In the wake of the Melvin Upton Jr. trade, the Toronto Blue Jays appeared to have a surplus of capable candidates to roam the outfield at Rogers Centre. Just 11 days into August, the team is in suddenly serious need of warm bodies to patrol their pastures.
Injuries to Ezequiel Carrera, Kevin Pillar and, most recently, Jose Bautista have the Blue Jays starting Upton every day in centre and using a less-than-ideal Darrell Ceciliani–Junior Lake platoon. In the midst of a three-team division race, the club might be wise to look outside the organization for some help.
The matter is complicated by the short bench created by the Blue Jays’ six-man rotation and the fact that Bautista could return before rosters expand in September. It’s a messy business, but at the same time, last year’s team benefitted from bringing in Cliff Pennington and Darwin Barney for the stretch run. The Blue Jays could benefit from similar additions this time around.
Had this flurry of ailments happened just two weeks ago, the Blue Jays would have been in much better shape. Now that the non-waiver trade deadline has passed, it’s a little more difficult to bring in talent.
With a strong 65-50 record the Blue Jays aren’t going to win many waiver claims, so if they want to find an outfielder they’d likely be targeting players who could either be released or clear waivers. A fit needs to match the following criteria:
- An upgrade over a Ceciliani/Lake type.
- Costs enough that a team benefits from offloading his salary, or at least some of it.
- Not part of his current team’s future (e.g. on an expiring contract).
Not all that many players check all of those boxes, but some do. Here are a couple of outfielders the Blue Jays could consider in the days to come:
Age: 30
Team: Houston Astros
2016 stats: .210/.272/.322, 5 HR, 27 RBI
Salary: $9 million
Why?: The recently-designated outfielder is the most talented player available. As recently as 2014 Gomez was one of the most complete players in the game. Rarely is a guy like this available late in the season, but if the Astros release him he can be had for the minimum.
Why Not?: Simply put, he’s been dreadful this season. The Blue Jays need someone who can step in and contribute immediately, not a project. If Gomez is free to sign with anyone, he’d likely prefer a guarantee of regular at-bats until the end of the season.
Age: 36
Team: Oakland Athletics
2016 stats: .239/.309/.419 10 HR, 45 RBI
Salary: $11 million
Why?: Crisp still wields a league-average bat with a solid plate approach and a little pop. He brings value as a switch hitter who’s solid in either corner position.
Why Not?: With a salary of $11 million he’ll surely clear waivers, but a deal wouldn’t make sense unless the Athletics eat a lot of money. It also costs $750,000 to buy out his $13 million option for 2017. Crisp has ten and five rights, so if he doesn’t want to move he doesn’t have to.
Rickie Weeks Jr.
Age: 33
Team: Arizona Diamondbacks
2016 stats: .248/.340/.421, 5 HR, 17 RBI
Salary: $1.5 million
Why?: Weeks is having a very solid year at the plate in a bench role, and he still has a little patience and a little power. The Diamondbacks are going nowhere fast, so they shouldn’t have any problem giving him up.
Why Not?: Weeks hasn’t been an outfielder for long and his defensive numbers are unimpressive to say the least. He only really plays left field.
Age: 35
Team: Colorado Rockies
2016 stats: .232/.313/.419, 8 HR, 26 RBI
Salary: $1.5 million
Why?: Since the Rockies promoted rookie David Dahl there isn’t much room for Raburn who’s only started once in the outfield in August. He would come cheap. The 35-year-old has a history of crushing southpaw pitching, which is something the Blue Jays have struggled with to a surprising degree in 2016.
Why Not?: Raburn’s numbers are not as respectable as they look given that he gets to play half his games at Coors Field. The 35-year-old is no one’s idea of a defensive maestro.
Age: 31
Team: Pittsburgh Pirates
2016 stats: .247/.336/.500, 11 HR, 35 RBI
Salary: $2.5 million
Why?: Rodriguez is in the midst of his best offensive season. He has great defensive versatility, which is especially helpful to a team with a short bench. By trading Francisco Liriano, the Pirates have shown a desire to shed salary.
Why Not?: Pittsburgh probably isn’t far enough out of the hunt to justify ditching the valuable Rodriguez and he would probably command a reasonable return. The solid utility man would have a good chance of being claimed on waivers before reaching the Blue Jays.
