Shulman has been doing the road games, so it should be Buck and Tabby this weekend.

The Jays have other left-handed options, but it would be great to have Borucki back for the series to neutralize Harper. Hopefully he doesn't need an IL stint.

The Canadian government has begun preliminary internal discussions about reopening the border with the U.S., so there's a glimmer of hope regarding baseball at the Dome in 2021.

Not only are the Jays saving on signing starters, they're saving on jersey lettering costs as well: Matz, Kay, Ray, Ryu - Stripling had BETTER justify those 9 letters on his back - the 4 others starters combined are only getting 13, and I hear A.J. Cole wants a chance to start :-)

Per MLBTR, J.T. Realmuto has been re-instated from the COVID list, so he'll most likely play.

And I agree - why would you pitch to Harper? Give him junk and let him chase if he wants, otherwise, give him the Barry Bonds special..

It's not clear if Realmuto has real Covid issues. Maybe he had some symptoms following vaccination.
He did banged his knee and would be day-to-day and they would have to bring another catcher up anyway, so it could be a way to have him on the IL for less than the minimum 10 days.

Either way, Realmuto is their best player.
They have 2 hot players, McCutchen and Herrera.
Herrera is replacing an injured Roman Quinn and has been spending a lot of time in the minors because of domestic violence issues.
Harper has a bit of a platoon split, but not that much.

This is the team that destroyed Matz last year, but I don't know how different their current lineup is.
I think Matz did OK against them in the spring.
Ray has never had much success against the Phillies either.

It's a bit hard to judge Velasquez. He started the year in the pen and replaced Matt Moore who was terrible.
He wasn't fully stretched for his first 2 starts, but he can probably go to 100 now.
As a starter, he's been striking about 1 guy per inning and walking half as much.
He has not given a lot of hits, but 6 of those 16 hits have been home runs.

Nola is a good control pitcher.

Anderson was worse than Roark.

I think we have to take similar approach to Atlanta. Get through their starters without losing too much and then feast off the weak bullpen.

Safe to say the Jays hope Matz has some length in him today so they have all hands on deck for Saturday. Jays 20-16, Phillies 20-18. Both are 1 1/2 back of first in their divisions. Harper has a 176 OPS+, Realmuto 162, Segura 123. The rest of their regulars are under 110. Brad Miller at 135 is their best bat off the bench by a mile - has played at 1B/2B/3B/LF/RF (played at SS last year, but not CF since 2015) so a super-utility guy.

Lets hope for a bit of a offense from us, and they don't do to the Jays what they did to Atlanta (12-2 on the 7th)

Borucki to IL. Playing short an arm today and calling someone up tomorrow.

I wonder if the pitching injuries will slow down at any point this season?

Good thing Atkins has spent so much time accruing pitching depth in the upper minors.

Jersey letter stitchers aren't looking forward to the upcoming influx of hyphenated names. Rangers already have a Kiner-Falefa.

Basketball is rife with them, the winner being Toronto born Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.

Does anyone have a Simeon Woods-Richardson autograph? Mel Ott would have had no trouble signing memorabilia, but SWR seems carpal tunnel inducing.

Why the military stuff today? Some American requirement or something? Looks weird.

Borucki has elbow tightness. He is seeing a doctor tonight and is likely headed to the IL.

U. S. Armed Forces Day tomorrow.

Why is Gurriel out there without glasses???

A cursory look at the Blue Jays all-time roster:

14 letters - Saltalamacchia
12 letters - Merryweather
11 letters - eleven tied - Todd Stottlemyre, Mark Hendrickson, Valerio De Los Santos, Frank Catalanotto, Shea Hillenbrand, Scott Schoeneweis, Edwin Encarnación, Adeiny Hechavarría, Darin Mastroianni, *Lee Gronkiewicz, ^Chuck Hartenstein

*one career game - 2007
^inaugural season - 1977

Guerrero Jr. & Mayberry Jr. represent eleven characters including the period, but not the space.

Woods-Richardson will take the cake and eat it too!

And now Borucki is on the IL. Someone will be recalled for tomorrows game.

Also Montoyo said that David Phelps lat strain is significant.

Of course, De Los Santos has 2 spaces along with the 11 letters.

Well, it matters if you're setting type.

I'm showing my age again, aren't I?

That's twice since I mentioned it that Tabler corrected Montoya to Montoya.

someone this weekend is going to comment on those 11 RBIs as if it were some kind of character flaw. Will it be Buck? Tabby?

Well, I'll be darned. Progress!

Dear lord in what universe is that not a swing, or that 3-2 pitch to Harper not a strike. Apparently this one. Brutal.

Agreed Eephus - the umps forced this to be a 5 out inning. I figured they'd give the Jays one after that horrid checked swing call, but instead they gave Harper a gift on a high strike. We really need robo umps.

Good job by Matz to stay cool and escape that. May more sane calls prevail.

Game changing missed calls. Umps should be invisible. Robos will make for a better game!

in what universe is that not a swing

None that I know of, although the quantum possibilities are endless. I'm assuming Iassogna simply missed it - maybe he was distracted by a bug - and just made a guess.

The pitch to Harper really might have been high when it crossed the plate, but I've seen it called a strike. I've also seen his check swing called a swing.

Will the robo umps call checked swings?

Will Robo umps call a check swing?

Sure! And do it more accurately.

A random number generator could do it more accurately.

Vladdy! What a player.

The bullpen has been great but they were due a stinker.

Mayza has great stuff but he needs to learn how to command it.

I hope the crowd is more Toronto friendly when the team moves back to Buffalo.

My thoughts exactly Gerry - there was bound to be a game like this eventually, especially when you are saving your best guys for later. Ah well. Had to happen eventually especially given how the Jays have used 23 pitchers now, 18 in the pen. So basically 2 full pitching staffs used so far and it is only mid-May.

