Click here to view the transcript of today’s chat with MLBTR’s Anthony Franco.
Archives for March 2023
Angels Place José Marte On 60-Day IL
The Angels announced a series of roster moves today, including the previously-reported selection of infielder Jake Lamb. To open a spot for Lamb on the roster, right-hander José Marte was placed on the 60-day injured list. Additionally, the club placed catcher Max Stassi and infielder Jared Walsh on the 10-day injured list, and placed right-handers Chris Rodriguez and Griffin Canning on the 15-day injured list.
Marte, 27 in June, was recently shut down for four weeks due to a stress reaction in his elbow. Even if that cool down period helps get him back to health, he will then have to ramp back up into game readiness at that point, so it’s not shocking to see the club doesn’t expect him back in the next two months. He’s made 15 major league appearances for the Halos thus far in his career with a 7.80 ERA.
As for other IL placements, they’re all of the smaller variety. Stassi has a hip injury while Walsh is currently plagued by headaches and insomnia. Both of those issues were reported earlier this week when it was reported that Lamb would make the team. In the case of Rodriguez, he underwent shoulder surgery last year and it was reported last month that the club would be ramping him up slower than his teammates as he gets back into game shape. To this point, there’s nothing to suggest that there’s been any sort of setback from that plan, and the fact that he hasn’t been placed on the 60-day IL suggests he could return fairly early in the season.
As for Canning, the club announced his injury as a groin strain, which is a recent development. Manager Phil Nevin told Adrian Garro of MLB.com about the issue yesterday. “It’s something that’s not really alarming, but it’s there for sure,” Nevin said.
Canning, 27 next month, has shown some promise in his career, particularly during the shortened 2020 season. He made 11 starts that year with a 3.99 ERA, 23.5% strikeout rate, 9.7% walk rate and 36.3% ground ball rate. Unfortunately, his ERA ticked up to 5.60 in 2021 and then he missed all of 2022 due back issues. He was healthy here in spring, making four starts with a 1.32 ERA. That got him into the conversation for a sixth starter job behind Shohei Ohtani, Tyler Anderson, Patrick Sandoval, Reid Detmers and José Suarez. Unfortunately, this groin issue will keep him out of action for the start of the season, seemingly giving Tucker Davidson that sixth starter gig, at least for the time being.
Rangers To Select Ian Kennedy, Travis Jankowski; Place Glenn Otto, Jake Odorizzi On 60-Day IL
The Rangers announced to reporters, including Kennedi Landry of MLB.com (Twitter links), that they are selecting right-hander Ian Kennedy and outfielder Travis Jankowski to their 40-man roster. In corresponding moves, right-handers Glenn Otto and Jake Odorizzi will be placed on the 60-day injured list.
Kennedy, 38, spent many years as an effective starter but has made the transition to relief work recently. He started the 2021 season on a minor league deal with the Rangers and eventually made 32 appearances with the club, posting a 2.51 ERA while striking out 27.8% of batters faced. He got flipped to the Phillies and saw his ERA tick up to 4.13 after the deal but it was still a solid enough season that the Diamondbacks gave him a deal for $4.75MM plus incentives. Unfortunately for both sides, that didn’t work out, as he posted a 5.36 ERA last year with a 19% strikeout rate, 9.5% walk rate and 24.4% ground ball rate. He had to settle for a minor league deal this offseason but fared well in spring, registering a 2.25 ERA in eight innings, striking out eight opponents and walking three. He’ll give the Rangers an experienced hurler to add to their bullpen mix.
Jankowski, 32 in June, is a veteran outfielder who has appeared in each of the past eight major league seasons. He’s never really been much of a threat at the plate, as shown by his .236/.319/.310 career batting line. That amounts to a wRC+ of 77, indicating he’s been 23% below league average. However, he provides value on the basepaths and in the field. He’s stolen 72 bases in his 470 career games. His work in the outfield has been graded as worth +21 Outs Above Average, +16 Defensive Runs Saved and he has a mark of 11.0 from Ultimate Zone Rating. Leody Taveras was slated to be the club’s regular center fielder between Adolis García and Robbie Grossman but Taveras recently suffered an oblique strain. The club has some younger outfielders on the roster like Bubba Thompson and Ezequiel Durán but adding Jankowski will give them an experienced glove-first option.
