Though Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is laying waste to Double-A pitching, Blue Jays GM Ross Atkins tells Shi Davidi of Sportsnet that the organization is not planning to bring him to the Majors just yet. Guerrero only just turned 19, but he’s obliterated Eastern League pitching at a .388/.452/.624 clip with three homers, nine doubles, a triple and more walks (12) than strikeouts (10) through 105 plate appearances. Atkins explains, however, that the team still sees some areas for improvement in other aspects of his game. “That’s just offence, right, when you say statistically,” says Atkins. “…And it’s only a month of performance above A-ball, as well. … Right now, we’re entirely focused on Vladdy as the best possible third baseman he could be, the best possible base-runner, of course offensive player, and teammate. And right now, we currently have a very good third baseman on our major-league team.”
Theoretically, the Blue Jays could split Guerrero and Josh Donaldson in a timeshare between third base and DH, though Atkins indicated a desire to get Guerrero as many reps as possible. The GM also stressed that service time and arbitration considerations aren’t impacting Guerrero’s timeline. (Indeed, he’s already been in the minors long enough to delay free agency by a year.)
Here’s more from the division…
- Despite his struggles and a sudden glut of infielders in the Bronx, Neil Walker is in no danger of losing his roster spot, Yankees GM Brian Cashman tells Joel Sherman of the New York Post. Cashman points to Walker’s lengthy and consistent track record in the Majors in plainly stating that he “[doesn’t] see Walker as a guy to release, eat (his salary) or trade.” Walker is hitting .171/.233/.195 through 90 plate appearances, and the Yankees will eventually have Brandon Drury back from the disabled list, where he’ll join Walker, Gleyber Torres, Miguel Andujar and Ronald Torreyes in the infield mix. It’s not clear how the Yankees will manage that on-paper surplus.
- Chris Tillman’s struggles are putting the Orioles in an increasingly difficult spot, writes Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com, but the organization presently has little in the way of alternatives that are ready to step into the big league rotation. Tillman tossed seven shutout innings and allowed one hit last week, but he was clobbered by the Angels last night and pulled after recording just three outs and watching his ERA balloon to 9.24. Kubatko suggests that Double-A lefty Keegan Akin could eventually be an option, though he’s made just five starts above A-ball. Speculatively, right-hander David Hess is off to a respectable start in Triple-A and is on the 40-man roster. But other options, both on the 40-man and of the non-roster variety, are struggling in the upper minors. Tillman’s struggles could eventually force the team’s hand, but it doesn’t sound likely that he’s on the verge of being cut loose.
The only hope for replacing Tillman is that the O’s get back a major league starter in the inevitable Machado trade.
More like an inevitable free agency loss
Ain’t no one going to trade for him at that redic asking price
The O’s predictable results from signing mid-tier SPs this winter while doing nothing about their lack of organization depth at that position leaves them with few options. Showalter will have to keep running Tillman and company out there simply because there aren’t many alternatives. BAL may find they either have to sign more free agents (Lackey/Feldman/Jimenez/etc) or begin trading veterans like Machado or Jones for major league ready prospects sooner than anticipated. No matter how you slice it, it’s a mess in Baltimore.
Especially if they disregard the international spending option.
This sounds snarkish (and I apologize), but you could probably grab/trade for Harvey. He’s a mess right now, but what do you have to lose ? Harvey’s issues are mental, not physical…
That’s kind of exactly what I was thinking. Grab Harvey and stick him out there in a 6 man rotation in Baltimore.
Maybe this is a hot take, but if the situation doesn’t resolve itself, the Yankees should send down either Torreyes or Andujar. Andujar has been good at quality contact, but he has a 21/2 K/BB rate. Great if he were a pitcher, but…
Yeah his obp is under .300 and his defense isn’t particularly great either. He has just a 0.2 WAR so far (and a -0.1 WAA). He’s just hit lots of doubles so Yankees fans jump to the conclusion that he’s an all star. I think he’s a solid every day player for sure, but he isn’t a star or anything like that
Awfully similar to the Frazier situation at the start of last year. The guy had a ridiculous OPS in the .900’s for the first month or so, and most of the Yankee fans were going crazy about how great he was – all while ignoring his ~.300 OBP at the time. Once the slugging came down from its unrealistic number, he looked severely overmatched. Unlike Frazier, I do expect Andujar to figure it out eventually though.
Frazier was called up in July, so not the start of the season.
And the difference between Frazier and Andujar’s callups is that Andujar was mashing the ball at every level in the minors while Frazier was doing meh in AAA. The only reason Andujar didnt start the season at 3B was because Cashman was trying to justify the Drury trade.