Mayza really isn’t the best choice for high leverage innings right now but they probably don’t have a lot of choice. Mayza will take the majority of the heat but Thornton stopped throwing any FBs in that inning too.

I can't even get that mad at the bullpen unless the Jays score more than 1 run before we're done. Felt like a lot of solid contact all game though, nothing doing, just get 'em tomorrow.

I blame these awful hats. No disrespect to anyone in the armed forces, but camo belongs nowhere near a baseball uniform.

But yeah, I agree the bullpen (any bullpen) isn't exactly invisible, especially when so shorthanded, and Mayza has been shaky his last few outings. Still gotta score runs though.

Agreed Eephus - you won't win many when you score just 1 run. If the pen had to suck this was a good night for it - hate to waste a 5+ run effort, but a 1-0 lead lost isn't that bad all things considered.

Clearly the Phillies manager is scared of losing - using his best available pitcher to close it out even with a 4 run lead and the bottom half of the order coming up. Montoyo wouldn't do that I suspect.

For the long names don't forget about scrabble (Marc Rzepczynski) as he has 11 letters in the last name, and likely would be one of the highest scrabble values for a last name, hence the nickname. He was on the Jays for several years from 2009-2011.

Well, it's a combination of things.
Being short one arm because of the late IL placement for Borucki.
Matz wasting an inning worth of pitches because of bad ump calls.
Romano looked like he was ready to pitch.
Cole and Chatwood had one day of rest, but somehow Mayza was asked to get an out despite throwing 23 pitches--and blowing the lead--the day before.

Beasley was described as someone who could got 2 innings and was probably penciled to pitch Saturday.
Now you don't want to waste several arms if Kay comes out early with a deficit, but the only 2 guys left in the 40 roster are Tice and Zeuch and Zeuch just threw.

Maybe DFA Malone and pick a guy to come and throw a few innings?

Oh, Rzepczynski! We can't forget him!

Guess the Jays are going for a new guy as they just signed RHP Carl Edwards Jr.. A 117 era+ lifetime but 5.1 bb/9 vs 12.1 k/9. Released twice this year by Atlanta already.

Yeah, Gerry mentioned the CEj signing earlier. I think it may have to do as much with filling the Bison's bullpen, which the Jays are rapidly depleting.

On the idea of selling low on Pearson, I think the chances of that are sub 5%, To the best of my recollection, teams rarely trade elite, but injury prone prospects.

All teams acquire under-performing players thinking "we can fix this guy". Cole Irvin in Oakland or Robbie Ray here are prime examples of at least short-term successes. Searage fixing Happ was much more long-lasting. There are lots of failures as well, the most famous I recall was Rick Peterson claiming he could fix Victor Zambrano in ten minutes.

But do teams acquire injury-prone guys thinking "we can fix the injury issues his present team can't"? It's happened, like JD's one year in Atlanta, but that was a case of JD having no trust in Nikki Huffman's training staff, pretty well refusing to use them, which is a rarity.

Rumour has it that Nick Allgeyer could be added to the roster for tonights game. They will need to put someone else on the 60 day IL, perhaps Phelps.

Beasley is a 25 right handed pitcher who looks somewhat older.
In between pitches, he looks surprisingly stiff and twitchy, sort of like a much older man.

He didn't pitch enough for me to formulate a definitive opinion, but he didn't seem to have much control and got most of his outs on long flyballs.

I didn't really notice a splitter in his arsenal. I believe I saw a slider and a fastball.

Allgeyer would be an interesting move.
Yet another lefty.

Phelps is a candidate, maybe Palacios too.
Or they could DFA Milone, he probably clears waivers.

Putting my money on Phelps and his significant lat strain. Found this:
"In 2016, a case study done by doctors at the Cleveland Clinic looked at 30 MLB pitchers who had suffered lat or teres major strains. Twenty-nine were treated conservatively and allowed to heal on their own. Only one underwent surgical treatment. The average time required to return to pitching for the non-surgical group was 99.8 days, while the pitcher who had surgery missed 140 days."

From that, it would be surprising if Phelps is healthy in 60 days.

Allgeyer added; Phelps to 60-day IL, as expected. He will wear #51, which was Ken Giles' old #.

I have paid little attention to Nick Allgeyer. He was a 12th round pick with a pretty good signing bonus of $125K back in 2018. However, looking at his stats, the thing that stands out is the low walk rate which is 2.4 BB9 in the minors (though only 156 innings). Together with a decent enough strike out rate gives him a 3.45 SO/W which is really pretty good. (For contrast Anthony Kay has a minor league 2.46 SO/W which may give some indication why he isn't doing so well in the majors). If nothing else, he deserves his chance.

McGuire is catching tonight, so presumably Jansen will have Ray tomorrow afternoon. Jansen has caught Ray once before. It was last September - he went 4 innings, fanned 5, walked 4, allowed 1 unearned run.

I am happy for Allgeyer that he was called up but it adds to the potential 40 man roster crunch that the Jays will face later this season. I wonder if the Jays will regret calling him up. This "search for length" has hurt the Jays. They have plenty of fungible relievers but few starters.

Checking the day he was drafted: @B_Sakowski_PG: Blue Jays get a guy I liked a lot in Nick Allgeyer from Iowa. Not an overpowering guy but mixes and matches, FB in the 87-91 range for the most part, lots of strikes there, several pitches for strikes. Also an article about him. Ranked #33 on the Jays prospect list by TSN this year.

