The Blue Jays have acquired right-hander Joel Kuhnel from the Astros in exchange for cash considerations, per an announcement from both teams. Toronto optioned Kuhnel to Triple-A Buffalo following his addition. The Blue Jays had an open space on their 40-man roster for Kuhnel, who was designated for assignment earlier this week, and do not need to make a corresponding move to add him to the roster.
Kuhnel, 29, has now changed teams via cash deal for the second time in as many seasons. An eleventh-round pick by the Reds in the 2016 draft, Kuhnel made his debut with the Reds back in 2019 and pitched to a decent 4.66 ERA (103 ERA+) with a 4.25 FIP in 9 2/3 innings of work. Despite that solid cup of coffee at the big league level, the right-hander wouldn’t get regular playing time in the majors until the 2022 season, when he posted a brutal 6.36 ERA despite a much stronger 3.96 FIP. He remained with the Reds until he was traded to Houston in June of last year but has not received much run in the big leagues since, with a 7.20 ERA and 5.84 FIP in 15 innings of work across the past two seasons, including a spot start with the Astros earlier this year that saw him allow four runs in two innings of work.
Overall, Kuhnel heads to Toronto with a career 6.30 ERA that’s nearly 30% worse than league average but a much more manageable 4.53 FIP along with decent strikeout and walk rates of 19% and 6.3% respectively suggest he could still be a valuable depth piece for the club’s bullpen. That possibility is further backed up by solid results at the Triple-A level with the Astros this year, as he’s posted a 3.18 ERA in 11 1/3 innings as a multi-inning relief arm in the highly inflated offensive environment of the Pacific Coast League this year.
The Blue Jays have struggled to a 16-18 record this season in part thanks to brutal production from their bullpen, which has a league-worst 5.28 FIP to go with a 5.11 ERA that sits in the bottom five among all major league relief corps. Kuhnel is unlikely to impact the back of the club’s bullpen alongside the likes of Jordan Romano and Yimi Garcia, but it’s at least feasible to imagine him offering an alternative to a struggling arm such as Genesis Cabrera.
jamesryu14
Who the hell is that
Chuck from Uniontown
He’s on a plane right now to Toronto.
Johnny Vander Meer
Top kek
YankeesBleacherCreature
With Ohtani?
Ignorant Son-of-a-b
You listening to Morosi again? Dude needs to cultivate better sources
solaris602
Sorry, that’s actually Robert Herjavec and his family again. Don’t act disappointed when he steps off the plane this time, please!
jimmertee
Minor leaguer. AAA player to replace Manoah in AAA. He should never see the MLB level, he doesn’t have the MLB skill level.
Ignorant Son-of-a-b
I wondering if they are lamenting the Mitch White DFA now?
smuzqwpdmx
Lamenting not having Mitch White’s 11.81 ERA he’s put up for the Giants?
Ignorant Son-of-a-b
Okay Ross Stripling then. Multi-inning relief arms come in handy.
smuzqwpdmx
They didn’t DFA Ross Stripling, they got out-bid for his services. And the Jays are extremely thankful to have lost that bidding war given how Stripling’s career has cratered since, and choosing Bassitt over him for that contract has proved very wise.
They miss all the guys currently on the IL.
ohyeadam
Fire sale begins!
SanDiegoFriarsDude
Can Justin Turner carry the Blue Birds on his back to the playoffs?
Guard the Vogt
SanDiegoFriarsDude — No, he can’t
solaris602
If this team has actually pinned all its hopes on a 39-year-old DH, the fire sale needs to start in June at the latest
Shady1771
Jays will be sellers after the All Star break. This team is not going to magically learn to hit with RISP. May as well offload and start over. Vladdy is not panning out to be building a team around him. Jays have been far too patient with him.
its_happening
Guess the Jays needed a new fall guy for the 40. Swanson is a very big concern as he looked bad in spring, got hurt, and hasn’t looked good at all this season.
Ignorant Son-of-a-b
Remember his son almost got ran over by a car in spring training, a hospital stay… that would have taken a psychological toll. Swanson looks heavier to me as well. Understandable he lost focus from something like that.
its_happening
Yes I do remember as I was down in Spring Training at the time. If we wasn’t ready, why activate him? And, who felt he was ready in the first place?
CTS4
“Ross should do better ” Lieing Shapiro at his end of year presser ….
The Cleveland Clowns have got to go !!
alumofuf
Getting anything from Houston is getting trash. This guy along with others from there belong in the trash can. Time to enjoy their demise.
jwinker
New cleanup hitter
terrymesmer
>Blue Jays have struggled to a 16-18 record this season in part thanks to brutal production from their bullpen
Really?
Toronto bullpen: 6-3 W-L, 9 SV, 20 HLD, 2 BSV (fewest blown saves in MLB)
solaris602
The pitching staff sticks its collective head out from under the bus and says, “Did anyone bother to mention the near total absence of clutch hitting this year?”
its_happening
Aside from Yimi, are you really going to say the bullpen has pitched well this 2024 season? Green was until he got hurt, Richards has been up and down, same with Romano and Pearson. Let’s stop pretending the bullpen has been great.
Do you follow the Jays close, Terry? You seem to have some strange perspectives that don’t reflect reality.
jaysfan01
Another underwhelming addition