I’m aware of all of that, hence the reason I expect Andujar to figure it out eventually, which is something I cannot say for Frazier.
Well I would say that I think C. Frazier’s bat will come around eventually, given that he is placed in AAA for the appropriate amount of time needed since when he was originally called up, the consensus was that he wasnt ready and he has made major changes to his swing during the offseason.
The point of my original response to you was that, considering the point of development the two players were at, I dont foresee a downfall for Andujar like we did with C. Frazier.
P.S I have no clue why people thumbed you down so heavy as well as everyone else. Although I disagreed with you guys I dont think you said anything extremely silly
You do realize WAR is a collective stat, right? Do you expect Andujar be a big leader in WAR in only about three weeks of play time as a rookie?
Yeah of course I realize that, he has a 0.2 WAR in 24 games. That’s 1.2 over 144 games, which is below average. Hence the -0.1 WAA. He’s going to need to hit more than he has to be an solid player. I think he can, but it could take time and he hasn’t proven as much as Yankees fans think. At least not yet
But you also need to consider that he is a rookie. He took about a week or two to adjust to the new lifestyle and higher level pitching and hes been hitting well ever since his adjustment. Thats not to say he cant ever have another rough patch or struggle ever again but he is 1 away from tying the league leaders in 2B for a reason.
You don’t take two weeks of WAR and extrapolate out to a full season. That’s not how projections are made, and that’s certainly not how you project future performance.
It’s a bad idea to take such a small sample and think that is the player he will be. Yanks are winning with these players tha’t s the bottom line! Judge didn’t do as well when he first came up.
Disagree both of them are hitting and playing defense. Walker needs to be released.
It could come down to money and options until the deadline. I don’t see Walker on the team when Bird returns.
How about this crazy idea? Blue Jays & Twins swap Morales & Hughes (both are signed through 2019 with similar AAV). That permanently opens up the DH spot. Then call up Guerrero to be the primary DH, with some occasional time at 3B (to give Donaldson an off day)
That’s about the most realistic way to get rid of Morales I’ve heard other than just flat out releasing him.
Anything that gets Morales to be someone else’s problem
I’m not sure what use the Twins have for Morales. If they want a switch hitting DH-only .180 average boat anchor with a name that starts with K and ends with a weird “-ys”on the roster they can just call up Kennys Vargas.
Morales for Hughes? Done. Do it.
Not sure why the Blue Jays would be moving Vlad off the field like that. He’s a teenager, he needs daily reps, it makes zero sense to stunt his development like that.
Pretty sure the Jays want him to be a two way player going forward.
There is no way the Jays should promote Vladdy Jr to the big leagues, which means they proably will when they get desperate.
how is that desperate? Just off the top of my head:
The O’s did it with Machado in 2012 (reached the ALCS).
The Red Sox did it with Devers last season (reached the ALDS)
The Dodgers did it with Bellinger last season (reached the WS)
If anything, a VGJ call up indicates the Blue Jays are competitive, because otherwise, just wait till May 2019 to call him up.
Putting your best 25 guys on the field isn’t desperate
Jays aren’t competative, they don’t have the rotation for it. Calling Vladdy up when the rotation isn’t playoff worthy would be a desperation move.
Forget the “best 25 guys on the field” stuff. The Jays need to keep him in the mminors as long as possible for longterm development since they have no shot at winning anything this year.
No. If he is ready for the big leagues you call him up because that is the right thing to do. Then sign him to a long term deal. Every great player needs time in the big leagues and a chance to fail at the very top level. Longterm develop does not apply to guys who dominate in the minor leagues.
In the meantime, Vlad should be in AAA before June. That’s the proper move at this present time.
If Cashman sends down Andujar to justify the Drury trade and Walker signing I’ll be upset. Just cut/trade/DFA Walker. There is no room for him when C. Frazier, G. Bird, B. Drury, and J. Ellsbury come off the DL. Lets not forget that Walker is batting an impressive .190-something
They also better not touch Torreyes.
Torres no, Torreyes-so long.
They should keep both. Torreyes has been amazing off the bench for the time hes been with the Yankees and can play 3 positions in the infield well.
Lol “I’ll be upset” “better not touch Torreyes”…or else?
Yeah, I’ll be upset because I would disagree with that move. I would argue that if they make those moves it would be more detrimental to the teams success.
Or else it would be a poor move for the team to make and it would hinder their ability to succeed. What else?
What points are you even trying to make?
They won’t get rid of Torreyes, and I really would question any Yankees fan that says he should be go. Not many players can come off the bench and do what he does.