TSN said..."2020 GOSSIP: This is a pitcher where there was a tangible change in stuff that was covered up by the obscurity of 2020 pandemic baseball. Drafted in the 12th round in 2018 out of the University of Iowa, the left-hander wasn’t really on the radar after producing a 3.95 ERA across 22 starts as a 23-year-old at High-A Dunedin in 2019. But this past summer, Allgeyer experienced a velocity bump, going from 89-91 mph to touching 95 and sitting 92-93, thanks in part to the focus he was able to put into it during the pandemic. Previously, he was seen as an athletic pitcher who showed control and pitchability, but nothing close to the stuff he started to show in 2020.

2021 OUTLOOK: Described as one of the hardest workers in the system, the stuff playing up last year makes him one of the arms to watch early on when minor-league games start. If the velocity bump stabilizes and he comes out touching mid-90s from the left side again, the Jays might have an eventual No. 4 starter on their hands."

I wonder how hesitant the Jays are to trade any regulars right now - the team seems very together as a group and you don't want to mess that up. But to get a quality starter you probably have to give up someone and there are only so many spots to play guys. One of Tellez/Gurriel/Hernandez/Grichuk should be traded after Springer is at 100% (whenever that may be). Tellez can be demoted (especially given how poorly he has hit and his inability to play anywhere but 1B/DH). Lots of prospect pitchers who could be used as part of a deal too. But are any strong enough to get something good? Who knows?

I agree completely with Gerry on Allgeyer, happy for him but seems like a Sam Dyson level of roster management mistake.

Is it just me, or are there more missed calls than in previous years. Maybe missed calls have just become more annoying because there is a solution to the problem.

Is it just me, or are there more missed calls than in previous years. Maybe missed calls have just become more annoying because there is a solution to the problem.

Alberta stutter there.

to get a quality starter you probably have to give up someone and there are only so many spots to play guys. One of Tellez/Gurriel/Hernandez/Grichuk should be traded after Springer is at 100%

Problem is, I think those are the wrong kind of guys to have available if you're looking to obtain a quality starter. They're the kind of guys you trade to a contender that has a specific need, and you're the one getting prospects in return. The teams that are going to have quality starters on the market aren't going to be very interested - they'll be looking for prospects. If I'm running the Rockies and you call about Jon Gray, I'm not interested in Randal Grichuk. I'm going to reel off names like Manoah and Kirk. And you'll probably hang up the phone, but I've got lots of other GMs to talk to.

Of course, in 1993 Gillick traded his very best pitching prospect - and it made him crazy to do it - for two months of Rickey Henderson. Flags fly forever.

For any of you who have the MLB radio plan ($20US yearly), the Phillies radio broadcast is a welcome option to Buck and Pat. They’re entertaining, and allow some quiet times too. They know the Jays well from spring training. MLB audio allows you to go 10 seconds back and forward, so you can somewhat sync it with the TV/Video.

With Bergen coming in with the lead, it looks like Allgeyer was only there for mop duty in case of a failed start by Kay. That doesn’t seem like a good use of a 40 man slot.

Isn’t there a few players who can still be cut easily off the forty man, such as Panik and others? Doesn’t seem to be that big a deal. They need some pitchers in the bullpen in case Kay didn’t have a good start tonight.

As for crunch sure I guess there is some but I’m not worried about Tellez or Espinal terribly much. Gurriel I could see being moved but I don’t think they’d want to move him while he’s scuffling. Anyway I think it’s premature to make moves just to slim down the 40. I’m sure something will come up closer to the trade deadline.

Doesn't look like that to me. There will be a crunch eventually, but not tomorrow. Won't happen until Hatch, Merryweather, Murphy, Kirk start coming off the 60 day, and no one added. Unless you love Beasley, he's the first gone I assume.

Tampa just had a similar situation and traded Hunter Strickland (A. J. Cole comp?) to the Angels for a PTBNL or cash.

Do we know who has to go on the 40 man list at the end of this year? Was looking for an article but too lazy to browse through org charts.

We worry. A lot.

That was a horrific amount of pitches Kay threw in his 4 innings, but that's the longest he's ever gone without giving up a run. Previous best was a 3.1 inning stint against Boston last year.

Bluebirdbanter.com used to maintain a list but their library doesn't seem to have been updated since 2017.

Bluebirdbanter.com Rule 5 eligible 2017-2021

Looking at the list, other than Kirk, who is already on the 40, the notable eligible prospects in 2021 are Miguel Hiraldo, Leo Jimenez and Hagen Danner

The list of players Rule 5 eligible this winter is limited.
I think the top concern will be Joey Murray.
There is also Jackson Rees, who is now a AAA reliever.
In AA, Chris Bec, Nick Podkul and Cre Finfrock.
In A+, Rafael Lantigua and  Sean Wymer and Hagen Danner.
Currently in Dunedin, PK Morris, Hiraldo, David Schneider, John Aiello, Jhon Solarte, Rafael Monsion and Alejandro Melean.
Guys still in extending camp, Jose Riveras, Leo Jimenez and Eric pardinho.

Of course, there is a legion of guys who were passed--or picked--in previous years.
Dany Jimenez hasn't pitched well so far, but Warmoth, Kevin Smith, Forrest wall could be a try for some team.
Not much you can't do about that unless someone wants to trade for guys like these outright.

Now, if the roster rules got back to 23 pitchers/23 position players, guys like Hiraldo probably need to be protected or traded.

Kay threw way too many fastballs over the hitters' shoulders.
Early on, he missed on a lot of cutters.
Eventually, he started throwing his fastball at 96mph inside the strike zone and got lots of whiffs.
At that point, the cutter started to become effective.

Pretty pleased with the result.

Didn't expect to see Allgeyer in there on the first day.
He threw 90 pitches on Tuesday.
Today is a possibility, but maybe not that many pitches.

