Blue Jays Rumors

Kevin Kiermaier Clears Waivers

By Anthony Franco | July 12, 2024 at 6:43pm CDT

Kevin Kiermaier went unclaimed on waivers, the center fielder tells Hazel Mae and Sportsnet’s Ben Nicholson-Smith (X link). GM Ross Atkins informed Kiermaier of the news today.

The Jays placed the defensive stalwart on waivers earlier in the week. The development was reported yesterday, but it’s likely Toronto made the move on Wednesday. (The waiver resolution process takes 48 hours.) The Jays were hoping that another team would place a claim and assume the approximate $4.5MM remaining on his $10.5MM salary. All 29 other teams passed on that opportunity.

As a result, the waiver saga will likely amount to nothing. The Jays could technically try to assign Kiermaier to the minor leagues now that he went unclaimed, but there’s no real reason to do so. Kiermaier has way more than the five years of service time necessary to decline a minor league assignment while retaining his entire salary. If the Jays tried to send him to Triple-A, the four-time Gold Glove winner would surely elect free agency instead. Toronto would still owe him his salary, so all that’d achieve is opening a roster spot.

Instead, the Blue Jays are likely to simply keep Kiermaier in the majors. A team does not need to send a player down after passing that player through waivers. (As an example, the Angels retained Tyler Anderson and Randal Grichuk last season after unsuccessfully trying to offload their salaries.) Kiermaier is likely to continue serving as Toronto’s primary center fielder.

The 34-year-old will try to right the ship amidst the worst offensive season of his career. Kiermaier is hitting .191/.238/.295 with a huge 32.2% strikeout rate through 189 plate appearances. Among hitters with 150+ trips, he has the sixth-lowest OBP and is 19th from the bottom in slugging. Even with his customarily excellent glovework, Kiermaier’s overall production is hovering around replacement level.

Between the lack of offense and the fairly significant salary, no team was willing to plug Kiermaier into center field. The Jays could still try to trade him between now and the July 30 deadline, though they’d clearly need to pay down a portion of his salary to facilitate a deal. For the time being, he’ll try to help Toronto salvage their season. The Jays head into tonight’s series opener in Arizona with a 43-50 record that has them 8.5 games back of the Red Sox for the American League’s last Wild Card spot.

Nate Pearson Interested In Future Starting Role

By Darragh McDonald | July 12, 2024 at 3:45pm CDT

Right-hander Nate Pearson has been working out of the Blue Jays’ bullpen in recent years but he tells Shi Davidi of Sportsnet that he would like another opportunity to prove himself in a starting role.

“I’ve definitely considered it, I’ve always wanted to be a starter,” the righty said. “Obviously the past couple of years before this haven’t really gone my way in terms of health, the guys we’ve signed, the roster spots and everything. So right now I’m coming out of the ’pen, trying to help our team win, whether it’s one inning, two innings. Looking into next year, if that’s an option, then I definitely want to explore it. That’s something I’ll have to sit down and talk with them about, see what the need is. But I’m definitely open to it, definitely would love to get another shot at it.”

Now 27, Pearson once seemed ticketed to be a mainstay of the Toronto rotation. He was the club’s first-round pick in 2017, getting selected 28th overall, and then became one of the top prospects in the league. As he impressed with his work in the minors, Baseball America had him on their top 100 list for five straight years starting in 2018, with Pearson getting as high as seventh overall in 2020.

But as Pearson himself referenced in the quote above, his health got in the way. He got up to the majors in the shortened 2020 season but missed time due to a flexor strain and only made five appearances, plus one more in the playoffs. In 2021, he battled a right groin strain on and off throughout the year and struggled when on the mound. He spent most of his time either on the IL or on optional assignment. He only tossed 15 big leagues innings and had a 16.9% walk rate in that time, then underwent hernia surgery in November of that year. In 2022, mononucleosis and a lat strain limited him to 15 1/3 minor league innings and none in the majors.

Since then, he’s been able to avoid the health woes while staying in a relief role. Last year, he tossed 42 2/3 innings in the bigs and another 20 2/3 at Triple-A. The major league work wasn’t especially impressive, as he had a 4.85 earned run average in that time, but a healthy season was a victory in itself after all that missed time.

