Blue Jays Discussion: Spring Training is over. The season begins today

[tmlfan98]

That was quick lol

 

[Bjindaho]

That was quick lol

Per MLBTR, he was likely waived earlier this week.

 

[Da Cool Rula]

I don't get it? Why? There were other options.

 

[The Nemesis]

Cole put on the 60 day. Couldn’t happen to a nicer guy or team.

Careful. If he sees you celebrating like that he might get angry and offended.

 

[Bjindaho]

I don't get it? Why? There were other options.

In order to add Serven and Vogelbach to the 40 man, the Jays had to remove someone.

The list of guys not on the big league roster (that also aren't big leaguers on IL) is Danner, Little, Macko, Pop, Rodriguez, Barger, Horwitz, Jimenez, Lukes, Martinez and Zulueta. Zulueta is a 26 year-old with a 70 grade slider (elite), a good fastball, and has never walked less than 5 batters per 9 in his career (for reference, Pop is the same age and has never had as high a BB/9 and Pearson is one year older and has only really had issues at the MLB level (and all small sample).

 

[Eyedea]

I don't get it? Why? There were other options.

He fell down the depth chart as an RP, and definitely wasn’t considered an SP anymore. Jays also need to find AAA spots as there’s a logjam forming in relief (Brock and Fluharty at AA).

 

[The Nemesis]

I don't get it? Why? There were other options.

I'm going to guess they reached a point where they just feel they can't fix his control issues and felt it better to give him a fresh start. He hasn't posted a walk rate under 15% or a WHIP under 1.5 since high A in 2022.

Fangraphs had him #9 on their 2023/24 prospect list, but his writeup highlights how much of a minefield he is.

While Zulueta’s delivery isn’t especially violent, it also isn’t especially graceful or smooth, and his feel for location is bad enough that we worry he won’t hit the late-inning ceiling that his stuff suggests he has. It was a little disappointing that he didn’t experience a velo boost out of the bullpen and sat “merely” 94-97 yet again. Yosver’s raw slider quality is incredible, but its consistency is not; automatic pitch tagging thinks he has three different breaking balls because the shape of it varies so much. Zulueta’s early-career injuries once provided reason to project on his command and consistency, but he’ll soon be 26, and while we still believe he’s going to be a meaningfully good reliever, there’s growing risk that his command will make him frustrating for long stretches at a time. We liken him to Daniel Bard, without quite as Shakespearean a career.

If his mechanics are the reason for his command problems and you can't fix them and he can't even consistently throw his best pitch in a repeatable way to make it viable as a weapon then his only path to success is to lean into the randomness and hope he can out-K his problems. That's not really a strong strategy to rely on though.

I do agree that it sucks and that they probably could've found someone else to take the roster bullet if it really mattered (and that's the path I would've taken. I honestly don't understand Wes Parsons making the team except that he's an easily sacrificed arm when they need to make moves and he can soak up garbage time innings). But at the end of the day if his loss amounts to the team missing out on an inconsistent middle relief guy then it's not the worst outcome in the world.

 

[cyris]

Cole put on the 60 day. Couldn’t happen to a nicer guy or team.

But still with that pitching staff everyone in the media is picking them to finish above us

 

[HamiltonNHL]

3 homers off Eflin ! Not bad

 

[Eyedea]

I understand Nelson Cruz had four great seasons for Seattle, but an opening day ceremony that includes him signing his one-day contract to retire with them seems so over the top when he played for nearly 1/3 of the league.

Plus I still always think of him as a Ranger for those WS runs and that missed catch in 2011.

 

[canucksfan]

Bisons' season starts tomorrow with Tiedemann starting.

Checked the Fisher Cats roster and looks like it's still from last year.

 

[shaner8989]

Don’t look at what Guriel is doing tonight

Or Moreno

 

[Eyedea]

Don’t look at what Guriel is doing tonight

Or Moreno

Happy for them, but it’s the Rockies

 

[Dr.Funk]

 

[fancy lad]

Situation in Oakland is sad. Never a good thing when teams with history relocate. Oakland has a rich baseball history.

I don’t blame Oakland fans for being insulted and staying home.

 

[TheMadHatTrick]

Whoah.

 

[Brown Dog]

I understand Nelson Cruz had four great seasons for Seattle, but an opening day ceremony that includes him signing his one-day contract to retire with them seems so over the top when he played for nearly 1/3 of the league.

Plus I still always think of him as a Ranger for those WS runs and that missed catch in 2011.

Those one-day contracts are dumb.

 

[Discoverer]

Those one-day contracts are dumb.

I think they're fun when they make sense.

 

[Nineteen67]

Don’t know what the stats say but they seemed to swing at a lot of pitches in the zone after the first time through the lineup. Keep doing that and you give yourselves a chance.

 

[francis246]

Can’t wait for the home opener!

 

[fancy lad]

Also how lame is it that they don’t even have enough fans in Tampa to open the 500 level in that stadium?

Tampa is a joke of a baseball city. You want to move teams, move them!

 

[Brown Dog]

I think they're fun when they make sense.

Disagree. Playing your whole career for one team is rare and special. Being a mercenary, journeyman and then signing a ceremonial "contract" at the end is just phony.

 

[canucksfan]

 

[canucksfan]

Solid lineup

Of note, Roden is starting in AA which is a surprise to me.

 

[hockeywiz542]

Reds To Re-Sign Mike Ford, Claim Yosver Zulueta From Blue Jays

The Reds announced that they've claimed Yosver Zulueta from the Blue Jays and optioned him to Triple-A Louisville. Infielder Matt …

www.mlbtraderumors.com

The Reds announced that they’ve claimed Yosver Zulueta from the Blue Jays and optioned him to Triple-A Louisville. Infielder Matt McLain, who had shoulder surgery this week, has been placed on the 60-day injured list to open a spot on the roster. Francys Romero reported on Zulueta’s claim prior to the official announcement. The timing is surprising, as Toronto only announced earlier today that Zulueta was being designated for assignment. It’s likely that the move was actually made earlier in the week but not formally announced at the time. Outright waivers are typically a 48-hour process. The Reds also re-signed first baseman Mike Ford to a minor league deal after releasing him last week, reports Jon Heyman of the New York Post.

With McLain’s recent surgery, the Reds effectively had a free roster spot to use. It’s unclear exactly how long the infielder will be out but it’s evidently longer than two months, as he is now ineligible to be activated until late May at the earliest.

The Reds have used that spot to snag Zulueta, an intriguing arm but one with significant control issues. In 2022, he tossed 55 2/3 innings across four different levels of Toronto’s system with an earned run average of 3.72. He struck out 33.9% of batters faced that year but also gave out free passes at a 12.9% clip, starting 12 of his 21 appearances.