Read from a Philly fan who was watching the Jays broadcast and almost spit out his drink when Buck said they were second best NL defense. Bohm is struggling badly at third base. Gregorius has a swollen elbow. They drained it and it swelled back up. He has a kidney condition and heals very slowly. Yet he's day to day so their bench is limited.

Kay has been the second most unlucky pitcher in the majors according to statcast. Despite the ugly ERA he has made a lot of strides this year.

There seemed to be a lot of people wearing Phillie jerseys in the stands at the game last night. The Jays must feel they are perpetually on the road.

Some teams have played 40 games. 25%. Only a few surprises to date. Both Twins and Nationals are very low in the standings which is the surprise to me. SF and Boston are much higher than I expected.

Some are suggesting that Washington may trade Scherzer. Jon Lester is also pitching well. So 2 trade possibilities. Nothing to base my judgement on but I doubt it happens even if the team is still low in the standings at the trade deadline. I could be wrong.

At least this is just temporary.
Imagine what the Trop looks like when they host the Yankees.

The worst with Dunedin is that the sun disadvantages the team that goes to bat last.
It should be better today.

Washington is not the same as Detroit was when they traded Verlander.
Maybe they rebound. If not, I think it depends on what Scherzer wants and he's not going to be public about it.

All in all, the Jays can overpay for an ace next year without trading for him this year.

The basement teams are the ones that will try to trade for assets

The Twins will eventually play better and then the Jays will probably drop another series or 2 to a team below .500.

Agreed scottt and Magpie about the trading of #1s by noncontenders.

The standings are quite balanced so far, especially in the National League. The trade market might be delayed a while. The Blue Jays will certainly look to add a pitcher or two. If he can further boost his numbers, I submit that Lourdes is the best poker chip. (Albeit to trade him would create an issue for the outfield.)

Gurriel has 3 years of control left, but he's got into lots of slumps during his limited time.
His defense is a mixed bag.

On the clubhouse side, Gurriel and Hernandez are the 2 guys who hang around Vladdy.

The Jays are getting lots of value from picking guys--both vets and prospects--and letting them be themselves.

The guy who could be on his way out is McGuire once Kirk gets back.
I don't see a huge return there, but he's back to hitting and he'll be a free agent if they outright him.

Despite talk of the NL East becoming the new power in baseball this season, once again it's the AL East. Combined 14 games over .500. NL West is next at +4, AL West +2, NL Central -2, NL East -6, AL Central -12.

538 and FG projections both have 4 AL East teams winning at least 85 games.

Looks like the Phillies could be without Harper and Realmuto for this afternoon's game. Let's hope the Jays take advantage and take the rubber match in the series.

No Realmuto, no Harper.

Espinal gets a shot and Biggio gets the day off.
Jansen catches Ray for the first time this year.
Will Ray walk more?

Mentioned last night the Rays trading Strickland to the Angels. Got a chuckle out of this:

Asked if he was surprised that his club was able to get that good of an arm at this point of the season, Joe Maddon answered in typical Joe Maddon fashion.

“No. He came from the Rays, who keep printing them like counterfeit bills.”

K Cash mentioned the categories of SP/bulk inning options, multi inning openers and length options and lastly the category of usage in "big spots". He has healthy arms for all of that so Strickland was surplus. I think C Archer is their most highly paid pitcher.

"Read from a Philly fan who was watching the Jays broadcast and almost spit out his drink when Buck said they were second best NL defense. Bohm is struggling badly at third base."

Saw that as well, scottt. According to those Philly fans, Jays aren't the only team playing a "not a third baseman" at 3rd base.

It's the equivalent of the Jays trading A.J. Cole to make room for Phelps or Merryweather.
Strickland being a guy who has struggled the last few years, is out of options and is getting paid the minimum.

Clubhouse attendant: "Robbie, what kind of pant style do you want? Long tailored pants? The ones just past the knee for the long socks?"

Robbie: "Skinny jeans."

Ray got out of the 1st inning after a lot of trouble.

Imagine giving up back to back homeruns...and *then* having to face Vladdy.

The choice of pants brings to mind CC Sabathia, who used to wear some trousers.

some trousers

Yes, the clown pants option.

Let's hope the Jays take advantage and take the rubber match in the series.

Two best players shelved. Infielders in the outfield. Starting pitcher throwing batting practise. The Phillies are doing all they can to help.

Jays make haste, chase Chase.

3-inning save for Nick Allgeyer’s MLB debut?

That sure was the Chase Anderson I remember.

A saw a fan with a Pillar cape in the audience. Nice.

Now this more like it.

Knocking on wood this sets up a showdown this week for first place with the hated Red Sox.

You want the city to jump on board quickly...just win that series convincingly.

Top three hitters in the Jays lineup so far: 6/6, 2 doubles, 2 home runs, 5 runs scored, 4 RBI

Hate to complain with a 7-0 lead, but that's the 2nd time in 3 games a runner on 2nd blundered into a fly ball double play.

Quite possible Semien gets 3 shots at hitting the triple to complete the cycle.

Hard to complain when watching how the Phillies play.
That's mostly a byproduct of lacking depth and not wanting to put star players on the IL.

hitting the triple to complete the cycle

His career triple rate is just shy of 0.6%, giving him a 2% chance of pulling this off. Given those Phillie outfielders, it might be closer to 50%.

Does anyone have a Simeon Woods-Richardson autograph? Mel Ott would have had no trouble signing memorabilia, but SWR seems carpal tunnel inducing.

He probably never got to the "signing autographs stage", but I've always thought the same about "Ed Ott", a catcher from '74-81 - I have his card from the one year I collected O-Pee-Chee..

I owe Ray an apology. I thought that the spring training reports of mechanical tweaks to improve his control were just another “best shape of his life” story. He really looks like a new and improved version of his former self.

