Blue Jays Designate Shaun Anderson For Assignment
The Blue Jays have designated righty Shaun Anderson for assignment, per a team announcement. His spot on the roster will go to fellow righty Matt Peacock, whose previously reported waiver claim has now been announced by the team.
Anderson’s stay on the 40-man roster lasted a bit less than two weeks, as he was initially selected in late June. He made a lone big league appearance, serving up two runs in a mop-up relief inning during a win over the Red Sox. The 27-year-old has otherwise spent the entire season with the Jays’ top affiliate in Buffalo, posting a 3.88 ERA through 48 2/3 innings. That’s solid run prevention, but Anderson has only struck out 20.1% of opposing hitters at the top minor league level.
While the former third-round pick has spent most of this season in the minors, Anderson has a fairly lengthy track record in the big leagues. He’s appeared in parts of four campaigns, with the majority of his work coming as a rookie with the 2019 Giants. He posted a 5.44 ERA through 96 innings that year, starting 16 of his 28 outings. Over the next few seasons, Anderson has worked exclusively in relief at the major league level, although he’s gotten six starts in Buffalo this year. Altogether, he owns a 5.84 ERA in 135 2/3 MLB frames split between five different teams (San Francisco, the Twins, Orioles, Padres and Jays).
Toronto will have a week to trade Anderson or place him on waivers. The Jays succeeded in passing him through waivers last fall after grabbing him from San Diego. That previous outright means Anderson would have the right to refuse another assignment in favor of minor league free agency if he passes through waivers unclaimed.
Blue Jays Claim Matt Peacock
The Blue Jays have claimed right-hander Matt Peacock off waivers from the Royals, as first reported by USA Today’s Bob Nightengale (Twitter link). Kansas City had designated Peacock for assignment last week.
Peacock, 28, has split the 2022 season so far between the Diamondbacks and Royals, yielding six runs in 10 big league innings. The former 23rd-round pick debuted with the D-backs last season but posted a pedestrian 4.90 ERA over 86 1/3 innings, logging an ugly 13% strikeout rate in that time. However, Peacock also posted a strong 7.7% walk rate and an outstanding 59.2% ground-ball rate in his debut campaign, and his rate stats from this season’s small sample of work generally match those displayed in his rookie effort.
He’s still only pitched 18 career innings at the Triple-A level, and the resulting 7.50 ERA isn’t much to look at. Peacock, though, has a 3.02 mark through a much larger sample of 116 2/3 innings at the Double-A level and has a history of huge ground-ball rates and low walk rates. He’s in his second minor league option year, so if the Jays hang onto him for more than a brief stint, he can be optioned freely both this year and next. If nothing else, he’ll provide some short-term depth to a staff that hasn’t performed up to expectations this year.
The Toronto pitching staff ranks 22nd in baseball with a 4.15 ERA and 16th with a 4.01 FIP. Part of that has been due to injury. Hyun Jin Ryu is done for the season and much of next following June’s Tommy John surgery. Nate Pearson has yet to throw a big league frame owing to both a lengthy bout of mononucleosis and now a lat strain. In the bullpen — Peacock’s likely role — the Jays are currently without Yimi Garcia and Julian Merryweather.
That said, the Jays also haven’t gotten the contributions they expected or hoped for from some key members of the staff. Jose Berrios and Yusei Kikuchi have struggled for much of the season in the rotation, as has Trevor Richards in the bullpen. Jordan Romano‘s numbers overall are strong, but he’s hit a few bumps in the road after notching a 1.35 ERA through the season’s first month (4.02 ERA, 15.7% walk rate over his past 15 2/3 innings).
Blue Jays Acquire Anthony Banda
The Blue Jays have announced to reporters, including Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet, that they have acquired left-handed pitcher Anthony Banda from the Pirates for cash considerations. Banda had been designated for assignment earlier this week. Julian Merryweather was transferred to the 60-day IL in order to create space on the 40-man roster for Banda.
With Toronto missing several relievers on the injured list, Banda’s acquisition adds some bullpen depth, and Banda could possibly position himself for regular work even when everyone is healthy. Tim Mayza is the top left-hander in the Jays’ bullpen, with Taylor Saucedo and rookies Matt Gage and Andrew Vasquez getting some looks as the second southpaw in the relief corps (Saucedo and Vazquez are two of the pitchers on the IL).
It has been a tough and perhaps simply unlucky season for Banda, who has a 6.41 ERA over 19 2/3 innings with the Pirates in 2022. Banda’s SIERA is a much more respectable 3.47, as a whopping .463 BABIP indicates that despite his success at limiting hard contact, a lot of Banda’s balls in play are turning into hits. Banda also has an impressive 5.1% walk rate.
