Tagged: Toronto Blue Jays

Non-Roster Invitees With Big League Experience

  • Baltimore Orioles- Alexi Casilla and Quintin Berry
  • Los Angeles Angels- Wade LeBlanc, Mark Mulder,Clay Rapada, Justin Thomas, Yorvit Torrealba, John McDonald, Carlos Pena, Ian Stewart, Chad Tracy, Brennan Boesch and Brandon Lyon
  • Houston Astros- Peter Moylan, Rhiner Cruz, Cesar Izturis, J.D. Martinez, Adron Chambers, Gregorio Petit
  • Oakland A’s- Philip Humber, Fernando Nieve, Dusty Brown, Luke Montz and Sam Fuld
  • Toronto Blue Jays- Tomo Ohka, Juan Perez, Chris Getz, Dan Johnson, Munenori Kawasaki, Andy LaRoche, Mike Nickeas, Steve Tolleson
  • Atlanta Braves- Yunesky Maya, Mat Gamel and Tyler Greene
  • Milwaukee Brewers- Zach Duke, Robinzon Diaz, Matt Pagnozzi, Irving Falu, Hector Gomez, Taylor Green, Lyle Overbay, Mark Reynolds and Eugenio Velez
  • St. Louis Cardinals- Pat Neshek and Scott Moore
  • Chicago Cubs- Tom Hottovy, Jonathan Sanchez, Brian Schlitter, John Baker, Eli Whiteside, Chris Valaika, Ryan Roberts, Chris Coghlan, Aaron Cunningham, Ryan Kalish, Mitch Maier, Darnell McDonald and Casper Wells
  • Arizona Diamondbacks- Daniel Hudson, Ryan Rowland-Smith, Adam Russell, Henry Blanco, Bobby Wilson, Mike Jacobs and Andy Marte
  • Los Angeles Dodgers- Sam Demel, Daniel Moskos, Miguel Olivo, Chone Figgins, Brendan Harris, Justin Turner, Clint Robinson and J.C. Boscan
  • San Francisco Giants- Jason Berken, Rafael Dolis, Juan Gutierrez, Kameron Loe, Sandy Rosario, Dan Runzler, Mason Tobin, Guillermo Quiroz and Brandon Hicks
  • Cleveland Indians- David Aardsma, Scott Atchison, Matt Capps, Tyler Cloyd, Shaun Marcum, J.C. Ramirez, Mike Zagurski, Luke Carlin, Matt Treanor, Elliot Johnson, Brian LaHair, Matt Carson, Ryan Rohlinger, Jeff Francoeur, Nyjer Morgan and Jason Giambi
  • Seattle Mariners- Scott Baker, Joe Beimel, Logan Kensing, Matt Palmer, Ramon Ramirez, Mark Rogers, Chance Ruffin, Manuel Pina, Humberto Quintero, Endy Chavez, Cole Gillespie, Randy Wolf and Zach Miner
  • Miami Marlins- Henry Rodriguez, Chaz Roe, Kevin Slowey, Josh Spence, Reed Johnson, Ty Wiggington, Kyle Skipworth, Juan Diaz, Matt Angle and Joe Benson
  • New York Mets- Daisuke Matsuzaka, Kyle Farnsworth, Taylor Teagarden
  • Washington Nationals- Manny Delcarmen, Clay Hensley, Tyler Robertson, Daniel Strange, Koyie Hill, Chris Synder, Jamey Carroll, Mike Fontenot, Brock Peterson and Will Rhymes
  • San Diego Padres- Blaine Boyer, Alberto Gonzalez and Xavier Nady
  • Philadelphia Phillies- Shawn Camp, Chad Gaudin, Cesar Jimenez, Jeff Manship, Sean O’Sullivan, Lou Marson, Andres Blanco, Reid Brignac, Ronny Cedeno, Bobby Abreu, Tony Gwynn Jr. and Clete Thomas
  • Pittsburgh Pirates- Cody Eppley, Josh Kinney, Kyle McPherson, Daniel Schlereth, Adam Wilk, Omir Santos, Robert Andino, Matt Hague, Travis Ishikawa, Michael Martinez and Chris Dickerson
  • Texas Rangers- Nate Adcock, Daniel Bard, Jose Contreras, Ryan Feierabend, Justin Germano, Colby Lewis, Rafael Perez, Aaron Poreda, Kevin Kouzmanoff, Brent Lillibridge, Josh Wilson, Bryan Peterson, Brad Snyder and Kensuke Tanaka
  • Tampa Bay Rays- Steve Geltz, Mark Lowe, Eddy Rodriguez, Roman Ali Solis, Wilson Betemit, Jayson Nix, Ray Olmedo, Justin Christian, James Darnell, Jeremy Moore and Jerry Sands
  • Boston Red Sox- John Ely, Rich Hill, Jose Mijares, Tommy Layne, Brayan Villarreal, Mike Mccoy and Brandon Snyder
  • Cincinnati Reds- Trevor Bell, Jeff Francis, Chien-Ming Wang, Corky Miller, Max Ramirez, Argenis Diaz, Kristopher Negron, Chris Nelson, Roman Santiago, Roger Bernadina and Jason Bourgeois
  • Colorado Rockies- Greg Burke, Manny Corpas, Pedro Hernandez, Nick Masset, Matt McBride, Michael McKenry, Paul Janish, Jason Pridie
  • Kansas City Royals- Guillermo Mota, Brad Penny, Jon Rauch, Everett Teaford, Corey Wade, P.J. Walters, Ramon Hernandez, Adam Moore, Jason Donald, Brandon Laird, Gorkys Hernandez, Melky Mesa
  • Detroit Tigers- Duane Below, Jhan Marinez, Luis Marte, Eduardo Sanchez, Luis Exposito, Danny Worth, Ezequiel Carrera and Trevor Crowe
  • Minnesota Twins- Matt Guerrier, Lester Oliveros, Aaron Thompson, Jason Bartlett, Doug Bernier, Jason Kubel, Darin Mastroianni and Wilkin Ramirez
  • Chicago White Sox- Dylan Axelrod, Deunte Heath, Brian Omogrosso, David Purcey, Zach Putnam, Mauricio Robles, Hector Gimenez, Miguel Gonzalez, Alex Liddi, Dennis Phipps, Blake Tekotte
  • New York Yankees- Bruce Billings, Robert Coello, Matt Daley, Brian Gordon, David Herndon, Chris Leroux, Jim Miller, Yoshinori Tateyama, Russ Canzler, Corbin Joseph, Scott Sizemore and Antoan Richardson

