Toronto Blue Jays

The Toronto Blue Jays have recalled OF Anthony Gose from their AAA affiliate the Buffalo Bisons, and have optioned RHP Micky Storey to Buffalo. Gose's stat line? 40 games played, 35-154 (•227 AVG), 23 BB, •343 OBP, 36 R, 2 home runs, 12 RBIs, 5 SB, and has been caught stealing 4 times. So not the most impressive stat line, but he does get on base quite a bit. But what I'm wondering is, why did the Jays even call Gose up? Earlier on, Alex Anthopoulos stated that he did not plan on bringing Anthony Gose up to the MLB at all this season. Funnily enough, all that made me think was that Anthopoulos will, in fact, recall Anthony Gose from his AAA assignment. And who would've known? Will Gose even play much? Are the Jays going to use him to pinch run? They can't try manoeuvring the DH and the outfielders at this point because Adam Lind has really picked up his game, and Melky is hitting quite well. So why not let Gose just play down in Buffalo until he can start for the Jays, instead of calling him up into a limited role! Are the Blue Jays looking to play him at CF instead of Colby Rasmus? I guess they could do what they were originally doing with Rasmus and Rajai Davis, but what happens when Davis comes back from his injury? Are they just going to send Gose back down to the Buffalo Bisons? Is someone getting traded? Released? Optioned down to Buffalo? Is this just too much change? Will this move pay off? Will the 22-year old OF be able to contribute in the MLB, or is this just a desperate attempt to turn things around? However, considering the Jays' poor start, perhaps it would be a smart decision to change things up a bit. The Toronto Blue Jays have recalled OF Anthony Gose from their AAA affiliate the Buffalo Bisons, and have optioned RHP Micky Storey to Buffalo. Gose's stat line? 40 games played, 35-154 (•227 AVG), 23 BB, •343 OBP, 36 R, 2 home runs, 12 RBIs, 5 SB, and has been caught stealing 4 times. So not the most impressive stat line, but he does get on base quite a bit. But what I'm wondering is, why did the Jays even call Gose up? Earlier on, Alex Anthopoulos stated that he did not plan on bringing Anthony Gose up to the MLB at all this season. Funnily enough, all that made me think was that Anthopoulos will, in fact, recall Anthony Gose from his AAA assignment. And who would've known? Will Gose even play much? Are the Jays going to use him to pinch run? They can't try manoeuvring the DH and the outfielders at this point because Adam Lind has really picked up his game, and Melky is hitting quite well. So why not let Gose just play down in Buffalo until he can start for the Jays, instead of calling him up into a limited role! Are the Blue Jays looking to play him at CF instead of Colby Rasmus? I guess they could do what they were originally doing with Rasmus and Rajai Davis, but what happens when Davis comes back from his injury? Are they just going to send Gose back down to the Buffalo Bisons? Is someone getting traded? Released? Optioned down to Buffalo? Is this just too much change? Will this move pay off? Will the 22-year old OF be able to contribute in the MLB, or is this just a desperate attempt to turn things around? However, considering the Jays' poor start, perhaps it would be a smart decision to change things up a bit.