I refuse to apologize for saying that Gurriel is a terrible defender (other than his arm):)

One regret the Jays might have is not ensuring they had extra years (or option years) on some acquired players (Ray, Semien). They might miss those players in 2022.

I was actually somewhat pleased that the ball Gurriel misplayed hit his glove for an error, instead of those other misplays of his that end up as singles and doubles.

Sorry, I tuned in just in time to see a long hr, a comically misjudged flyball, and Guerrero forget how to pick up a ball with his glove. I'll go now...

The idea that Ray was a reclamation project or a pitcher we could have signed longer term for cheaper is unfounded. As mentioned in posts before, he has consistently been in the top 3 starting pitchers in baseball when grading by strikeouts.

He has high end upside, always had if he could fix the walks. He has high end stuff and strikeouts, always had. Teams have had him on their radar for years, including Jays and Yanks.

I don't think a starting pitcher of his caliber would have signed for under market value. Top strikeout pitcher, left handed, proof of top rotation flashes... sounds a lot like Corbin or Wheeler who received mega contracts.

And yet he signed for $8m/1 with the Jays, far less than even the broken-down Kluber signed with the Yankees. Doesn't sound like a player who was heavily in demand this past off-season.

"He has high end upside, always had if he could fix the walks"

This describes many, many pitchers in major-league and minor-league baseball. The Jays deserve credit for taking the chance on Ray and fixing him. But hindsight is 20/20. Ray's stock was low at the end of the season last year.

I think it’s pretty clear that the Jays and Ray were on the same page, that a 1-year deal was good for both of them as low risk for the team and gave him the opportunity to set himself up for a big contract next year. Don’t forget that he signed very quickly - November 7, the first free agent to sign anywhere.

It’s a credit to the current Jays organisation that he chose them as the team to rebuild his value with, even with only having played in Buffalo and with uncertainty of where they would play this year. Similarly Semien and Yates. The Jays do not have a history of being a team players choose to come to on pillow contracts.

Doesn't sound like a player who was heavily in demand this past off-season.

Robbie Ray signed on November 7th, 2020, 10 days after being granted free agency.

I think it was less a case of lack of demand for his services and more of a case of a player not just paying lip service to wanting to return to the Jays and instead actually taking a fair offer early in the offseason rather than waiting out the market to see if anyone will pay slightly more.

Jays might have almost enough starters for this year. (You can never have...) Ryu, Ray, Matz, Kay, Stripling, Hatch, Pearson, Thornton, Zeuch, Allgeyer, Manoah, Murray. Murphy could be back. Merryweather as well. Did I forget Milone?

Coke to Jonny German for putting my thoughts down before I could.

Murphy is not a starter. Neither is Merryweather.
Waguespack is starting in AAA.
SWR is a possibility.

Hope the Jays resign at least one of Ray and Matz. With the emergence of some young pitchers, perhaps Hatch, Murphy, Pearson, Kay, Manoah, the top, mid section and back end should be covered.

I wonder how Trout is feeling these days given the Angels are flailing away again, even with a healthy Ohtani.

I can't believe Girardi put Harper in the game today with an injured arm, down by 4 runs, with an off-day coming tomorrow.
He really can't throw at all. His throw from RF would have stopped rolling before reaching 2B. I get that Scott Kingery was horrible out and struck out 3 times, but at least he's healthy. It's an interleague game in May - why risk your star player who is owed $267M in guaranteed future salaries?
It makes no sense to me and I'd be furious if I were a Phillies fan.

Poorly played game. What an odd game. BUT can’t complain too much about the umpiring.

Watched a bit of Moneyball last night and now I feel like Billy Beane in game 21 of the streak.

Having apologized to Ray, I will say that you have to be realistic about what the upside is even with the k’s and better control. There are still going to be HRs and he generates very few quick resolutions to ABs. There will be a lot of what we’ve seen so far - 5/6 inning outings giving up 3 runs (plus or minus). For this Jays team, of course, that’s hugely valuable.

How many teams have someone like Ray toward the back end. He could be excellent at the very back and healthily competent up one spud.

Next year’s starters if the cook cooperates. Ryu, Pearson, Manoah, Ray, Hatch, Kay, Stripling, Murphy, etc. Matz?

I've said it before...I love guys like Ray and Matz as 3/4 guys but I'd really really be happy if we had a more dependable #2.

One of the few times this year that I’ve disagreed with Charlie’s bullpen management - surely there’s someone in the pen that could pitch the 9th with a 4 run lead?

Maybe Charley has watched this game and thought, “Jesus, what a crappy display. Anything could and might happen.”

Beasley might be a bad choice too.

Well, that somebody sure ain't Beasley.

Greenfrog, Ray went off the board first, Kluber went last and benefited from teams getting extra budget from ownership after more vaccines rolled in. Cubs were an example of a team that was talking about shedding payroll early on then flip flopped to wanting to add budget late in the off season.

As for your follow up comment, it does not logically follow. I put Ray in a group with guys like Chris Sale and Justin Verlander, if you look up the top strikeout performers and your response is that there are lots of guys with that type of upside. One sided reading man.

Brilliant pitching there. Working around Marchan and Herrera to get to Harper. Had 'em all the way.

When the trainer came out to see Romano in the 9th, I couldn't help but think being the Jay's closer seems the baseball equivalent to being Spinal Tap's drummer.

Is it over?? I am not holding my breath any longer.

Murphy, Merryweather and Borucki are not starters.
None of these guys can stay healthy long enough to throw 50 innings.

Neither of Sale or Verlander would have signed an 8M contract.
Sale signed for 5/145M and Verlander for 7/180M and the Astros added another 2/66M at the end of that.

