Toronto Blue Jays MLB News - Blue Jays Baseball Blog

MLB suspends Toronto Blue Jays’ 3B Brett Lawrie for four games

chinmusic — Wed, 16 May 2012 22:28:38 +0000

22-year old 3B Brett Lawrie has been suspended for four games due his outburst last night that resulted in his batting helmet hitting an umpire. Lawrie is appealing the decision, but he’s not going to win it. Lawrie has played in 37 games for the Blue Jays so far this year and he is 41 for 142 (.289 avg, .728 OPS) with 16 runs scored, 3 homers, 17 RBIs and 5 stolen bases. He has now played in 80 games in his first two years with the Blue Jays and he is 85 of 292 (.291 avg, .844 OPS) with 42 runs scored, 12 homers, 42 RBIs and 12 stolen bases. The Blue Jays got Lawrie a couple of winters ago in a deal with the Brewers that sent righty starting pitcher Shaun Marcum to Milwaukee. This is a rare baseball trade, as it has helped both teams.

The Toronto Blue Jays are likely thinking big in the trade market

chinmusic — Tue, 15 May 2012 21:35:53 +0000

The Blue Jays are likely looking to make a big splash for a starting pitcher in the trade market. They have been linked to Cole Hamels and Shane Victorino of the Phillies, but I think they should look to the deep south to cut a deal with the Astros. They are going to be trying to deal lefty starting pitcher Wandy Rodriguez and the Blue Jays should be calling about him. The Astros are looking for young players to rebuild around which would lead to my offer, if I were running the Jays. I would offer outfielder Travis Snider, 1B David Cooper and righty reliever Chad Beck to the Astros for lefty starter Wandy Rodriguez, infielder Matt Downs, righty reliever Brandon Lyon and lots of cash. This deal would help both teams as the Astros would get some players to plug right into their rebuilding project.

Ryota Igarashi is pitching great in AAA for the Toronto Blue Jays

chinmusic — Sat, 12 May 2012 14:41:53 +0000

32-year old righty reliever Ryota Igarashi has been pitching well in AAA-ball so far this year. Igarashi has pitched in 15 games (0 starts) in AAA-ball so far this year and he is 1-1 with 3 saves, a 1.12 ERA and a 0.50 WHIP. He has only given up 7 hits in 16 innings so far in AAA-ball, while whiffing 22 batters and walking only 1 batter. Igarashi last pitched in the majors in 2011 for the Mets. He has pitched in 79 games (0 starts) in his first two years in the majors and he is 5-2 with a 5.74 ERA and a 1.71 WHIP. Igarashi’s main problem has been control so far in his career as he has walked 46 batters in his first 69 innings in the show. Igarashi seems to have cleaned up his control in AAA, so he might get a shot to help the Blue Jays at some point in 2012.

The Toronto Blue Jays sign Vladimir Guerrero

chinmusic — Fri, 11 May 2012 13:05:47 +0000

The Blue Jays have signed 37-year old righty swinging DH/OF Vladimir Guerrero to a minor league deal. Guerrero played in 145 games for the Orioles last year and he was 163 of 562 (.290 avg, .733 OPS) with 60 runs scored, 13 homers, 63 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. Guerrero has now played in 2,147 games in his first 16 years in the majors and he is 2,590 of 8,155 (.318 avg, .931 OPS) with 1,328 runs scored, 449 homers, 1,496 RBIs and 181 stolen bases. The Blue Jays are likely going to put Guerrero on a fast track to Toronto.

Francisco Cordero is out as the Toronto Blue Jays’ closer

chinmusic — Wed, 09 May 2012 19:06:42 +0000

36-year old righty reliever Francisco Cordero is out as the Blue Jays’ closer. He has pitched in 12 games (0 starts) for the Jays so far this year and he is 1-2 with 2 saves, a 9.53 ERA and a 2.29 WHIP. Cordero has given up 20 hits (4 homers) and he has walked 6 batters while whiffing 8 in 11 1/3 innings. Batters are literally running up to the plate to bat against Cordero so far this year. 30-year old righty Casey Janssen will be the new Jays’ closer moving forward. He has pitched in 10 games (0 starts) for the Jays so far this year and he is 1-1 with a 5.23 ERA and a 1.07 WHIP. He has given up 10 hits (3 homers) in 10 1/3 innings so far this year for the Blue Jays and he has whiffed 11 batters while only walking 1, helping him limit the damage. Janssen has 9 career saves in his first six years with the Blue Jays.