The 28-year-old is no stranger to the AL East, having pitched with the Rays from 2018-20. A noted prospect back during his time in the Diamondbacks’ farm system, Banda spent the bulk of his time in Tampa recovering from Tommy John surgery, and he has yet to truly establish himself in the majors. The southpaw’s 33 2/3 innings in 2021 marked his career high, as Banda had a 4.28 ERA with the Mets and Pirates.
Blue Jays Showing Interest In Andrew Benintendi
MLB’s August 2nd Trade Deadline is more than a month away, but the Blue Jays are already showing early interest in Royals outfielder Andrew Benintendi according to Jon Morosi of MLB Network. Morosi further speculates that Kansas City’s bullpen arms may be of some interest to Toronto, whose crop of relievers currently sport the game’s 24th best ERA.
The Blue Jays for their part are hardly hurting on offense, as the team currently sports the best OPS in all of baseball. At the rate he’s producing, however, Benintendi and his .303/.368/.391 (116 OPS+) slash would be a boon to any lineup. The reigning Gold Glove winner may also be viewed as a more reliable candidate to man left field than Lourdes Gurriel Jr., who has drawn more divisive reviews of his glovework in recent seasons.
A left-handed bat his been on the Blue Jays wishlist since last offseason, though to date the only left-handed hitters to grace the Jays lineup this season with some regularity have been Cavan Biggio, backup catcher Zack Collins, and light-hitting outfielder Raimel Tapia. A hypothetical Benintendi acquisition would represent a way to diversify the handedness of the Jays’ lineup, though doing so would likely relegate Gurriel Jr. to an overqualified bench role or indirectly infringe on Biggio’s playing time.
It’s worth noting that Benintendi wouldn’t be a lock to start every game for an acquiring team, as his platoon splits, particularly this year, have painted him as much more adept hitter against right-handed pitching. Acquiring Benintendi then, who is a free agent at the end of the season, would improve the team’s outfield defense, lineup balance, and bench in one shape or another for what figures to be a minimal prospect cost.
Kansas City may seem an odd fit for reliever shopping, as their bullpen has uncharacteristically struggled to worse run prevention numbers than the Jays’. The unit is led by one of the more unheralded closers in the league however, as right-hander Scott Barlow has posted a 2.36 ERA with strong peripherals dating back to last year (107 innings). The Royals are under no obligation to ship the 29-year-old Barlow anywhere, sought after as he likely will be, due to his additional three years of team control.
With a 13-game gulf between the second-place Jays and the first-place Yankees there’s likely little expectation that a modest outfield upgrade or bullpen improvement will be the driving forces behind a second half surge. Still, the team is currently nestled atop a tight Wild Card race, with Boston, Tampa Bay, and Cleveland no more than 3.5 games back and only three playoff spots to split between them. Any acquisitions the Jays make within the next month figure to help the club field a more competitive team come October and, more pressingly, stave off a number of clubs who are a hot-streak away from upending the Wild Card race altogether.
Blue Jays Sign Sergio Romo
JUNE 29: Toronto officially announced Romo’s signing Wednesday after he passed his physical. Righty Shaun Anderson was optioned to Triple-A Buffalo to clear active roster space, while reliever Tayler Saucedo was transferred to the 60-day injured list. Saucedo has already missed two months with right hip discomfort, so his transfer is a procedural move that won’t affect his eligibility to return. He’s on a minor league rehab assignment with Buffalo and figures to be reinstated within the next two weeks.
JUNE 27: The Blue Jays are signing veteran right-hander Sergio Romo to a Major League contract, reports Jon Heyman of the New York Post (Twitter link). The Meister Sports client was designated for assignment and subsequently released by the Mariners last week. As such, Seattle will be on the hook for the majority of Romo’s $2MM salary. The Jays will only owe him the prorated portion of the league minimum for any time spent on the MLB roster.
Romo, 39, yielded just one run through his first eight innings with the Mariners this season before melting down for five runs in two-thirds of an inning against the Orioles on the first of this month. That proved to be the start of a catastrophic collapse that saw the former Giants closer and three-time World Series champ yield a dozen runs over the course of just 6 1/3 innings. He allowed runs in five of his final nine appearances as a Mariner and ultimately finished his Seattle tenure with a grisly 8.16 ERA in 14 1/3 innings.
That said, Romo posted decent numbers with the 2021 A’s and the 2020 Twins, logging a combined 4.52 ERA with a 24.1% strikeout rate and 8.0% walk rate in 81 2/3 frames during that time. This season’s struggles came as he threw his signature slider at a 46.9% clip that represents his lowest usage of the pitch since way back in 2010. That slider has typically made Romo a death knell for opposing righties — career .204/.248/.356 slash line — but right-handed batters have uncharacteristically decimated Romo so far in 2022. It’s only a sample of 38 plate appearances, but righties have turned in a dominant .353/.395/.794 batting line when facing Romo this season. The Jays surely have some ideas on how to right that worrisome trend.
