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Blue Jays To Promote Max Castillo, Option Casey Lawrence

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The Blue Jays will promote right-handed pitching prospect Max Castillo today, optioning right-hander Casey Lawrence, per Keegan Matheson of MLB.com (via Twitter). The Blue Jays will need to add Castillo to the 40-man roster, but they have an open spot after outrighting Bowden Francis yesterday.

Castillo will make his Major League debut whenever he first gets in a game. Signed out of Venezuela, the 23-year-old has been with the Blue Jays since the 2016 season. He made it to Triple-A for the first time this season, posting a 0.66 ERA in 27 1/3 innings. This came after putting up a 3.10 ERA over six starts (29 innings) in Double-A. Despite the gaudy numbers, Castillo wasn’t on MLB.com’s, Baseball America’s, or Fangraphs’ list of Blue Jays top 30 prospects. He profiles as a reliever, despite mostly starting games throughout his minor league career.

Lawrence, 34, made just three appearances for the Blue Jays in his first bit of big-league action since 2018 with the Mariners. For his career, he owns a 6.38 ERA/5.10 FIP over 86 career innings with the Jays and Mariners, dating back to his debut in 2017.

Blue Jays To Select Max Castillo, Outright Bowden Francis

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The Blue Jays are going to select the contract of right-hander Max Castillo, per Alfonso E. Saer Gomez. The Blue Jays have an open spot on their 40-man roster, due to the outright of right-hander Bowden Francis, per his transactions tracker at MLB.com. A corresponding move on the active roster has not been announced.

An international signing of the Blue Jays out of Venezuela, Castillo made his professional debut in his age-17 season in 2016. Since then, he’s worked his way up the minor league ladder, working primarily as a starting pitcher. This year, between Double-A and Triple-A, he’s thrown 56 1/3 innings with a 1.92 ERA, 28.8% strikeout rate and 10.8% walk rate. There’s certainly some good fortune in there, as Castillo has a .203 BABIP and 89.8% strand rate on the year. Nonetheless, he’s showed enough to earn a spot on the club’s roster.

It’s not clear what role Castillo, 23, will play for the Jays, though the pitching staff has taken a hit in recent days with the Tommy John surgery of Hyun Jin Ryu. That has bumped Ross Stripling from a long relief role and into a primary rotation slot. Castillo could potentially head to the bullpen and attempt to take over the job of the long man out of the bullpen.

As for Francis, 26, acquired in the Rowdy Tellez trade, he was selected to the club’s 40-man roster in the fall, ahead of the Rule 5 draft that ended up getting canceled by the lockout. He made his MLB debut earlier this year, tossing two-thirds of an inning, but has spent most of his time in Triple-A. In 41 2/3 innings for Buffalo, he has an unfortunate 7.78 ERA. After regularly running strikeout rates of 23% or above in previous years, it’s slipped to 18.8% this year. His 11.7% walk rate is also a personal worst. There was no previous reporting of the team designating him for assignment, but he’s evidently cleared waivers and will now stay in the organization without occupying a roster spot.

Roster Moves: Blue Jays, Nationals

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The Blue Jays have placed Trevor Richards on the 15-day injured list with a neck strain and recalled Matt Gage to take his roster spot, per Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet (via Twitter). The oft-used Richards actually leads the American League right now with 29 appearances, though the aggregate numbers are none too impressive for the veteran righty. Richards owns a 6.59 ERA/5.79 FIP with a 33-to-16 strikeout-to-walk ratio. Richards has particularly struggled of late, with a 13.50 ERA over his last eight appearances.

  • The Nationals placed rookie Evan Lee on the 15-day injured list with a left flexor strain, recalling reliever Andres Machado to take his roster spot, per Jessica Camerato of MLB.com (via Twitter). Lee had been pitching out of the bullpen, leaving his appearance yesterday with the injury. Machado helps the bullpen immediately, which is especially important after a doubleheader yesterday. Machado, 29, has made 17 appearances on the year for the Nats with a 5.48 ERA/4.87 FIP across 23 innings.

Hyun Jin Ryu To Undergo Season-Ending Elbow Surgery

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JUNE 18: Hyun Jin Ryu underwent successful Tommy John surgery, per Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet (via Twitter). The typical recovery time is 12-to-18 months, meaning Ryu could miss all of the 2023 season, as well as the rest of this year.

JUNE 14: Blue Jays left-hander Hyun Jin Ryu will undergo elbow surgery, general manager Ross Atkins informed reporters (including Scott Mitchell of TSN Sports). It’s not yet known whether Ryu will require a full Tommy John reconstructive surgery or a partial repair — it’s not uncommon for the extent of the ligament damage to be unclear until the surgeon has actually begun the procedure — but he’ll miss the remainder of the 2022 season in either case.