He’s been healthy again in 2024 with his ERA not changing much, though his underlying numbers have shown significant improvement. In 36 1/3 innings on the season, he has a 4.71 ERA, only slightly better than last year’s. But his strikeout rate has jumped to 29% from last year’s 23.6% rate, while his walk rate has dropped from 9.9% to 8.6%. That hasn’t led to much improvement in run prevention, but luck could be a factor there. His home run to flyball rate has jumped from 11.7% to 15% and his batting average on balls in play from .261 to .344. ERA estimators like his 4.05 FIP and his 3.09 SIERA suggest he may be having a better season than a quick glance at the ERA would indicate.

Now that he’s stayed healthy for close to two years and is having some decent results, perhaps a move back to a starting role is on the table. It’s a transition that has some precedent this year, with Davidi and Pearson bringing up guys like Garrett Crochet of the White Sox, Reynaldo López of Atlanta and former Blue Jay Jordan Hicks with the Giants.

“It’s definitely encouraging to see Hicks being a reliever for years over in St. Louis and then transitioning, making the jump and being pretty successful so far this year,” said Pearson. “And then Crochet, watching him throw earlier this year, he wasn’t even a (full-time) starter in college, now he’s in the rotation, throwing pretty well. So definitely, I feel, (it) helps me out for other people to see that is possible to make that transition. I guess only time will tell. Finish out this year, hopefully put up some good numbers and then look forward to next year.”

The bullpen-to-rotation path has other success stories, such as Seth Lugo, Jeffrey Springs and more, but it doesn’t always work. MLBTR’s Steve Adams took a look at this year’s crop in May and again in July, with Crochet and López two of the best examples but with A.J. Puk on the other end of the spectrum. Puk was roughed up in four starts at the beginning of the year before landing on the injured list and the Marlins decided to move him back to the bullpen after the IL stint.

Time will tell whether Pearson can pull it off or not, but it’s understandable that he wants to try. A lot of pitchers are moved from starting roles to the bullpen not by choice but simply due to circumstances, either being squeezed out by other pitchers or their health situations, but they may still have a desire to go back. On top of the straightforward desire to succeed in a rotation role, there’s also a financial motivation as starters are generally paid more than relievers.

On top of Pearson’s aforementioned health issues, the Jays have generally had a solid rotation in recent years consisting of guys like José Berríos, Kevin Gausman, Chris Bassitt, Yusei Kikuchi, Yariel Rodríguez, Alek Manoah, Ross Stripling and Hyun Jin Ryu.

The current rotation is composed of the first five names on that list, but change is likely coming. Kikuchi is an impending free agent and likely to be traded prior to the July 30 with the Jays sliding to the back of the American League Wild Card race and reportedly making rental players available. Bassitt and Gausman have been speculated as trade candidates as well, though Bassitt has another year on his contract and Gausman has two, so they’re less likely than Kikuchi to be moved.

Deadline trades could bring in other pitchers that change the equation but it’s possible there’s a rotation opening that Pearson could seize. As mentioned by Davidi, the club’s best pitching prospects Ricky Tiedemann and Adam Macko are currently dealing with injuries and uncertain futures. Manoah had Tommy John surgery in June and will be out until late 2025 at the earliest. That could increase the club’s willingness to giving Pearson a shot but it sounds like they’re already open to it. Davidi reports that the Jays have “bounced around” the idea of stretching out Pearson this year as those injuries have thinned out their depth.

“We’ve always considered Nate to be a potential starter in the major leagues, I don’t think that will change,” pitching coach Pete Walker says. “Will he get the opportunity again? I’m not sure, but I wouldn’t be surprised. Right now, he’s still finding his niche and learning how to pitch out of the bullpen, which a lot of guys do. You learn a lot about yourself, how to compete in tough situations, how to make adjustments, realizing where your pitches have to be and that location is really important, even if you throw hard. He’s learning a lot right now and I could see him being a starting pitcher again, for sure.” Walker also added that the “door is always open.”

It’s not too surprising that the Jays would be open to Pearson making the move. The bullpen has also been hit by injuries this year and would lose one more member if Pearson becomes a starter, but decent relievers are generally easier to find than reliable starters, so it’s a tradeoff most clubs would be happy with. That’s especially true given Pearson’s financial situation.

He came into this year with his service time count at three years and five days. He was briefly optioned in April, getting recalled four days later when Chad Green landed on the injured list. A baseball season is 187 days long but a player needs 172 days on the active roster or IL to get a full service year, meaning Pearson is on pace to get a full year and finish this season at 4.005 in spite of that brief option period.

