Blue Jays Rumors

Blue Jays Claim Neil Ramirez

By Jeff Todd | May 4, 2017 at 12:47pm CDT

The Blue Jays have claimed righty Neil Ramirez off waivers from the Giants, per a club announcement. San Francisco had recently designated him for assignment.

Ramirez, who’ll soon turn 28, was knocked around in his 10 1/3 innings on the year with the Giants, coughing up 15 earned runs. But he retired 18 batters via strikeout while only issuing four free passes. Optimists can also point to Ramirez’s current .500 BABIP and 33.0% strand rate — both of which are unlikely to continue at such extremes.

Toronto will plug Ramirez onto the active roster, as he’s out of options. The club will hope the luck can turn for the righty, who has struggled with injury in recent years but has at times been quite impressive. Thus far in 2017, he has shown an increase in average fastball velocity (to 92.8 mph) and swinging-strike rate (12.6%) as against his 2016 numbers.

Minor MLB Transactions: 5/3/17

By Jeff Todd | May 3, 2017 at 1:45pm CDT

We’ll keep tabs on the day’s minor moves in this post …

The Blue Jays announced that they have released catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia. He had been designated for assignment recently. Saltalamacchia opened the year as the team’s reserve catcher, but never got it going offensively. The high-power, high-K switch-hitter did more of the latter, going down on strikeouts 16 times while recording only a single base hit over 26 trips to the plate. Saltalamacchia also struggled last year, though he did hit a dozen long balls in just 292 plate appearances.
Angels lefty Greg Mahle was outrighted to Triple-A after clearing waivers, per a club announcement. The 24-year-old was working at Salt Lake already, but gave up his 40-man spot when the team had a need for more pitching at the MLB level. Mahle reached the bigs last year, but struggled to a 5.40 ERA with 6.9 K/9 against 4.9 BB/9 in his 18 1/3 innings.

Blue Jays Place Aaron Sanchez Back On 10-Day DL

By Jeff Todd | May 1, 2017 at 9:11pm CDT

9:09pm: Toronto hopes that Sanchez will be able to bounce back quickly, as Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca reports. The current plan is for the righty to take the ball for a rehab outing over the weekend, which might keep him on something like regular rest while allowing him to return to the majors after a minimal absence. That being said, as manager John Gibbons made clear, the organization will first make sure that Sanchez is fully healed.

4:21pm: The Blue Jays have placed righty Aaron Sanchez back on the 10-day DL, per a club announcement. A split nail is the cause, though the issue is tied closely to a preexisting impairment.

Sanchez had only just been activated from the DL to start on Sunday. But he lasted only a single inning, as he was forced out of action when his right middle fingernail split. Sanchez had undergone surgery in that area in an attempt to alleviate a blister problem, so it seems the new problem is related.

It’s not known what’s next for Sanchez and the Jays, who undoubtedly would like to find a clear path to overcoming the issue. The young righty suggested that perhaps the nail simply “wasn’t strong enough,” so it could well be that rest will be needed to allow it to heal.

We’ll have to wait to learn more to get a sense for how long Sanchez might be out this time around, but it seems reasonable to expect the club to build in some added margin for error. Righty Danny Barnes will take his roster spot for now, though it’s unclear as yet what the team will do to fill in for the open starting slot.

Quick Hits: Braun, Sanchez, Benintendi, Rizzo

By Mark Polishuk | April 30, 2017 at 11:18pm CDT

Ryan Braun left after six innings of today’s 4-3 Brewers win over the Braves due to what the star outfielder called “wear and tear” in his right arm, according to MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy and other reporters. “It can get irritated swinging, throwing and then obviously you’re playing through it and it continues at times to gradually get worse, and I think that’s kind of what happens,” Braun said. While he believes he can avoid a 10-day DL stint, Braun did think he would be sidelined for the next couple of games. Though Braun vaguely alluded to more than one issue with his arm, the Brewers officially announced the injury as tightness in his right trapezius. Here’s more from around the baseball world…

