The Blue Jays announced today that right-hander Bowden Francis has been played on the 15-day injured list with right forearm extensor tendinitis. Left-hander Brendon Little was recalled in a corresponding move.
At first glance, the loss of Francis might not seem to be too significant since he was operating as the club’s long reliever. However, when combined with other details, it highlights the thin starting depth for the Jays.
The club has a strong five-man rotation at the moment in Kevin Gausman, José Berríos, Chris Bassitt, Yusei Kikuchi and Yariel Rodríguez. The latter is the least established of that bunch but he has looked solid so far, with a 3.86 earned run average through his first three starts, striking out 28.8% of batters faced.
But with Francis now on the shelf, it’s unclear who the club would turn to if any of those five suffered an injury. Mitch White was in the mix earlier this year but he was recently squeezed off the roster and traded to the Giants, so he’s no longer an option.
Alek Manoah is theoretically a possibility, but the Jays likely aren’t too excited about turning to him again. He was a borderline ace in 2021 and 2022 but struggled badly last year, with his ERA ticking up to 5.87. Here in 2024, he started the season on the injured list due to right shoulder inflammation.
He has been on a rehab assignment in the minors in recent weeks but hasn’t looked great, having allowed 18 earned runs in 13 2/3 innings. Reading the stat line on a rehab assignment can’t always tell you everything since a pitcher might simply be focused on getting the ball over the plate and staying healthy while caring less about the results. However, Scott Mitchell of TSN relays that the eye test was also not good during Manoah’s outing for Buffalo last night, with his velocity noticeably down.
Prospect Ricky Tiedemann had been throwing in Triple-A and could have been considered an option until recently, but he was sent for an MRI due to some discomfort in his throwing elbow. It’s still unclear what the next steps are for him but his last appearance was two weeks ago.
For now, the rotation is in okay shape but injuries are fairly inevitable. Even if everyone stays healthy, Rodríguez might hit a wall at some point. He didn’t pitch at all last year after the World Baseball Classic, as he didn’t return to his team in Japan while trying to be declared a free agent. Even prior to that mostly dormant season, he was working as a reliever in the NPB and will be challenged to suddenly shoulder a starter’s workload for all of 2024.
With Francis and Tiedemann hurt, White gone and Manoah struggling, the Jays will have to think about who is next up. Paolo Espino is on the 40-man roster but he is a 37-year-old journeyman. Adam Macko is also on the roster but he’s not yet reached Triple-A and only has three Double-A starts on his track record.
Given the sudden subtraction of depth, the Jays will likely keep a close eye on the waiver wire or perhaps make a small trade to add some veteran depth. If they want to turn to free agency, guys like Rich Hill and Noah Syndergaard are still out there, though they would need a few weeks to get into game shape after missing Spring Training.
Heap another one on the pile.
NEXT!
As said in spring training in these pages, the success of the BlueJays in 2024 will rest upon the health of the starting rotation. There is no “quality” ready depth in the minors. If the starting rotation goes into injuryland, “forget-about-it”.
Bring on the rebuild at the trading deadline and bring in a GM and President who can do it successfully. The Rogers board could have had AA or Dombrowski running the show but they went to someone who has no track record of winning anything. Shaprio is an absolute genius at real estate renovations and business.
I suggest moving Shapiro to business only and bring in a separate winning President of baseball operations who is responsible for every player movement/development/trade/draft/signing at every level. That person is not named Ross Atkins.
Agree w you about a rebuild Jimmer. Honestly, I’m not trying to be overly dramatic, but this franchise is in rough shape. An aging and underperforming roster backed by a subpar minor league system does not instill confidence in this fan. We need top down changes. Problem is that I don’t trust Atkins to trade wisely should he get the go ahead to move into a rebuild. Argh. The bright future got really dim in a hurry for this squad.
There seems to be an issue, in that most of the players that came here via trades, didn’t stay past their contract. (Berrios seems to be the exception).
Like who? Semien? jays were never gonna pay up for him, esp w their glut of middle infielders. Obviously none are as good as semien but they had other options. Ray? Jays chose Gaus over him and that turned out very well.
I hope you’re not insinuating that players don’t want to stay in Toronto. I’m sure there are some American born guys that would be hesitant to move up north or flat out wouldn’t want to, but the vast majority of players that come to Toronto sing the praises of the org and the world class city. At the end of day money talks bestone.
Both Ray and Semien signed one year deals…they came to TO voluntarily, then left after they increased their value..
Stripling, Merrifield, Chapman etc had come to TO by trades. They seemed to take the train outta town as soon as they could
Add Matz into that too….
Yoga, Jays can’t hit. They used the money they had to address it and didn’t. Jimmer (probably) agrees. It’s all about building a roster. Year in and year out this organization has made sure there are holes not filled on the field. It’s not about re-signing a Semien and more about not filling needs.
Completely agree. Me thinks the players see this from the inside. I can say that in my work experience, I’ve had bosses that I’d over perform for….and others that I’d give just the minimum (or less). A change of scenery for a player is not the different town….but in reality a different boss.
Have you ever seen player like Vladdy , Bo and Springer hit so many useless ground balls or pop ups ,Vladdy and Bo are not going to recover this year and do not give me the excuse that they will hit and return to their previous forms when 1/6 of the season is already over , on to 2025 when u will see both these guys leave the organization especially if Atkins and Shapiro still around .
Money talks but they’re currently no trust in Atkins or Shapiro in this organization and pretty soon they are going to throw the manager John to the wolves and blame everything on him and coaches . Atkins knows nothing about baseball , and Shapiro is trying to push the new renovations on the stadium so he can cover up the uselessness of the team he has put together. Look at Athletics article on how these two guys are not recognized by other teams managements. . You also do not need players that play 3 -4 positions averagely,but a player you get should play one position great.
Could’ve had Dombrowski in 2001. Rogers want the small market mentality.
Your only half right Shapiro and Atkins have to go for many reasons , but one is very important
When they took over the team their number one promise was to make the teams minor league system better because they said when Anthopoulos left he left the cupboard bare .
What the hell have they done in 8 years to build it up , so far not one key player has come up and and showed any long term progress , and the cupboard is still bare .
And as also said in Spring Training, Bowden Francis is not a quality major league starter in the big leagues and never will be. At best he can switch to a max-effort 6th or 7th inning guy or long relief mop up in an opposition blowout of the Jays.
Mitch White would have looked pretty good right about now. Oh Ross.
Mitch White and looking good do not mix!
Mitch White would never look good in a BlueJays uni.
Ross Stripling probably would have made a better choice by re signing with the Jays too…