Romo’s addition comes at a time when the Jays have seen their in-house bullpen options thinned out dramatically in just a matter of weeks. Since June 8, they’ve lost lefty Andrew Vasquez (ankle sprain) and right-handers Trevor Richards (neck strain), Julian Merryweather (oblique strain), Yimi Garcia (back strain) and Nate Pearson (lat strain) to injuries. There’s no real risk from a financial standpoint, and if Romo’s struggles continue following a change of scenery, he can be quickly phased out in favor of an in-house option or a potential trade acquisition.
Nate Pearson Shut Down From Throwing For 3-4 Weeks Due To Lat Strain
JUNE 28: Pearson will be shut down from throwing for 3-4 weeks before being reevaluated, the team informed reporters (including Kaitlyn McGrath of the Athletic).
JUNE 24: Blue Jays righty Nate Pearson, who’s been on a minor league rehab assignment after a lengthy bout with mononucleosis, exited his most recent rehab appearance due to an injury and has now been diagnosed with a lat strain, tweets Sportsnet’s Arash Madani. The Jays don’t have a timeline yet for when Pearson might be able to return.
It’s the latest setback in a career that has, to this point, been full of unfortunate injuries and health troubles for the ultra-talented Pearson. A former first-round pick who ranked as the sport’s top overall pitching prospect just a couple years ago, Pearson has dealt with elbow, groin and shoulder injuries since making his MLB debut in 2020.
Pearson enjoyed a scintillating MLB first start that year, firing five scoreless frames against the Nationals and regularly hitting triple digits with his vaunted heater. Unfortunately, he hasn’t been healthy enough to follow up with more outings along those lines. Pearson did have an impressive run with the Toronto bullpen down the stretch in 2021, pitching 12 2/3 innings of 2.84 ERA ball with a 20-to-7 K/BB ratio with a fastball that was averaging 98.5 mph in short relief.
If Pearson can get healthy in 2022 or at any point down the line, the 25-year-old clearly has the ability to serve as a key piece of the Toronto pitching staff, be it in the rotation or out of the bullpen. The timing of his current setback is unfortunate, as it comes just a week after the Blue Jays learned that they’ll be without Hyun Jin Ryu for the rest of the year (and much of next year) following Tommy John surgery. Pearson probably wouldn’t have been built up as a rotation option right off the bat, but he’d likely have returned as a multi-inning option out of the ‘pen that could help to absorb some of Ryu’s lost innings — perhaps in a role similar to the one Ross Stripling had before stepping into Ryu’s rotation spot.
The other unfortunate aspect of Pearson’s injuries, at least from the team vantage point, is that he’s still racking up service time and working through his six years of club control, because the majority of the injuries he’s incurred have happened while he’s been on the big league roster. Pearson is currently on the Major League 60-day IL, and despite having appeared in just 17 big league games, he’s all but certain to finish out the 2022 season with more than two years of service time. The Blue Jays still control him for four years beyond the current campaign, but needless to say, this isn’t how they hoped the promising young righty’s first two years of service would play out.
In the short term, what figures to be another absence of some note figures to only further the Toronto front office’s search for pitching on the summer trade market. The Blue Jays’ bullpen currently ranks 24th in the Majors with a collective 4.38 ERA, and while the rotation is sound with Alek Manoah, Kevin Gausman, Jose Berrios, Stripling and Yusei Kikuchi, the loss of Ryu has already thinned out the depth a bit.
Blue Jays Select Shaun Anderson
The Blue Jays announced they’ve selected righty Shaun Anderson onto the MLB roster, with reliever Jeremy Beasley optioned to Triple-A Buffalo. A 40-man roster spot was created by transferring Hyun Jin Ryu from the 15-day to the 60-day injured list.
Toronto grabbed Anderson off waivers from the Padres last November. They passed him through waivers a couple weeks later, keeping him in the minor leagues without necessitating a 40-man spot. The right-hander had been a fairly desirable bullpen depth option, having bounced between Minnesota, Texas and Baltimore before landing in San Diego. Altogether, he struggled to an 8.49 ERA through 23 1/3 innings with three clubs.
Anderson has spent this season with the Bisons, working 46 innings over 14 appearances (including six starts). The 27-year-old has a 3.91 ERA, striking out a below-average 19.7% of opponents but demonstrating strong control as a multi-inning pitcher. Anderson still has a minor league option year remaining, so the Jays can bounce him from Toronto to Buffalo for the remainder of the season.
Ryu’s IL transfer was a formality whenever the club needed a 40-man roster spot. The veteran southpaw recently underwent Tommy John surgery. He’ll miss the rest of this season and most or all of next year as well.
Blue Jays To Promote Max Castillo, Option Casey Lawrence
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
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
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.