This should be fun as we get to see well-hyped prospect Jake Odorizzi's first start in a Tampa Bay uniform and his third start ever in the major leagues. In case you forgot, Odorizzi was involved in the Zack Greinke trade in 2010 and then most recently the James Shield and Wil Myers trade this year with the Royals. In eight starts at AAA Durham, Odorizzi has an ERA of 3.83 and a K/9 of 9.47. He mainly throws a four-seam fastball, curveball, slider, and changeup. He also has thrown two-seamers and cutters in the past although pitch f/x doesn't recognize them as such. Odorizzi's fastball, which he relied heavily on during his two MLB starts last year, tops out in the low 90's. Jake Odorizzi, RHP, Northwest Arkansas Naturals (via mrkupebaseball) The changeup is said to be Odorizzi's most unrefined pitch, with it almost exclusively being thrown against left handed batters on the outer half. via www.fangraphs.com Should Lind Play: Yuss Jake Odorizzi has more effective weapons to attack same handed batters in the form of his more refined slider compared to his changeup against lefties. Combined with the fact that his minor league splits lean slightly towards being tougher on righties result in a definite start for Adam Lind and the newly groomed Colby Rasmus. EDIT : With Anthony Gose being recalled, I no longer have a clue how the Blue Jays will construct their lineup. It will be interesting to see how they handle this situation going forward. At least for today, it will be the same lineup against righties as usual: Today's @bluejays lineup:Cabrera-LFBautista-RFEncarnacion-1BLind-DHLawrie-3BRasmus-CFBonifacio-2BBlanco-CKawasaki-SSDickey-P— Blue Jays-Official(@BlueJays) May 20, 2013 Coming up with a good "Find the Link" for Odorizzi was tough: Find the link between Jake Odorizzi and the player with the same name as the guitarist with the song "Black Magic Woman" Prospects are always exciting to watch and with Odorizzi and Profar making their season debuts, this a good Monday night to watch baseball.

The @bluejays have recalled OF ANTHONY GOSE from @buffalobisons (AAA). RHP MICKEY STOREY has been optioned to Buffalo.— Blue Jays-Official(@BlueJays) May 20, 2013 Much hyped 22 year old centre fielder Anthony Gose has been called up to the Toronto Blue Jays with right handed reliever Mickey Storey being optioned down to Buffalo. Gose has hit .227/.341/.327 in Buffalo this year in 178 plate appearances. He also has a 12.4 BB%, which is the highest of his short career showing an increased patience at the plate. If Gose is to succeed in Toronto with this call-up it will be important to show he can hit left handed pitching a little better than he has in his career. Even without the huge numbers at the plate, his defense in the outfield makes up for a lot of his offensive shortcomings. Mickey Storey appeared in two games with the Blue Jays out of the bullpen giving up 3 earned runs in 3.2 innings pitched. He was always likely to be the unfortunate casualty of the death of the 8-man bullpen, which most Blue Jay fans have been hoping for. How about this: The #Bluejays have called up Anthony Gose. The intention in spring was to "have him up to stay" when he was recalled. #Jays— Arash Madani (@ArashMadani) May 20, 2013 Interesting reminder from Arash Madani about the stance the Blue Jays' brass took during spring training in regards to Gose. If that's still to be believed, it will be interesting to see what the outfield situation is now. Is Gose going to sit on the bench (doubtful)? Is someone being traded? Have the Blue Jays given up on Colby Rasmus in centre field? For tonight at least, Gose will sit on the bench after the long trip from Buffalo: Today's @bluejays lineup:Cabrera-LFBautista-RFEncarnacion-1BLind-DHLawrie-3BRasmus-CFBonifacio-2BBlanco-CKawasaki-SSDickey-P— Blue Jays-Official(@BlueJays) May 20, 2013 Get excited folks, something to look forward to tonight! More to come....

