The Blue Jays announced that right-hander Marcus Stroman has been placed on the 10-day disabled list due to a blister on his right middle finger. Right-hander Justin Shafer had his contract selected from Triple-A while Aaron Sanchez was shifted to the 60-day DL (retroactive to June 22) to create a 40-man spot for Shafer. Left-hander Thomas Pannone was also recalled from Triple-A Buffalo, with righty Luis Santos going down to Buffalo in a corresponding move.
Though this is the first time the problem has forced Stroman to the DL, he has been bothered by blister issues dating back to last season, and Stroman had been particularly hampered by the blister over his last few starts. His outing against the Yankees yesterday was cut short after just four innings, and finally necessitated a DL stint to fully rest and treat the bothersome finger.
The blister is the latest setback in what has become a lost season for Stroman (and the Jays as a whole). The righty looked to have emerged as a frontline starter after an outstanding 2017 campaign, but Stroman battled shoulder problems in Spring Training and got off to a rough start in 2018 before eventually landing on the disabled list to address his shoulder issues. He has been decent, if inconsistent, since returning from the DL, posting a 3.84 ERA over 63 1/3 innings.
All told, Stroman has delivered just a 5.27 ERA, 6.8 K/9, and 2.11 K/BB rate over 100 2/3 frames this season. ERA predictors (3.92 FIP, 3.80 xFIP, 4.02 SIERA) paint a more favorable view of his performance, and it’s worth noting that the Jays’ poor infield defense is a particular impediment to a groundball-inducing pitcher like Stroman, who has a 62.4% grounder rate this season. Stroman’s contact rates are up, however, from his 2017 totals, and his .324 wOBA is actually outperforming his .332 xwOBA, so it’s more than just bad luck that has led to his struggles.
Pannone will take Stroman’s spot in the rotation and will start for Toronto on Wednesday against Baltimore. The 24-year-old made his big league debut earlier this season out of the Blue Jays’ bullpen, tossing three innings over three games. Shafer will also be getting his first taste of MLB action, after tossing 358 2/3 innings in the minors since being taken by the Jays in the eighth round of the 2014 draft. Shafer has pitched exclusively as a reliever over the last two seasons, and he has posted a 1.55 ERA, 1.94 K/BB rate, 7.3 K/9 and zero home runs allowed over 40 2/3 IP at the Triple-A level.
Sanchez has lost two years to finger issues. Time for him to move to the bullpen.
Regardless of what Manfred says the different balls seem to affect him more than almost any other pitcher, anything to be done about that? i dk soak the guys hands in some sort of skin strengthening stuff or something.
Sanchez needs to go to the bullpen and stay there. Stroman will come back but Sanchez finger issues are because of the torgue on his arm from his delivery just shreds the skin on certain pitches. He needs to learn to pitch all over again. Potions and lotions on his finger will do nothing.
That makes zero sense lol
Bullpen, starting, does not matter. Blisters will continue regardless of the pitch count and the innings he piles up. Find a solution. Manfred will not switch back to the old balls. He wants more scoring and more homers since they bring all the fans to the park and higher ratings (bullcrap).
Aaron Sanchez is the best starting pitcher on the Blue Jays. He is better than Stroman, when healthy. Figure it out. Find a solution. Sanchez must find a way to remain in the rotation because sending him to the bullpen will not solve the blister issues either.
I think that Sanchez stays and Stroman is dealt in the winter. Next year could start with Sanchez, Reid-Foley, Borucki, Pannone and Gaviglio. Maybe sign a cheap starter to a one year deal with the hope of flipping him in July too.
That is probably close to what the Jays will do and go nowhere with this roation. The Jays have no shot at the playoffs let alone a championship with a rotation like this.
It’s not a rotation meant to contend in 2019.. They have to look at next year as a transition year with an eye on being competitive in 2020 or 2021 at the earliest.
Unfortunately I agree with you. So we have had [3] years of no playoffs already and it looks like a few more without playoffs.
Typical Mark Shaprio building scenario. Nothing for 5-10 years. Yeeesh.