Henderson Alvarez has been rock solid for the Toronto Blue Jays

chinmusic — Sun, 06 May 2012 18:30:02 +0000

22-year old righty starting pitcher Henderson Alvarez has been attacking the strike zone with his solid stuff so far this year and the results have been really good. Alvarez has started 6 games for the Blue Jays so far this year and he is 2-2 with a 2.83 ERA and a 1.04 WHIP. He has only given up 33 hits and 10 walks in his first 41 1/3 innings this year, while whiffing only 12 batters. Alvarez has now pitched in 16 games (all starts) in his first two years with the Jays and he is 3-5 with a 3.26 ERA and a 1.10 WHIP. I really like Alvarez and I think he has a very nice upside.

Travis D’Arnaud is knocking on the door for the Toronto Blue Jays

chinmusic — Tue, 01 May 2012 16:00:42 +0000

23-year old righty swinging catcher Travis D’Arnaud came into this season as the Blue Jays’ #1 prospect according to Baseball America. He has played in 21 games for the Jays so far this year and he is 24 of 85 (.282 avg, .778 OPS) with 10 runs scored, 2 homers, 11 RBIs and 1 stolen base. D’Arnaud has now played in 437 games in his first six years in the minors and he is 454 of 1,634 (.278 avg, .788 OPS) with 240 runs scored, 52 homers, 248 RBIs and 21 stolen bases. D’Arnaud is knocking on the Blue Jays’ door, and they might answer it at some point in 2012.

Jose Bautista is off to a slow start with the bat in 2012 for the Toronto Blue Jays

chinmusic — Tue, 01 May 2012 15:57:32 +0000

31-year old righty swinging RF Jose Bautista was amazing last year for the Blue Jays. He played in 149 games for the Blue Jays last year and he was 155 of 513 (.302 avg, 1.056 OPS) with 105 runs scored, 43 homers, 103 RBIs, 9 stolen bases and he walked 132 times last year. Teams are still pitching around Bautista, but he hasn’t been quite as patient so far this year. He has played in 23 games for the Jays so far this year and he is 15 for 83 (.181 avg, .634 OPS) with 12 runs scored, 3 homers, 10 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. Bautista has also walked 16 times so far this year. I think he’s going to go on a home run tear in the very near future for the Jays.

Brett Lawrie is playing well for the Toronto Blue Jays

chinmusic — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 20:08:00 +0000

23-year old righty swinging 3B Brett Lawrie burst onto the scene last year for the Blue Jays. He played in 60 games for the Jays last year and he was 64 for 218 (.294 avg, .890 OPS) with 35 runs scored, 11 homers, 36 RBIs and 9 stolen bases. Lawrie is building on that success so far in 2012. He has played in 17 games for the Blue Jays so far this year and he is 20 for 68 (.294 avg, .750 OPS) with 9 runs scored, 2 homers, 11 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. The Blue Jays hope that Lawrie keeps up the good work.

The Toronto Blue Jays are getting outstanding work from their lefty relievers so far this year

chinmusic — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 14:15:53 +0000

27-year old lefty Luis Perez and 41-year old lefty Darren Oliver are both off to solid starts in 2012 for the Blue Jays. Perez has pitched in 6 games (0 starts) for the Jays so far this year and he is 2-0 with a 0.00 ERA and a 0.70 WHIP. He has only given up 3 hits while whiffing 12 batters in his first 10 innings pitched this year. Perez has walked 4 batters so far this year, but it hasn’t hurt him yet, because he’s missing a lot of bats. Darren Oliver has pitched in 5 games (0 starts) for the Jays so far this year and he is 0-1 with a 1.80 ERA and a 1.00 WHIP. Oliver has only given up 4 hits and 1 walk in his first 5 innings with 5 whiffs, which are impressive numbers. The Jays have to feel good about getting out tough lefty hitters late in games with the way Perez and Oliver are pitching.