Blue Jays Designate J.P. Howell, Mike Ohlman
The Blue Jays announced on Wednesday that they’ve designated veteran left-hander J.P. Howell and catcher Mike Ohlman for assignment. The moves will clear roster space for right-hander Dominic Leone (activated from the bereavement list) and catcher Miguel Montero (activated from the 10-day disabled list).
Howell, 34, has been limited to 11 innings this year due to discomfort and tightness in his left shoulder. He returned earlier this month and has made three appearances since his activation, allowing a solo homer in an otherwise perfect 2 1/3 innings of work (with one strikeout). Overall, though, he’s posted a 7.36 ERA with six punchouts against seven walks in his short time with the Jays.
Despite logging a 2.49 ERA with 8.1 K/9 against 3.4 BB/9 from 2013-16 with the Dodgers, Howell settled for a one-year deal worth $3MM this winter. He averaged just 85 mph on his fastball earlier this year but has added another mile or so to that total since being activated from the disabled list. Howell thrived with just an 86-87 mph average heater in L.A., so he’s had success with middling velocity in the past. He’s still owed about $754K of that $3MM guarantee through season’s end.
As for the 26-year-old Ohlman, the former Cardinals/Orioles farmhand made his MLB debut with Toronto in 2017, appearing in seven games and collecting three base knocks in 13 trips to the plate. He’s a career .245/.339/.436 hitter in 495 plate appearances at the Triple-A level.
Marco Estrada Claimed On Revocable Waivers
5:22pm: Toronto manager John Gibbons bluntly told reporters that he doesn’t expect Estrada to go anywhere (via MLB.com’s Gregor Chisholm).
“Yeah, but nothing is going to happen,” said the skipper. “We need him. Most guys go through that; most of them probably get claimed anyway. Nothing’s going to happen.” Gibbons went on to indicate that he hopes the front office will work out a deal to bring Estrada back to Toronto in 2018 and beyond, though that’s likely an issue that won’t be addressed until the offseason.
Notably, Estrada is lined up to start tonight’s game, and there’s been no indication that anything has changed in that regard.
2:52pm: Toronto is not all that interested in parting with Estrada, even via trade, per Jon Heyman of Fan Rag (via Twitter). It remains unknown what team was awarded the claim, though Chris Cotillo of SB Nation tweets that it’s “believed” an AL East competitor did so.
2:36pm: Blue Jays righty Marco Estrada has been claimed on revocable waivers by an as-yet unidentified team, according to MLB.com’s Jon Morosi (via Twitter). It is not yet known whether he will end up changing uniforms.
The teams will have 48 hours from the point that the claim was awarded to attempt to work out a trade. If no deal can be completed, Toronto will be able to elect whether to allow the other team to take over Estrada’s contract or instead to pull him back. In the latter case, Estrada could not be traded without being exposed again to the waiver wire — this time without the right to revoke. (Click here for more on how August trades work.)
While claims happen all the time without player movement resulting, Estrada seems a particularly plausible candidate to find a new home. Indeed, he placed first on MLBTR’s latest ranking of possible August trade chips. Toronto is still hanging around the fringes of the AL Wild Card race, but has quite a few teams to leapfrog in the standings as well as several key players on the disabled list.
While the team has also emphasized that it wishes to continue fielding a quality product, and also that it may have interest in retaining Estrada past the present season, this waiver claim represents an opportunity to save a big chunk of change and perhaps to add some young talent.
Estrada, 34, is owed $14MM this year before returning to the open market at season’s end. (He won’t be eligible for a qualifying offer after previously having receiving one from the Jays, which led to his current contract.) With about a quarter of the calendar still yet to be played out, there’s about $3.5MM left to pay the veteran righty.
It has been a frustrating season for Estrada, who carries a 4.85 ERA through 135 1/3 total innings. But there are reasons to believe he could be a quality hurler down the stretch. Estrada was excellent last year, has managed 140 strikeouts against just 56 walks on the current season, and has now turned in four consecutive effective outings after a rough stretch for much of June and July. He’s carrying an 11.4% swinging-strike rate that sits above his career average and is showing typical velocity.
Opposing hitters had managed very low batting averages on balls in play against Estrada over recent years, helping to drive his success. But that number has jumped to .305 in 2017, despite the fact that he carries a rather familiar mix of grounders versus flies (0.62), infield pops (15.2%), and hard contact (27.7%). If he can drive the BABIP back down to where it was in 2015 and 2016, Estrada could again make for a strong rotation presence.
Blue Jays Release Chris Coghlan
The Blue Jays announced that veteran infielder/outfielder Chris Coghlan has been given his unconditional release after being designated for assignment over the weekend.