The news on Otto isn’t terribly shocking, as it was recently reported he would be shut down for the next three weeks due to a lat injury and is still getting further testing. Even if that three-week shutdown period returned him to health, he would then need a few more weeks to ramp back up to game shape. As for Odorizzi, during that same update on Otto, general manager Chris Young gave the vague but ominous report that he’d be out “longer than shorter” due to arm fatigue. While no firmer diagnosis has been provided, it seems the club doesn’t expect him back in the next two months.
With Otto and Odorizzi both facing extended absences, starting depth will likely be an ongoing focus for the club. The rotation has plenty of talent in Jacob deGrom, Nathan Eovaldi, Andrew Heaney, Jon Gray and Martín Pérez, but there’s also plenty of injury history in that group. For the next couple of months, the club’s rotation depth is probably going to be topped by Cole Ragans and Dane Dunning, though both of those hurlers seem set to start the season in the big league bullpen.
Offseason In Review Chat Transcript: Seattle Mariners
In association with the Mariners edition of the Offseason In Review series, we held a Seattle-related live chat with readers. Click here to read the transcript.
Cardinals Designate Anthony Misiewicz For Assignment
The Cardinals announced they have designated left-hander Anthony Misiewicz for assignment. The move opens up a spot on the 40-man roster for prospect Jordan Walker, whose previously-reported selection is now official. Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported on the moves prior to the official announcement.
Misiewicz, 28, has only been a Cardinal for a few weeks. The club sent cash considerations to the Royals in February in order to acquire the southpaw, after the latter club designated him for assignment to make room on their roster for Zack Greinke. He’s made 119 appearances over the past three seasons with the Royals and Mariners, posting a 4.43 ERA with a 23.9% strikeout rate, 7% walk rate and 38.6% ground ball rate.
The lefty had a solid enough spring, allowing two earned runs in seven innings, striking out eight batters against one walk. However, the Cards have a number of left-handed options for their bullpen and have recently optioned Misiewicz, Génesis Cabrera and JoJo Romero, leaving Zack Thompson and Packy Naughton on the Opening Day roster. Though the club liked Misiewicz enough to give up some cash to get him just a few weeks ago, it seems Walker’s ascension forced them to make a tough choice and cut the lefty from the roster.
They will now have one week to work out a trade or try to pass Misiewicz through waivers. Given that left-handed pitching it always in demand, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him garner interest from some other club in the league.
Tigers To Acquire Grant Witherspoon From Rays
2:51pm: The Tigers sent cash to the Rays in exchange for Witherspoon, tweets Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. Detroit will still need to open a 40-man roster spot before tomorrow to accommodate the additions of Shreve and Wingenter.
2:06pm: The Tigers have acquired minor league outfielder Grant Witherspoon in a trade with the Rays, reports Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press (Twitter link). Tampa Bay’s end of the deal remains unclear as of yet, though it’s worth noting that the Tigers need to open a 40-man roster spot to accommodate the expected addition of relievers Chasen Shreve and Trey Wingenter. They already opened one spot by outrighting Rony Garcia to Triple-A Toledo not long ago. That doesn’t ensure that the Tigers are sending a player from the 40-man roster, though it’s certainly possible.
Witherspoon, 26, was the Rays’ fourth-round pick back in 2018. He split the 2022 season between Double-A and Triple-A, slashing a combined .266/.343/.467 with 17 home runs and 15 stolen bases. The bulk of that production came against right-handed pitching, as the lefty-swinging Witherspoon mustered a rather tepid .237/.313/.404 slash against fellow lefties. The Rays split Witherspoon’s time in the outfield rather evenly between all three spots last year, though he’s primarily been a center fielder to this point in his professional career.
He’s not on the 40-man roster but was in big league camp with Tampa Bay. He struggled to a .154/.291/.231 output there, but that came in a tiny sample of 31 trips to the plate. With the Rays, Witherspoon was behind Randy Arozarena, Manuel Margot, Jose Siri, Josh Lowe and Luke Raley on the depth chart, at the very least, as all are on the 40-man roster. Tampa Bay has also played infield prospects Vidal Brujan and Greg Jones in the outfield of late.
With the Tigers, there’ll be a less crowded path to playing time. Detroit is lacking in established big league outfielders, and while they’re hopeful of an Austin Meadows rebound and steps forward from players like Riley Greene, Kerry Carpenter and Matt Vierling, there’s more room for a productive upper-level minor leaguer like Witherspoon to force his way into the mix with the Tigers than with the Rays.
Tigers Outright Rony García
The Tigers announced that right-hander Rony García has cleared waivers and been outrighted to Triple-A Toledo. It was reported earlier today that the club plans to add lefty Chasen Shreve and righty Trey Wingenter to its roster prior to tomorrow’s season opener, which will require them to open two spots. This move creates one opening but another move will still be required.
