Offseason In Review: Toronto Blue Jays
This is the latest entry in MLBTR’s 2017-18 Offseason In Review series. Click here to read the other completed reviews from around the league.
The Blue Jays made depth a major priority this winter, making a variety of low-cost/solid-upside acquisitions to fill roster holes and (theoretically) help the club return to postseason contention.
Major League Signings
- Jaime Garcia, SP: One year, $10MM (includes $2MM buyout of $10MM club option for 2019)
- Curtis Granderson, OF: One year, $5MM
- Seung-hwan Oh, RP: One year, $2MM (includes $250K buyout of $2MM option for 2019; option vests if Oh makes 70 appearances)
- Total spend: $17MM
Trades And Claims
- Acquired OF Randal Grichuk from the Cardinals for RP Dominic Leone and SP Conner Greene
- Acquired IF Yangervis Solarte from the Padres for OF Edward Olivares and RP Jared Carkuff
- Acquired SS Aledmys Diaz from the Cardinals for OF J.B. Woodman
- Acquired IF Gift Ngoepe from the Pirates for cash considerations or a player to be named later
- Acquired SP Sam Gaviglio from the Royals for cash considerations or a player to be named later
- Claimed SP Taylor Guerrieri off waivers from the Rays
- Claimed RP Sam Moll off waivers from the Mariners
Notable Minor League Signings
- Tyler Clippard, John Axford, Danny Espinosa, Craig Breslow, Al Alburquerque, Jake Petricka, Nick Tepesch, Luis Santos, Deck McGuire, Rhiner Cruz, Matt Tracy
Notable Losses
- Jose Bautista, Darwin Barney (both still free agents), Ezequiel Carrera, Ryan Goins, Miguel Montero, Michael Saunders, Tom Koehler, Rafael Lopez, Rob Refsnyder, Leone
Blue Jays 25-Man Roster & Minor League Depth Chart; Blue Jays Payroll Overview
Needs Addressed
While injuries were a big problem for the 2017 Jays, the larger issue may have been that the club received virtually no help from the injury replacements. Of the 60 players who saw action for the Jays in 2017, only 11 of them generated more than 1.0 rWAR. Combine that overall lack of production with sub-replacement level years from regulars like Jose Bautista and Kendrys Morales, and it was no surprise that the Blue Jays sputtered to a mediocre 76-86 record. With this in mind, the Jays engaged in a near-total overhaul of the bench while also saying farewell to franchise icon Bautista and several other players (Ryan Goins, Darwin Barney, Ezequiel Carrera) who saw a lot of playing time last season.
Of course, Goins and Barney weren’t supposed to get nearly the 821 combined plate appearances they received last year, but the two light-hitting infielders were pressed into regular duty thanks to extended injury absences from Troy Tulowitzki and Devon Travis. With those two players still big question marks health-wise this season (and Tulowitzki already sidelined to begin the season), Toronto loaded up on infield help, acquiring Yangervis Solarte, Aledmys Diaz, and Gift Ngoepe in separate trades with the Padres, Cardinals, and Pirates, respectively. Danny Espinosa was also signed to a minor league deal for further depth at shortstop and second base.
Diaz looks to be the starting shortstop with Tulowitzki out, and there’s certainly upside to be found in a player who was an All-Star as recently as 2016. After his rookie breakout season, however, Diaz slumped to just a .259/.290/.392 slash line last year, both losing his starting shortstop job to Paul DeJong and also getting a demotion to Triple-A. At worst, Diaz looks to be a solid bench piece for Toronto, and he could potentially be a steal if his 2017 proves to be just a sophomore slump.
Solarte’s trade value took a bit of a hit after a below-average (93 wRC+) offensive year with the Padres last season that saw him hit .255/.314/.416 with 18 homers over 512 PA. Still, the Jays didn’t have to give up much in the way of prospect capital in the trade, and Solarte is only owed $4MM this season before a pair of pricier club options ($5.5MM in 2019, $8MM in 2020) must be addressed. He can play all over the infield and could even handle left field in a pinch, plus the switch-hitting Solarte has solid numbers against right-handed pitching, which will help balance out a very right-handed Toronto lineup.
