Akron is also up 2-0 in their semi-final. Looking very much like FisherCat pitchers will get to face Josh Donaldson in the finals.

NH up 3-1 in the middle of the sixth. Biggio with the big hit.

3-1 after six, Romano now out of the game.

5-1 NH middle of the 8th. Six more outs.

5-1 final. FisherCats move on.

Travis Bergen finished the game off again with another zero. He's had a terrific season. Corey Copping had a couple of good innings - he may actually be something. In has last 7 2/3 innings, he's allowed only 3 hits, 3 walks, and no runs, with 15 strikeouts.

Eastern League schedule shows the finals not starting until Tuesday next week. Don't know the opponent. Akron lost to Altoona, still need another win to advance. Donaldson played 3rd and was 0-4, 2 K's before being lifted.

Thanks, Mike, that's a good article about Bergen. Possible late inning guy for the Jays by the 2nd half of next year. Copping has averaged about 1 walk every 2 innings, so, as you say, that's where he needs to improve. You mention Copping being added to the 40 man, and I think you might be right. Bergen is another guy who needs to be added. It would be helpful to have a list of all the minor leaguers who are at risk of being picked in the rule 5 if they aren't added. I'm starting to agree with some comments a couple of weeks back that the Jays might be at risk of losing a few prospects. Another reason for not bringing Vladdy up yet - leaves another 40 man spot available.

There will be some tough 40 man decisions and likely much disagreement. I think the only no brainer is Patrick Murphy. There are several worthy candidates for a few other spots. What we don't know either is who might be DFA to make room....several candidates there as well and we surely won't all agree on the actual choices. As for Copping, he may be worthy but it's going to be tough to fit him. Looking for a 3 for 1 trade might be worth considering.

Outfielders Grichuk, Hernandez, McKinney and Pillar look to be on the MLB Roster. Alford, Pompey, Smith Jr. and Davis are basically MLB-ready/AAA-ready. Are any of the Outfielders eligible for the 40-Man/Rule 5 better than these eight, or can they be? Then you make the addition/subtraction. Go

Position by Position for Players eligible for the 40-Man/Rule 5. Are any of the Players eligible for the 40-Man/Rule 5 better than the incumbents, or can they be? Then you make the additions/subtractions. The Jays have 42 players (two on 60-Day D.L.). Estrada is a Free Agent, while Solarte might be. Clippard is also a free Agent, but that clears up little, maybe one space.


Who get traded? Who gets bought out? Who gets non-tendered? Considering the past Trades and probable Free Agents, more than half of next years team will be new/young or both. Each and every move made from this point on must be the right, 100% correct thing to do. Getting to the Postseason is easier, but the margin for error is much smaller.

New Hampshire will face Akron in the Finals starting Tuesday. Don't think Josh will be playing for Akron, as Tuesday is when he's supposed to be activated from the DL.

For the rule 5 I have 4 players who need to be added for sure:

Patrick Murphy, Hector Perez, Yennsy Diaz and Travis Bergen.

The following is a list of all players remotely considered prospects eligible for rule 5 (or can elect minor league FA):

Matt Dermody
Jacob Waguespack
Juliandry Higuera
Tim Lopes
Jason Leblebijian
Jordan Romano
Francisco Rios
Jon Harris
Corey Copping
Josh DeGraaf
Danny Young
Dusty Isaacs
Andrew Case
Jackson McClelland
Taylor Saucedo
Forrest Wall
Harold Ramirez
Max Pentecost
Andrew Guillotte
Eduard Pinto
Angel Perdomo
Kelyn Jose
Rodrigo Orozco
Ivan Castillo
Alberto Mineo
Emerson Jimenez
Kevin Vicuna

I don't see much there to worry about. Romano seems about the only player that might be able to stick for a full season in a bullpen. Plus the current 40 man has numerous players I wouldn't think twice about dropping. Jays should be fine IMO.

I would agree with the 4 you have as definites except that I don't believe Hector Perez is eligible for rule 5. Yes on the other 3. It's tough after that. They will likely protect whomever they feel is in most danger of being lost. It also depends on how many are dropped from current 40 man. Certainly some relievers and OF's will lose their spots. Possibly Solarte will not be kept but he may still have 40 man spot until late November. I don't see room to protect Pentecost but his strong finish might persuade a team to draft him though I would think the chance of him being returned would be a likely one.

Thanks Waveburner for the list.

Well Hector Perez was signed by the Astros in July 2014, which as far as I know means he is under the same rule 5 timeline as high schoolers drafted in 2014. He did not actually pitch in 2014, but I was under the impression that does not matter, it's all about signing date. Perhaps someone can correct me.

I mean I suppose there is a very small chance someone like Wall/Ramirez/Pentecost gets drafted, but the odds of them sticking seem rather remote.

from Wikpedia:

Players are eligible for selection in the Rule 5 draft who are not on their major league organization's 40-man roster and:

were 18 or younger on the June 5 preceding their signing and this is the fifth Rule 5 draft upcoming; or
were 19 or older on the June 5 preceding their signing and this is the fourth Rule 5 draft upcoming.