Ray has a career ERA of 4.23. He had 4 years with ERA lower than the league average and 4 with ERA higher.
He made some bad tweaks trying to improve in his contract year and had an ERA of 7.84.
The Jays were able to get him for cheap and he had a more reasonable 4.79 ERA in Toronto.
Liking the improvements he decided to stay and he's certainly upped his value.

That wasn't the laughter it should have  been.
Is Tellez injured? How often has a left handed batter tripped over home plate on his way to first?
Is Allgeyer cleared to pitch?
Mayza needed a chance to rebound, but maybe he needs to find his slider first.
Beasley would have been OK if he could have thrown his splitter for a strike.
It's kinda weird not to be able to get a pitch that has no horizontal movement over.

At least we're not sending injured players out there. I hope.
And we don't have players fighting with their manager.
Usually not a money making move.

Regarding the 3/4 comments, Nola is the Phillies ace.
He averages about 6 innings per starts. That's number 2 in the NL. 

Would be nice to get Castro back. Also Dolis isn’t far off and same for Hatch. Even Milone would be reasonable for some innings. Anyway good day to have a day off tomorrow to give pen time to recover. Wonder if Allgeyer will start against Boston?

Is it over?? I am not holding my breath any longer.

No kidding. Almost didn’t turn the TV on when the score was 8 zip. Thought the last innings would be a yawner.

Rowdy with a mild hamstring strain, "good chance" of an IL stint, per Charlie. Now, some Atkins:

Hatch - is on pace to be activated from the 60-day IL when first eligible, as he is up to three innings of work at a time.

Pearson - will miss next AAA start, but "don’t expect him to miss too much time at all"

Manoah - “he’s making that [a promotion] very much something that we’re discussing and talking about….The objective and subjective views of how effective he will be at the major league level are all really encouraging. He absolutely maximized his off-season and maximized Spring Training, and he’s getting absolutely every ounce out of Triple-A baseball right now.”

So if Tellez goes on the DL there are only 2 guys left for offense on the 40 man. Josh Palacios who is on the minor league IL, and Otto Lopez in AA who is a 2B/OF this year hitting 362/412/468 but had never been above full season A (Lansing) before this year. Lifetime in the minors 313/376/424 over 228 games. He might be ready but is a RH bat like most on the roster are. Still, if a call up is needed giving him his first taste isn't a horrid idea. He is on the 40 man anyways and had an option used up already by starting him in AA. Might as well let him get a taste if Tellez is on the IL until Springer is ready. 42-24 in SB-CS so probably a half decent runner, can play 2B/3B/SS/CF/LF/RF so a super-utility guy which is always nice to have. I figure it couldn't hurt to give him a taste of the majors even if just as a bench warmer for a week.

Heard or read that scouts were at the game asking about Espinal (I think it was Pat saying it). Makes sense teams would be checking in on him - he is too good to be a once a week utility guy IMO but the Jays could trade him with Tellez (and others) to get something useful for now or the future (can always use more live arms for A ball to work their way up - have to expect a ton of attrition with pitchers). Thus another reason to call up Otto Lopez who could take over the emergency backup slot whenever Panik is out. Jays need super-utility types and Biggio is one of those but he has to play everyday.

I suppose Riley Adams is also an option if they wanted to add a 3rd catcher with some power as a bench bat. My guess is that they'll move Palacios to the 60 day IL and add either Tyler White or Breyvic Valera. Both of these guys would be temporary additions to the 40-man roster and could be DFA'ed once the spot is needed for Hatch in a few weeks.

Cracka, those were the names that popped in my head. Valera probably the better option for the bench, but also more likely to get claimed. Can't see White getting claimed on waivers.

Not sure if the Jays will move Palacios to the 60 day but it is possible as it sounds like he will be out until July (so 45 days minimum plus the week he has already been on it). Finally found something (took some hunting): "Palacios was placed on the minor-league injured list Tuesday and is expected to be sidelined 6-to-8 weeks by a hand injury, Buffalo Bisons broadcaster Pat Malacaro reports.

The 25-year-old appeared in 10 games for the Blue Jays during April as an injury replacement, and he went 7-for-28 with four RBI and seven runs in his first taste of big-league action. Palacios was at Triple-A Buffalo and will now be sidelined until at least early July due to the unspecified hand injury."

Riley Adams I see as unlikely to be called up again as he is a catcher and I'm sure the Jays want more flexibility than he'd give them. Lopez I figure is only if they figure Panik or Springer is coming back very soon (why juggle roster stuff if you don't need to). No one has more than a dozen games in the Jays minors so far, the problem with vets is they would need to clear waivers if sent back down and with the injury plague around baseball they might not make it back down. Breyvic Valera has hit well and is a switch hitter (always a plus) 341/440/537 in AAA plus 5 SB vs 1 CS. 3 games in LF, 2 at each of SS/3B/2B, and a game in RF. Very useful player potentially. 62 OPS+ in the majors over 121 AB's lifetime between 2017/18/19 (5 games as a Jay in 2019). Lifetime in the minors 300/361/399 Could be useful. In 2019 his splits were 868 OPS vs RHP, 799 vs LHP. I figure he is the top choice for a callup if it is expected to be more than a week.

I doubt they're considering it, but I wonder about moving Tommy Milone as a way of opening a 40-man spot. As I understand it he can't be DFA'd as he's on the 10-day IL - but can he be moved to the 60-day IL regardless if he's nearly healthy?

Losing a vet shouldn't be seen as a big problem.
Valera has been good. Christian Colon has been the best offensive player in Trenton.
You put a player on the 40 roster to protect him from the rule 5 draft because that player is at least close to a replacement value. Would spending 10 days, or less if Panik is close to returning, negatively impact Lopez?
Lopez grew up in Montreal and speaks fluent English and French.
Those are all good options. We've just seen what can happen if you leave too many injured players on the bench.