With Bautista gone and Steve Pearce best suited for part-time duty, the Jays had holes in both corner outfield spots that they addressed with both short-term and longer-term options. Veteran Curtis Granderson signed a one-year, $5MM deal, and his left-handed bat is a natural complement to play alongside the southpaw-mashing Pearce in left field. Granderson has posted above-average offensive numbers against all pitching over the last three seasons, and with Pearce spelling him against southpaws, Granderson could become even more of a force in the hitter-friendly Rogers Centre. Though his on-base numbers have dropped off over the last couple of years, Granderson still projects to be Toronto’s leadoff hitter when facing a righty starter.
Another deal with the Cardinals saw the Jays acquire Randal Grichuk to step into the everyday right field role, though Grichuk is capable of playing all three outfield positions in a pinch. Like Diaz, Grichuk was also seemingly on his way to becoming a regular in St. Louis after posting a nice breakout season (.276/.329/.548 with 17 homers over 350 PA in 2015) but has since trailed off, still displaying some solid power but subpar batting averages and on-base numbers. Grichuk arguably isn’t the best fit for a team that already had lots of trouble with strikeouts and lack of contact in 2017, though at age 26 and under control for three more years, he could still blossom after a change of scenery.
Joe Biagini‘s struggles last season left a vacancy in the fifth starter spot, as the Jays will instead use Biagini as Triple-A depth after signing veteran Jaime Garcia to eat innings and generate ground balls. Toronto’s solid infield defense should mesh well with Garcia’s grounder-heavy style, and a good season could see him remain for 2019 via a $10MM club option.
The Blue Jays also turned to veteran arms to bolster their bullpen, inking several notable names to minor league contracts. Tyler Clippard and John Axford are favored to make the Opening Day roster over the likes of Jake Petricka, Al Alburquerque, and Craig Breslow, and if enough of these pitchers opt to remain in the organization, it will give Toronto quite a bit of extra bullpen depth. Beyond the minors deals, the Jays also brought in yet another ex-Cardinal in Seung-hwan Oh on a Major League contract to add to the setup mix behind closer Roberto Osuna.
Questions Remaining
While Grichuk, Solarte, and Diaz all underachieved in 2017, they don’t need to produce much in 2018 to improve on what Bautista, Goins, and Barney did (or didn’t do, to be more accurate) last season. Between the new trio and Granderson, the Jays acquired much more positional and matchup flexibility than they had on last year’s roster, and they were able to bring in these reinforcements for a relatively small cost in cash and prospects.
The biggest question still facing the Blue Jays, however, is whether more than just mid-tier acquisitions were needed to keep the team afloat in a very competitive AL East. In an offseason that saw the Yankees land Giancarlo Stanton and the Red Sox sign J.D. Martinez, Toronto’s more modest adds don’t quite seem enough to close the gap with the two division powerhouses. If the Jays’ best path to the postseason is through the second AL wild card spot, it isn’t clear if they’ll have enough to battle the Twins or Angels, to name two clubs who made bigger splashes on the transaction front.
This isn’t to say that the Blue Jays didn’t at least explore some higher-profile moves, as the team was linked to the likes of Martinez, Christian Yelich, Lorenzo Cain, Andrew McCutchen, and Alex Cobb on the rumor mill. Instead, in settling for a group of players that aren’t guaranteed beyond the 2018 season, the Mark Shapiro/Ross Atkins front office gave itself some flexibility in deciding if this current talent core is really a contender, which is an open question in the wake of the mediocre 2017 campaign. Even if the newcomers all perform as expected, it won’t lead to much progress in the standings if the rest of the team can’t stay healthy or rebound from what was almost a team-wide (save for Josh Donaldson, Marcus Stroman and Justin Smoak) set of disappointing seasons.
Reports from Spring Training about Devon Travis’s knee issues and Aaron Sanchez‘s recovery from blister and finger problems are promising, though the Jays won’t really feel comfortable about either player until they get some solid playing time under their belts. As noted earlier, Tulowitzki is already facing another DL stint and the veteran shortstop isn’t certain when he’ll be back on the field. The Jays didn’t make any upgrades at backup catcher, so they’ll be hoping that Russell Martin far surpasses his 91-game total from 2017, lest Luke Maile or rookie prospect Danny Jansen be pressed into regular work.
Garcia gives the Jays five solid starting pitchers in a rotation that could be quite good if Sanchez, J.A. Happ and Marco Estrada all bounce back to their past form. Beyond those five, however, Biagini leads a very inexperienced crop of starters at Triple-A, and there aren’t any obvious swingman-types on the 40-man roster aside from Biagini himself to easily step in for spot duty.