Happy Victoria Day, Canadians! On this holiday Monday we are treated to some afternoon baseball, with the Blue Jays hosting the Tampa Bay Rays down at the Rogers Centre starting at 1:07 pm with R.A. Dickey taking on Jake Odorizzi. Unfortunately, my source from back in January was unreliable--the Blue Jays will not be wearing a commemorative Queen Victoria cap today. I must warn Blue Jays fans that Tom Dakers will be visiting Toronto this week, starting on Thursday. If you recall, the last time he was in town, the Blue Jays lost three starting pitchers in four games. So go and say hi to him at the Rogers Centre if you see him! As per tradition we will be holding a Bluebird Banter Meetup while he's in town this Saturday, May 25 at the Elephant & Castle on King right after the game. Since last time: Since the last edition of MMMM, the Blue Jays haven't played much, going 2-2 in four games, and they also didn't make many moves: transfering Dustin McGowan first to Dunedin (May 14) then to Buffalo (May 17) for rehab, and then yesterday (May 19) they optioned Thad Weber to the Buffalo Bisons and transferred Sergio Santos from the 15- to the 60-day disabled list. The organization also released Clint Everts when John Stilson was promoted to AAA. Greatest fact about Thad Weber: his children are named Babe (daughter), and Gehrig (son). Blue Jays Related Rainout in Bronx a break for struggling rotation - Toronto StarBaseball is meant to be played every day, so it was weird to have the Blue Jays having played four games since last Monday. Nevertheless, they played .500 ball the last week, so that's improvement! The timing of the off days and the rainout could not have worked out better for this team that is suffering from injuries to starting pitching. This also means that Chad Jenkins has been bumped from the rotation this time around, and hopefully it means that the Blue Jays can take this chance to bring up an outfielder for the bench instead of carrying nine relievers. Not Playing Yankees For A While Is Good - Jays JournalYea, you can't really just take away games versus the Yankees, but I get why it's tempting to say that the Jays are 16-18 against everyone else. An aside: who in the MLB scheduling department thought that it'd be a good idea for Toronto and New York to not face each other again until August? Preview: Tampa Bay Rays at Toronto Blue Jays - May 20, 2013 - MLB.com Evan Peaslee previews this afternoon's matchup between R.A. Dickey and Jake Odorizzi. Another letdown for ex-Marlins - Toronto SunMark Buehrle on teammate Jose Reyes, who has rejoined the club on the DL: "The other day here, we’re losing 5-0 and the ump called a checked-swing for a strike against us. Jose is yelling: ‘No, no, no,’ whistling at the ump. He’s still into it." Jose Bautista's Golden Ticket - MLBFanCave.com Blue Jays Fan Caver April Whitzman shares a picture of Jose Bautista's "golden ticket", a life time pass to every single baseball game for the rest of his natural life. I assume that means he can walk into a sold-out stadium with that and eject any fan he wants. Down on the Farm Tom did a recap of Sunday's minor league games here. JJ to make rehab start at Class A on Monday - BlueJays.comJosh Johnson is scheduled to start tonight at 6:30 pm Eastern in Dunedin for a rehab outing. He will be facing Chevy Chase, Maryland (yes, there is a town named that) native Matthew Bowman of the St. Lucie Mets. According to Dunedin broadcaster Tyler Murray, Johnson's pitch count will be around 40. As always, you can hear Tyler call the game for free here. Also: J.A. Happ is still feeling discomfort in his knee that he injured when falling from getting hit by the Desmond Jennings line drive, and can be expected to be out for three to six weeks. Bisons offense grabs win - The Buffalo NewsAmy Moritz recaps the Bisons' 11-6 win over Charlotte. Jim Negrych and Moises Sierra both had three h

