Gonzalez hit double-digit home runs six instances for the Blue Jays and stole 21 bases in 1998. Acquired by the Blue Jays from the Royals in 1982, Mulliniks was a important piece of the club for 11 seasons and his contributions have typically been underrated. Mulliniks hit .280 with a .790 OPS over these seasons, peaking with a incredibly sturdy run in the mid-80s. The O-Dog was a fan favourite in his 4 seasons in Toronto, and rightfully so. The 4-time Gold Glove Award winner played a style of defense that wasn’t just strong, but fashionable.
White doesn’t fairly throw the “kitchen sink” that Stripling often references — probably it is a smaller sink — but he nevertheless delivers a deep mix and a fastball that reached up to 95.three mph Saturday. Building swings and misses will be crucial, although, right after receiving just five whiffs on 44 swings (11%) Saturday, specially when he runs up against a lineup like the mighty Yankees. Yesterday, Merrifield tossed an inning of mop-up operate in a blowout against the Angels in Toronto. He had previously pitched an inning for the double-A Northwest Arkansas Naturals, recording a save in an additional innings game on June 16, 2013. He hit that harder than any other ball in the game, smoking a double over the head of the center fielder that sent the stadium into a frenzy.
Although Stripling’s price tag won’t be excessive, re-signing the proper-hander could call for the Blue Jays to outbid a number of other teams, and to make one more notable investment in their pitching staff. It doesn’t help that Ryu ($20MM), Kikuchi ($10MM) and even Berrios ($15MM) are taking up such a sizeable chunk of the payroll, even although the Jays do not know what they’ll really be obtaining from any of the trio in 2023. Some of those issues had been solved when Charlie Montoyo was fired as the team’s manager on July 13, as the Blue Jays played improved below interim manager John Schneider (46-28) than beneath Montoyo (46-42). Toronto sent outfielder Teoscar Hernández, one particular of its most effective hitters, to Seattle for righthander Erik Swanson and minor-league lefthander Adam Macko. Only a handful of players have reached these huge numbers in the history of baseball, including 3 other players linked to performance-enhancing drugs. After missing out on Brantley, what other players could fit this billing?
His 4-seamer was down to 91 mph his sinker was down to 92 mph, and his tight slider averaged below 80 mph. But that lack of velocity didn’t rob him of effectiveness. TORONTO — The start to Whit Merrifield’s Blue Jays career has been unideal. Although Wealthy describes it Hill and the Red Sox held the Orioles down, providing Toronto some hope of a Wednesday clinch party, the Jays still needed to handle their own small business.
Inside five minutes, Lanzillotta blurted out, “We’re having you a ball tonight.” Batting for Bichette in the seventh, infielder Otto Lopez got his first major league hit with a single up the middle. And to the credit of Atkins and team president Mark Shapiro, that’s precisely what the Jays have done. From Ryu , to George Springer , to Jose Berrios to Matt Chapman (off-season trade), the Jays have creatively utilized all those avenues out there to them. Two trade deadlines ago, they acquired Robbie Ray and then watched him win the AL Cy Young Award in 2021. Clearly, the Jays really feel they want a different starter to be forced down the stretch of the standard season – and much more importantly in the weeks that follow.
The Blue Jays scored in eight of the nine innings en route to a wild win more than the Phillies. The 18 runs were Toronto’s second most this season, trailing only the 28-run outburst on July 22 at Fenway Park. As for the win, it moved the Blue Jays two games ahead of the Rays for the best AL Wild Card spot. The Mariners own the third spot at two 1/two games back.
Varsho ranked out as specifically neutral in catcher framing runs last year, posted a slightly above-typical pop time, and caught 33% of attempted base stealers . He’s been behind the plate for some huge games, also, catching DBacks starter Tyler Gilbert’s 2021 no-hitter in the hurler’s first career commence. The Blue Jays desperately wanted a left-handed outfielder with strong defense so as to prevent those playoff concerns from last season, plus to balance out their appropriate-handed heavy lineup. They accomplished both of those tasks by acquiring star left-handed hitting outfielder Daulton Varsho.
If Toronto scooped up Smith, he would not necessarily be restricted to platoon possibilities — his .750 career OPS vs LHP outweighs his .727 OPS vs RHPs — although he’d come with defensive limitations. Smith was worth -ten outs above average as a left fielder 2021, prompting the Mets to shift him full-time to very first base in 2022, where he made a pleasant +two OAA. Varsho, who has 4 years to go prior to totally free agency, was a beloved player in the clubhouse. A former catcher, he became a complete-time outfielder midway via this season, recording some of the greater defensive metrics of any outfielder in the majors.
Many members of the Blue Jays organization flew to Virginia together on Monday’s day off to attend Julia Budzinski’s funeral. “I never really see many cons, to be sincere with you,” Schneider added. “I assume we’re just not playing to our possible,” Atkins mentioned. “I see some small possibilities to assistance that, and this was 1 of them.”
It is Jersey Week right here at SB Nation so naturally yours really has been assigned the thematic post right here in Bluebird Banter. Due to the fact the Blue Jays are introducing new powder blue jerseys this season I feel it is a great time to take a appear at the history of the occasions the Jays have donned powder blue. Returning from Tommy John surgery in 2021 for his fourth MLB season, Mayza was one particular of the year’s best stories for Toronto, winning back a roster spot and pitching to a three.40 ERA, generally in high-leverage scenarios. Escobar debuted as a young reliever in 1997 ahead of moving to the rotation. He eventually transitioned back into a relief part, leaving him with 101 begins and 200 relief appearances over his time in Toronto. Escobar’s best came in 2001, when he posted a three.50 ERA over 126 innings split involving his two roles.
Manoah is still so, so young and is beneath team control by means of the 2027 season as of nowadays. Sit back and delight in the Manoah Mania Blue Jays fans, mainly because 2022 was just the starting of what he is going to achieve at the significant league level. When it comes to the batting order, Varsho’s a all-natural fit in the middle of Toronto’s lineup. By the end of 2022, John Schneider ran out a lineup that started with Springer, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Bo Bichette, and Kirk. With the four righties up leading, Varsho could slide into the fifth spot that belonged to Teoscar Hernández, breaking up the lineup with a lefty prior to Matt Chapman, Jansen, and other individuals. In 115 plate appearances hitting fifth for Arizona final year, Varsho posted a .289 batting average and .913 OPS (42% above his usual mark).