He’s making just $800K this year, barely over the $740K league minimum, thanks to those injuries limiting his on-field contributions in recent seasons. He’s slated for two more arbitration raises before a trip to free agency in advance of his age-30 season, unless he’s optioned to the minors again for a notable period of time.

His role, health and level of success will impact how much he earns in arbitration and free agency. If he’s able to follow the Crochet path, the best-case scenario could see him in a rotation role for the next two years, increasing his earning power and his value to the Jays. If the club is able to return to contention in future seasons, he could be a key part of that. If not, he could become a sought-after trade chip like Crochet is now. That’s a lot of ifs, but it will be an interesting situation to monitor as the Jays play out this season and figure out their plans for 2025 and beyond.

Blue Jays Place Kevin Kiermaier On Waivers

By Darragh McDonald | July 11, 2024 at 6:37pm CDT

6:37pm: Kiermaier confirmed the report, telling Shi Davidi and Arden Zwelling of Sportsnet after the game that manager John Schneider informed him of the waiver placement (X link). “It’s the chance for a contending team to claim me if they want, from what I was just told. I totally get it with where we’re at as a team,” the Gold Glove center fielder said.

4:20pm: The Blue Jays have placed outfielder Kevin Kiermaier on waivers, reports Joel Sherman of The New York Post. The goal is seemingly to have another team claim him and take on the remainder of his salary. Kiermaier is still on the 40-man roster and can continue playing for the Jays while on waivers. In fact, he was playing in today’s game against the Giants as this report came out. If he clears waivers, the Jays can outright him or release him but keeping him on the roster would also be an option.

Last year, a new trend started to emerge of players being placed on waivers without being removed from the roster of their home club. This used to be a common practice back when there were two deadlines. Under the previous system, there was one deadline usually around the end of July and another around the end of August. In between those two deadlines, a player could still be traded but had to clear waivers first. This led to teams around the league putting huge numbers of players on waivers, most of whom had contracts that outpaced their on-field contributions, which usually led to them going unclaimed and then potentially being traded.

In 2019, MLB and the MLBPA agreed to a single deadline, getting rid of the August waiver trade system. This meant that players being placed on waivers while holding onto a roster spot essentially went away for a few years.

The practice came roaring back last year, thanks to the Angels. That club made an aggressive push at last year’s deadline, trying to win while they still had Shohei Ohtani for a few months. But they hit a big losing streak in August and fell way back in the standings, then pivoted to cost-saving mode. At the end of August, they put Lucas Giolito, Matt Moore, Reynaldo López, Hunter Renfroe, Randal Grichuk and Dominic Leone on waivers, hoping for another club to claim those guys and take on their salaries. Since the trade deadline had passed, this was their only avenue to cutting salary and lowering their competitive balance tax number.

This wasn’t the end of the waiver madness. The Yankees also put Harrison Bader out there, while Mike Clevinger of the White Sox, Carlos Carrasco of the Mets and José Cisnero of the Tigers were also out there. In each case, the club had fallen out of contention and was simply looking for cost savings by another team taking the player off their hands. It’s also possible that other players were on waivers and it wasn’t publicly known because they didn’t get claimed.

In the end, some players were claimed and other weren’t, though the Angels successfully managed to dip under the line and avoid the competitive balance tax. That was a significant development as it improved the compensation draft pick they received after Ohtani rejected a qualifying offer and signed with the Dodgers.

All of that is to say that is the probably the first of several reports that could emerge in the coming months about a player being placed on waivers while still on the team. Sherman uses the word “revocable” in his report, though that’s not entirely accurate. Revocable trade waivers no longer exist, but what Sherman likely means is that Kiermaier isn’t necessarily gone from the Blue Jays. Because they haven’t removed him from the 40-man roster by designating him for assignment, he can simply be retained if no one claims him. As an example, Grichuk went unclaimed last year, stayed with the Angels and was put back on waivers again in September. He cleared that time as well and was still playing for the club at the end of the season. But if someone does claim Kiermaier, he’ll be gone, as was the case with Giolito, Moore and several others who were claimed last year.

It seems fairly unlikely that Kiermaier will end up claimed. He’s playing this season on a one-year deal with a $10.5MM salary, with about $4.5MM of that still to be paid out. He still has wheels and is a strong defender but is hitting just .183/.232/.290. A contending team might be interested in him as a fourth outfielder who can pinch run and serve as a defensive replacement, but there’s little incentive for them to take on that salary right now. There’s still over two weeks until the July 30 trade deadline and interested clubs will have until then to work out a deal wherein the Jays eat some of the money, unless some club is willing to simply absbord the whole thing right now.

