productive bat against right-handed pitching. He’s playing the season on a one-year, $5MM deal and is still owed about $1.23MM of that salary as of this morning. While Granderson is largely limited to the outfield corners, he could be a useful bench piece for contending clubs down the stretch.
Francisco Liriano, Jose Iglesias & Jordan Zimmermann, Tigers (link): It was a 100 percent certainty that Zimmermann, still owed $55.9MM through 2020 (including the remainder of this year’s salary) would clear waivers. Even with improved results this season (4.36 ERA, 7.9 K/9, 1.6 BB/9 in 88 2/3 innings), there’s virtually no hope of the Tigers shedding that salary this month. It was less certain that rentals like Liriano or Iglesias would clear, however. Liriano’s ERA ballooned to 4.72 last night after he was roughed up by the Twins, but he’s held left-handed pitching to a terrible .141/.247/.239 slash through 81 plate appearances. With $984K still owed to him through the end of the year, he’d be a reasonably affordable lefty specialist for a contending team’s bullpen. As for Iglesias, it seems quite likely that he’ll be moved to a contender. He’s hitting a respectable, albeit unspectacular .264/.306/.389 while playing terrific defense at shortstop. He’s owed $1.54MM of his $6.275MM salary through season’s end.
Joe Mauer & Logan Morrison, Twins (link): Morrison won’t be going anywhere after having season-ending hip surgery last week, and it seems likely that the Twins will buy out his 2019 option after a disappointing all-around season. Mauer, like Jones, has the right to veto any trade and wouldn’t be in much demand anyhow. After a strong .305/.384/.417 slash in 2017, he’s posted a more pedestrian .272/.352/.358 line in 2018 — the final season of his eight-year, $184MM contract.

Minor MLB Transactions: 8/16/18

By Jeff Todd | August 16, 2018 at 7:07pm CDT

We’ll house the day’s minor moves in this post:

The Blue Jays announced that right-hander Brandon Cumpton was outrighted after clearing waivers. He had been designated for assignment recently. The 29-year-old has previously been removed from a 40-man roster in such a fashion, meaning he’ll be eligible to elect free agency now or at season’s end. Cumpton, a former ninth-round draft pick, made it back to the majors this year with Toronto after a three-year absence. He only received one appearance, but that still marks a notable rebound for a player who was sidelined for all of 2015 and 2016 due to injuries. In his 26 2/3 innings at Triple-A this year, Cumpton owns a 5.40 ERA with 7.4 K/9 and 2.4 BB/9.

AL East Notes: Rays, Pomeranz, Givens, O’s, Granderson

By Steve Adams | August 16, 2018 at 11:54am CDT

For the first time in several years, the Rays look to have the bulk of next season’s core already in place before the offseason begins, writes Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. And while it’s obvious that nothing can ever be firmly ruled out with the Rays as pertains to the trade market, owner Stuart Sternberg tells Topkin that he believes much of the current talent will be in place for the foreseeable future. “It looks like a chunk of the infield is there,” says Sternberg. “It looks like the outfield is there. … If (Michael Perez) continues to show what he’s shown to this point, you’ve got your catchers in place.”

The Rays have seen well-regarded prospects like Jake Bauers and Willy Adames rise to the Majors this season, while they’ve added Tommy Pham, Austin Meadows and Christian Arroyo, among others, to the fold via the trade market over the past year. Sternberg notes that there’s some uncertainty on the pitching staff, at least in terms of the roles of individual pitchers, but he notes that the Rays have no intention of deviating from their experimental “opener” role and the blurring of the lines between starters and relievers. To the contrary — Sternberg believes that several other teams will adopt the strategy next season.

Here’s more from the AL East…

Barring a significant turnaround, Drew Pomeranz’s disastrous season will likely leave him on the outside looking in when the postseason arrives, writes Evan Drellich of NBC Sports Boston. But the 29-year-old lefty isn’t blaming his struggles on poor health in spite of some notably diminished fastball velocity (as pointed out by Drellich). Rather, Pomeranz feels the source of his struggles is “clear-cut,” explaining to Drellich that he’s worked with Red Sox VP of pitching development Brian Bannister and determined that his release point is “short of what it’s been the last two years.” That may seem an overly simplistic explanation for a pitcher with a 6.34 ERA on the season, and after last night’s poor relief outing it’s clear that even if Pomeranz is aware of the issue, he’s still been unable to correct the flaw on a consistent basis. The impending free agent will have just under seven weeks to get back on track in an effort to not only improve his chances of making the postseason roster but also to salvage some of his free-agent stock in an otherwise nightmarish season.
Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com runs through a number of topics still facing the Orioles as they enter the next phase of their rebuild. Notably, Kubatko writes that the O’s don’t view righty Mychal Givens as “untouchable” in trade talks — a departure from their previously reported line of thinking — though they’re still not keen on dealing the power-armed 28-year-old, who can be controlled through 2021. Givens’ 4.73 ERA through 59 innings isn’t much to look at, but fielding-independent metrics give him a more favorable review, and he’s averaging nearly 10 punchouts per nine innings. Kubatko also examines what could be an open competition for shortstop in 2019 and beyond, the team’s outfield mix moving forward and Austin Wynns’ potentially rising stock.
Curtis Granderson tells Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet that clearing revocable trade waivers — as he reportedly did earlier this week — doesn’t mean much “except that there are possibilities,” all of which are out of his control. Nicholson-Smith speculates that the Indians could look into a Granderson pickup now that July acquisition Leonys Martin is sidelined with no timetable for a return. Granderson has a superlative clubhouse reputation, and Blue Jays manager John Gibbons tells Nicholson-Smith that “everything is true, and maybe more” regarding the veteran outfielder’s impact in that regard. Granderson, who clubbed his 10th career grand slam last night, is hitting .242/.339/.436 with 11 homers, 16 doubles and a triple against right-handed pitching in 2018. The return in a trade would be modest, at best, but he’d be a nice bench option for a contending club.

Curtis Granderson Clears Revocable Trade Waivers

By Steve Adams | August 14, 2018 at 3:22pm CDT

Blue Jays outfielder Curtis Granderson has cleared revocable trade waivers and is now eligible to be traded to any team, reports Robert Murray of The Athletic (via Twitter).

Granderson, 37, is batting .234/.333/.414 with 10 home runs, 18 doubles and a triple through 322 plate appearances this season. He’s only been allowed to face a left-handed pitcher on 26 occasions and, unsurprisingly, has performed poorly in those appearances. But the well-respected veteran has still managed a plenty serviceable .241/.338/.428 slash against right-handed opponents and could bolster a contending club’s bench and serve as a late-game pinch-running option even if he doesn’t possess the speed he once did.

Granderson is playing the 2018 season on a one-year, $5MM contract and is still owed about $1.28MM of that contract over the final six-plus weeks of the regular season. He’ll likely be shopped around between now and the Aug. 31 deadline for postseason roster eligibility, as the Jays have been aggressive in shedding veteran assets on the cusp of free agency this summer. Toronto has already shipped out J.A. Happ, John Axford, Aaron Loup and Seunghwan Oh, and further trades are likely to occur between now and the end of the month.

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