Roy Halladay Retires After 16 Seasons

Roy Halladay has announced his retirement from Major League Baseball after signing a 1-day contract with the Blue Jays. Halladay pitched for 16 seasons with the Blue Jays and Phillies. He will finish his career with a record of 203-105 and an ERA of 3.38 in 416 appearances (390 starts). Halladay was a 2-time Cy Young award winner (2003 with the Blue Jays and 2010 with the Phillies) and a 8-time All-Star over his career. Halladay amassed 20 plus wins in his 2 Cy Young award-winning seasons. During the 2010 season, Halladay threw a perfect game against the Marlins and tossed a no-hitter in his first career postseason start against the Reds.

The question now arises: is Halladay worthy of a spot in the Hall of Fame? Halladay’s career numbers rank: 106th in wins, 41st in pitching WAR, 345th in ERA, 17th in winning percentage, 97th in WHIP, 180th in innings pitched, 60th in strikeouts, 138th in starts, 636th in  complete games and 244th in shutouts on the all-time list. BaseballReference.com has a measuring system that rates players chances of making the Hall of Fame based on Bill James’ saber metric formulas. The systems incorporates measures known as: the black ink scale, the gray ink scale, Hall of Fame scale and Hall of Fame monitor. Black ink scale is based upon how  often a player lead the league in a vareity of important stats and the gray ink scale is the same except it counts appearances in the top ten of the league. The Hall Fame scale testes the player’s value as a pitcher or batter and the Hall of Fame monitor tests how deserving a player is of the Hall of Fame.