García, 25, spent the early parts of his career as a starter in the Yankees’ system. In 2019, he reached Double-A but then was left unprotected prior to that year’s Rule 5 draft. The Tigers had the first overall pick in that draft and used it to scoop up the right-hander.
He’s been with the Tigers for the past three seasons, though without much success. He lasted on the roster through the shortened 2020 season despite posting an 8.14 ERA over 21 innings, allowing the rebuilding club to secure his rights permanently. He’s spent the past two years bouncing between the injured list, Triple-A and the majors. He made 16 major league appearances last year, eight of those being starts, tossing 51 innings with a 4.41 ERA. He struck out 23.3% of batters faced, walked 6.3% and got grounders at a 31.2% clip.
García is still young and has a couple of options remaining, but most clubs are making tough roster decisions at this time of year and it seems none of them were willing to exacerbate their crunches by bringing him aboard. Players with more than three years of service time or a previous outright can reject an outright assignment in favor of free agency, but García doesn’t qualify in either case and will stay in the Tigers’ system. He’ll give them some non-roster pitching depth and look to work his way back into their plans.
Adrian Houser To Begin Season On Injured List
Brewers right-hander Adrian Houser recently departed a spring outing with some groin tightness and manager Craig Counsell provided an update on that situation to reporters today, including Todd Rosiak of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Houser will begin the season on the injured list with an estimated return timeline of three weeks.
Houser, 30, has made 76 starts for the Brewers over the past four years, in addition to some relief appearances. Overall, he’s tossed 428 innings in his career with a 3.97 ERA. His 18.8% strikeout rate is a few ticks below league average but he’s kept the ball on the ground at a strong 53.8% clip.
Being without Houser for a few weeks isn’t a devastating blow to the Brewers, as he was likely going to be their #6 starter behind Corbin Burnes, Brandon Woodruff, Freddy Peralta, Eric Lauer and Wade Miley. However, it’s still a notable development as their rotation depth has taken some other hits recently.
Aaron Ashby has a shoulder injury that is going to keep him out until roughly the middle of May. Jason Alexander has a shoulder strain and has already been been placed on the 60-day injured list, meaning he can’t return until late May at the earliest. The Brewers once looked to have so much starting pitching that a trade of Houser seemed plausible, but they will now have three fewer arms in the mix for the next few weeks at least.
As mentioned, the top five options are still healthy, though another injury will leave the club with diminished depth to choose from. Some options still on the roster include Ethan Small and Janson Junk. Bryse Wilson has plenty of starting experience but is out of options and seems ticketed for a bullpen job in the big leagues to start the year.
Tigers To Select Chasen Shreve, Trey Wingenter
Left-hander Chasen Shreve and right-hander Trey Wingenter have made the Tigers’ Opening Day roster, Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press reports (Twitter link). Both were in camp as non-roster invitees, so the Tigers will need to make a pair of corresponding 40-man roster moves.
Shreve, 32, is the more experienced of the pair, having accrued almost six years of service time across parts of nine seasons at the MLB level. He punched his ticket to the Opening Day club when he held opponents to a pair of runs on five hits and three walks with ten punchouts through eight innings this spring.
The Tigers will be Shreve’s sixth club, as he’s previously logged time with the Mets, Yankees, Cardinals, Pirates and Braves. Overall, he has a 3.87 ERA, 25.6% strikeout rate, 11.1% walk rate, 41% ground-ball rate and 1.56 HR/9 mark in 311 1/3 big league innings. Shreve spent the 2022 season with the Mets — his second stint there — but was tagged for a 6.49 ERA in 26 1/3 innings. His strikeout rate remained consistent with career levels and he actually improved on his walk rate, but ’22 was one of the most homer-prone seasons of Shreve’s career (2.05 HR/9).
At his best, Shreve misses bats at an above-average level and lacks the platoon splits one might typically expect of a lefty reliever. Opponents have nearly identical career batting lines against him, regardless of handedness. Righties have slashed .226/.317/.423 to left-handed batters’ .231/.320/.420.
Turning to the 28-year-old Wingenter, this will be the towering 6’7″ right-hander’s first MLB work since 2019. The former Padres reliever missed the 2020-21 seasons following Tommy John surgery in July of 2020. He was non-tendered by San Diego and signed a minor league deal with Cincinnati, but he was out for all of the 2022 season due to continued elbow troubles.