Whether Kiermaier is ultimately claimed or not, it does send a signal to where the Jays are at right now, as Sherman points out. The Jays are 42-50 as of this writing and 8.5 games back of a playoff spot. The Playoff Odds at FanGraphs currently give them just a 2% chance if making it into the postseason. The PECOTA Standings at Baseball Prospectus are more bullish but only slightly, giving the Jays a 6.2% shot.

Barring an incredible winning streak in the next two weeks, the Jays will likely enter the deadline period at sellers and recent reporting has pointed to them making rental players available. One of those is Kiermaier, but the list also includes Danny Jansen, Justin Turner, Yimi García, Trevor Richards and Yusei Kikuchi. Whether they look for cost savings or prospect capital in those trades remains to be seen, but Kiermaier’s struggles this year won’t allow him to bring back any huge prospect package regardless, so the Jays have opted to see if they can simply get maximum cost savings with this move.

The Jays currently have a CBT number of $247MM, per both RosterResource and Cot’s Baseball Contracts, with only a tiny difference between the calculations of those two sites. The base threshold of the CBT is $237MM this year, so the Jays could avoid paying the tax by shedding more than $10MM from their CBT calculation, so a claim of Kiermaier could get them about halfway there.

If they did manage to duck under the line, the cost savings would be minimal. The Jays are a on pace to be a second-time payor and are therefore subject to a base tax rate of just 30% on spending over the line, meaning they’d currently be lined up for a tax bill of roughly $3MM. But the CBT features growing tax rates for repeat payors, so even teams that pay it regularly like to “reset” their status by ducking under from time to time. If the Jays did that this year, they would be able to theoretically pay the CBT in 2025 as a “first-time” payor as opposed to a “third-time” payor. Paying the CBT also leads to a larger penalty for signing a player that rejected a qualifying offer and reduces the compensation a team receives for a QO player signing elsewhere.

MLBTR Podcast: Brewers’ Pitching Needs, Marlins Rumors And The Nats Prepare To Sell

By Darragh McDonald | July 10, 2024 at 11:59pm CDT

The latest episode of the MLB Trade Rumors Podcast is now live on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you get your podcasts! Make sure you subscribe as well! You can also use the player at this link to listen, if you don’t use Spotify or Apple for podcasts.

This week, host Darragh McDonald is joined by Anthony Franco of MLB Trade Rumors to discuss…

The Brewers acquiring Aaron Civale from the Rays (2:05)
The Marlins likely trading Tanner Scott and Jazz Chisholm Jr. (9:45)
The Angels reportedly only want to trade rentals (17:30)
The Nationals reportedly preparing to be deadline sellers (22:40)

Plus, we answer your questions, including…

Who gets traded from the Blue Jays at the deadline? (27:55)
What will the Mariners do to take advantage on their stellar rotation and make a run for their first World Series appearance? Also, should the Mariners trade J.P. Crawford for a proven hitter? (33:30)
Do you think there’s a chance the Braves make Max Fried a legitimate offer to keep him this winter? (39:00)

Check out our past episodes!

The Rays Could Deal Starters, Garrett Crochet, James Wood And Free Agent Power Rankings – listen here
Injured Trade Candidates, The Cristopher Sánchez Extension And Blue Jays’ Woes – listen here
José Abreu’s Release, Mookie Betts and Yoshinobu Yamamoto Hit The IL And Even More Injuries – listen here

The podcast intro and outro song “So Long” is provided courtesy of the band Showoff. Check out their Facebook page here!

Blue Jays Reportedly Expressing Openness To Moving Rentals

By Anthony Franco | July 10, 2024 at 10:50pm CDT

After another tough loss in San Francisco last night, the Blue Jays enter play this evening at 41-50. They’ve dropped nine games behind the Red Sox for the American League’s final postseason spot. Only the Angels, A’s and White Sox have a worse record in the AL.

With less than three weeks until the deadline, time is running out for the Jays to avoid selling. On June 27, GM Ross Atkins called the next few weeks “exceptionally important” in determining the team’s direction. The Jays have gone 5-7 since then.

