It didn’t take Alex Anthopoulos long to strike after Detroit Tigers general manager Dave Dombrowski announced that he was open to trade his pending free agents prior to the July 31 4 p.m. ET non-waiver trade deadline.
The Blue Jays pulled the trigger on a blockbuster deal Thursday afternoon with Detroit, giving up three pitching prospects in order to acquire all-star pitcher David Price.
The Blue Jays had already traded away three minor-leaguers earlier in the week in a deal with the Colorado Rockies in exchange for shortstop Troy Tulowitzki and reliever LaTroy Hawkins, so the club undoubtedly has a much smaller prospect pool than they did at the beginning of the week.
Here’s the lowdown on the three prospects the Blue Jays sent to Detroit for Price:
Daniel Norris
Born: Johnson City, Tennessee
Age: 22
Position: Pitcher
Throws: Left
Height: 6-foot-2 | Weight: 195 pounds
Drafted: 2011 — 2nd round (74th overall out of high school) by Blue Jays.
Norris should be very familiar to Blue Jays fans. The left-hander made his MLB debut last season and opened the 2015 campaign in the Blue Jays starting rotation after posting outstanding spring numbers.
His time in Toronto, however, was short-lived.
Norris made just five starts this season, recording a 1-1 record with 3.86 ERA with 18 strikeouts, 12 walks, and three home runs allowed, before he was optioned back to triple-A Buffalo where he posted a 4.27 ERA with 78 strikeouts, 41 walks and five home runs allowed.
Norris should fare better with the move to Detroit’s Comerica Park. He’ll immediately join the Tigers’ rotation and make a start on Sunday. The Tigers are getting a highly-touted pitcher that was ranked as the league’s No. 18 overall prospect by Baseball America prior to the 2015 season. He hits the mid-90s on his fastball and, according to Joel Sherman of the New York Post, compares favourably to a pair of solid MLB pitchers.
The 22-year-old isn’t just known for his arsenal of pitches. He is a free spirit that became the talk of the sports world this past winter for an ESPN The Magazine feature about Norris living in 1978 Volkswagen van at a Wal-Mart parking lot in Florida.
“I’m not going to change who I am just because people think it’s weird,” Norris said in the profile. “The only way I’m going to have a great season is by starting out happy and balanced and continuing to be me. It might be unconventional, but to feel good about life, I need to have some adventure.”
Matt Boyd
Born: Seattle, Washington
Age: 24
Position: Pitcher
Throws: Left
Height: 6-foot-3 | Weight: 215 pounds
Drafted: 2013 — 6th round 175th overall out of Oregon State University) by Blue Jays.
Boyd should also be quite familiar to the Blue Jays fan base. He made two spot starts for Toronto earlier this year, getting rocked in his second MLB appearance against the Boston Red Sox, before he was sent back down to Buffalo.
However, Boyd did post impressive statistics at the triple-A level and was considered to be one of the rising arms in the organization. He projects as a mid-to-back end starter at the MLB level.
Boyd split the 2015 season between triple-A Buffalo and double-A New Hampshire, compiling a combined 9-2 record with a 1.68 ERA and 107 strikeouts over 18 total starts. He has posted a 15-12 record over his entire minor-league career.
According to Dombrowski, he will immediately join the rotation at triple-A Toledo.
Jairo Labourt
Born: Azua, Azua, Dominican Republic
Age: 21
Position: Pitcher
Throws: Left
Height: 6-foot-4 | Weight: 204 pounds
Signed: 2011 — Free agent out of Dominican Republic.
Labourt is the least known prospect of the trio, but he is another promising arm for the Tigers’ organization.
He is a big left-hander with nasty stuff and high velocity, registering 276 strikeouts in 291.1 career minor-league innings. Labourt has spent the entire 2015 in high-A ball with Dunedin, registering a 4.59 ERA with 70 strikeouts, 44 walks, and six home runs allowed in 80.1 innings.
According to Jason Beck of MLB.com, an unnamed scout described Labourt’s skill set as “Size, arm strength and breaking stuff all have a chance to be plus. Command is an issue, but he’s still young.”
The 21-year-old was selected to participate in the Sirius XM All-Star Futures Game prior to this year’s All-Star Game in Cincinnati.