This offseason, Wingenter pitched 5 1/3 innings of one-run ball with the Dominican Winter League’s Leones del Escogido and showed enough to pique the Tigers’ interest there. He was sensational during spring training, tossing seven shutout innings and holding opponents to four hits with an 11-to-1 K/BB ratio. Wingenter averaged just shy of 97 mph on his heater prior to surgery and has punched out 33.1% of his opponents at the MLB level. Walks have been an issue (13.3%), and his overall 5.14 ERA in 70 innings with San Diego doesn’t stand out much, but there’s plenty to like between his huge frame, impressive velocity and ability to miss bats.
Wingenter has spent enough time on the Major League injured list that he’s accrued three years of MLB service time. If he’s able to stick on the Tigers’ roster and remain healthy, he’d be controllable through the 2025 season via arbitration.
Offseason In Review: Toronto Blue Jays
The Blue Jays reached a new spending frontier, and reshaped a good chunk of their starting lineup. Is it enough to bring the Jays some postseason success?
Major League Signings
- Chris Bassitt, SP: Three years, $63MM
- Brandon Belt, 1B/DH: One year, $9.3MM
- Kevin Kiermaier, OF: One year, $9MM
- Chad Green, RP: Two years, $8.5MM (Blue Jays have three-year, $27MM club option for 2024-26; if this option is declined, Green has $6.25MM player option for 2024; if both sides decline options, Blue Jays then have a two-year, $21MM club option for 2024-25)
- Jay Jackson, RP: One year, $1.5MM split contract (only if Jackson spends time at MLB level)
2023 spending: $41.55MM
Total spending: $89.8MM
Option Decisions
- Exercised $3MM club option on RP Anthony Bass
- Declined $12MM mutual option on OF Jackie Bradley Jr. ($8MM buyout paid by Red Sox)
Trades & Claims
- Acquired OF Daulton Varsho from Diamondbacks for C Gabriel Moreno and OF Lourdes Gurriel Jr.
- Acquired RP Erik Swanson and SP prospect Adam Macko from Mariners for OF Teoscar Hernandez
- Acquired SP/RP Zach Thompson from Pirates for OF prospect Chavez Young
Notable Minor League Signings
- Drew Hutchison, Paul Fry, Casey Lawrence, Rob Brantly, Luke Bard, Junior Fernandez, Wynton Bernard, Vinny Capra, Julian Fernandez
Extensions
Notable Losses
- Gurriel, Hernandez, Bradley, Ross Stripling, Raimel Tapia, Bradley Zimmer, Anthony Kay, Julian Merryweather, Tayler Saucedo, Matt Gage, David Phelps (retired)
Teoscar Hernandez led the Blue Jays in plate appearances from 2018-22, and Lourdes Gurriel Jr. finished fourth on that list. So when GM Ross Atkins said in October that the Jays were less likely to change the team’s core during the winter, that ended up not quite being the case, though it’s fair to argue that Atkins perhaps didn’t consider two outfielders slated for free agency in the 2023-24 offseason as true “core” pieces.
Phrasing quibbles aside, Toronto leaves the offseason with a lineup that has considerably more balance between left-handed and right-handed batters, more speed, and more defense than last year’s squad. On paper, the Jays look better prepared for both the reconfigured outfield dimensions of their home ballpark, and for a 2023 season that will put a broader emphasis on speed and glovework due to the new rules.
The Jays got right to business in revamping their outfield mix, as Hernandez was dealt to the Mariners in one of the offseason’s most notable early moves. The trade brought the Blue Jays a young arm for the future in Adam Macko, and the more immediate help that Erik Swanson can provide to the bullpen. Swanson has pitched well for the last two seasons, particularly a 2022 campaign that saw him post a 1.88 ERA and mostly-elite secondary numbers across the board in 53 2/3 relief innings for Seattle.
With the aftershock of the Blue Jays’ bullpen collapse in Game 2 of the wild card series (against the Mariners, ironically) still lingering, it was hard to argue that Toronto didn’t need to bolster its relief corps in some fashion. Swanson will bring some needed strikeouts to the bullpen, and the Jays figure to use him in many types of high-leverage situations, including some traditional set-up innings in front of closer Jordan Romano.
Hernandez’s departure set the table for the next big outfield move, which also saw the Blue Jays finally dip into their significant amount of catching depth. It isn’t often that a club moves a consensus top prospect like Gabriel Moreno, yet since Toronto also had Alejandro Kirk and Danny Jansen lined up behind the plate, all three backstops have been prominently featured in trade rumors for the better part of a year.
