TODAY: The Blue Jays have officially announced Rodríguez’s promotion, and right-hander Paolo Espino was optioned to Triple-A in the corresponding move.
APRIL 12: Rodríguez will get the start, manager John Schneider told reporters (including Keegan Matheson of MLB.com). Francis will be kicked to the bullpen.
APRIL 11: The Blue Jays are set to promote offseason signee Yariel Rodríguez, reports Francys Romero (X link). The Cuban-born righty will officially be recalled on Saturday, according to the report.
Rodríguez already occupies a spot on the Toronto 40-man roster. The Jays signed him to a five-year, $32MM free agent pact late in the winter. The 27-year-old might have been in consideration for the final rotation spot after Alek Manoah suffered a shoulder injury early in camp. Yet Rodríguez was slightly delayed in his own right by back spasms. He only made two Spring Training appearances as a result, tossing five innings of one-run ball.
The Jays tabbed Bowden Francis to step into Manoah’s vacated rotation spot. They optioned Rodríguez to Triple-A Buffalo to continue building his arm strength. He has pitched twice for the Bisons, working 6 1/3 scoreless frames while fanning 10 and issuing three walks. He has thrown 55 and 47 pitches in his respective appearances.
It’s fair to assume the Jays aren’t going to rely on Rodríguez to go 100+ pitches in his major league debut. He should be able to contribute in some form of multi-inning capacity out of the gate, though. That could take the form of long relief or a slightly abbreviated start. Rodríguez last pitched on Monday, so he’ll be on five days rest by the weekend.
The corresponding move isn’t clear, but the Jays currently list Francis as their probable starter for Saturday’s matchup with the Rockies. Francis’ first two major league starts have not gone well. The righty has been blitzed for 12 runs on as many hits in only 8 1/3 innings. He still has a minor league option remaining, so the Jays could send him to Buffalo if they wanted to swap Rodríguez into his place in the rotation. Alternatively, they could deploy Francis and Rodríguez in some form of tandem start, perhaps letting them each face the lineup twice without stretching their pitch counts too far.
However the Jays deploy Rodríguez, they’ll surely keep an eye on his innings tally as the season rolls along. His only competitive action in 2023 came during the World Baseball Classic. After that tournament, Rodríguez sat out the season as he waited for MLB to officially declare him a free agent. He pitched exclusively as a reliever with the Chunichi Dragons of Nippon Professional Baseball two years ago, tossing 54 2/3 frames of 1.15 ERA ball. Rodríguez threw 94 2/3 innings between the Dragons and their minor league team in 2021. The heaviest workload of his career came in 2018, when he worked 133 1/3 innings as a 21-year-old in Cuba.
If he can bat 6th, he’ll have a spot on the team all year
I like this. You might as well see what the kid can do. I had so much faith in Francis, however, he did have two extremely tough teams that were just all over him (like a Saturday night in the men’s room at TGI Fridays).
Here’s hoping Yariel fairs better
We do not judge your Saturday nights in the men’s room at TGI Fridays. Live your best life!
That kid is 27. I guess it’s subjective but that’s right around the time I stop calling them kids.
Good to see that their $30M man was able to dominate AAA hitters while building up his arm strength. Toronto fans were worried they may have signed the pitching version of Rusney Castillo.
@Dorothy_Mantooth
And he gets to pitch against the MLB equivalent of AAA in his debut.
Hi Dorothy, I’m thinking the next Rusney Castillo has the last name Rafaela…
Espino, Cabrera, and Pearson also have options. My guess is Espino.
God forbid it’s Mitch White, the prize 2022 deadline acquisition.
Mitch White, meh… The highlight of his career was the rumor he was dating Margot Robbie.
@its_happening
I really doubt that White goes since he is out of options and would have to pitch significantly worse than any of the pitchers which have options. It is worrisome however that the team could have 3 #6/long men types on the 26.
NoSaint no kidding! The no options aspect is why White is going nowhere. Interesting since he had no options when they acquired him.
Any Jays fans care to wager which day Alek Manoah is activated and what his stats will be in his first start? Asking for my interpreter.
At this rate he won’t be activated. He’s getting dominated in A ball
Sometimes I need an interpreter to figure out what Canadians are saying as well.
What’s the point in having multiple guys who aren’t really starters but aren’t relievers either? Just shortens the pitching staff and puts more pressure on the bullpen. Also, seems like we are now seeing teams just give up on games and care more about preserving their bullpen instead of trying to hang on and win. See many teams just throw a bottom of the roster pitcher in there to throw 70 pitches and get buried even though they can still come back.
In the case of the Jays and the offense they’ve constructed, after they get down more then a couple, most games are probably out of reach.
Might as well have a few innings eaters in the bullpen for long term mop up duties. They could be relied on heavily this year.
Well let’s see what he can do
I wanted him on the Yankees. I’ll be interested to get a look at him. Can’t say I’m hoping for greatness considering where he signed.
At this point, the Jays could use a bright spot. They have to this point in the early season a below average offense and one of the worst pitching staffs in the majors. That usually doesn’t lead to much success.
Fun fact:
Tampa Bay, Houston, Seattle, and Toronto all have bottom 5 team ERA+’s
All 4 had playoff aspirations and need to see much improvement if they want to get to the postseason.
It’s early yet.
@Canuckleball
Jays main problem is pitching with a negative 0.3 WAR for the season but yes the offense isn’t powering on all cylinders.
Idk why he reminds me of Jofez…. Best of luck to him in the show
Espino was batting practice
@Whyme
AAA batting practice. But org depth is org depth.
Hey shapiro and atkins ” Isn’t way past your Firing time ? “
Doubt Rogers will do the right thing when hiring their replacements. Meanwhile, Manoah was a stud again in AAA this afternoon.