Coghlan, 32, appeared in 36 games for the Blue Jays and totaled 88 plate appearances in 2017. However, the former National League Rookie of the Year didn’t fare too well in his short time with the Jays, as he batted just .200/.299/.267 with one homer and two doubles. Coghlan had a strong run with the 2014-15 Cubs, but he flopped following a trade to the Athletics in the 2015-16 offseason. He’d later return to the Cubs and hit well (.252/.391/.388) in 128 plate appearances down the stretch.
The versatile Coghlan is a career .259/.334/.398 hitter and has a better track record against right-handed pitching (.266/.339/.420) than he does lefties (.224/.311/.308). He’s played all three outfield spots, second base and third base in his big league career, though he hasn’t logged even a single inning in center field since 2013.
Blue Jays To Sign Brett Anderson
The Blue Jays have agreed to a minor-league pact with free-agent lefty Brett Anderson, according to Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca (via Twitter). Anderson still must undergo a physical before the deal is finalized.
Toronto has struggled to fill out its rotation, with injuries leaving openings and the team dealing away Francisco Liriano at the deadline. While a Wild Card run still seems generally unlikely, there’s enough of an opening that it certainly makes sense for the Jays to seek out some new options. And there could be a greater rotation need if the club ends up dealing Marco Estrada.
Anderson will represent a free-roll for Toronto. The Cubs promised the 29-year-old a $3.5MM payday for the current season and remain on the hook for the remainder after releasing him earlier this summer. Toronto would only need to pony up the league-minimum rate of pay for any time that Anderson spends on the MLB roster.
Both Anderson and the Jays will hope for a bounceback performance after Anderson struggled with Chicago. Back issues have again been a significant problem, and Anderson’s 22 MLB innings have not gone well. In that span, he was roughed up to the tune of 20 earned runs on 34 hits and a dozen walks.
There have been better days in the past, of course. For most of his career, Anderson has turned in quality results when healthy. As recently as 2015, he was able to spin 180 1/3 innings of 3.69 ERA ball, though that was his first full season since 2009 and ending up giving way to an injury-shortened 2016 campaign.
Should the southpaw earn his way back up to the majors, he ought to have enough time to showcase his form for possible winter suitors. While the injury history significantly limits his earning upside, Anderson could still conceivably score a MLB deal over the offseason if he’s able to turn in a handful of effective starts for Toronto.
Blue Jays Select Tim Mayza’s Contract, Release Taylor Cole
The Blue Jays announced on Monday that they’ve selected the contract of left-hander Tim Mayza from Triple-A Buffalo. In order to clear roster space, Toronto has optioned right-hander Leonel Campos back to Buffalo and given righty Taylor Cole his unconditional release.
Cole’s release comes on the heels of a tough MLB debut, during which he allowed four runs on six hits and a walk with one strikeout. The Jays had placed Cole on the 10-day DL due to a fractured fifth toe in his right foot shortly after he made that debut. The 27-year-old Cole had a solid 2016 season — 3.97 ERA, 7.2 K/9, 2.3 BB/9 in 77 innings — but missed most of the 2017 campaign recovering from an injury.
As for Mayza, the 25-year-old will be making his own MLB debut the first time he takes the mound. A 12th-round pick back in 2013, Mayza logged a lackluster 4.59 ERA in Double-A before taking off with a 0.93 ERA and a 16-to-7 K/BB ratio in 19 1/3 innings with Triple-A Buffalo. Overall, he has a 3.25 ERA with a 58-to-22 K/BB ratio in 52 2/3 minor league innings this season.
Minor MLB Transactions: 8/14/17
Here are Monday’s minor moves from around the league…
- The Blue Jays announced that right-hander Chris Smith has cleared waivers and been sent outright to Triple-A Buffalo. Not to be confused with the 36-year-old A’s righty of the same name, the younger Smith (28) made his big league debut with Toronto this season, allowing three runs on seven hits and a walk with one strikeout in five innings of work. Smith has a 4.10 ERA in 26 1/3 innings in the minors this year and a career 4.03 ERA and a 25-to-4 K/BB ratio in 29 Triple-A innings as well as a 2.58 ERA, 11.3 K/9 and 3.1 BB/9 in parts of two seasons (73 1/3 innings) in Double-A.
