Nori Aoki being DFA’d signalled the beginning of a roster shakeup for the Toronto Blue Jays, and when MLB rosters expand in September it will lead to more changes to the team’s lineup.
With that in mind here’s a look at some players the Blue Jays will consider calling up.
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LIKELY CALL-UPS
Teoscar Hernandez
Age: 24
Position: Outfielder
Games played: 102 games (split between triple-A Buffalo and triple-A Fresno)
At-bats: 386 | RBI: 60 | HR: 16
Slash line: .262/.351/.477
Hernandez was the top piece the Blue Jays received when they sent Francisco Liriano to the Houston Astros. The Dominican Republic native has some MLB experience, making 41 appearances with the Astros in 2016 where he slashed .230/.304/.420.
Michael Saunders
Age: 30
Position: Outfielder
Games played: 60 (with the Philadelphia Phillies in 2017)
At-bats: 200 | RBI: 20 | HR: 6
Slash line: .205/.257/.360
The Canadian signed as a free agent with Toronto in late June less than a week after being DFA’d by the Phillies. In 133 at-bats with the Buffalo Bisons this seasons he is hitting .278, which is his highest average in any league since a 2014 stint with the Tacoma Rainiers, the Seattle Mariners’ triple-A affiliate.
Saunders is a familiar face to Blue Jays fans after representing the team at the 2016 MLB All-Star Game. He signed a one-year, $8-million contract with the Phillies in January but he won’t cost the Blue Jays much. The Phillies will pick up most of his remaining contract with the Blue Jays being responsible only for a pro-rated portion of the MLB minimum salary.
Leonel Campos
Age: 30
Position: Pitcher
Games played: 24 (with the Bisons)
IP: 30.2 | ERA: 1.76
The Blue Jays claimed Campos off waivers from the San Diego Padres in November 2016. He has made 10 appearances with Toronto this season, pitching 11.2 innings, striking out 12, walking seven, allowing 10 hits and six runs. Campos was optioned Tuesday to make room for Brett Anderson on the 25-man roster, which means he must stay down for at least 10 days before potentially being recalled again.
Carlos Ramirez
Age: 26
Position: Pitcher
Games played: Six (with the Bisons)
IP: 12.0 | ERA: 0.00
Ramirez was signed as an international free agent by the Blue Jays in 2009 and he’s in the midst of a career year. Remarkably, he has not allowed an earned run all season. He pitched 23.2 innings in 18 appearances with double-A New Hampshire of the Eastern League prior to joining the Bisons in early August.
TJ House
Age: 27
Position: Pitcher
Games played: 23 (with the Bisons)
IP: 130.2 | ERA: 4.27
The lefty, who was signed by the Blue Jays in December, was DFA’d earlier this week as the Blue Jays recalled Joe Biagini. House pitched two innings for the Blue Jays in August where he gave up three hits and one run. He cleared waivers Tuesday.
Luke Maile
Age: 26
Position: Catcher
Games played: 33 (with the Blue Jays)
At-bats: 99 | RBI: 5 | HR: 2
Slash line: .121/.154/.202
Maile was ineffective at the plate during his time in the majors this year. He injured his right knee in early July, which kept him out of action for more than a month. He recently returned to the Bisons where he has four hits in eight games since Aug. 17.
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POSSIBLE CALL-UPS
Danny Jansen
Age: 22
Position: Catcher
Games played: 17 (with the Bisons)
At-bats: 54 | RBI: 9 | HR: 3
Slash line: .389/.484/.667
The youngster recently described his 2017 as “a whirlwind” and it’s an accurate assessment. He has thrived at high-A, double-A and triple-A and now could get a shot in the majors. Jansen had his eyes checked during the off-season and now he wears glasses on and off the field. It certainly has aided his performance. He was selected by the Blue Jays in the 16th round of the 2013 MLB June Amateur Draft.
Anthony Alford
Age: 23
Position: Outfielder
Games played: 66 (with double-A New Hampshire)
At-bats: 236 | RBI: 23 | HR: 5
Slash line: .305/.403/.428
Blue Jays fans got a brief look at Alford in May. He spent four games with the big club, registering one hit and striking out three times in eight plate appearances, before sustaining a broken left hamate bone while fouling off a pitch. Alford dropped four spots to No. 38 in Baseball America’s mid-season list of its Top 100 prospects. He was taken by the Blue Jays in the third round (112th overall) in the 2012 amateur draft.
Ryan Borucki
Age: 23
Position: Pitcher
Games played: 19 (with high-A Dunedin in the Florida State League)
IP: 98.0 | ERA: 3.58
The 15th-round pick of the Blue Jays from 2012 has improved his play since moving up to double-A in July. He has a 1.94 ERA in seven appearances with New Hampshire.
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POSSIBLE CALL-UPS ELIGIBLE FOR RULE 5 DRAFT
The players below must be added to the Blue Jays’ 40-man roster by year’s end in order to protect them from being exposed in the next Rule 5 Draft.
Conner Greene
Age: 22
Position: Pitcher
Games played: 24 (with double-A New Hampshire)
IP: 126.0 | ERA: 5.36
Aaron Sanchez told Sportsnet’s Shi Davidi in July that he has taken Greene under his wing, keeping in regular contact with the prospect.
“I just keep telling him he’s the exact same way I was in double-A, wanting to be in different spots than where I was, being frustrated that you’re not moving quickly – there’s a ton of things he’s going through or is about to go through that I went through,” Sanchez said. “When you can hear from somebody that everything is going to be OK, and you trust that person, then you’re at ease with the situation you’re in. That’s where I feel like I am with him. He trusts what I say because I’ve been through it.”
Francisco Rios
Age: 22
Position: Pitcher
Games played: 22 (with double-A New Hampshire)
IP: 82.1 | ERA: 4.26
Rios began the 2017 campaign as a starter before being moved into a reliever role following a stretch of five consecutive losses that stretched from June into July. The Mexican was signed by Toronto back in 2012.
Jordan Romano
Age: 24
Position: Pitcher
Games played: 27 (with high-A Dunedin)
IP: 132.1 | ERA: 4.28
The Markham, Ont., native was drafted by the Blue Jays in the 10th round in 2014 and has already had to overcome adversity in his young career. He missed the entire 2015 season after undergoing Tommy John surgery. Romano has worked his way back to full health, spending 2016 with the single-A Lansing Lugnuts in the Midwest League before joining Dunedin this year.
“He has a fastball with above average major-league velocity,” Blue Jays pitching coordinator Jeff Ware said back in April. “It’s a swing-and-miss fastball that plays hard. It looks hard. It seems to jump on the hitters and they don’t seem to pick it up very well.”
