- The Blue Jays also received some bad news on the injury front, as Brendan Kennedy of the Toronto Star writes that Gavin Floyd’s torn lat muscle will cost the right-hander eight to 12 weeks of action. While Floyd’s injury doesn’t require surgical repair, that timeline could sideline Floyd until anywhere from mid August to late September. The 33-year-old hasn’t been one of manager John Gibbons’ highest-leverage relievers, but Floyd has delivered 31 innings of 4.06 ERA ball with a 30-to-8 K/BB ratio. His loss further thins out a bullpen that currently has Brett Cecil on the disabled list and has seen struggles from Drew Storen all season long. (You can check out the Jays’ updated depth chart here.)
Blue Jays Rumors
Gavin Floyd Diagnosed With Lat Tear
- Shi Davidi of Sportsnet reports that the Blue Jays will be without right-hander Gavin Floyd for a prolonged period of time, as Floyd has been diagnosed with a tear in his right lat muscle (Twitter link). Floyd hasn’t been dominant for the Jays this season, but he’s turned in 31 innings of 4.06 ERA ball and averaged 8.7 K/9 against 2.3 BB/9 with a 42.2 percent ground-ball rate out of the Toronto bullpen. The extent of the tear and the projected length of his absence are not yet known.
Blue Jays Place Gavin Floyd On 15-Day DL
- The Blue Jays announced that righty Gavin Floyd has been placed on the 15-day DL with shoulder tightness. Floyd threw just four pitches in an appearance on Saturday before taking himself out of the game. An arm injury of any sort is ominous for Floyd, who has missed extensive time in recent years thanks to a Tommy John surgery and two elbow fractures. Floyd has had some problems with the long ball but has otherwise pitched pretty well in a relief role for Toronto this season, posting a 4.06 ERA, 8.7 K/9 and 3.75 K/BB over 31 innings.
Mariners Acquire Wade LeBlanc
The Mariners have acquired southpaw Wade LeBlanc from the Blue Jays, per an official announcement from Seattle. A player to be named later or cash will head back in return.
LeBlanc isn’t going directly onto the 40-man, per Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times (via Twitter). But he is expected to be activated to take a start on Friday, Bob Dutton of the Tacoma News Tribune tweets.
[Related: Updated Mariners depth chart]
The 31-year-old lefty didn’t crack the majors last year, ending a seven-year run in which he spent at least some time in the bigs. Instead, he pitched in Japan — an experience that he was kind enough to share with me on the MLBTR Podcast.
LeBlanc returned to affiliated ball this year with the Blue Jays organization, signing a minor league deal. He has shown quite well thus far at Triple-A, spinning 89 2/3 innings of 1.71 ERA ball with 8.5 K/9 against 2.1 BB/9.
Blue Jays Expect To Add Arms This Summer
Blue Jays prospect Max Pentecost had a delayed start to his career after dealing with serious shoulder problems, but he’s getting back on track in 2016, Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca writes. The 23-year-old backstop, a first-round selection in 2014, has already battled through three procedures. Though he still hasn’t been cleared to catch, Pentecost is back in action at the Class A level, where he owns a .262/.333/.317 batting line. Toronto director of player development Gil Kim says that the organization remains “confident that he’s got a chance to be a major-league catcher, and a pretty good one.”
- Blue Jays GM Ross Atkins says that the club is most in need of pitching depth as the deadline approaches. (Video link via Sportsnet.ca.) Brett Cecil and Franklin Morales are filtering back toward the majors, he noted, but added that it’s impossible to assume that the roster will remain healthy once it gets those and other injured players back. “We’ll have to stay agile,” said Atkins, saying that “pitching will be the area we’ll look to improve.”
Jose Bautista Diagnosed With Turf Toe
- Blue Jays star Jose Bautista will need “a couple weeks” in a walking boot after being diagnosed with turf toe, Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet.ca tweets. That’s largely what was expected when Bautista hit the DL; Toronto will hope that rest and a brief rehab build-up will allow the slugger to return in short order.
Minor MLB Transactions: 6/19/16
Here are the latest minor moves from around baseball, with the newest transactions at the top of the page…
- The Rockies acquired lefty Pat McCoy from the Blue Jays, according to the Jays’ Triple-A affiliate (Twitter link). McCoy has pitched in four different organizations during a pro career that began in 2007, and his Major League experience consists of 14 relief innings with Detroit in 2014. McCoy has a 4.43 ERA, 7.6 K/9 and 2.63 K/BB rate over 491 2/3 career minor league frames, with 288 of his 312 games coming as a reliever.