AL News & Rumors: Mariners, Twins, Tigers, Jays
The Mariners have made multiple attempts to acquire right-hander Ervin Santana from the Twins, Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times reports. However, with the Twins currently ahead of the Mariners in the standings, Seattle’s dream of adding Santana is “on hold,” notes Divish. It’s unclear whether the Twins have placed Santana on revocable waivers this month, but as a proven mid-rotation type who’s under control through next season at a fair price ($13.5MM), it’s possible another team in front of the Mariners in the waiver pecking order would claim him. Moreover, the Twins aren’t all that interested in trading Santana, FanRag’s Jon Heyman suggested this week. Regardless, considering the injuries in their rotation – including to ace James Paxton – the playoff-contending Mariners need to find starting help. With that in mind, Divish lists a slew of righties (Marco Estrada, Andrew Cashner, Tyson Ross, Miguel Gonzalez, R.A. Dickey and Scott Feldman) and a southpaw (Derek Holland) as logical August trade targets.
More on Minnesota and two other AL franchises:
- The Twins slumped immediately before the July 31 non-waiver deadline, leading them to sell a pair of veterans, closer Brandon Kintzler and lefty Jaime Garcia, for future pieces. Now that the team’s playing well again, the front office is willing to buy. “On a daily basis, we are active on the trade-waiver wire process,” general manager Thad Levine told Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com. “We’ve placed a lot of claims on players we think can help our team now and in the future. Needless to say, we haven’t made a trade yet, which is evidence to the fact that we may not be the only team that thinks those players would be attractive, and that some of the teams that are feeling the same way have worse winning percentages and hence higher claiming priority.” As team brass has demonstrated in recent weeks, especially when it flipped Garcia after he was a Twin for only a few days, its mindset is subject to change based on where Minnesota is in the standings. As such, another slide over the next couple weeks could lead to the Twins dealing more major leaguers, Bollinger points out.
- The Tigers’ Nicholas Castellanos has lined up at third base in 512 of 521 career appearances, but a position change is looming, Evan Woodbery of MLive.com writes. Castellanos approached GM Al Avila and manager Brad Ausmus about moving to the outfield, and he began doing work in right before the Tigers played on Saturday. He’ll see game action there during the season’s final weeks if he shows progress in practice, revealed Ausmus, who added that Castellanos is “gung-ho” about a possible change. With minus-62 defensive runs saved and a minus-42.1 Ultimate Zone Rating in 4,000-plus career innings, the metrics indicate that the 25-year-old Castellanos hasn’t exactly been Nolan Arenado-esque at third base. And shifting him to the outfield, where he played in nine games as a rookie in 2013, would seemingly open up third for prospect Jeimer Candelario. The Tigers acquired Candelario, 23, from the Cubs last month in a trade involving reliever Justin Wilson and catcher Alex Avila. Candelario’s currently at Triple-A, but with Sept. 1 roster expansion on the horizon, he’ll be a factor in Detroit soon.
- There’s no timetable for a comeback for Blue Jays right-hander Aaron Sanchez, who has dealt with blister issues throughout the season, per David Singh of Sportsnet. If Sanchez does return, he could finish the year in the bullpen, according to manager John Gibbons. With the minor league season nearing an end, there might not be enough time for Sanchez to ramp back up via rehab starts, observes Singh. The 25-year-old Sanchez’s injury woes have been one of the key reasons behind the Blue Jays’ disappointing 2017. Sanchez dazzled in 2016 – his first year as a full-time member of Toronto’s rotation – with 30 starts and 192 innings of 3.00 ERA pitching, but he has taken the ball just eight times this season.
Rosenthal’s Latest: Blue Jays, White Sox, Brewers, Gray
Blue Jays right-hander Marco Estrada drew “virtually no interest” in advance of the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline, reports FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal. Estrada has been at top form since then, however, making it likely someone will claim the impending free agent on revocable waivers this month, a rival executive told Rosenthal (Twitter link). The Jays placed Estrada on waivers Friday, per Rosenthal, though he adds that they’re not bent on trading the 34-year-old unless a solid offer comes along. Because Toronto still has a shred of playoff hope and is averaging almost 40,000 fans per home game, it’s not ready to wave the white flag.
More from Rosenthal:
- The rebuilding White Sox are still deciding on the futures of first baseman Jose Abreu and outfielder Avisail Garcia, says Rosenthal. As a bat-first type who doesn’t play a premium position and will turn 31 in January, Abreu would be the harder of the two to trade, observes Rosenthal, who also points out that he’s not cheap ($11MM salary in 2017 with two arbitration trips left). With that in mind, the White Sox could end up keeping the veteran around as a lineup anchor and a mentor to their younger players, including fellow Cubans Yoan Moncada and Luis Robert. Garcia, meanwhile, is amid a career year and still fairly young (26), so he could be an extension candidate if the White Sox don’t “trade him at peak value,” suggests Rosenthal. Garcia’s making a reasonable $3MM this season and, like Abreu, has two arb-eligible years remaining.