The Jays were willing to wait a little longer to finally trade a catcher, as their swap with the Diamondbacks didn’t come together until Willson Contreras and Christian Vazquez were already off the free-agent catching market, and after the A’s had moved another major catching trade chip in Sean Murphy. Arizona was also a team with a notable trade surplus, as its group of left-handed hitting outfielders attracted many teams besides just Toronto. But, with the D’Backs needing catching and the Jays needed left-handed hitting outfield help, the fit was perfect. Gurriel’s inclusion along with Moreno finally got the Diamondbacks to budge on Varsho, which was an acceptable result for the Blue Jays since Gurriel was already looking like an expendable asset.
The 26-year-old Varsho is arbitration-controlled through the 2026 season, giving the Blue Jays a long-term asset that they see as an outfield cornerstone. Only 28 players in baseball had a higher fWAR in 2022 than Varsho’s 4.6 number, as he combined excellent defense with strong baserunning and above-average (106 wRC+) offensive production in the form of 27 home runs and .235/.302/.443 slash line in 592 plate appearances.
There is naturally still room for improvement in Varsho’s numbers, particularly when it comes to drawing walks and making contact (Varsho struck out 145 times in 2022). The Blue Jays are hoping that last season might represent Varsho’s floor as an offensive player, and even if he does have a similar year at the plate, Toronto isn’t going to mind another all-around performance in the 4.6 fWAR range.
Before the trade with Arizona, the Jays had already improved their outfield defense by signing Kevin Kiermaier to a one-year, $9MM free agent contract. Kiermaier has been one of baseball’s best defensive players for the better part of the decade, and after being a frequent thorn in Toronto’s side as a member of the Rays, Kiermaier now moves elsewhere in the AL East after Tampa Bay declined their $13MM club option on his services for 2022.
Signing Kiermaier carries some obvious risk, considering that he has been an average offensive player at best during his career, and (most pressingly) a very frequent visitor to the injured list. Last season was no different, as Kiermaier’s 2022 campaign ended in July when he had to undergo surgery to repair a torn hip labrum. In theory, this surgery might finally correct what has long been a lingering issue for Kiermaier, yet it is also fair to wonder what Kiermaier has left in the tank as he enters his age-33 season and is coming off yet another substantial injury layoff.
Should Kiermaier again need to miss time, Toronto has a ready-made center field replacement in Varsho, or George Springer might even move back to his old position from his new right field spot. Whit Merrifield and Cavan Biggio will figure into the corner outfield picture, with rookie Nathan Lukes also serving in a backup outfield capacity.
The result is a vastly superior defensive outfield, as the Varsho/Kiermaier/Springer alignment from left to right is streets ahead of the Gurriel/Springer/Hernandez trio that Toronto often used in 2022. Even from a depth perspective, the Jays are in a better position than last year, when injuries to the starters meant a lot of playing time for such replacement-level outfielders as Raimel Tapia, Bradley Zimmer, or Jackie Bradley Jr. Losing Hernandez’s bat may weaken the lineup, or maybe not if Varsho takes a step forward, or if Springer’s move to a less-strenuous outfield position helps him stay on the field more often.
With two left-handed bats in Varsho and Kiermaier added to the lineup, the Blue Jays added a third by signing longtime Giants first baseman Brandon Belt as the primary designated hitter. Health is again a red flag here, as Belt has battled knee problems for years and underwent surgery on his right knee back in September. Though those issues surely contributed to Belt’s subpar numbers in 2022, he was posting monster numbers when healthy in 2020-21, hitting .285/.393/.595 with 38 homers in 560 PA over those two seasons.
As with Kiermaier, the Jays have made preparations in case Belt has to miss more time, as any of Toronto’s right-handed bats could get a DH day whenever a left-handed starter is on the mound. Belt said he felt reinvigorated in the aftermath of his knee surgery, so between good health, the move to a more hitter-friendly park (with more tempting dimensions for left-handed hitters), and less of a worry about defensive shifts, there is reason to think Belt can bounce back from his tough 2022 season.
These new faces will augment the team’s core group of Springer, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Bo Bichette, Matt Chapman, and the now-solidified catching tandem of Kirk and Jansen. Second base remains a bit of a question mark, but the Blue Jays seem confident that the combination of Merrifield, Biggio, and Santiago Espinal can be productive. Toronto wasn’t really linked to many notable infield upgrades on the rumor mill this winter, with the exception of agent Scott Boras stating that the Jays “were really after” his client Xander Bogaerts before Bogaerts signed with the Padres.