Shapiro has brought the farm system from bottom 10 to top 3 in all of MLB. He is not doing a bad job. They want to build a team that has sustained success, not one or two years. When they got here, the Jays had the oldest team in MLB. They are fixing that.
You can’t win all at once, if you do, you blow it up the next year.
I love the direction of this team.
Cleveland was a totally different situation. Smaller payroll and stuff. Toronto is not Cleveland.
I don’t like that methodology. Brian Cashman and the Yankees missed the playoffs for 2 years then they returned to their normal playoff bound selves.
Shapiro didn’t win anything in Cleveland in 12 years from 2002 to 2014. It took the current regime to clean up Shapiro’s mess of Bourne, Siwsher etc. They had to acquire Miller etc.
Shapiro is good with building farm systems but he sucks at MLB level championships.
Again, you cannot compare the Yankees to the jays. The Jays didn’t make the playoffs for 20 years, you are worried about 5? Go root for the Yankees if you don’t like it.
Sorry but I don’t buy into the whole Fire Shapiro stuff. Give me some valid reasons why he should be fired after only 3 years.
There are only a few elite GM’s in this league. I regard Cashman and Dombrowski among those. ShapiroéAtkins are not.
The Jays are the richest owner in all of MLB. and deserve an elite GM. Gillick was one of those elite guys.
It was easy to see that the Jays were not going to compete in 2017, 2018 and I and others called it as such at that time. Shaprio and Atkins kept saying the Jays would compete in those years which is a load of incompetence.
Shapiro and Atkins have to go but unfortunately they are going to blame Gibby and fire him at the end of this year.
jaysrock – Because of the luxury threshold and the fact that Rogers are one of the wealthiest owners in baseball, you can compare them to the Yankees. They have the ability to spend like the Yankees and can treat their organization as a win-at-all-cost franchise.
They don’t, so in that case you’d be correct. Does not have to be that way.
Given that the organization was setup to win in 2015-2016, the guy to bring in as President had to have a track record of winning and not cost-cutting like Shapiro. I’m not sure if the Jays minor league system would be any worse with some of the top names associated with the Presidency at the time. Jury is out.
Unless there is a can’t-miss guy out there, can’t really fire Shapiro/Atkins at this time. Now that they have a chance to rebuild this we have no choice but to stand by. I would, if possible, bring in John Hart to replace any outgoing guy (Cherington, LaCava). Hart has a knack for building winners.
The Blue Jays operate as a separate entity from Rogers. Rogers profits from their wireless, tv etc are not counted as profits for the Jays and vice versa. As for john Hart, he was basically forced to resign as a result of the international signing scandal that rocked the Braves. If he had no knowledge of it, he should have, he was President. I think he either knew but somehow was not implicated or he was willfully blind to what his team was doing. Either way, I doubt he gets another job.
However, it is too early to pass judgement on management. They are putting their stamp on the team now and I like what they have done. They are getting more young and athletic. Can’t do it in one year, it takes some time.
In the off-season trade Stroman to the Padres. Do it. Great for both sides.
That does seem like a nice fit.
What does that trade look like? After seeing what Archer got, is Stroman going to command anything close?
I doubt that he would command what Archer brought, because Stroman has one less year and is still in arbitration. Archer has a fixed price contract.
That said, 2 years will bring back a lot more than a 2 month rental. I think if the Jays got Drury and Mckinney for 2 months of Happ,, and the return for Osuna was what Morosi said was was the trade of the decade, Atkins is good.
Two of the most overrated pitchers in MLB, Archer and Stroman.
Archer and Stroman, two of the most overrated arms in baseball.
Why are responses being deleted/censored when there is nothing inappropriate about them?
Probably Stroman at work. He blocked me on Twitter a long time ago! ::)
People on this site are easily triggered. If you have argued with someone on here they may be inclined to complain about your comment. I had at least two comments deleted yesterday. I tick a lot of people off so I completely understand. Although I do not agree.
As for overrated arms….you have a case there.
Yankees
The roster moves listed can’t be correct. Pannone had to replace Stroman as he was optioned this week, so not down the 10 days. Santos was replaced by Sheffler. It’s backwards and while technically correct, does make a difference with the rules.