Unsurprisingly, that looks like it’ll leave the front office to contemplate dealing short-term pieces. Mark Feinsand of MLB.com wrote last night that the Jays have indicated to other teams that they’re willing to move impending free agents. Feinsand suggested that Toronto is still disinterested in dealing players who are under team control beyond this season. Feinsand left open the possibility of Toronto holding onto players if they author a dramatic turnaround in the next couple weeks, but he noted that the Jays “are prepared to sell” if they don’t reverse course quickly. Including tonight, they have 16 games until the deadline.

A reluctance to trade controllable players aligns with Atkins’ prior public comments. The GM said in early June that moving Vladimir Guerrero Jr. or Bo Bichette — each of whom are slated for free agency at the end of next season — “just doesn’t make any sense for us.” While Atkins didn’t categorically shoot down the idea of moving any other players, a reluctance to deal Guerrero and Bichette indicates the team expects to rebound in 2025.

Even if the Jays focus trade discussions on rentals, the roster could look very different in a few weeks. Toronto has six impending free agents, each of whom has a realistic chance to go. That group is headlined by Yusei Kikuchi, who slots alongside Jack Flaherty as the top rental starting pitchers who should be available.

Kikuchi is coming off one of the best outings of his career. The lefty set a personal high with 13 strikeouts over 7 1/3 innings of two-run ball in San Francisco yesterday. He has allowed an even four earned runs per nine through 101 1/3 innings. Kikuchi has fanned an above-average 26.1% of opponents while cutting his walks to a career-low 5.4% clip. Home runs have always been an issue for the veteran southpaw, particularly against right-handed hitters. Yet Kikuchi is working on a second straight season with an ERA around 4.00 with plus strikeout and walk numbers.

This is the final season of his three-year, $36MM free agent deal. The contract was frontloaded, so Kikuchi is making just $10MM this year. Around $3.28MM would remain at the deadline. That should be affordable for most contenders. Kikuchi would be a realistic qualifying offer candidate if the Jays don’t trade him. If Toronto exceeds the luxury tax threshold, they’d only receive a compensation pick after the fourth round in the 2025 draft if a qualified free agent signs elsewhere.

That’s also a potential factor for Danny Jansen, who is the top impending free agent catcher. Jansen’s free agent and trade appeal looked a lot stronger as recently as a month ago. The righty-hitting backstop carried a .287/.371/.535 batting line into June. He has hit an ill-timed power outage in the past six weeks. Jansen has gone without a homer while running a .122/.241/.162 slash since the end of May. His season line (.217/.315/.377 over 203 plate appearances) is exactly league average, as measured by wRC+.

Despite the slump, the Jays should still get calls on Jansen. There aren’t likely to be many starting caliber catchers available this summer. Jansen has shown that kind of talent throughout his career, though his value has generally been undercut by a lengthy injury history. Even if he’s not currently in top form, Jansen has excellent strike zone discipline with double-digit home run power. He’s a quality receiving catcher but doesn’t have a great arm. The 29-year-old is making $5.2MM in his final arbitration season.

Kevin Kiermaier and Justin Turner are both playing on one-year free agent deals, respectively valued at $10.5MM and $13MM. They’re established veterans who could generate some interest for a bench role on a contender. The Jays would likely need to pay down most of the money to facilitate a trade of either player, though. Kiermaier remains an excellent defensive center fielder but has a career-worst .187/.232/.295 batting line over 181 plate appearances. The 39-year-old Turner is hitting .240/.347/.360 with five homers over 294 trips to the plate. He is working mostly as a designated hitter with sporadic reps at the corner infield spots.

Relievers Yimi García and Trevor Richards are the final two impending free agents. García, who is playing on a $6MM salary, got out to an excellent start to the year. He fired 28 innings of 2.57 ERA ball with a huge 34.6% strikeout rate over 27 appearances. An elbow issue sent him to the injured list in mid-June. García is on a rehab assignment with Triple-A Buffalo. Keegan Matheson of MLB.com tweets that neck stiffness has delayed him but the Jays are hopeful that García will be ready for reinstatement this weekend.

Richards, who is making just $2.15MM in his last arbitration season, owns a 3.40 earned run average in 47 2/3 frames. The changeup specialist has fanned a quarter of opponents against a 9% walk rate. Richards doesn’t have eye-popping velocity and this year’s 10% swinging strike rate is the lowest of his career. He’s best suited for a middle relief role but should have some appeal on the trade market as an affordable multi-inning arm.