Halladay scored a 48 on the black ink scale, 180 on the gray ink scale, 126 on the Hall of Fame monitor and 45 on Hall of Fame standards. An average Hall of Famer scores a 40 on the black ink scale, 185 on the gray ink scale, 100 on Hall of Fame monitor and 50 on the Hall of Fame standards. With the combination of new and old schools stats it would seem that Halladay has a great chance of making the Hall of Fame after a great 16-year career.

Trade and Acquistion Roundup

This has been a very active day for baseball transactions. Players have been signed to new deals and have been dealt to new teams. Here is a list of all the different wheelings and dealings that have occurred today.

  • Red Sox sign catcher A.J. Pierzynski to a 1-year deal worth 8.25 million.
  • Blue Jays sign catcher Dioner Navarro to a 2-year deal worth 8 million.
  • Tigers are close to a deal with reliever Joe Nathan according to FoxSports’ baseball insiders Ken Rosenthal and Jon Morosi.
  • Dodgers are close to signing reliever Brian Wilson according to FoxSports’ baseball insiders Ken Rosenthal and Jon Morosi
  • Phillies sign catcher Wil Nieves according to CBSSports’ baseball insider Jon Heyman
  • Rays acquire Heath Bell and Ryan Hanigan, Reds acquire Minor League pitcher David Holmberg and D’backs acquire Minor League pitcher Justin Choate in a 3-team trade.
  • Rays agree to a 3-year extension worth 11 million with Hanigan
  •  A’s have acquired outfielder Craig Gentry and pitcher Josh Lindbloom from the Rangers for outfielder Michael Choice and minor league second baseman Chris Bostick.
  •  A’s have acquired pitcher Luke Gregerson from the Padres for outfielder Seth Smith
  • Marlins sign catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia to a 3-year worth 21 million.
  • Astros acquire outfielder Dexter Fowler and a player to be named later from the Rockies for pitcher Jordan Lyles and outfielder Brandon Barnes.
  • Yankees sign outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury to a 7-year deal worth 153 million.

All-Former Blue Jays Roster (Current Players)

C- John Buck

1B- Lyle Overbay

2B- Aaron Hill

SS- Marco Scutaro

3B- Jayson Nix

LF- Travis Snider

CF- Vernon Wells

RF- Alex Rios

DH- Kelley Johnson

SP- Roy Halladay

SP- A.J. Burnett

SP- Carlos Villanueva

SP- Shaun Marcum

SP- Ted Lilly

Bullpen

Brandon League

Kevin Gregg

Brandon Lyon

Jason Frasor

Marc Rzepczynski

Scott Downs

Octavio Dotel

Bench

C- Jose Molina

OF- Dewayne Wise

INF- John McDonald

OF- Reed Johnson

Tigers,Astros,Blue Jays, Yankees, Mariners and Rockies news

The Tigers have sent down rookie reliever Bruce Rondon to Triple-A Toledo. Rondon was slated to be the Tigers’ closer this season. He struggled mightily this spring against big league hitters (2-1 record with 5.87 ERA and a .327 AVG against in 13 spring training games). The Tigers will start the season with a closer by committee.

Brad Peacock has been named the #4 starter in the Astros’ rotation. Peacock was acquired by the Astros as part of the Jed Lowrie trade to the A’s during the off-season. He had a 12-9 record with an ERA of 6.01 in 25 starts last season for the Triple-A Sacramento River Cats. Peacock had a 0-1 record with an ERA of 3.20 and a .225 AVG against in 7 spring appearances.

J.A. Happ has agreed to a two year contract extension with the Blue Jays. The extension is worth a total of 8.9 million dollars. Happ will be the #5 starter in the Blue Jays rotation. He beat out Ricky Romero for the last spot in the rotation. Happ had a spring record of 1-1 with an ERA of 1.90 in 7 appearances.

The Yankees have released 1B/OF Juan Rivera. Rivera was signed to a minor league contract during the off-season. He became expendable after the club acquired Ben Francisco and Lyle Overbay during spring training.

M’s OF/1B Michael Morse has set the club’s spring training home run record for a player. Morse hit his 9th home run of the spring in 2nd of today’s Mariners/Cubs game off Carlos Villanueva. The Mariners have set a team spring training record with 56 home runs and counting.