The story is that Kingery went into concussion protocol.
Harper was bunting "for a hit".

Semien does not like the Dunedin facilities, the park, the hostile crowds.
However, he likes his off time in Tampa. Which probably means his wife likes it there, if he's a smart man.

A player on an MLB or minor league injured list can be traded, even if
the player is not eligible to be reinstated and/or healthy enough to
play.

Nick Allgeyer joins Riley Adams as players who were called up and not used. Allgeyer has been optioned, presumably as Dolis or Castro are ready to come off the IL.

Allgeyer's call up seems like a waste of a 40 man spot now.

Totally agree, Gerry.

It was puzzling at the time and looks even more puzzling now.

Seems weird as there was certainly an opportunity for him to face 3 batters with a huge lead.
Mayza still has 2 options and looks like he could use a breather.
Same with Beasly, really.

I wonder if Allgeyer was called up to potentially eat innings in a long role if Kay or Ray got beat up early and the club was down a few runs.  Generally it looks to me as if the club is playing to win in 2021, and they are less concerned with the potential downside of a 40 man crunch down the road than about having the right talent on the big club when needed in 2021. 

Mayza has been terrible in his last 4 games. 3IP with 9 earned runs. Mayza and Bergen are 1-2 innings max. Kay is the long man. Borucki on the IL.

By sending down Allgeyer they have rules to follow regarding how soon they can bring him back up. Atkins seems good so far at playing that game.

With pitching injuries coming in bunches I thought that Allgeyer would stay up and Zeuch would also be brought up. Beasley has not yet gained my confidence.

Part of eating innings is to keep the manager  from trying to get 4 outs with Romano when he's pitching without rest.
Let's say they want him to remain stretched up as a starter.

A few times in the past, I've seen Charlie called out on a couple of occasions where a pitcher didn't seem right a few pitches prior to leaving with an injury. Apparently that was the reason for Romano's mound visit from Charlie and the trainer.

Allgeyer seems like a fully stretched starting option.
That seems too valuable to drop. He could be a 6th, 7th starter over the next 3 years, if nothing else. 

McGuire should be dropped when Kirk is ready.
Beasley and Milone are guys that can be dropped easily.
Even Cole can be dropped if all the other relievers are back.
 

I don't think a forecast of 5/6 innings with ~3 runs from Ray is a reasonable upside at all. That's substantially worse than his career marks. He may be home-run prone, but if his xFIP is in the 3s (it's been 2.47 over his last five starts), we shouldn't expect him to be running an ERA in the 5s. I'm hesitant to proclaim Ray's control problems completely over, but if they are, he's a much better pitcher than described.

A player on an MLB or minor league injured list can be traded, even if the player is not eligible to be reinstated and/or healthy enough to play.

Wasn't the fact that Toronto activated Josh Donaldson off the IL at the August 31st deadline, only to have Cleveland immediately put him back on the IL, part of the controversy and accusation at the time that the Jays subverted the rules?

There must be some restrictions on trading MLB players on the IL.

ESPN 2018 Donaldson link

I guess the Donaldson trade controversy involved that you can't pass an injured player over trade waivers, not that you can't trade a player on the IL.

So this unique case is no longer relevant as the nonwaiver trade deadline no longer exists.

I’m itching to see how good this team can be when we get closer to full strength. Springer and Kirk. Our best relievers. One of the kids (Hatch, Pearson or Manoah) coming through as a starter. Could be a very scary team even before the trade deadline adds.

It’s not often in our history that we have five offensive players that can win games by themselves. All of Semien, Bichette, Guerrero, Hernandez and eventually Springer can do that. Even the mid 2010 teams didn’t have that type of depth. I think you have to go back almost 30 years in Jays history to find it.

Atkins spoke to the media. I felt he said all the right things. First question was about Manoah. He answered very well, praised Manoah while not committing to anything.

He wants 5 effective starters. Going 5,6,7 innings each night with a pen that has to go 3-4 innings each night. I think he meant the pen should not go 6 innings. We have Ryu, Ray and Matz doing that so 2-5 more for 8 possible. The trade deadline should get 1 or 2. Pearson, Hatch, Kay ...newcomers Allgeyer and possibly Manoah. So it is possible. The 1 inning guys are getting hurt a lot. The multi innings guys are inconsistent, I expected better from them.

He gave Forrest Wall a lot of praise. Like almost for sure he is coming up this year.

Sure everyone wishes that Pearson was doing better now. But I don't expect we could be dissapointed by what Ryu, Matz and Ray have done so far. Stripling and Kay have been slightly underwhelming, but I think there is upside there.

One more injury update. Borucki's forearm strain sounded ominous, but it's in the lower portion.

"As long as there are no setbacks, the Blue Jays say they expect Borucki to be sidelined for about the minimum of 10 days or so."

Anthony Kay's potential strikes me, if you will, as that bulldog type of pitcher -- in the spirit of Shaun Marcum and Drew Hutchison. Trent Thornton has a bit of that. Kay is distinguished among the group as a lefty. Plus, he is a bit more heavy set, listed at 225 lbs.

Goldstein chat today

Steve O: When a team trades away a decent prospect and he becomes a star or a very good player, does that make them question their evaluation? Or do they just chalk it up to improvements the player made, etc?

Kevin Goldstein: Always makes you wonder what you missed, but there are times where you have to admit that it just probably wasn’t going to happen with your team. Also, while it bothers you, you have to be happy for the player. I thought Teoscar Hernandez was a fourth outfielder, and I was wrong. I also think he’s a wonderful person and shed a tear (seriously, I did) when he hit his first MLB HR.