Aaron Sanchez is likely headed back to the 10-day DL after suffering a split nail on his right middle finger, and the Blue Jays righty tells MLB.com’s Gregor Chisholm and other reporters that his latest finger issue was unforeseen. “We really didn’t know going into today it was going to be an issue,” Sanchez said. “I think, once you get into game mode, game speed, pressure on that nail starts to disperse in certain areas and maybe it wasn’t strong enough because it was cut….It’s still frustrating, but I did everything I was supposed to do and everything I’ve done before to be ready for this start. It was just one of those things where you don’t even think about the nail splitting in a different direction.” Sanchez was originally placed on the 10-day DL with a blister on that same finger, and he underwent a procedure earlier this month to remove part of the nail. Sanchez was just activated from the DL today but his abbreviated return lasted only an inning once his finger began bleeding. Though the Jays managed to win today, Sanchez’s probable continued absence is more bad news for the struggling club, as Toronto ended April with just an 8-17 record and the second-worst winning percentage in baseball.
The Cubs had their eyes on Andrew Benintendi in the 2015 draft, and the Boston Globe’s Alex Speier writes that Chicago “seemed likely” to take Benintendi with the ninth overall pick. “His agent heard from the Cubs that he was the guy they wanted,” Chris Benintendi, Andrew’s father, said. Before the Cubs could make their move, however, the Red Sox snagged Benintendi with the seventh overall pick. Though the Cubs took highly-regarded prospect Ian Happ with their selection, this could be an interesting what-if scenario for Cubs fans if and when Benintendi’s star continues to rise.
On the flip side of the “one that got away” coin, Speier also examines an alternate reality where the Red Sox didn’t trade Anthony Rizzo to the Padres as part of the blockbuster that brought Adrian Gonzalez to Boston in the 2010-11 offseason. At the time, Rizzo was just a promising first base prospect sent along with first-rounders Casey Kelly and Reymond Fuentes in exchange for an established star in Gonzalez. That trade, of course, had enormous long-reaching implications on the recent pasts of the Red Sox, Cubs, Padres, and Dodgers, to name just a few teams that would’ve been impacted had that trade not been completed. (For instance, if the Red Sox had re-signed Adrian Beltre that winter and moved Kevin Youkilis to first base rather than acquire Gonzalez, then obviously the last six years of Rangers baseball is greatly different.)

Aaron Sanchez Exits Start After Blister Troubles Resurface

By Connor Byrne | April 30, 2017 at 12:46pm CDT

12:46pm: Sanchez’s return did not go smoothly. His blister issues resurfaced, forcing him to depart after one inning, reports Gregor Chisholm of MLB.com.

9:52am: As expected, the Blue Jays have activated right-hander Aaron Sanchez from the 10-day disabled list. Sanchez, who went on the DL on April 15 with a blister on the middle finger of his pitching hand, will start Sunday against the Rays.

The Blue Jays have had to go without both Sanchez and J.A. Happ for a significant portion of the young season, which hasn’t helped matters during a disastrous start for the 7-17 club. The absences of Sanchez and Happ have led to starts for Mat Latos and Casey Lawrence, and while the former has managed decent results, the latter’s output has been unsightly. Latos, in spite of an ugly 4.09 K/9 and 5.73 BB/9, has pitched to a 3.27 ERA over two starts (11 innings). Lawrence, whom the Jays optioned to Triple-A on Friday, has also made two starts, in which he has a logged a 3.97 K/9, 4.76 BB/9 and a 7.94 ERA over 11 1/3 frames.

Before hitting the DL, Sanchez was a mixed bag over his first two starts, though it seems his blister issues were at the root of his 5 1/3-inning, five-earned run showing against the Orioles on April 14. In his season debut, a 3-2 loss to the Rays on April 8, the 24-year-old resembled a front-line starter – which he was last season. Sanchez fired seven innings of one-run ball, striking out six, walking three and allowing four hits, and will once again try to stymie Tampa Bay on Sunday. He’ll slot back into a rotation that includes Marcus Stroman, Marco Estrada and Francisco Liriano, all of whom have fared well this year, and Latos.