Rockies have signed pitcher Aaron Cook to a minor league contract. He was released by the Phillies earlier in the week. This will be Cook’s 2nd stint with the Rockies. Cook had a 72-68 record and an ERA of 4.53 in 206 starts over 10 years with the Rockies. He had a 4-11 record with an ERA of 5.65 in 18 starts for the Red Sox last season. Cook will provide depth in the minor league ranks and can be called upon if one of the major league starters struggles or has an injury.

Baseball news 3-25-13

The Brewers have signed pitcher Kyle Lohse to a 3 year deal worth 33 million dollars. With only six days left of spring training, Lohse finally got the deal he has been looking for all spring. Lohse will move into the number 2 slot in the Brewers rotation after ace Yovani Gallardo.

Blue Jays’ third baseman Brett Lawrie will start the year on the DL. He has a strained rib and will be eligible to come off the DL on the 22nd.

The St. Louis Cardinals haved named Shelby Miller as the team’s 5th starter. Miller had a 3.94 spring ERA and beat out fellow young pitcher Joe Kelly for the last rotation spot. Kelly will be coming out of the bullpen in 2013.

Non-roster reliever Kameron Loe has been named to the Mariners’ 25-man roster. He was placed on the roster after reliever Josh Kinney was placed on the 60-day DL with a rib strain.

According to Brian T. Smith of the Houston Chronicle Astros’ GM Jeff Luhnow expects pitcher Erik Bedard to make the club’s rotation.

ESPN’s Adam Rubin reports that reliever Latroy Hawkins has made the Mets 25-man roster.

Pitcher Scott Kazmir has been named the Indians’ #5 starter. Kazmir has only made 1 major league start in the last 2 seasons.

ESPNNewYork’s Wallace Matthews is reporting that Yankees’ shortstop Derek Jeter will most likely begin the season on the DL. Jeter will be the third Yankee player to start the season on the DL. Mark Teixeira, Curtis Granderson and Alex Rodriguez are the other Yankees’ that will begin the season on the DL.

Are the Blue Jays the Best Team in the AL?

After the Josh Hamilton signed with the Angels, ESPN’s Baseball Tonight posted a picture of the Angels with the caption of best team in baseball on their Facebook account. I think that Baseball Tonight put the wrong team next to this caption. The Blue Jays have a better shot at being the best team in baseball at the end of the season.

During the off-season the Blue Jays have made two key trades to improve the team. The first trade was a blockbuster deal that netted the club 5 players. The players were shortstop Jose Reyes, outfielder Emilio Bonafacio, catcher John Buck, pitchers Mark Buehrle and Josh Johnson. In the second trade the Jays will acquire reigning Cy Young award winner R.A. Dickey and catcher Josh Thole from the Mets. Dickey must sign an extension with the Jays to make this deal official.

The Jays have turned an area of weakness into an area of strength. Coming into the off-season the Jays rotation did not look like that of a contending team. After adding pitchers Mark Buehrle and Josh Johnson the team became instant contenders in the AL East. If Josh  Johnson stays healthy all year? He can be a very solid number 2 pitcher in the rotation. While Buehrle begins a solid 12+ wins a year and playoff experience to this club. Dickey will be the ace of the staff and pitched a 1 hitter against the Rays in a dome stadium last season. The rotation will be made up of Dickey,Johnson, Buehrle, Romero and Morrow next  season. 

The Jays have a had a very productive lineup in the past couple of seasons. Adding Jose Reyes gives the Jays another element of speed to go along with Rajai Davis. Jose Bautista and Edwin Encarnacion make a very dangerous 1-2 punch in the middle of the lineup. Overall the Jays will score a ton of runs with this lineup next season. Because they have a good mix of power and speed on the team.

The Blue Jays have made the moves in the off-season that have made them contenders. After adding solid pitching this team is poised to make a splash next season. This team has the potential to join the 1992 and 1993 teams as being the best in baseball. Barring any injuries we should see this team fight for the top spot in the game next season.

Mark Buehrle vs Chris Sale

This will be the last matchup of  the 1st half of the Seattle Bracket. It will former White Sox and current Blue Jays pitcher Mark Buehrle vs current White Sox pitcher Chris Sale. Sale has taken Buehrle’s role as ace of the White Sox’s staff. Buerhle is the 17th seed while Sale is the 48th seed in the tournament.