- The Pirates selected the contract of catcher Jacob Stallings from Triple-A and added him to both their Major League and 40-man rosters. Jason Rogers was optioned to Triple-A in a corresponding move. Stallings will give the Bucs some depth behind the plate with Francisco Cervelli on the DL and Chris Stewart also battling an ankle injury. A seventh-round pick in the 2012, Stallings has a .675 OPS over 1266 career minor league PA and wasn’t listed on Baseball America’s ranking of the Pirates’ top 30 prospects.
- The Mariners have sent right-hander Steve Johnson outright to Triple-A Tacoma, the team announced. Johnson has been outrighted in the past, so he’ll have the option of declining in favor of free agency. The Mariners designated him for assignment Friday after he totaled a 4.32 ERA and 11 walks over 16 2/3 innings.
- The Rays have outrighted lefty Dana Eveland to Triple-A Durham, according to the club. Eveland, like Johnson, has been outrighted previously. The 32-year-old has racked up 16 2/3 frames of 7.56 ERA ball at the major league level this season.
- Minor league Red Sox reliever Anthony Varvaro has retired, per a club announcement. Varvaro, 31, concluded his career by recording a 2.83 ERA, 9.73 K/9 and 4.08 BB/9 in 28 2/3 innings for Triple-A Pawtucket this year. Prior to tossing 11 frames at the major league level for the Red Sox in 2015, he was a member of the Braves, with whom he had a pair of standout seasons from 2013-14. Varvaro combined for 128 innings of 2.74 ERA pitching in that span, also posting a 6.54 K/9, 2.67 BB/9 and 48.2 percent ground-ball rate. Over the course of 183 2/3 innings in the majors with the Mariners, Braves and Red Sox, Varvaro logged a 3.23 ERA, 7.35 K/9 and 3.43 BB/9.
- The White Sox have signed first baseman K.J. Woods, whom the Marlins released, and outfielder Slade Heathcott to minor league deals, reports Matt Eddy of Baseball America (Twitter link). The Marlins used a fourth-round pick in 2013 on Woods, who hit .239/.326/.386 in 872 minor league plate appearances with their organization. Heathcott, the more notable player of the two, was the Yankees’ first-rounder (29th overall) in 2009. BA ranked him as baseball’s 63rd-best prospect entering the 2013 season, but injuries and disappointing production led the Yankees to release him last month. Heathcott did perform well during his first taste of major league action last year, though, collecting 10 hits – including two home runs and a pair of doubles – in 30 PAs.
Blue Jays Could Have Interest In Jon Jay
- The Red Sox, Royals and Blue Jays are potential landing spots for Padres center fielder Jon Jay, who’s batting a solid .299/.345/.410 through his first 287 PAs of a contract year. Jay, 31, is earning $6.23MM this season.
[SOURCE LINK]
- The Red Sox, Royals and Blue Jays are potential landing spots for Padres center fielder Jon Jay, who’s batting a solid .299/.345/.410 through his first 287 PAs of a contract year. Jay, 31, is earning $6.23MM this season.
Rosenthal On Blue Jays' Top Free Agents-To-Be
Given his age (36 in October), defensive issues and dip in offensive production, Blue Jays right fielder Jose Bautista’s chances of landing the five-year deal he desires were already dropping before he landed on the disabled list Friday with a sprained toe, reports FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal (video link). Further, some teams might not even see Bautista as the most appealing Blue Jay set to hit the free agent market this winter, per Rosenthal, who notes that designated hitter/first baseman Edwin Encarnacion is almost three years younger than Bautista and left fielder Michael Saunders, 29, leads all major league outfielders in OPS (.997).
Blue Jays Activate Troy Tulowitzki
The Blue Jays have announced that they’ve activated shortstop Troy Tulowitzki from the 15-day DL, where he had been since May 28 with a right quad strain. To clear space, they’ve optioned infielder Andy Burns to Triple-A Buffalo. The Jays had mostly been using Ryan Goins and Darwin Barney at shortstop. Now Tulowitzki will get something of a second chance to begin his season, which wasn’t going particularly well before the injury — he had batted just .204/.289/.383 before the quad strain. Here are more quick notes from the AL East.
- The Orioles have announced that they’ve activated righty Yovani Gallardo and shortstop J.J. Hardy from the 15-day disabled list. They also optioned lefty T.J. McFarland to Triple-A Norfolk. The O’s placed Gallardo on the DL in late April with biceps tendinitis. Before that, he had struggled in his first four starts as an Oriole, allowing 14 runs in 18 innings. He starts today against the Jays. Hardy has missed the last six weeks with a left foot fracture. He’s batted .244/.291/.410 so far this season — not the most impressive numbers, perhaps, but he retains value thanks to his work at shortstop.