Problems in the rotation will lead to more work for the bullpen, coming off a season that saw the Blue Jays post the third-most relief innings of any team in baseball. While the veteran signings represent fresh arms, none of them are coming off particularly good seasons (hence their availability on minors contracts), so it remains to be seen if they’ll be able to contribute properly. Oh, for instance, saw his contact and homer rates increase from 2016, and he represents something of a wild card as he enters his age-35 season and his third year in North American baseball.
Finally, Donaldson’s future has been a notable subplot of the Jays’ offseason, though the team was adamant all along that it wasn’t looking to trade its star third baseman. (The Cardinals were one team known to be interested, and it’s quite possible the Grichuk and Diaz trades might have branched out of any inquiries St. Louis made about Donaldson.) As of February, extension talks between Donaldson and the Jays didn’t seem to be progressing, and the former MVP was already putting negotiations aside to focus on the season.
Donaldson has been hampered by some nagging injuries throughout the spring, including some calf soreness that stands out as particularly troubling given that a calf strain cost him a decent chunk of last season. The Jays absolutely need Donaldson at full strength, firstly to help them contend and (in a worst-case scenario) so Donaldson could become a midseason trade chip in the event of another sub-.500 season.
Overview
The Blue Jays’ long-term plan is to ride an oncoming wave of prospects into regular contention in the AL East, with top minor leaguers Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Bo Bichette, Anthony Alford, Ryan Borucki, and Jansen all expected to reach the majors by 2019 at the latest. The question is whether these youngsters will be reinforcing a team that’s already vying for the postseason, or one that has taken a step back to rebuild for 2020 or 2021.
Based on the Jays’ maneuvers this offseason, they’re hedging their bets about either scenario. If last season really was just an injury-riddled fluke, Toronto could take a lot of teams by surprise in 2018. Raising a talent floor is a much more cost-effective strategy than raising a talent ceiling, particularly for a Jays club that has so much money already tied up in players (i.e. Tulowitzki, Morales) who might not be very productive. Then again, the Jays could improve by 10 wins and that still might not be enough in the wild card race, leaving the team wondering if they should’ve made a bolder acquisition or two for what could be the final seasons in Toronto for pending free agents like Donaldson, Estrada, Happ, Granderson, and Pearce.
What’s your take on the Blue Jays’ winter? (Link for app users)
How Would You Grade The Blue Jays' Offseason?
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B 38% (1,432)
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C 38% (1,431)
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D 14% (515)
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F 6% (234)
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A 5% (202)
Total votes: 3,814
Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Cardinals Designate Josh Lucas, Breyvic Valera
The Cardinals have designated righty Josh Lucas and infielder Breyvic Valera, according to Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch (via Twitter). That’ll open space on the 40-man for the team to select the contracts of reliever Jordan Hicks and catcher Francisco Pena.
It’s a bit of a surprise to see Lucas, who generates whiffs and grounders at solid rates, bounced from the 40-man. He is coming off of a spring showing in which he recorded 11 1/3 scoreless innings with a dozen strikeouts while permitting only four base hits and a pair of walks. Lucas briefly reached the majors last year after throwing sixty frames of 3.15 ERA ball, with 10.2 K/9 and 1.8 BB/9, at the Triple-A level.
As for the 26-year-old Valera, who is mostly a second baseman but has played a variety of other positions as well, he too briefly cracked the bigs last year. Playing at Triple-A for most of the season, he carried a .314/.368/.450 batting line — his best full-season effort as a pro — through 470 plate appearances. Valera showed a big leap in power with eight long balls, topping his career tally to that point. He also walked as much or more than he struck out for the sixth time in eight professional campaigns.
Padres Outright Rowan Wick
The Padres have outrighted right-hander Rowan Wick after he cleared waivers, per a club announcement. That move frees up a 40-man spot for the club’s final roster decisions.
Claimed off waivers from the Cardinals during the offseason, Wick will land somewhere in the Padres system to open the 2017 season. He’s known for a big arm but is still new to pitching after moving out from behind the plate. Last year, he worked to a 3.19 ERA in 42 1/3 innings, most of them in the upper minors, while recording 8.9 K/9 against 3.8 BB/9.
Bryce Brentz Clears Waivers
The Mets successfully ran outfielder Bryce Brentz through waivers, Matt Ehalt of The Record reports on Twitter. It seems that the out-of-options Brentz will be outrighted off of the New York 40-man roster, though he’ll have the right to decline an assignment to Triple-A.