What would we give up for Donaldson?

Can we get him for gurriel/jansen/tellez level talent?

His first MLB homerun was with Houston in 2016.
They stuck with Kyle Tucker, who has had ups and downs.

The Yankees have held on to Andujar who was in LF yesterday and Florial who is burning his second option in AA.
They brought Ryan LaMarre to replace Hicks in CF.

I don't see where Donaldson fits. Now if Minnesota has say given up on the season and are looking to offload money and you can get Donaldson + a starter for something than sure. But I don't think we need another IF. Plus I don't think he's a good clubhouse fit. He was fairly toxic at the end last time and from reports he hasn't exactly improved since then.

Donaldson is a 'if you feel 3B is a total disaster and want to spend $50+ mil for 2 years' solution. I don't see the Jays doing that. Maybe if the team was largely 30 year olds near the end of a cycle, but this is the start of a cycle of winning. Nothing in their pitching catches me as 'yes, lets get that upgrade' either. Michael Pineda is having a fine year, but his FIP is 4.58 (normally a sign of the future). Jose Berrios is doing OK (FIP of 3.53 vs ERA of 3.74) but not 'wow', ERA+ of 104 lifetime. Most likely a very good #4 guy here.

I suspect that if Minnesota gave away Donaldson for free and paid his salary, this FO is not taking him back.

2yr stats (since he signed with twins)

Guerrero 411pa, 143wrc+, 2.5war
Teoscar 305pa, 139wrc+, 2.2war
Springer 240pa, 146wrc+, 2.1war
Bichette 300pa, 123wrc+, 2.0war
Donaldson 210pa, 134wrc+, 1.9war
Biggio 401pa, 113wrc+, 1.3war
Grichuk 384pa, 110wrc+, 1.2war
Gurriel 367pa, 101wrc+, 0.4war

Game is more than just stats. Pompey was bullied back in 2015 and the rumor was that Donaldson was central to that. I just don't think he is the type of player you bring in with a young clubhouse like this. I'd echo 85bluejay that even if they gave him to the Jays for free that the FO here wouldn't want him. Shame Donaldson is not a nice guy since he is fun to watch.

He's quite brittle and you never know when he'll crater.

He played only 28 games last year and only 27 games this year.

I bet that Minnesota clubhouse is not  a happy place right now.

Anybody see an update on Ryu? Tomorrow’s starter is listed as TBD. Hopefully they are just being careful about the glute irritation.

That's odd. MLB.com says unknown, but ESPN has Ryu tomorrow. I assume it is Ryu though.

Ugly incident in Atlanta. Kevin Pillar hit in the face with a 94 mph fastball. Fortunately I missed it, tuned in as the groundskeepers were cleaning up the blood at home plate.

Speaking of that game Walker left early with injury. Truly is the year of the injury.

Speaking of ex-Jays pitchers some wanted back, Happ got pounded today and his season ERA now over 5. Gave up Nick Madrigal's 1st career HR to boot. Teammate Matt Shoemaker has an ERA over 6.

Donaldson did hit a home run, cutting a 14-1 deficit to 14-3.

After Taijan was removed due to injury, he was replaced by Sean Reid-Foley. SRF got the win with 3 scoreless innings. He's been up and down from the minors, but is really staking a claim to stay. 4 G, 9.1 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 14 K.

He walked 2 in his 2 AAA innings. No question that he has good stuff.

NL standings are SF, SD 1st & 2nd LAD tied with St Louis for 3rd. It is entirely possible for 2 NL West teams to claim both WC spots. If SD and LAD then 1 will be eliminated in the WC game. I find this interesting because both teams had strong off seasons.

I hope that TB is in contention at the deadline because I don't want them to trade Glasnow. They will receive a very big haul.

Glasnow was a super 2 because he debuted with the Pirates.
He's got 2 years of arbitration left. Not as appealing as Snell who was signed to an extension.

I doubt they'll be selling because at some point, past the super-two cut off, they'll activate Wander Franco to replace Adames.

The Mets have a pitcher with a 2.72era in 46.1ip and a 35:10 K:BB over 8 starts that would fit really well in the Jays rotation. He's an impending FA, so maybe the Jays can grab him for a couple of low-level prospects. He fills a bigger hole than Donaldson would, and there's no long-term commitment.

Why not both?

We could have had Walker, but it seems he wanted a multi-year contract.

Well we already answered the Donaldson question. On Stroman here I'm not sure that a guy with a 6.5 K/9 would play very well in the AL East (AL East is a lot stronger hitting wise than the NL East) but that ship has sailed too. There are plenty of players out there the Jays could target without having to buyback old players. Not like the Mets are selling anyway since they're leading the NL East.

So that to me if we're looking to buy a rental we should be looking among the Rockies, Tigers, Pirates, Orioles, Rangers, Diamondbacks, Marlins, Mariners, Royals, Twins, Reds and Nationals. Anyway I think the Jays are planning to be in the FA market in the offseason so I think anyone looking for a midseason blockbuster is going to be disappointed.

Kevin Pillar hit in the face with a 94 mph fastball.

Pillar tweeted that he was doing fine after the game, while sneaking in a boast about driving in the winning run (the bases were loaded when he was hit, with the Mets ahead 1-0; they ended up winning 2-1.) Guy's a gamer. Always was.

Agree with Kasi. Spend money on big FAs like Ryu and Springer and keep the prospects. This would help with a longer window. Revenues went up 2015-2018 because of success in 2015 and 2016.

Guy's a gamer.

May well be, but he's no pedant. He didn't get the GWRBI.

We're approaching the point in May where team make internal changes.
Teams don't look for trades until the end of June.