The former All-Star has been on the injured list for the past two weeks after being diagnosed with a forearm strain and elbow inflammation. It was his second arm-related stint of this season, as he also missed a few weeks between April and May with forearm inflammation. This stay will unfortunately last significantly longer than the first, as Ryu won’t be able to avoid going under the knife this time around.

Ryu has dealt with some arm issues in the past, missing most of the 2015-16 seasons while a member of the Dodgers. He underwent surgery to repair a labrum tear in his shoulder in May 2015, with that injury costing him the entirety of the season. He battled elbow tendinitis the following year, making only one MLB start before being shut down. Ryu returned to pitch in 25 games in 2017, though, and while he’s had a handful of IL stints in the years since then, he’d mostly avoided any arm concerns until recently.

After a 2019 campaign in which Ryu tossed 182 2/3 innings of 2.32 ERA ball, the Jays signed him to a four-year, $80MM free agent deal. Ryu was brilliant during the first season of that contract, taking all 12 turns through the rotation during the shortened campaign and posting a 2.69 ERA. His results took a rather notable step back last year, as he managed a 4.37 mark through 169 frames. Ryu stayed healthy aside from a minor neck issue in September, but he looked more the part of a strike-throwing innings eater than a top-of-the-rotation force.

The 35-year-old never seemed to get comfortable this season, perhaps as a result of his battles with forearm discomfort. He worked 27 innings, pitching to a 5.67 ERA with a personal-low 14.2% strikeout rate. Ryu also posted the worst swinging strike mark of his career (7.6%), and the UCL injury will cut his season short after just six starts.

A specific timeline for his recovery won’t be known until after he goes under the knife, but it’s possible he’s already thrown his final pitch in a Toronto uniform. The South Korean hurler is due the balance of his $20MM salary this season and under contract for $20MM next year, the final season of his deal. If he were to undergo a full reconstructive surgery, it’s possible he’ll miss the entirety of the 2023 campaign.

In the nearer term, the win-now Blue Jays will have to move forward with their rotation alternatives. It’s still a quality group, with offseason signee Kevin Gausman and second-year star Alek Manoah posting excellent numbers. José Berríos has struggled but isn’t in any danger of losing his rotation spot given his track record, while Toronto signed the enigmatic Yusei Kikuchi to a three-year contract over the winter. Swingman Ross Stripling has stepped into the final spot and performed well through seven starts, although he’s coming off a rough 2020-21 stretch.

Atkins acknowledged Ryu’s injury makes it likelier they’ll bolster the group via trade this summer (via Shi Davidi of Sportsnet). He unsurprisingly didn’t tip his hand as to whether they’d look for a stable back-end type or prioritize a higher-impact arm like Oakland’s Frankie Montas or Cincinnati’s Luis Castillo. Toronto should have the payroll flexibility and urgency to at least check in on a broad range of possibilities. The Jays enter play Tuesday in possession of the American League’s top Wild Card spot but eight games behind the Yankees in the AL East.

Blue Jays Pushed Hard To Sign Verlander In Offseason

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  • The Blue Jays were known to have interest in Justin Verlander last winter, and as Verlander tells ESPN’s Jeff Passan, it seems as though Toronto was Verlander’s second choice before he ultimately rejoined the Astros on a two-year, $50MM contract.  The Jays “were very proactive to the point that when I signed with Houston, I made sure to let them know that I appreciated it all,” Verlander said, noting that former teammate George Springer pushed hard to try and recruit him.  “Ultimately, when it came down to it, Houston had the same offer.  It was all kind of ballpark between them and Toronto, and New York [the Yankees) was kind of always just a step behind.”  With Verlander off the board, the Blue Jays instead signed Kevin Gausman and Yusei Kikuchi to augment the rotation.  Verlander also added that the Yankees were “kind of always just a step behind” those top suitors — reports surfaced in November that the Yankees were willing to offer Verlander $25MM over one year, but weren’t willing to add a second season to the contract.

Matt Chapman Day-To-Day With Wrist Soreness

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  • Matt Chapman has missed the Blue Jays’ last two games due to a sore right wrist.  Manager Charlie Montoyo told Sportsnet’s Ben Nicholson-Smith and other reporters that Chapman “couldn’t even pinch-hit today,” though the third baseman is still considered day-to-day with the injury.  Imaging hasn’t yet been done on Chapman’s wrist, which Nicholson-Smith notes is an indication that the Jays believe the injury isn’t too serious.

Blue Jays Activate Tim Mayza From 15-Day IL

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  • Tim Mayza was activated off the Blue Jays’ 15-day injured list, as the left-hander returned to action after missing a little under four weeks due to forearm inflammation.  After throwing a scoreless two-thirds of an inning today against the Tigers, Mayza improved his ERA to 1.98 over 13 2/3 total frames this season.