Buehrle stats- 95 starts, 39-35 record, 618 innings pitched, 266 earned runs, 3.87 ERA, 333 So, combined WAR over the last 3 seasons 1o.3 and 58 quality starts. No Postseason stats during this 3 year time period. No All-Star appearances or awards during this 3 year span.

Sale stats-109 appearances, 29 starts, 21-11 record, 12 saves, 18 holds, 286.1 innings pitched, 92 earned runs, 2.89 ERA, 303 So, overall WAR the last 3 seasons 9.1 and 19 quality starts. No Postseason stats during this 3 year time period. He had 1 All-Star appearance (2012) and no awards during this 3 year span.

This contest is  difficult to gauge. The reason for that is most of Sale’s stats have come from being in the bullpen the last 2 seasons. Last season was his first season as a full time starter. With that being said I’d give the slight edge to Buehrle. Because he has the edge in most of the categories. If Sale had been a starter the whole 3 years and produced the numbers he did this past year I would have gone with him. Please comment and let me know who you think wins this contest.

Morning Baseball News

-The Kansas City Royals re-signed pitcher Jeremy Guthrie to a 3 year deal worth 25 million. Buster Olney of ESPN tweeted that rival GMs thought it was a fair price given the market. After being traded to the Royals last season, Guthrie went 5-3 with a 3.16 ERA and 10 quality starts. So far the Royals have two new pitchers that had a combined 17 wins last season (Ervin Santana and Jeremy Guthrie). If Guthrie can post last season’s numbers over 30 starts, the Royals will receive a huge boast in their rotation.
-Blue Jays have signed John Gibbons to be their next manager. This comes a shock to me. Gibbons already has managed the Jays in the past and didn’t have much success. He had a record of 305-305 with the in his 4 years with the club. With all the talent he had in those years he should have had a better record. Thought they would have gone with a manager with a little more experience to manage a club with high expectations.
-Mariners trade Trayvon Robinson to the Orioles for Robert Andino. Andino will provide infield depth for the M’s. He will bolster the bench and provide a little pop when called upon. Andino is still young and will add playoff experience to a young roster. Robinson will provide great defense for the Orioles. He doesn’t have a lot of pop but has great speed with a chance to steal 20 plus bags a year. Don’t know if he will start the season in the Majors or at Triple A.

Who Will be the Manager of the Blue Jays

The Blue Jays have made several moves to improve their roster but there is still a glaring hole. Currently the team does not have a manager. After trading away John Farrell to the Red Sox. Toronto is still searching to find a new leader for this club. After news first broke of the megatrade Jon Morosi of FoxSports tweeted that the Jays reached out to former Braves manager Bobby Cox. Cox told the organization that he was happy being retired. Other candidates for the job have been Sandy Alomar, Manny Acta, Dave Martinez, Brian Butterfield and Tim Wallach just to name a few. Alomar and Butterfield have joined other coaching staffs instead of staying in the running for this managerial opening.

Out of the remaining candidates the Jays could look to Manny Acta. The reason for this is that Acta has a great relationship with Jose Reyes. Acta was the bench coach for the Mets from stretch of Reyes’s career with the team. Also Acta has the most managerial experience of any candidates with a record of 372-518. As the record suggests he has not really had a lot of success as a manager. According to baseballreference.com Acta placed 4th in manager of the year award in 2011.

Toronto could instead pick a manager with very little managing experience. If the Jays go this route look for the organization to go after Dave Martinez. Martinez played for the Blue Jays during his 16 year career.  During his coaching career Martinez has been a part of the baseball revival in Tampa Bay. He has been the bench coach for the Rays since Maddon became the manager in 2006. Martinez could step in and lead this club to the playoffs with all of the knowledge he has learned from Maddon.

This hire will come down to the direction the club plans to take. Either go with a proven name or take a chance or a rookie manger. Seeing as the have made so many moves to gain attention maybe they will take a low profile approach with the hire. Whatever decision they plan on making the Jays better make it soon.