Moving the bulk or all of those players could have significant financial ramifications for the organization. RosterResource estimates the organization’s luxury tax commitments just north of $247MM. Cot’s Baseball Contracts calculates the team’s CBT mark closer to $250MM. Those outside projections put the team $10-13MM above this year’s $237MM base tax threshold. An organization’s competitive balance tax number is calculated at the end of the season.

If the Jays commit to selling, they could get close to or below the tax line. They should be able to offload the prorated portions of Kikuchi’s $12MM and Jansen’s $5.2MM respective CBT numbers. If García is healthy, they could probably find a taker for what remains of his contract. Depending on what portion of the Kiermaier and Turner money another team might be willing to eat, there may be a path to getting their CBT number under $237MM. That would reset the team’s tax bracket and free them from the escalating penalties as a repeat payor if they decided to spend back above the tax line in 2025.

Getting under the CBT marker would be much easier if the Jays were willing to go beyond the rentals. Guerrero, Bichette, Chris Bassitt, Kevin Gausman, José Berríos and Chad Green are all on notable arbitration or multi-year salaries. Moving anyone from that group would make a return to competitiveness in 2025 more of an uphill battle, of course. It doesn’t seem that’s an avenue the front office is eager to take. It remains to be seen if they’ll more seriously consider that kind of roster overhaul over the coming weeks.

AL East Notes: Martin, Torres, Garcia

By Mark Polishuk | July 6, 2024 at 9:28am CDT

The Red Sox placed Chris Martin on the 15-day injured list yesterday (retroactive to July 4) and called up left-hander Cam Booser from Triple-A to fill Martin’s spot in the bullpen. Martin is suffering from right elbow inflammation, and manager Alex Cora told the Boston Globe’s Julian McWilliams and other reporters that there isn’t yet any plan for Martin to undergo any testing. The hope is that the 15-day rest (which encompasses the All-Star break) is all it takes for Martin to feel better and return to the mound.

This is the second time Martin has been on the IL this week, as he also missed two weeks in June dealing with anxiety. Over 26 1/3 innings this season, the right-hander has a strong 27.9% strikeout rate and an elite 1.9% walk rate, while posting an 3.42 ERA that has been inflated by some troubles with home runs. Martin’s SIERA is 2.44, by comparison, and his .313 BABIP reflects a bit of bad batted-ball luck. Despite the time spent on the injured list, Martin still leads the Red Sox with 10 holds and is the club’s top set-up option for closer Kenley Jansen.

Blue Jays Release Tim Mayza

By Leo Morgenstern | July 5, 2024 at 11:07pm CDT

The Blue Jays have released Tim Mayza, according to the left-hander’s player page on MLB.com. He was designated for assignment last week.

This marks the end, at least for now, of Mayza’s 11-year career with Toronto. The Blue Jays selected him in the 2013 draft, and he made his MLB debut at the Rogers Centre four years later. He would go on to make 352 appearances over the next eight years, far more than any other pitcher on the team in that span; he ranks eighth all-time in appearances by a Blue Jays pitcher.

Mayza became a key player in Toronto’s bullpen in 2021, and over the next three years, he pitched 155 innings with a 2.67 ERA. The southpaw had the best season of his career just last year, pitching to a 1.52 ERA in 69 games. His underlying stats were not quite as impressive, but his 3.11 SIERA and 3.38 xERA were still good numbers, especially for a higher-leverage reliever like Mayza. Thus, his struggles in 2024 came as a major surprise.

In 24 2/3 innings over 35 games this year, Mayza gave up 24 runs (22 earned) on 36 hits and 12 walks. He managed to strike out only 16 of the 121 batters he faced. All of that added up to an 8.03 ERA, which makes him the only reliever in the league (min. 20 IP) with an ERA over 8.00. While his underlying numbers are better than his ERA, they’re still disappointing across the board. His 5.04 SIERA and 6.77 xERA both rank last among Blue Jays relievers (min. 10 IP), which is especially bad considering the Blue Jays have had one of the least effective bullpens in baseball this season. With all that in mind, the team’s decision to release Mayza is not difficult to understand – even though it would have been almost impossible to imagine at the beginning of the year.

After more than a decade with the Blue Jays, Mayza will now be able to seek employment elsewhere. At 32 years old, he could be an intriguing reclamation project for an organization that thinks it can help him regain his 2023 form.

Jordan Romano Shut Down For Six Weeks Following Arthroscopic Elbow Surgery

By Darragh McDonald | July 3, 2024 at 4:15pm CDT

Blue Jays right-hander Jordan Romano underwent arthroscopic surgery today to repair an impingement in his throwing elbow. Manager John Schneider relayed the news to the club’s beat, with Keegan Matheson of MLB.com among those to relay the news on X. The closer will be shut down from throwing for at least six weeks, with his potential return this season dependant on how things progress from that point.

