Starting pitching trade targets Blue Jays could explore to patch up rotation
With Alek Manoah in Florida ironing issues out and Hyun-jin Ryu a methods from returning — with no assure he’ll carry out when he returns — it’s secure to say the Toronto Blue Jays want beginning pitching.
The group might theoretically maintain leaning on bullpen days like one which labored till it didn’t on Saturday, however a preferable resolution can be for the group to seek out one other starter. That participant wouldn’t have to carry out at a star degree, or near it, however a stopgap resolution till considered one of Manoah or Ryu is prepared would do the Blue Jays a world of fine.
This state of affairs is just not too dissimilar to 2021, when the Blue Jays had an acute want within the bullpen and opted to make trades for Trevor Richards and Adam Cimber properly upfront of the commerce deadline.
Finding a starter is a bit little bit of a trickier activity.
.acf-block-preview .br-snippet {
show: grid;
grid-template-columns: 200px 1fr;
hole: 20px;
width: 100%;
margin: 0 auto;
padding: 16px;
border: 1px stable #CECECE;
background-color: #FFF;
border-radius: 4px;
}
.acf-block-preview .br-snippet-info a {
text-decoration: none;
}
.acf-block-preview .br-snippet-info .br-snippet-title {
shade: #343434;
font-family: ‘roboto’;
font-size: 20px;
font-weight: 600;
line-height: 22px;
margin-bottom: 10px;
high: -3px;
}
.acf-block-preview .br-snippet-info .br-snippet-body {
shade: #343434;
font-family: ‘urw-din’;
font-size: 16px;
line-height: 20px;
margin-bottom: 12px;
}
.acf-block-preview .br-snippet-info .br-snippet-link-title {
show: inline-block;
font-family: ‘urw-din’;
font-size: 16px;
list-style-type: none;
width: auto;
}
.acf-block-preview .br-snippet-info .br-snippet-link-title:not(:last-child):after ‘;
shade: #343434;
Teams in competition are reluctant to surrender beginning depth. Big-ticket leases are prone to be held till the commerce deadline to encourage bidding wars. Guys with years of management will probably be arduous to get from cellar dwellers who really feel like they’re on the best way up.
Beyond these components, the Blue Jays don’t actually need a long-term resolution. Kevin Gausman, Chris Bassitt, José Berríos, and Manoah are all below group management by a minimum of 2025. Yusei Kikuchi is signed by subsequent yr.
That leaves the Blue Jays in a spot the place they might actually use a starter, however that participant wouldn’t essentially be within the rotation by the top of the yr. That means the most effective suits are gamers who both have choices, can play a transparent bullpen function, or would price so little to amass that waiving them when somebody returns would make sense.
All of that may be a robust needle to string, nevertheless it’s not a hopeless state of affairs. Here are a few commerce targets the Blue Jays might discover to patch up the outlet of their rotation:
The final journeyman – Ben Lively
Team: Cincinnati Reds
Age: 31
Throws: Right
2023 stats: 9.17 Okay/9, 2.23 BB/9, 1.98 HR/9 with a 4.21 ERA and 4.92 FIP in 36.1 innings.
How he suits: Lively may cost a contact extra to pry free than a few of the pitchers on this checklist contemplating he’s pre-arb with lower than a yr of MLB service time — and he’s given Cincinnati high quality innings this season.
That stated, the Reds should not able the place holding onto bottom-of-the-rotation sorts of their thirties too arduous is smart — even when they’ve loads of group management.
Lively has appeared with 4 completely different groups’ triple-A associates since 2017 and pitched within the KBO between 2019 and 2021.
While he’s a soft-tosser with a sinker that averages 91.6 mph, he has elite extension (91st percentile) that helps mitigate that subject. He additionally throws six completely different pitches, a far cry from the three he featured earlier than he headed to Korea.
Lively’s stuff received’t blow anybody away, however he nonetheless has an choice remaining, has carried out comparatively properly this season, and throws strikes wherever he goes.
The Blue Jays might have him maintain down a spot so long as he’s wanted in 2023 then ship him to Triple-A to function harm insurance coverage. How he performs into the plans past that might stay up within the air, however the group management hooked up to him is an attention-grabbing wrinkle.