Brentz has bounced from the Red Sox to the Pirates and then on to the Mets over the offseason. The former first-round pick turned in a strong showing last year at Triple-A, hitting .271/.334/.529 with 31 home runs in 494 plate appearances.
Now, though, Brentz will have to decide whether to stay with his new organization or instead set out onto the open market. The Mets do not appear to have a direct path up to the majors, though obviously the organization likes the player. Given that every other team has now passed on a chance to add Brentz to a 40-man roster, it seems unlikely he’ll earn an Opening Day job in the big leagues, though perhaps there are some more promising opportunities out there.
White Sox Acquire Ricardo Pinto
The White Sox have acquired righty Ricardo Pinto from the Phillies, per a club announcement. International bonus pool money of an unknown quantity will head to the Phils in the swap.
Pinto becomes the latest hurler to join the White Sox bullpen depth chart, though the odds are that he’ll open the season in the minors. The 24-year-old did not show well in his first effort at the majors but has generally been effective in the minors.
Last year, Pinto worked to a 3.86 ERA with 6.8 K/9 and 2.7 BB/9 in 60 2/3 Triple-A innings. Though he mostly functioned as a starter in prior seasons, he split his time between the rotation and bullpen in 2017. It certainly seems as if Pinto’s future hopes lie in the relief corps.
Rays Release Daniel Hudson
The Rays have released right-hander Daniel Hudson, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times tweets. Hudson had been acquired in the trade that sent Corey Dickerson to the Pirates earlier in the winter.
With the decision, the Rays will remain on the hook for Hudson’s $5.5MM salary — less the $1MM that the Pirates sent with him. That means the Tampa Bay organization could have saved a fair bit more by simply cutting Dickerson loose — though they also added young infielder Tristan Gray in that exchange.
Hudson, 31, may have started out in the Rays’ plans but turned in a wild spring. He coughed up nine earned runs on eight hits and five walks over his 5 1/3 Grapefruit League innings.
That showing came on the heels of a middling 2017 season in which Hudson contributed 61 2/3 innings of 4.38 ERA ball while compiling 9.6 K/9 and 4.8 BB/9. Hudson still worked in the 95 to 96 mph range and carried a 12.1% swinging-strike rate, but obviously the Pirates were hoping for better results when they gave him a two-year guarantee.
Braves Announce Roster Decisions
1:02pm: Atlanta will also keep Chris Stewart as a third catcher, per Robert Murray of Fan Rag (via Twitter). The veteran receiver had signed a non-guaranteed MLB deal over the winter.
9:52am: The Braves have announced a series of roster moves that set up the team’s Opening Day, 25-man unit. Third baseman Rio Ruiz has been optioned while non-roster players including righty Anibal Sanchez, outfielders Ezequiel Carrera and Danny Santana, and infielder Sean Kazmar were reassigned out of MLB camp.
These decisions reflect some shifts in thinking over recent days. It had seemed that Ruiz would open up with a shot at third base due to an injury to Johan Camargo. But the organization ended up snagging Ryan Flaherty, who now is set up to get some run at the hot corner in concert with utilityman Charlie Culberson.
Likewise, Santana long seemed a likely candidate to take a utility role from the bench, but the recent signing of Peter Bourjos seems to have bumped Santana from the immediate plans. As MLB.com’s Mark Bowman suggested earlier today on Twitter, Santana (along with Carrera) can be stashed at Triple-A to begin the season. That’s preferable to boosting either player to the 40-man and perhaps then facing an early call when it comes time to add a fifth starter. Instead, Lane Adams will now likely take an Opening Day job, barring an intervening acquisition, though the out-of-options outfielder could now be vulnerable when the roster pressure arises.
Speaking of that fifth starter’s spot, it seems the expectation remains that Sanchez will ultimately ascend to the rotation. For now, though, he’ll be assigned to Triple-A. If and when he does come up, he’ll need to be added to the 40-man roster.
While this slate of moves allows the Braves to avoid any final decisions — since control rights have been maintained over all the team’s options — that doesn’t mean that some moments of reckoning won’t soon arise. As we discussed in our review of the club’s offseason, this roster seems primed to undergo a fair bit of turnover at the start and over the course of the 2018 season.