Looks like his premise was who to release when Drury comes back. Walker is always a slow starter and is a switch-hitter who can play all the infield positions..plus provides veteran presence. Drury was aquired for a reason and will probably be back at third cause Andujar is scuffling lately. Let’s see what the multi-poster feels should be done.
How did you decipher that premise out of his post? He only laughed at what I said and then said “or else” as if I was trying to be threatening and he was simply calling me out for it.
But Andujar scuffling as of late? I mean he didnt do amazing in the series against HOU but you cant go 3 for 4 every night. He has done well ever since he settled in after the BOS series.
Is there something wrong with posting more than once, bud? Anyways, I would send down/cut an arm like Hale if Drury comes back before Bird. If Bird comes back before Drury I would cut Walker. Drury was only acquired because Cashman either fell for the “durrr you cant have rookies in the infield!” critique that people were spouting or he is trying to make Andujar a trade chip. I think Drury is good and there should be a spot for him on the roster. When Drury comes back you can send one of the lower-teir bullpen arms to the minors (like Hale, Holder, or A.J Cole). The real problems come when Ellsbury, and C. Frazier try to make their returns. You could argue that Frazier needs more time in AAA after revamping his swinging mechanics but the Ellsbury one is a bit more tricky. But thats another topic.
Actually the premise was your original post not that guys take. Multi poster in no way was aimed at you and I apologize for using an inside joke. Back to the subject,Andujars defense has been shaky and he’s carrying a sub .300 OBP,he really did Ok against the Astros but over the last 10 games he’s come back to earth. Drury is more then likely gonna stay. Frazier is in AAA where he should be, Bird is progressing towards a end of May return. Between Austin or Walker and unfortunately it will probably be Austin.
Ah, my mistake then. Its a tad annoying how on this site the reply indentation stops after the 3 post. But for clearance, i assumed it was a reply to me since it seemingly fit the question I asked the guy, which was “what points are you even trying to make?” so you can kinda see my reasoning behind thinking it was a reply to me.
We will see how the next series or two plays out but I think Andujar will do well as he was showing good signs against the Astros pitching. He didnt have a great series against the Twins but he has picked it up since. I think Andujar’s defense isnt too bad. Its not Didi/Gleyber levels but he has a strong arm and good reflexes.
But anyway, I think both Drury and Andujar are going to stay, so I kinda agree with you there. And I agree with you that Frazier is going to be and should be in AAA for a while and he fills in Gardners spot after next season. But you would have to think more reasonable heads with prevail and Walker will get his walking papers before Austin. Having Austin bat against lefties while Bird bats against righties is the way to do it imo.
Regardless of current average, Walker is a proven player with experience at several infield positions and a track record of hitting. He has value so there is no way the Yankees are going to cut or DFA him…..silly comment.
If anything, when they must make decisions regarding Bird and Drury, exploring trades makes all the sense in the world.
Right now, he is a starter, but even as a bench/platoon player he is a valuable….tradable player.
The only reason I suggested cutting walker is because pretty much no team wanted him in the offseason and then the Yankees picked him up for very cheap. That leads me to believe that no team would want to trade for him either (unless a player at 2B or 1B went down, opening up a demand for a player like Walker)
I believe the Jays will not call Vlad Jr up until next year. I think they want to do the best they can with the veterans on the roster and then next year you will see the kids taking over. Alford, Teoscar, Bichette, Vlad, Reid Foley, Jansen, Pompey and others. Next year, with Martin and Morales on their last year, you could see them traded (eat a lot of money there). I also see them trading Pillar if he stays hot because i think they believe they OF in the system will be better than him. Teoscar, Alford, Pompey and a litany of others will be ready barring further injuries. Teoscar is already making his impact and the others will next year.
I don’t know what these reporters to expect a GM to say.
The Jays GM is not going to say “We’re not bringing up Vladdy until Donaldson leaves us as a FA this offseason and until we gain an extra year of control early next year”
Cashman is not going to say “Walker is the 8th best infielder we have right now and may not have a place on the team three weeks from now”. He’ll lose all his leverage when he tries to trade him.
Tillman and Cobb were bad signings
Toronto”s left sp Jamie Garcia has been awful this year too. At least hes only a 1yr 10mill contract… And David Price, 30m/y has been terrible as well..
Even the outs off of Tillman are hard-hit. Trout darn near took his head off last night. I was honestly hoping they took him out before he got hurt out there.
I would be slow to evaluate any Yankee position player yet, they had the worst spring weather in a long time. Players were playing in bad conditions. The Sox were lucky to start in Florida for first 2 series.
Trade Drury for a young controllable ace. Problem solved. Guy is an elite 3rd baseman.