Throughout this whole miserable start to the overly-hyped 2013 Blue Jays season, there is one topic that needs to be touched upon. While most people are trying to figure out why the Blue Jays have streaky bats and have gotten more from the bullpen than from the starters, that topic lingers around our brains, and once the time comes, someone will need to make a decision. Kyle Drabek and Drew Hutchison, both on the Jays rotation last season, underwent Tommy John surgery. They are both on schedule to return from their injuries after the all-star break. Drabek underwent his surgery a bit earlier, but according to Drabek, he and Hutchison are on the same schedule, so both will probably have very similar return dates. Dustin McGowan, who has seemingly been fighting injuries ever since 2008, was recently called up to play for the Buffalo Bisons (AAA) after a good start for the Dunedin Blue Jays (A). So perhaps, against all odds, McGowan may return after all. Blue Jays closer Sergio Santos has been transferred onto the 60 day DL, and relief pitcher Luis Perez is set to return a bit before Drabek and Hutchison. So, for the most part, this seems good, right? I mean, all of our injured pitchers are on the comeback trail! Even McGowan! The negative? What happens to all the pitchers on the Jays right now? After acquiring Buehrle, Johnson, and Dickey, will they fit into the rotation? Once they come back, Johnson and Happ will be back as well (most likely), and Morrow should be completely healthy, meaning Drabek and Hutchison could not replace Ramon Ortiz and/or Chad Jenkins as starters, unless of course, there are more injuries. And the same goes for McGowan! While he did relief (very well(1 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 R, 1 K)) in his first AAA game of the season, he is a starting pitcher. So what happens then? Can we just kick them out? Or do the Jays just keep these players in the minors until Buehrle gets really old and Johnson becomes officially bad? And then do the Jays have to turn some starters into relievers? Also, Sergio Santos' situation has really escalated over the past couple of weeks, and I'm beginning to lose all hope of him coming back any time soon. The only situation for a pitcher that looks fine is that of relief pitcher Luis Perez, recovering from Tommy John surgery. Only time will tell, but hopefully something will be figured out. Throughout this whole miserable start to the overly-hyped 2013 Blue Jays season, there is one topic that needs to be touched upon. While most people are trying to figure out why the Blue Jays have streaky bats and have gotten more from the bullpen than from the starters, that topic lingers around our brains, and once the time comes, someone will need to make a decision. Kyle Drabek and Drew Hutchison, both on the Jays rotation last season, underwent Tommy John surgery. They are both on schedule to return from their injuries after the all-star break. Drabek underwent his surgery a bit earlier, but according to Drabek, he and Hutchison are on the same schedule, so both will probably have very similar return dates. Dustin McGowan, who has seemingly been fighting injuries ever since 2008, was recently called up to play for the Buffalo Bisons (AAA) after a good start for the Dunedin Blue Jays (A). So perhaps, against all odds, McGowan may return after all. Blue Jays closer Sergio Santos has been transferred onto the 60 day DL, and relief pitcher Luis Perez is set to return a bit before Drabek and Hutchison. So, for the most part, this seems good, right? I mean, all of our injured pitchers are on the comeback trail! Even McGowan! The negative? What happens to all the pitchers on the Jays right now? After acquiring Buehrle, Johnson, and Dickey, will they fit into the rotation? Once they come back, Johnson and Happ will be back as well (most likely), and Morrow should be completely healthy, meaning Drabek and Hutchison could not replace Ramon Ortiz and/or Chad Jenkins as starters, unless of course, th

CC Sabathia isn’t bothered by having an unexpected extra day of rest, and it may affect the struggling Baltimore Orioles more. View full post on Yahoo! Sports – MLB – Toronto Blue Jays News