Athletics Outright Raul Alcantara
The Athletics have outrighted right-hander Raul Alcantara to Triple-A, MLB.com’s Jane Lee tweets. The out-of-options reliever will have the right to reject the assignment, having already been outrighted previously.
Alcantara, 25, had been in competition to take the club’s last bullpen slot. Instead, he’ll end up in the upper minors — either with the Oakland organization or, if he chooses, another team.
The results at the MLB level have been lacking for Alcantara, who has been knocked around in 46 1/3 total big league frames and surrendered six earned runs while recording just two strikeouts in his 8 2/3 innings this spring. But he has impressed in his time at Triple-A in the past two campaigns, working to a 1.82 ERA in 79 1/3 innings with 6.1 K/9 against 1.1 BB/9.
Nathan Eovaldi To Undergo Elbow Surgery
1:02pm: Eovaldi will indeed undergo surgery, the team announced. He might require a rehab timeline of six to eight weeks, Topkin suggests on Twitter.
Eovaldi will be replaced for the time being by righty Austin Pruitt.
12:12pm: The Rays have suffered a tough blow on the eve of Opening Day, as Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times tweets that righty Nathan Eovaldi will be down to open the season. “Loose bodies” in Eovaldi’s elbow will likely require surgery, per the report.
A potential timeline is not yet clear at this point, though Topkin suggests that Eovaldi is still expected to be a candidate to pitch for the organization at some point in the 2018 season. A two-time Tommy John recipient, Eovaldi does not appear to be at risk of that kind of consequential procedure. But it’s obviously concerning to hear that he may well end up under the knife yet again.
Eovaldi, 28, had joined the organization on a two-year, $4MM deal that allowed him to rehab in 2017. The hope all along was that he’d bounce back in the coming season, and his anticipated presence became a key facet of the team’s plans as he progressed. Instead, he’ll now join prospects Jose De Leon and Brent Honeywell — both of whom underwent TJ procedures this spring — on the shelf. The Rays traded away Jake Odorizzi earlier in the winter, further paring back the organization’s depth.
Tampa Bay has been plotting an interesting approach to their pitching staff, with intentions of using four starters and then filling the fifth starter’s role with a mix of relievers. Whether or not that’ll still be the plan remains to be seen. Clearly, though, the depth will be pressed. The three remaining starters — Chris Archer, Blake Snell, and Jake Faria — will need to be supplemented, with Matt Andriese seeming a likely candidate. That’ll still mean finding another reliever capable of giving some length, with recent trade acquisition Anthony Banda among the 40-man options that had been slated to open the year on optional assignment.
Needless to say, it’s brutal news for Eovaldi, who was on the cusp of launching his comeback. He had recorded a 14:1 K/BB ratio and allowed only six earned runs in 16 2/3 innings this spring. The six-year MLB veteran has long tantalized with his skill, including an upper-nineties heater, but has never quite fully turned the corner at the game’s highest level. In 739 career innings, Eovaldi owns a 4.21 ERA with 6.6 K/9 and 2.9 BB/9.
Nationals Sign Carlos Torres
March 31st: Bob Nightengale of USA Today Sports tweets that Torres will earn $1.5MM if called up to the majors, with $1MM available in incentives. Beginning May 15th, Torres can request his release every 15 days if he is not on the Nats roster.
March 28th: The Nationals have signed right-handed reliever Carlos Torres to a minor league contract, Chris Cotillo of SB Nation tweets. The deal includes multiple opt-out dates for Torres, Cotillo adds.
[RELATED: Nationals Depth Chart]
The 35-year-old Torres only spent a few days on the open market after Cleveland released him Saturday. Torres joined the Tribe on a minors pact in the offseason, and he then yielded seven earned runs on 14 hits and six walks (with nine strikeouts) in 10 1/3 spring innings. That subpar performance, not to mention the Indians’ impressive cast of relievers, sealed his fate with them.
While Torres struggled during his brief stint with the Indians, he has been a useful major leaguer during his career. Since debuting in 2009, Torres has seen action with four teams (the White Sox, Rockies, Mets and Brewers) and pitched to a 4.00 ERA/4.17 FIP across 491 innings. Torres has been quite durable along the way, having logged at least 70 innings in four of the previous five seasons. He racked up 72 2/3 frames of 4.21 ERA/4.89 FIP pitching last year in Milwaukee, where he notched 6.94 K/9, 4.09 BB/9 and a 45.7 percent groundball rate.