Exploring big-name acquisitions has become routine for the Toronto front office in the last few years, with Atkins and company at least checking in on a wide array of players as a matter of due diligence. The 2022-23 offseason was no exception, as the Blue Jays reportedly had varying degrees of interest in such players as Bogaerts, Justin Verlander, Kodai Senga, Brandon Nimmo, Carlos Rodon, Cody Bellinger, Johnny Cueto, Michael Brantley, Nathan Eovaldi, Jameson Taillon, Andrew Heaney, Masataka Yoshida, Kyle Gibson, Michael Conforto, Joey Gallo, Robert Suarez, Alex Reyes, and their own most notable free agent in Ross Stripling.
Though some of those signings may have more realistic possibilities than others, the fact that the Blue Jays are able to consider basically any player speaks to the team’s greater financial flexibility. After spending a club-record $171MM on payroll in 2022, the Jays have boosted that number even further with approximately $211.7MM committed to salaries this season. This translates to a luxury tax number of roughly $250.5MM, putting the Jays over the luxury tax threshold for the first time and quite close to the secondary Competitive Balance Tax threshold of $253MM.
Big-spending teams like the Yankees and Padres have slightly curbed their spending to stay under particular tiers of tax penalties, and it isn’t known if the Blue Jays might similarly see the second CBT line as an upper limit on their spending. Still, given how aggressive the Jays have been, it is hard to imagine that the club wouldn’t be willing to surpass the $253MM line if it meant picking up a necessary addition at the trade deadline, for instance. Exceeding the next tier ($273MM) might be a different story since the Jays would then see their top draft choice in 2023 knocked back ten places in the draft order. But, the CBT’s impact on other non-financial penalties (such as the draft pick cost and compensation for free agents who reject qualifying offers) is the same for the Blue Jays if their tax figure is anywhere from $233MM to a dollar below the $273MM mark.
The Jays didn’t have any qualms about pursuing a QO free agent this offseason, as the team gave up $500K in international bonus pool money and its second-highest pick in the 2023 draft in order to make its biggest signing of the winter. It wasn’t any surprise that most of the names on Toronto’s target list were pitchers, and the Blue Jays landed some necessary rotation help by signing Chris Bassitt to a three-year, $63MM deal.
The Giants’ inclusion of an opt-out clause allowed San Francisco to entice Stripling away from a possible reunion with the Jays, meaning that Toronto had an even more marked need to find a replacement for Stripling’s quality production. Bassitt was the answer, as he cashed in on the heels of a strong four-year run with the Athletics and Mets. With a knack for inducing soft contact and limiting walks, Bassitt has been a thoroughly solid arm, and he’ll line up as the Blue Jays’ third starter behind Alek Manoah and Kevin Gausman.
Even if the top three has been reinforced, however, an argument can certainly be made that the Jays might have done more at the back end of the rotation. The Blue Jays are certainly hoping that Jose Berrios will be at worst a good fourth starter if he bounces back from his mediocre 2022 campaign, and fifth starter Yusei Kikuchi is also looking to rebound from a dismal season.
If Kikuchi falters again, the Blue Jays can turn to a group that includes Zach Thompson (acquired in a January trade with the Pirates), non-roster options like Drew Hutchison or Bowden Francis, or Mitch White when he is healthy. Hyun-Jin Ryu might return from Tommy John surgery around the All-Star break, but it’s an open guess as to what Ryu can contribute after his long layoff. If not Ryu, perhaps top prospects Ricky Tiedemann or Yosver Zulueta might become possibilities by the second half, but overall, there’s a lot of uncertainty about how the Jays’ rotation might look by the end of the season.
The rotation questions only put more pressure on the bullpen, and in speaking of late-season additions, Chad Green was another notable winter signing, joining the Blue Jays on an option-heavy deal that could be as little as a two-year, $8.5MM deal, or as much as a four-year, $29.25MM pact. Green had Tommy John surgery last May, so he might also be something of an unofficial “deadline acquisition” that is already in the organization. If Green can make a quick return to anything close to his past form with the Yankees, he’ll be another nice fit for the relief corps.
It was an altogether interesting offseason in Toronto, as the club didn’t exactly overhaul things (not that such an extreme was needed after a 92-win season) but also did more than just add the proverbial finishing touches to the roster. The Blue Jays will again face stiff competition to return to the playoffs, but just getting into the postseason wouldn’t be satisfactory for a team that clearly has designs on a championship.
How would you grade the Blue Jays’ offseason? (poll link for app users)