Romano’s elbow has been an issue all year long. The 31-year-old was shut down during Spring Training due to some inflammation and began the season on the 15-day injured list. He was able to come off the IL by mid-April but struggled, with a 6.59 earned run average in 15 appearances. He was placed back on the IL at the start of June, again due to inflammation in that elbow. He seemed to be on the road to rejoining the club last month but was shut down due to some more soreness about two weeks ago.

On the weekend, there was an ominous update. Schneider told reporters that Romano was going to visit Dr. Keith Meister, who has been a key figure in developing the internal brace/Tommy John surgery hybrid.

Relative to the worst-case scenario evoked by that doctor visit, today’s update counts as good news. A Tommy John surgery comes with a timeline of more than a year, which would have definitely ended Romano’s 2024 and even made it difficult for him to pitch next year.

This procedure’s six-week no-throw timeline is far better than that but still not great for Romano or the Jays. Once he starts throwing again, it will be the middle of August and he will have to ramp things back up from there, which is why it’s still questionable whether he can return this season at all.

The Jays are currently 39-46 and on the fringes of contention, currently seven games back of a playoff spot. A disappointing bullpen has been a big part of their struggles, as the club’s relievers had a collective 3.68 ERA last year, a top ten mark in the majors. This year, the relief corps has a 4.73 ERA, better than just the Angels and Rockies. That’s been partly due to Romano, but also pitchers like Erik Swanson and Tim Mayza have struggled and Yimi García has been on the injured list for a while.

The Jays will have to make some tough decisions in the coming weeks about whether they are buyers or sellers, and the loss of Romano will be hurtful on either path. Over the 2021 to 2023 seasons, he racked up 95 saves, trailing only Emmanuel Clase, Kenley Jansen and Josh Hader. He had a 2.37 ERA, 30.3% strikeout rate and 9.2% walk rate in that stretch.

Getting Romano healthy and back in that form could have played a role in getting them back in the playoff race. Conversely, if the club eventually takes the seller path, Romano would have been an attractive trade candidate. He is making $7.75MM this year and has one year of arbitration control remaining. Now that he’s potentially out for the year, he won’t be able to help the Jays steady the ship nor will he be able to bring back young talent in a deadline deal. Players on the IL can be traded but the offers would surely be unpalatable to the Jays right now, given Romano’s current health status.

If the Jays can stay in the playoff race for the next few months, perhaps the return of Romano will be a key storyline to watch, as he could serve as a fresh arm in September and/or October. Or if the club is out of it, the club would surely like to see him back on the mound before deciding whether or not to tender him a contract for next year.

He won’t be able to command a huge arbitration raise since his work this year has been so limited and also ineffective. Having Romano back to genuine closer status at around $8MM for one year would still be a huge bargain, though if the elbow issues linger and there’s a chance of him missing any of 2025, that would obviously change the calculus there.

Blue Jays Place Isiah Kiner-Falefa On Injured List, Recall Leo Jimenez For Major League Debut

By Darragh McDonald | July 2, 2024 at 3:05pm CDT

The Blue Jays announced that infielder Isiah Kiner-Falefa has been placed on the 10-day injured list with a left knee sprain. Infielder Leo Jimenez has been recalled in a corresponding move and will be making his major league debut as soon as he gets into a game.

Kiner-Falefa, 29, was a late scratch from yesterday’s game. Manager John Schneider said that the infielder “felt something” which “popped up out of nowhere” during his pre-game stretches, per Hazel Mae of Sportsnet on X. It’s unclear how much time the Jays expect him to miss but the injury is significant enough that he’ll require an IL stint.

Signed to a two-year deal in the offseason, IKF has been having the best campaign of his career thus far. He has always been a glove-first utility guy but had hit just .261/.314/.346 coming into the year for an 81 wRC+. Though much has gone wrong for the Jays here in 2024, Kiner-Falefa’s deal has been a nice development, as he has hit .292/.338/.420 for a wRC+ of 117. He’s done that while playing the three infield positions to the left of first base and one inning in center field as well. His 2.0 wins above replacement are currently leading the team, according to the calculations at FanGraphs.

