The Blue Jays announced Monday that they’ve signed the following seven players to minor league deals: right-handers David Phelps, Jose De Leon and Casey Lawrence; outfielders Mallex Smith and Nathan Lukes; left-hander Matt Gage; and catcher Kellin Deglan. Phelps will earn a $1.75MM salary if he makes the club, tweets Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet.
Phelps, 35, seemed on his way to an interesting year for the Blue Jays in 2021 until surgery for a lat strain ended his season in May. Phelps hasn’t pitched 35 innings in a season since 2017, but he has bat-missing ability once fully recovered from surgery. Phelps’ best year was 2016, when he posted a 2.28 ERA in 86 2/3 innings for the Marlins.
De Leon, 29, was once considered one of the 30 best prospects in all of baseball as a member of the Dodgers organization. He was dealt to the Rays for Logan Forsythe in January 2017, beginning a four-year period in which he pitched only 12 2/3 innings in the Majors in large part due to March 2018 Tommy John surgery. The Reds traded for De Leon in November 2019. Though he made the Reds’ Opening Day rotation this year, De Leon was quickly bumped to the bullpen and was released by July. The Red Sox picked him up on a minor league deal in August, but he made only two appearances for the club’s Florida Complex League team.
Lawrence, 34, worked 78 2/3 big league innings in 2017-18 for the Blue Jays and Mariners, posting a 6.64 ERA. He spent 2019 with the Hiroshima Carp, and then landed a minor league deal with the Twins prior to the 2020 season. He soaked up 86 innings for the Jays’ Double-A and Triple-A affiliates in ’21.
Smith, 28, led all of MLB with 46 steals for the Mariners in 2019. He ranked 23rd in MLB that year in sprint speed, but was unable to recapture the magic of his career-best 2018 season with the Rays. In that campaign, Smith posted a 118 wRC+ and 3.5 WAR. After ’18, the Rays traded Smith and Jake Fraley to the Mariners for Mike Zunino, Guillermo Heredia and Michael Plassmeyer. Smith was booted from the Mariners’ 40-man roster in September 2020, subsequently landing minor league deals with the Mets, Reds, and Blue Jays that have yet to lead to a return to the Majors.
Lukes, Gage, and Deglan do not have Major League experience. Lukes, a 27-year-old outfielder, posted a 115 wRC+ for the Rays’ Triple-A club this year. Deglan is a 29-year-old catcher who toiled for the Yankees’ and Blue Jays’ Triple-A clubs in ’21. Gage, 28, is a lefty reliever who posted a 5.57 ERA for the Diamondbacks’ Triple-A team this season. He recently found his way to the Venados de Mazatlan in the Mexican Pacific Winter League.
Great move to get Phelps and not have him on the 40-man.
Agreed, he was really good for them before getting hurt last season. I figured they would try to keep him around.
Depth and not really good depth. Casey Lawrence, cringe.
Won’t help raise the championship banner with these players.
Signing Gausman was a good move even the the contract will be an albatross. He’s a 3.
Now the Jays need a real #1 and an elite bat to replace Semien. I say trade the farm system except perhaps Moreno and Groshans and really go for it.
Still the best starting lineup in the MLB. For starters that is. Would like a closer and a 3rd baseman.
I think there is a lot of debate on best starting line up and way too early in off season to predict who may go where. There are several teams that with 1-2 holes filled and the blue jays would not be even close to the best
I think the Blue Jays might just roll with what they have on offense. They could definitely use one more solid infielder (I thought Eduardo Escobar could be a good fit), but they have a ton of options on hand for 2B and 3B, from Biggio to Espinal to Kevin Smith or Otto Lopez, in addition to a couple of top prospects knocking on the door in Groshans and Martinez. I think the Jays plan on having them both be a big part of their future and may not want to block them, as they could both be ready by the end of 2022.
The Jays raised their last championship banner thanks to Scott Brow, Doug Linton, Huck Flener, Domingo Martinez, Willie Canate, Rob Butler, Turner Ward, et all. Everybody contributes and no championship team is all great players.
Nice to see Casey Lawrence back in the fold!
Glad to have Phelps back. He was nails in his outing last year, and having that extra 40 man spot over the offseason will be nice.
His injury was a key turning point to the bullpen rough patch and the consistent soul sucking losses they experiences mid last season.
That rough patch lost them a playoff spot in my opinion.
Sure did.
Lukes will probably be in MLB next year
.MISSED IT BY THAT [ = ] MUCH !!
According to informed sources, The Marlins were in on all of these players right up until they signed the deal to join the Blue Jays.. The Marlins made a “strong” offer, but not one that matched the Blue Jays’ financial commitment. The Marlins weren’t the only team to be outbid.
The Minnesota Twins had also been linked to all of these players
Nice depth moves.
Personally I’m a mallex smith fan! Hopefully he can find some sort of consistency with the bat.
When Jays make minor league signings: GREAT DEPTH MOVES!!!
When O’s make minor league singings: PRINT THE PLAYOFF TICKETS LMAO ORIOLES
What the… (granted, this isn’t my real name, but…)
I can see Mallex breaking camp with the team after spring training.. He would make a great 5th outfielder who could cover centerfield and pitch run in late game circumstances. Bigtime stolen base threat.
If he gets the occasional start, batting in the nine slot, setting the table for the top of the order.
Wow I feel like Phelps should have gotten an MLB deal somewhere? Also curious move for de Leon to sign here. I would have put him with a team that has a bit more pitching uncertainty. Blue Jays pretty set in their rotation. Bullpen maybe ?
de Leon may very well be a symptom of the Pete Walker effect. The guy might think the Jays are a good place to finally get his career on track.
Phelps and Smith great depth moves with 0 downside.