- Contrary to a report last month, the Brewers’ unwillingness to part with high-end outfield prospect Lewis Brinson did not kill their chances of landing righty Sonny Gray from the Athletics, according to Rosenthal. The A’s would have accepted a package of other prospects from the Brewers’ talented farm system, relays Rosenthal, but the two sides still couldn’t work out a deal leading up to July 31. Oakland ultimately sent Gray to the Yankees for a trio of prospects on deadline day, officially ending any chance of the Brewers acquiring him.
Blue Jays Place Russell Martin On DL, Designate Chris Coghlan & Chris Smith
The Blue Jays have announced that they’ve placed catcher Russell Martin on the 10-day disabled list with a left oblique strain. They’ve also designated outfielder Chris Coghlan and righty Chris Smith for assignment and selected the contracts of righty Chris Rowley and catcher Mike Ohlman.
Martin left yesterday’s game due to the oblique strain. For the season, the veteran is batting .223/.354/.381 with 12 homers and 49 walks in 329 plate appearances. Rafael Lopez figures to take over at catcher in his absence, with Ohlman, who was batting .222/.343/.418 at Triple-A Buffalo, also helping out. Martin joins two other catchers, Miguel Montero and Luke Maile, on the DL.
The 32-year-old Coghlan signed a minor-league deal with the Blue Jays in April after the Phillies released him. He batted .200/.299/.267 in brief duty with the Blue Jays before hitting the DL with a wrist injury. He was in the midst of a rehab assignment with Class A+ Dunedin.
The 28-year-old Smith has posted a 4.26 ERA, 7.1 K/9 and 1.1 BB/9 in 25 1/3 innings of relief for Buffalo this season. He made his big-league debut earlier this season, pitching five innings and allowing three runs.
The Jays signed the 26-year-old Rowley as a minor-league free agent out of West Point in 2013. After missing two years to a military assignment, he’s moved through the minors quickly, and now he’s in the midst of a strong season, posting a 2.29 ERA, 7.6 K/9 and 2.0 BB/9 over 106 1/3 innings split between Buffalo and Double-A New Hampshire. He’s set to start today against the Pirates and will become the first West Point graduate to pitch in the Majors, as Sportsnet’s Ben Nicholson-Smith notes.
Troy Tulowitzki Out For Season
THURSDAY: Tulowitzki will miss the rest of the season, writes Gregor Chisholm of MLB.com. He should be ready for spring training next year.
WEDNESDAY: The Blue Jays announced Wednesday that they’ve selected the contract of right-hander Nick Tepesch and cleared space on the 40-man roster by moving Troy Tulowitzki to the 60-day disabled list. Left-hander Matt Dermody was optioned to Triple-A to clear a spot on the active roster.
As Sportsnet’s Ben Nicholson-Smith points out (via Twitter), Tulo’s initial DL placement came on July 29, so this move makes it extremely unlikely that the shortstop will return to the field in 2017. He’ll technically be eligible to return on Sept. 27, though there will be little in the way of incentive for the Jays to push Tulowitzki by that point.
Whether Tulo returns for the season’s final week or not, 2017 has been a severely disappointing campaign for the five-time All-Star. A strained hamstring cost him more than a month earlier this year, and ligament damage in his right ankle will now cost him at least two months. In the 66 games that he’s been healthy enough to take the field, Tulowitzki has slashed a sub-par .249/.300/.378 with seven homers through 266 plate appearances.
Getting Tulowitzki back to full health in 2018 will be imperative for the Jays, as he’s still owed $20MM in both 2018 and 2019 before earning $14MM in 2020 (plus a $4MM buyout on a 2021 club option). All indications are that despite lackluster results in 2017, the Jays’ aim is to contend in 2018, and a healthy Tulowitzki would go a long way toward that end. While Tulo hasn’t played at his former superstar level since 2013-14, he nonetheless played a well-above-average shortstop and swatted 24 homers in 2016, generating roughly three wins above replacement in the process.
As for Tepesch, the 28-year-old will make his Blue Jays debut as tonight’s starter. Toronto acquired the former Rangers hurler from the Twins in exchange for cash earlier this year, and he’s posted a 3.00 ERA in 12 innings with seven strikeouts against one walk for the Blue Jays’ Triple-A affiliate in Buffalo. Tepesch held a fairly regular spot in the Texas rotation in 2013-14 but has seen only sparse big league action since. All told, he has a 4.69 ERA with 5.5 K/9 against 2.9 BB/9 in 224 2/3 big league innings.