AL Notes: Trout, Fowler, Jays, Red Sox, A’s

By Connor Byrne | April 30, 2017 at 9:07am CDT

As the best player in baseball, and as a 25-year-old who’s signed through 2020 at a more-than-fair price, Angels center fielder Mike Trout is untradeable, opines Mark Feinsand of MLB.com. Unsurprisingly, Halos general manager Billy Eppler won’t even entertain dealing the two-time American League MVP, according to multiple GMs who spoke with Feinsand. “There’s no point to bringing up Trout, because it’s going nowhere,” one GM observed. “Teams will surely try, but it’s like running into a brick wall.” Another GM informed Feinsand that Trout is basically untouchable, but he did touch on what it might take for Eppler to consider an offer. “For a team to inspire Billy Eppler to even return the call, it would have to come to the table stocked with one of the best farm systems and young, upside Major Leaguers and be willing to not put any of those players off limits, because it will take a healthy blend from those two groups,” he said.

Injury Notes: Syndergaard, Sanchez, Duda, Cabrera, Skaggs, Britton, Dyson, More

By Jeff Todd | April 28, 2017 at 11:32pm CDT

A pair of struggling teams got the good news that they’ll have key hurlers taking the hill on Sunday. Noah Syndergaard is ready to go after some worry over his biceps, as Anthony DiComo of MLB.com reports on Twitter. Syndergaard is said to have denied a request that he undergo an MRI, saying he feels fully healthy. Also, Aaron Sanchez will return for the Blue Jays, as Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet.ca tweets.

Here’s more on the injury front:

First baseman Lucas Duda is also nearing a return for the Mets. He started a rehab assignment this evening and played for six innings. Given the fairly limited duration of his layoff for a hyperextended elbow, it seems reasonable to think he’ll be back up in just a few days.
It seems there’s forward momentum for Tigers star Miguel Cabrera, as MLB.com’s Jason Beck reports on Twitter. Cabrera, who was forced to the DL with a groin strain, was able to jog and take batting practice today at the park.
The Angels are assessing another injury for lefty Tyler Skaggs. Per a club announcement, he left his outing tonight with “right side tightness.” Just that means for the 25-year-old isn’t clear at this time. Heading into the current season, Skaggs had made only 41 starts since debuting in 2012. Over his five starts and 29 1/3 innings in 2017, Skaggs has pitched to a 3.99 ERA with a strong 29:9 K/BB ratio.
Orioles closer Zach Britton may also be back Sunday — or, if not, then after the team’s off-day on Monday — per Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com (via Twitter). The southpaw is preparing to return rather quickly from an initially worrying forearm injury. He figures to step right back into the closer role for the O’s.
The Rangers welcomed back Sam Dyson from his short DL stint. Though he jumped right back in and pitched in the ninth tonight, working a scoreless frame, that came in a losing effort. Unlike Britton, Dyson has likely been bypassed in the closer role, at least for the time being.
While the Nationals are holding their breath over a new and potentially serious injury issue tonight, the team did get a bit of positive news earlier. An MRI came back clean for southpaw Sammy Solis, as Mark Zuckerman of MASNsports.com tweets. While there’s some inflammation present in his balky elbow, there’s no ligament issue.
There are a few updates on some Reds hurlers who are working back from injury, as C. Trent Rosecrans of the Cincinnati Enquirer reports. Homer Bailey will throw a pen session early next week — his first since having bone spurs removed over the offseason. Fellow righty Anthony DeSclafani, meanwhile, is unfortunately still not ready to start throwing. Doctors will reassess his sprained UCL after allowing it a few more weeks of rest. And lefty Brandon Finnegan, who’s dealing with an oblique issue, is still a week away even from being examined again by physicians. The club is allowing him plenty of rest before taking stock of his path back tot he rotation.
Dodgers skipper Dave Roberts provided the latest on a few of his team’s ailing players, as Andy McCullough of the Los Angeles Times was among those to report (links to Twitter). “Mechanical” issues are still holding back lefty Scott Kazmir, who still doesn’t seem to have a clear path back to the majors. The club will soon activate several position players, though, with Franklin Gutierrez likely to be followed within a week or so by Joc Pederson and Logan Forsythe. That’ll likely mean dropping top prospect Cody Bellinger back to Triple-A, McCullough notes.
Athletics southpaw Sean Manaea is likely to miss a start and may hit the 10-day DL, as Joe Stiglich of NBC Sports Bay Area tweets. But the overall news is good. Manaea, who came down with some shoulder stiffness in his most recent outing, is not expected to require an extended absence.