The finally-healthy man – Joey Lucchesi
Team: New York Mets
Age: 30
Throws: Left
2023 stats: 6.85 Okay/9, 3.22 BB/9, 1.61 HR/9 with a 4.43 ERA and 5.15 FIP in 22.1 innings.
How he suits: The Mets acquired Lucchesi previous to the 2021 season, however he pitched simply 38.1 frames for them that yr earlier than getting Tommy John Surgery and lacking all of 2022.
Lucchesi is again now, however he’s spent a lot of his 2023 in triple-A, the place he’s posted a 2.72 ERA in 39.1 innings. The southpaw may not be again to the shape that made him a stable fourth-starter sort with the San Diego Padres between 2018 and 2019, however he’s flashed an intriguing ceiling this yr.
In his first MLB begin of the season, he went seven scoreless innings and struck out 9 in opposition to an above-average San Francisco Giants offence.
Lucchesi is one other man missing velocity, however as a southpaw he’d have bullpen utility when he was now not wanted as a starter. Left-handed batters are 2-for-13 in opposition to the 30-year-old this yr and have a .288 wOBA in opposition to him in his profession.
.acf-block-preview .instagram-twitter-container {
width: 340px;
margin: 0 auto;
}
He additionally has two extra choices and is below group management by 2024, that means he could possibly be a depth starter able to shifting up and down as wanted for one-and-a-half years.
Although Lucchesi might need some use to the Mets, New York’s rotation is locked in, and lefty David Peterson seems to be the group’s first selection in case of harm. The seventh man on the depth chart can be removed from untouchable.
The outdated buddy – Chase Anderson
Team: Colorado Rockies
Age: 35
Throws: Right
2023 stats: 5.34 Okay/9, 1.97 BB/9, 1.41 HR/9 with a 2.25 ERA and 4.96 FIP in 32 innings.
How he suits: Anderson’s first cease in Toronto was nothing wanting brutal, however he’s pitched properly because the Rockies claimed him from the Tampa Bay Rays in May.
In 5 begins with Colorado he’s pitched a minimum of 5 innings every time, with not more than three runs scored in any of his outings. Impressively, 4 of these 5 appearances happened at Coors Field.
That’s a small pattern, however his stuff seems to be higher than it has lately. His common fastball velocity (93.3 mph) is as excessive because it’s ever been, and he’s added a slider and sweeper since his first stint with the Blue Jays.
.acf-block-preview .instagram-twitter-container {
width: 340px;
margin: 0 auto;
}
Anderson can also be accustomed to shifting between roles as he’s break up his time between the rotation and bullpen in each season since 2019. The veteran right-hander’s contract expires after 2023, however he’s not a sufficiently big rental for Colorado to hesitate dealing him now.
The Rockies would most likely be delighted to get one thing for a participant they acquired for nothing.
The innings eater – Paolo Espino
Team: Washington Nationals
Age: 36
Throws: Right
2023 stats: 8.08 Okay/9, 3.69 BB/9, 1.38 HR/9 with a 4.62 ERA and 5.14 FIP in 39 innings (triple-A)
How he suits: When you’re speaking a couple of “just a guy” man, that is the kind of pitcher you’re speaking about. That stated, Espino produced a 4.56 ERA and 1.1 fWAR in 223 MLB innings between 2021 and 2022 splitting his work between the rotation and the bullpen.
The veteran right-hander is caught on the Nationals Triple-A affiliate as a result of a rebuilding group like Washington has nothing to achieve from the baseline degree of competence the role-versatile righty can present contemplating his restricted upside. The Blue Jays, however, might use somebody with an affordable flooring.
Espino’s fastball is available in below 90 mph, however he has a sluggish curveball with an especially excessive spin fee (97th percentile in 2022), that he can miss just a few bats with.
.acf-block-preview .instagram-twitter-container {
width: 340px;
margin: 0 auto;
}
Despite his age, Espino has a few choices left, and group management by 2026. Toronto most likely wouldn’t need to maintain onto the veteran deep into his 30s, nevertheless it wouldn’t damage to have a bit flexibility.
.acf-block-preview .br-related-links-wrapper {
show: grid;
grid-template-columns: repeat(2, 1fr);
hole: 20px;
}
.acf-block-preview .br-related-links-wrapper a {
pointer-events: none;
cursor: default;
text-decoration: none;
shade: black;
}