Tonight was the long awaited debut of Jays Pitcher Marcus Stroman, and he did not disappoint in his first outing of the year. As well, today was a good day for the farm going 4-0. Buffalo 11 - Charlotte 6The Bisons were swing hot bats again versus former Jays pitchers in Zach Stewart and David Purcey. Jim Negrych, and Moises Sierra had 3 hits, Luiz Jimenez, Josh Thole and Ryan Langerhans had 2 hits to help the Bisons Offense that put up 11 runs.Todd Redmon was not sharp in his 2013 debut giving up 5 earned runs over 3.1 innings pitched. John Stilson in his first outing in Buffalo, since being promoted from New Hampshire pitched well with 2 innings with 3 strikeouts.New Hampshire 7 - New Britain 4Marcus Stroman was fantastic in his 2013 debut going 5 innings(89 pitches) of 4 hit ball with 0 earned runs, 1 walk, and 6 strikeouts. Matt Wright gave up 3 earned runs over an inning and two thirds.Brad Glenn, Kevin Nolan and Ricardo Nanita each had a home run help powering the Fisher Cats offense which put up 11 hits, and 7 runs.Dunedin 3 - Brevard County 1Dunedin starter Scott Copeland was fantastic tonight going 8 innings of 3 hit ball, with 1 earned run, 1 walk and 7 strikeouts.Dunedin's offense had 4 runs tonight on 3 hits, with RBI's from Jon Talley, Markus Knecht and KC Hobson.Lansing 7 - Great Lakes 3Lansing hit well across the board tonight, including 3 hits from Dwight Smith, and Gustavo Pierre. Carlos Ramirez and Balbino Fuenmayor had 2 rbi's in today's game.Javier Avendano started for Lansing today and was ok, going 5 innings giving up 7 hits and 2 earned runs. Efran Nieves, Wil Browning, and Ian Kadish pitched well in relief to hold onto the Lugnut lead.Three Stars3-Brad Glenn2-Scott Copeland1-Marcus Stroman

With the Jays rained out today, lets look at how our minor league affiliates did today. Hmmm, really good, 4 games, 4 wins. New Hampshire Fisher Cats (22-22) beat New Britain Rock Cats 7-4 The start we were waiting for, Marcus Stroman pitches for the first time, after serving his suspension and he was very good: 5.0, 4 hits, 0 runs, 1 walk, 6 strikeouts and he got the win. He threw 87 pitches, 57 strikes. Dustin Antolin: 1.0, 3 hits, 1 earned, 1 walk. 3.86. Joel Carreno: 1.1, 1 walk, 2 k, 4th save. 1.99. Kevin Pillar: 1 for 5. .337/.380/.476. Ricardo Nanita: 1 for 5, HR. .254/.313/.366. Kevin Nolan: 2 for 4, HR. .286/.377/.448. Clint Robinson: 3 for 5, double. .297/.396/.441. Brad Glenn: 1 for 4, HR, walk. .256/.351/.419. Buffalo Bisons (25-17) beat Charlotte Knights 11-6 The Bisons beat our old friend Zach Stewart. Zach gave up 11 hits and 7 earned runs, with 1 strikeout in 5 innings. He has a 4.61 ERA. Todd Redmond: 3.1, 6 hits, 5 earned, 2 walks, 3 k. 13.50. Chad Beck: 1.2, 2 hits, 1 earned, 2 walks, 1 k. 9.45. John Stilson: 2.0, 0 hits, 1 walks, 3 k. His first action for the Bisons after being moved up the other day. Juan Perez: 1.0, 1 k. 0.96. Neil Wagner: 1.0, 2 k. 1.02. Anthony Gose: 1 for 4, walk. .227/.343/.325. Jim Negrych: 3 for 5, double, k. .398/.462/.602. Moises Sierra: 3 for 5, k. .326/.377/.496. Nice numbers. We have 9 guys in the bullpen and 3 on the bench, and Moises would be good for being a defensive replacement for Melky, if nothing else. Luis Jimenez: 2 for 3, walk. .371/.447/.636. Josh Thole: 2 for 4. .340/.417/.509. I think we can safely say that he has recovered from his concussion troubles. Ryan Langerhans: 2 for 3, HR, walk. .248/.352/.533. Ryan Goins: 0 for 4, k. .272/.318/.350. Dunedin Blue Jays (24-15) beat Brevard County 3-1 Scott Copland: 8.0, 3 hits, 1 earned, 1 walk, 7 k. Win. 4-1, 2.59. He's having a good start to the season, 9 starts, 59 innings, 54 hits, 9 walks, 36 strikeouts. But he is 25 and in A-Ball. John Anderson: 1.0, 1 k. Save. His first action of the year. Matt Newman: 2 for 4, double. .291/..376/.393. The Jays only had 4 hits. Matt had 2 of them. Marcus Knecht: 1 for 4, k. .241/.287/.369. K.C. Hobson: 1 for 3. .212/.238/.424. Lansing Lugnuts (17-23) beat Great Lakes Loons 7-3 Javier Avendano: 5.0, 7 hits, 2 earned, 1 walk, 2 k. Win. 4-2, 5.19. Efrain Nieves: 2.0, 1 k. 0.00. Moved down from Dunedin this week. Wil Browning: 1.0, 1 walk, 3 k. 0.38. 23 innings, 11 hits, 10 walks, 39 strikeouts. He is 24. Dwight Smith, Jr: 3 for 5. .295/.375/.423. Gustavo Pierre: 3 for 5, double, k. .270/.268/.467. How many guys have batting averages higher than their OBP. He also has 14 errors at 3B in 31 games. He was an error machine at SS, so they moved him last year. Christian Lopes: 1 for 4, k. .303/.333/.381. Balbino Fuenmayor: 2 for 4, double, k. .196/.279/.391.