Latest On Hyun Jin Ryu

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It has been a little over a week since a forearm strain sent left-hander Hyun Jin Ryu to the 15-day injured list, and Ryu and the Blue Jays are still determining the next stage of rehab.  Sportsnet’s Ben Nicholson-Smith (Twitter link) writes that Ryu has met with noted specialist Dr. Neal ElAttrache, and is also going to seek out other opinions. 

As with any forearm injury, there was immediate speculation that Ryu would require Tommy John surgery, and it isn’t yet known if such a major procedure is necessary.  The fact that Ryu wasn’t immediately slated for TJ surgery is perhaps a positive sign that his forearm strain doesn’t involve any serious UCL damage, yet on the flip side, it is possible that a TJ procedure was the initial recommendation, and Ryu and the Jays are trying to find a second opinion that involves an alternative recovery treatment.  It certainly seems like Ryu is in for a lengthy absence regardless, and if he does ultimately require Tommy John surgery, his tenure in Toronto could already be over.  TJ rehab usually takes 12-15 months, and Ryu is only under contract through the end of the 2023 season.

Blue Jays Promote Gabriel Moreno, Option Zack Collins

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As expected, the Blue Jays have promoted top catching prospect Gabriel Moreno today to make his big league debut. As a corresponding roster move, catcher Zack Collins was optioned to Triple-A, per the Athletic’s Kaitlyn McGrath (via Twitter). The inevitability of Moreno’s arrival in the bigs first broke a couple of days ago. Today should be the day we get to see him on the diamond as the Jays take on the Tigers in Detroit later this afternoon.

This is not likely to be the last time that Collins sees time in the bigs, as he has largely performed as expected, providing some left-handed pop from behind the plate. The 27-year-old has slashed .212/.288/.455 with four round-trippers in 73 plate appearances. Collins was acquired from the White Sox in a straight swap for Reese McGuire.

Moreno was the 7th-ranked prospect in all of baseball at the start of the season per both MLB.com and Baseball America. He now gets his first taste of the bigs after slashing .324/.380/.404 across 150 plate appearances in Triple-A so far this season. Whether or not Moreno is here to stay could depend on a number of factors, but with the Blue Jays fairly well-stocked behind the plate, Moreno will likely have to hit the ground running to make himself into a fixture in Toronto. With Alejandro Kirk behind the plate and Danny Jansen set to return from the injured list at some point, the Blue Jays may not be able to find regular at-bats for Moreno unless he’s back in Triple-A.

Blue Jays To Promote Gabriel Moreno

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The Blue Jays are calling up top catching prospect Gabriel Moreno, as first reported by Daniel Álvarez-Montes of El Extrabase. Keegan Matheson of MLB.com adds that Moreno’s call-up is likely to coincide with Toronto’s upcoming weekend series in Detroit. No 40-man moves will be required to facilitate Moreno’s debut, as the young catcher was added to the team’s roster back in 2020.

Signed as an international free agent in 2016, the 22-year-old Moreno has seen his stock soar after an excellent 2021 showing. Entering the 2022 season both Baseball America and MLB.com ranked Moreno as the seventh best prospect in baseball after previously missing top prospect lists (and the 2020 season) entirely.

Through 32 games last season at Double-A, Moreno hit an otherworldly .373/.441/.651 with eight home runs and a manageable 22 strikeouts. A right thumb fracture limited the amount of regular season reps given to the Jays’ top prospect, but it didn’t stop him from receiving a promotion to Triple-A at the end of the year. An additional 100 plate appearances of .329/.410/.494 hitting in the Arizona Fall League, against older competition no less, only helped to reinforce the hype.

Moreno’s 2022 season hasn’t been quite as powerful as last season’s performance, but a .323/.377/.406 showing against Triple-A competition was clearly enough to impress Toronto’s top brass. Those 35 games will net Moreno his first big league call-up, but it remains to be seen what position he’ll be manning when the decision becomes official.

Primarily a catcher with a strong arm, Moreno has received the odd start at DH and third base in recent years to get his right-handed bat into teams’ lineups. With Alejandro Kirk producing at an elite level from behind the plate and offseason acquisition Matt Chapman locked in at third, there doesn’t appear to be a slam dunk place on the field for Moreno to helm.

Catcher Zack Collins was recalled just yesterday to fill in for injured catcher Danny Jansen (who was having a strong season in his own right), a move that perhaps signals the three catchers will shuttle between catcher and DH duties for the time being. If nothing else, Moreno’s call-up figures to place some pressure on a number of bench players and outfielders (who have seen reps at the DH position) who have underperformed offensively thus far.

Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.

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