It’s a less than ideal development for the Jays, who have fallen back in the American League playoff picture. Though many contenders have been bunched up in the Wild Card race for a lot of the year, the Jays have slipped to 38-46, tied with the Tigers and Rangers and eight games out of the last postseason spot. With the trade deadline less than a month away, the club will need a serious hot streak to avoid a summer selloff, which will be harder to do without one of their more productive players on the season. If the summer selloff does end up coming to pass, there would also be an argument for selling high on IKF, though that could perhaps be less likely now, depending on how things develop in the next few weeks.

In the meantime, Jimenez gets his first call to the big leagues. An international signing out of Panama in 2017, he’s long been considered one of the better prospects in the Jays’ system. Baseball America has ranked him one of the top 30 farmhands in the organization since 2019, generally considering him a strong defender at shortstop but with a possibility that he ends up at second base due to his arm.

Offensively, Jimenez is considered more of a line drive hitter than a power threat but the plate discipline appears to be strong. He has stepped to the plate just under 1200 times since the start of 2021 with just 22 home runs but a 12.8% walk rate and a 16.4% strikeout rate. He’s slashed a combined .269/.404/.401 in that time for a wRC+ of 127. That includes a line of .271/.416/.431 and 129 wRC+ in 57 Triple-A games this year, with a 13.3% walk rate and 15% strikeout rate.

Jimenez has mostly played shortstop this year but also some second base. The Jays have Bo Bichette at short but the keystone could be available. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. has some sore fingers after being hit by a pitch and missed yesterday’s game, so Spencer Horwitz could perhaps move to first until Guerrero is ready to return. That would leave second base open for Jimenez and Davis Schneider, though Schneider has also been playing left field this year.

Though this is his first call to the big leagues, Jimenez was actually added to the 40-man roster back in November of 2021 to keep him out of the Rule 5 draft. That means he is in his final option year and will be out of options by next season. Given his solid profile, he’ll likely be ticketed for a role on next year’s team. If the 2024 season ends up being a lost year for the Jays, they can at least use the final months of the schedule to audition controllable players like Jimenez, Horwitz, Schneider and Addison Barger as they evaluate how to approach building next year’s roster.

Blue Jays Acquire Yerry Rodriguez

By Mark Polishuk | June 30, 2024 at 12:21pm CDT

The Rangers and Blue Jays have completed a trade, as both clubs announced that right-hander Yerry Rodriguez is heading to Toronto in exchange for minor league righty Josh Mollerus. Rodriguez has been optioned to Triple-A Buffalo, while the Rangers assigned Mollerus to their high-A affiliate.

Texas designated Rodriguez for assignment earlier this week, and today’s trade officially ends Rodriguez’s decade-long run in the Rangers organization. An international signing out of the Dominican Republic in September 2015, Rodriguez made his MLB debut in 2022 and has a 7.11 ERA over 31 2/3 big league innings for the Rangers over the last three seasons. This year in particular, Rodriguez has a 6.88 ERA in 17 frames, allowing five homers and recording almost as many walks (11) as strikeouts (12).

Almost something of a control specialist during his earliest days as a prospect, Rodriguez’s walk rates have become increasingly problematic over three-plus years at the Triple-A level. The righty has a 5.42 ERA in 151 career Triple-A innings, and his walk rate spiked up to 15.2% this season over 13 1/3 frames at Round Rock.

On the plus side, Rodriguez is a hard thrower who has a 28.16% strikeout rate in his Triple-A career. While this swing-and-miss ability hasn’t translated yet to Rodriguez’s big league work (18.9K% in the majors), Rodriguez has stuff to appeal to other teams, and Toronto scouts may have seen something to make them think they can fix Rodriguez’s control problems.

If nothing else, the trade adds an MLB-ready reliever to the depth chart of a Blue Jays team in sore need of bullpen help. Between the number of injuries and ineffective arms in the Jays relief corps, Rodriguez is an optionable reliever who can shuttled up and down from Triple-A a few more times when the Blue Jays are in need of a fresh arm. A starter earlier in his career, Rodriguez has mostly transitioned over to full-time relief work, and can operate as a multi-inning reliever.

Mollerus is a University of Oregon product who was a 10th-round pick for Toronto in last year’s draft. Mollerus’ early results have also yielded a high number of strikeouts and walks, as the right-hander has a 32.26% strikeout rate and a 15.05% walk rate over 42 1/3 pro innings. Starting at A-level Dunedin last season, Mollerus has pitched with high-A Vancouver in 2024.

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