Blue Jays Designate Jarrod Saltalamacchia

By Jeff Todd | April 28, 2017 at 2:38pm CDT

2:51pm: Toronto has announced that Saltalamacchia was designated for assignment to make way for Maile.

2:38pm: The Blue Jays have decided to make a move to swap out reserve backstops, according to Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca. The precise move isn’t yet clear, but Jarrod Saltalamacchia will be removed from the roster to make room for Luke Maile.

Saltalamacchia, who’ll soon turn 32, had struggled badly early this year. He made the club after joining on a minor-league deal, but had recorded just one hit and one walk over his first 26 plate appearances — with a dreadful 16 strikeouts on his ledger. Saltalamacchia was also struggling to control the running game, as Sportsnet’s Ben Nicholson-Smith notes on Twitter.

As for Maile, he only just joined the organization in a waiver claim. The Jays’ front office suggested it was high on the 26-year-old, so it’s not particularly surprising to see him earn an opportunity. Though he hasn’t hit much in his brief time in the majors — or in his time at Triple-A since arriving from the Rays — Maile is valued for his glove.

Blue Jays Place Troy Tulowitzki On 10-Day DL

By Connor Byrne | April 22, 2017 at 8:23pm CDT

April continues to be a nightmare for the 4-12 Blue Jays, who have lost another regular to the disabled list. Shortstop Troy Tulowitzki will miss at least 10 days on account of a strained right hamstring, per the Associated Press. Tulowitzki joins third baseman Josh Donaldson, right-hander Aaron Sanchez and left-hander J.A. Happ on the shelf.

Injuries have long been an issue for Tulowitzki, who missed between 31 and 115 games in each of the previous six seasons. Tulowitzki used to make up for lost time with elite-level production as a Rockie, but his offensive performance has dropped off since he joined the Blue Jays via trade in 2015. The 32-year-old has batted a roughly league-average .251/.316/.424 in 788 plate appearances with the Jays, including a .263/.295/.386 line in 61 PAs this season, after slashing a Coors Field-inflated .299/.371/.513 in 4,415 trips to the plate with the Rockies. Tulowitzki has continued to serve as an above-average fielder, though, having tallied 16 Defensive Runs Saved and an 8.8 Ultimate Zone Rating since 2015.

The Tulowitzki-less Jays will go forth with Ryan Goins and Darwin Barney as their most experienced shortstop options. For now, they’ll use Tulowitzki’s roster spot on reliever Leonel Campos, whom they recalled from Triple-A on Saturday. They announced a couple other changes to their pitching staff, too, sending Danny Barnes to Buffalo and calling up Casey Lawrence.

Phillies Acquire Ty Kelly From Blue Jays

By charliewilmoth | April 22, 2017 at 1:58pm CDT

The Phillies have announced that they’ve acquired IF/OF Ty Kelly from the Blue Jays for cash considerations. To clear space on their 40-man roster, they’ve placed Clay Buchholz (who will miss the next four to six months after having flexor tendon surgery) on the 60-day DL.

The Jays designated Kelly for assignment yesterday when they added Mat Latos to their roster. Kelly had only been in the Blue Jays organization for two weeks, with the Jays claiming him from the Mets earlier this month.

Kelly is 28 and has just 72 big-league plate appearances to his name, but it’s not hard to see why he continues to draw interest on the waiver wire — he has nearly as many minor-league walks as strikeouts and a career .381 minor-league OBP, and he played every position but pitcher and catcher for the Mets’ Triple-A affiliate last year. (He spends most of his time at second and third and in left, however.) The Phillies’ immediate plans for him aren’t yet clear, though it’s worth noting that left fielder Howie Kendrick’s recent abdominal strain might have been a factor in their pursuit of Kelly.

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