So on June 5, 2015 Perez was under 18 as his birthday is June 6 and he has only played 4 years. So he seems ineligible.....or am I missing something?

But Perez was signed July 2014, so the relevant date is June 5th 2014. Since that date this will the 5th Rule 5 draft; 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017 & now 2018. Pretty sure he is eligible by that definition. But again I am no expert :)

You may be right. If so, he certainly will be protected. Maybe that's why Astros were willing to give him up.What I was looking at was that he has only played 4 years. Someone had reported that he was ineligible at the time of the trade but he must have been fooled also. By the letter of the definition, your interpretation seems correct. Getting back to your original list, there might not be room to protect anyone else as Tulo and Merryweather have to be added unless there is any agreement for the trade to be announced after Rule 5, thus the January date as the last date for completion. That would be nice but likely not the case and we won't know until an announcement is made. If more can be protected, they will likely be pitchers.....Copping and Romano maybe......outside shot for Pentecost.

Thanks for the list. I'd really like to protect Harold Ramirez after the year he's had in AA at 23. I think he could stick with a non-contending team that drafts him. Copping probably wouldn't stick due to control issues, Pentecost probably wouldn't hit enough, Romano is probably not quite ready, but maybe in a bullpen role he'd stick. There are about 6-7 droppable guys currently on the roster, plus Estrada and Clippard, who are free agents. I imagine one of the reasons for so many callups this September is to look at some of the marginal guys like Urena, Tellez, Davis, Smith, Guerrieri, Petricka who could be dropped. Pompey is another one who could go. Hard to drop Rowdy now after the great start.

Osuna has been worth 0.5 WAR since the trade. Giles has been worth -0.3 WAR.

Is Reese McGuire's play making Luke Maile expendable?

I like Reese McGuire and I think he is likely to remain in the org moving forward. I think Luke Maile still has one option remaining so the Jays however could conceivably move any one of Martin, Maile or McGuire and have one of Maile/McGuire remain in AAA.Hopefully they can find a taker for Martin and get some value out of him.

I don't know if there's many takers for a catcher on the downside of his career and due to be paid 20 million.I would think he will be kept around to mentor the other catchers and play some games behind the plate and at third base. There's going to be a lot of young players on the team next year who will need veteran guidance, and Martin and Morales, much as he's maligned, are both good at that.

McGuire could spent most of the year at AAA.  Some young pitchers will be up and down and it doesn't hurt to "waste" a year of McGuire as the team isn't going to be competitive. Catchers can get hurt, just look at Boston and NYY. It's great to have a good one ready to call up. It would also be great to get something back for Maile.

And I would trade with the Pirates again before Tampa does.
It looks like it's the owner who calls the shots there.

The #1 catcher for the future is Jansen. He is getting the ML playing time of a #1. That leaves Maile or McGuire as the backup.

In AAA this year the org gave many ABs at DH to Jansen and McGuire. Only 298 ABs in AAA to Jansen but he will get close to 400 when his ML ABs are added. Very smart of the org.


McGuire and Pentecost can do the same in AAA next year. If we end up with a surplus then we can trade.

I like Martin, but one of Maile and McGuire likely deserve to be the back-up at the major league level.

Does Martin at 20 million have value? No, but does Martin at 8-10 million have value with the jays eating much of the salary have value? Playoff teams like vetran play callers behind the dish and Martin has bene a better hitter than his numbers indicate.

I was kind of thinking of Martin as a third catcher/utility man, Jansen being the number 1 catcher and Maile backing him up. With Vlad Jr. coming up at some point in the spring and likely playing regularly, plus the glut of infielders if Tulo comes back successfully, then I don't know if that makes sense. I'm not sure that the Jays would want to eat that much salary on Martin if they were to trade him.

I don't mind Martin as the back-up catcher / utility guy and he is likely to fill that role next year, but I think it would be better to pay his salary and get some prospects and look towards 2021.

Didn't realise J. B. Woodman, the guy we took 9 picks before Bo and traded for Diaz, was released by the Cards a month ago.

There were always too many holes in that swing.

whiterasta80 - you are probably right about the holes in the swing but I really think Woodman had the worst pitch recognition skills I have ever seen in Vancouver (and that's saying something). A little bit like a comment I made recently about the differences in cognitive ability to run good routes to catch fly balls, I think there are vast differences in cognitive ability to recognize pitches. I'm not sure that any amount of practice or efforts to improve the mechanics of your swing can fix this problem.

Bluebird Banter has some great roster resources for people wondering about options and the rule v.  Maille does have an option, and we definitely have a 40 man roster crunch.  I was also surprised so much of the talent acquired at the deadline required protecting, but presumably that's why they were available.  Like Glevin said upthread, the hard part comes now with managing the assets. 

Rule V eligible players:
https://www.bluebirdbanter.com/pages/rule-5-eligible-players-2
Option Status:
https://www.bluebirdbanter.com/pages/blue-jays-option-and-outright-status