The latest from around the AL East…
- Blake Snell continues to be on pace for a quick return from the 10-day IL, as the Cy Young Award winner told reporters (including Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times) that he felt good following a bullpen session on Saturday. A fractured toe sent Snell to the injured list last week, though the southpaw could potentially be pitch on Wednesday, his first eligible day to be activated. Since the Rays have an off-day on Thursday, however, the team could also wait until Friday to activate Snell, just to make sure the ace is entirely recovered and ready to go. More details could be known on Monday, as manager Kevin Cash said Snell could throw another bullpen that day.
- Dustin Pedroia is also hopeful of a minimum IL stint as he recovers from his latest knee problem, telling media (including Jason Mastrodonato of the Boston Herald) that his injury was “just a weird freak thing” rather than a more serious setback. The Red Sox second baseman explained that his cleat caught in the dirt while he was swinging during Wednesday’s game, leading to an ominous-sounding popping feeling in his knee when it failed to turn along with the rest of his body. Given that knee injuries have limited to Pedroia to just nine games since the start of the 2018 season, he admitted that the pop “more kind of scared me than anything….We’re going to let it calm down for a few days and it should be all right. It just twisted the wrong way.” Given Pedroia’s recent injury history, it wouldn’t be surprising if the Sox wait beyond the 10-day minimum to activate him from the IL. In the opinion of Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe, the team should give Pedroia more minor league rehab time before his return, as Pedroia had only a four-day stay in the minors during his first rehab stint this season and looked shaky at the plate once he reached Boston’s MLB roster.
- Speculation continues to swirl over when Vladimir Guerrero Jr. will be promoted to the Blue Jays’ roster, now that more than enough days have elapsed on the service-time calendar for the Jays to gain an extra year of control over the star prospect. Guerrero was slowed by an oblique injury suffered during Spring Training, though he hasn’t looked any worse for wear in his return to the Triple-A Buffalo Bisons, posting a whopping 1.324 OPS over his first 20 plate appearances. The Jays would like to see Guerrero play in three consecutive games as part of his recovery process, though as MLB.com’s Gregor Chisholm notes, this has yet to happen due to multiple rainouts on Buffalo’s schedule. Assuming the Bisons get some good weather on their four-game series in Syracuse this week, Chisholm speculates that April 26 would seem to be the earliest potential date for Guerrero’s Toronto debut, when the Blue Jays begin a series against the Athletics at Rogers Centre.
when vlad is called up wonder what the corresponding roster move is. Tellez down. can only imagine of they just want to see him play 3 games in the minors consecutively they have a plan to DH him every few games.
Drop Hanson. Drury faces lefties and Vlad DHs.
Don’t seem them dropping tellez he’s one of the few jays that seem to be able to go deep
Yes. To preface my first comment, Vlad DHs with lefty on the mound. Plays 3B with righty.
Hanson or Brito are the obvious choices I’d imagine.
if it’s not alright when do they shut him down?
I bet Smoak gets dealt
He needs to hit way more for that to happen
So you are saying that Smoak needs to have better than a 154 OPS+ with his great glove in order to be attractive as a trade candidate. Ok, sure. You might want to check stats before randomly spewing stuff.
Are you high? He’s had 62 ABs. Get your head out of your…
Smoak has been great this year teams know exactly what they’d be getting.
62. At. Bats. In. 2019.
Sort. Of. Seems. Like. A. Small. Sample. Size.
Just. My. Opinion.
Easy with the periods man. That doesn’t emphasize your point. It just makes you look dumb. Seems like maybe you’re high. Happy Easter.
His other comments made him look dumb. This just emphasizes the point.
So, calling me dumb makes you smart? Lol. 🙂
If smoak was a rookie sure you have an argument but guys been good for years
Since 2017. Which is good enough.
@coldbeer
Smoak just batted in the 9th of Sunday’s game. He got his fourth hit of the day. His slash line is now:
.313 AVG/.439 OBP/.582 SLG/1.021 OPS, with 17 RBI in 18 G
And before you sneer “small sample size” again, YOU are the one who said he wasn’t hitting enough — without regard to the ABs.
It’s exactly what I meant. He needs way more ABs and keep swatting HRs and getting on base. That’s what he brings with his strong fielding. He has 5 HRs and 13 BBs today. What GM is making a trade for him now? Give your head a shake. Keep up that pace for another month and teams will start calling.
Call him up already… obviously he’s ML ready. Call up Cavan Biggio for 2B also. Once Bichette starts hitting (or Galvis cools off), call him up too. The future is now.
Guerrero, Biggio, Bichette.. What year is this again??
Guerrero, Bichette, Biggio and still a Clemens and a Grudzielanek down the pipeline.
Vlad is going to be called up very soon. Otherwise, the Jays are not making any major trades or callups or other roster changes until much closer to the deadline or injuries come up.
Some of you need to stop with the nonsense.
Smoak should have some value and would save money. They can always re-sign him but should give his at bats to others to see what they have and gain trade value.
Jays are 3rd in the division right now. They are likely to fall off drastically but if somehow, someway they keep it going when Vlad arrives moving closer to July then having Smoak hitting behind him is the best move. If things go sour, trade Smoak and every other vet.
Can they please call him up after the series against the A’s? Hahah