After undergoing what was termed "minor surgery" to clean up loose bodies and bone spurs in his right elbow, Sergio Santos has been transferred from the 15- to the 60-day disabled list, creating an open spot on the 40-man roster in order for the Blue Jays to claim right-handed pitcher Thad Weber off waivers from the San DIego Padres. Weber has been assigned to the Buffalo Bisons. Santos, 29, has been oft-injured since he was acquired from the White Sox last season for prospect Nestor Molina. In 2012 he only made six appearances before he was placed on the disabled list for a minor ailment, but by mid-July the club announced that he would be going for season-ending shoulder surgery. This season, Santos made just five appearances, the last coming on April 13, before he was shut down yet again. Santos is eligible to come off the 60-day DL on June 13, but the Blue Jays have estimated that he would take six weeks to come back from the surgery, which puts him on a schedule to return around Canada Day. Moving Santos to the 60-day DL created an open spot on the 40-man roster, and Alex Anthopoulos used it to claim righty Thad Weber from the Padres. Weber is a 28-year old Nebraskan who was drafted by the Tigers back in 2008, spending five seasons in the TIgers organization before making his major league debut on April 22, 2012 in Detroit. He was sent back down to the minors and was claimed on waivers by the Padres in late August. Weber was a non-roster invitee to major league spring training for the Padres earlier this season. Weber has a career minor league ERA of 4.03, striking out 6.4 per 9 innings while walking just over 2. He has split the season between Tucson and San Diego, starting in six games in AAA and making three relief appearances in the major leagues. Through nine MLB innings this year, he has a 2.00 ERA, having given up five hits and five walks against six strike outs. In his six minor league starts, he has a 3.93 ERA with 26 strikeouts in 34 innings. According to a blogger's report on Weber, he has a curveball with tremendous vertical movement (-9.655) but with relatively small horizontal movement, although his command of it may still be a work in progress. Weber is likely to join the Buffalo Bisons' battered starting rotation. When needed, he can most likely make a spot start for Toronto or act in a long-relief role. He is the 21st player the Blue Jays have acquired through waivers since the end of the 2012 season.

I thought I'd ask: which of these pitchers do you expect to see up with the Blue Jays first: Dustin McGowan: Dustin pitched yesterday for Buffalo, and did well. He's on a very limited pitch count, which is understandable. He's not eligible to come off the DL until the 27th,but the Jays might want him to do the full 30-day rehab assignment. Hitting 95 on the radar gun is a good sign. Josh Johnson makes his first rehab start tomorrow. All going well, I doubt the Jays would have him making more than 2 or 3 rehab starts, but when has all gone well for the Jays? J.A. Happ is to start throwing soon too. Though, last I heard, his knee is still sore. Then since it isn't his arm, he might not need rehab starts. Marcus Stroman makes his first appearance of the season, a start, for New Hampshire today. Since it was a suspension, not an injury, he'll hit the ground running, just like it was opening day. So let's have a poll. Poll Which of these four will we see up with the Blue Jays first? Dustin McGowan Josh Johnson J.A. Happ Marcus Stroman 45 votes | Results