Kuzul

After yet another injury-riddled game, the Blue Jays have made yet another roster move. Only this time, it wasn’t the wounded that were sent off. This time, it was the ineffectual that that were banished.

As a result of another poor outing, the Jays have demoted left-handed pitcher Brett Cecil from the Major League club. As the counter move, the team has recalled shortstop prospect Adeiny Hechavarria from the Las Vegas 51’s, the club’s AAA affiliate.

Hechavarria is hitting .312 this season in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League, and has knocked 20 doubles, six triples and six home runs. He has also cashed in 63 RBI, scored 78 runs and stolen eight bases.

Hechavarria has shown an improved approach at the dish this season by posting a .363 OBP, up from .305 in 2011. The improvement could be partially explained by Hechavarria spending his whole season in the PCL, but it also reflects his developing ability to lay off suspect pitches from Major League veterans.

Though the 23-year-old’s numbers look solid across the board, he is not expected to bring an impact bat with him when he joins the Blue Jays’ big league squad. What Hechavarria is expected to bring with him to the bigs is a Major League-ready glove—something that has made him one of the most highly regarded defensive infielders in Minor League Baseball.

With Yunel Escobar at short, expect Hechavarria to make some starts at third while Lawrie heals up. He will also likely spell Escobar when needed. Otherwise, he will provide bench depth for the team.

As of now, the Cuban-born Hechavarria’s role seems quite malleable, but the way the Jays players are dropping like flies in 2012, it would not be surprising to see him called upon more often than manager John Farrell would like. 

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

According to a report by ESPN’s Tim Kurkjian, the Rays and Angels have discussed a deal that would see starting pitcher James Shields pack his bags and head west.

Kurkjian writes, “The trade would send Shields to the Angels in exchange for center fielder Peter Bourjos and catcher Hank Conger.” Kurkjian also notes that, “there is a chance that Angels pitcher Ervin Santana could also be included.”

Apparently, one of the sticking points of the potential deal is the money involved—an issue that would become all the more important to the thrifty Rays if Santana, who will make $11.2 million this season and has a club option for $13 million in 2013, is involved.

The Rays hoped to solve their catching problems in the offseason by adding former Toronto Blue Jay Jose Molina to the mix, but the veteran has struggled this season and the team still very much desires an upgrade. 

That explains the inclusion of Conger in the talks.

Bourjos would look to be an insurance policy for the likely departure of B.J. Upton in the offseason.

The inclusion of Santana would send back a struggling former star who could end up being anything from a black hole into which the team shovels cash, to a top of the rotation starter in 2013.

There has been no shortage of intrigue surrounding the Rays as the 2012 trade deadline has neared, and it would seem at this point that that trend will only continue as we draw closer and closer.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

According to Jon Paul Morosi of Fox Sports, the Jays will be buyers at the trade deadline.

Early Tuesday morning, Morosi tweeted the following:

#BlueJays remain in buy mode, believing they can finish second in AL East this year. And I agree with them. (Fixed.)

— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) July 24, 2012

Hours later, Morosi returned to Twitter with some more specific details:

#BlueJays interested in both Josh Johnson and Hanley Ramirez. Source says they have stronger desire to land JJ because of pitching need.

— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) July 24, 2012

The Blue Jays have already made a splash in July—albeit a minor one—participating in a 10-player swap with the Houston Astros.

Prying either Johnson or Ramirez away from the Miami Marlins would not likely be cheap. Jays general manager Alex Anthopoulos would probably have to pillage the team’s renowned farm system to get a deal in place.

Travis d’Arnaud, Jake Marisnick, Adeiny Hechavarria, Noah Snydergaard, Justin Nicolino and Aaron Sanchez embody the most value in the Jays’ minor league organization. It is probable that at least two from that list would have to be included in a deal to land one of Miami’s big guns.

According to Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald, the Oakland Athletics and Boston Red Sox have also shown interest in Ramirez, so any hope of buying below market value may be dashed by the apparent competition.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

It took a while, but the Toronto Blue Jays have come to terms with first-round draft pick Marcus Stroman. The news broke earlier today via mlbtraderumors.com.

The recommended slot bonus for Stroman is $1.8 million, though details of the actual accord have yet to come out. 

Stroman, a hard throwing righty, was the 22nd overall pick in this year’s player entry draft, and is widely considered to be the most MLB-ready prospect to be selected in 2012. 

The former Duke Blue Devil projects to be reliever at the major league level, though some believe that he has long-term potential as a starter should he develop a better changeup. However, concerns that Stroman’s 5’9″ frame will be unable to handle the rigors of holding down a rotation spot persists.

It will be interesting to see the kind of workload the Jays give Stroman as he begins his professional career. It seems most probable that the youngster will start off as a reliever, since one of his selling points is his potential to rapidly rise through the team’s system, and pushing him to start would inevitably delay his progress.

The signing comes on the heels of yesterday’s international coup that saw the Jays ink Franklin Barreto and Luis Castro—two of the top-ranked non-North American prospects on the 2012 market.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

Aaron Laffey will take to the hill this July 1 for the Toronto Blue Jays, who are looking to clinch a series win over the Los Angeles Angels Sunday afternoon.

Laffey will make his second start for the Jays after impressing against the Boston Red Sox in his first start of the season. On June 26, Laffey threw six inning of shutout ball, giving up three hits and striking out a pair of batters.

Against Boston, Laffey continually got ahead in the count, throwing first pitch strikes like clockwork. The soft tossing lefty will need to implement a similar strategy if he hopes to give a Rogers Centre crowd a happy national birthday this weekend, as falling behind against sluggers like Mark Trumbo, Albert Pujols and Mike Trout will almost certainly spell disaster.

Laffey also did himself a favor by consistently keeping the ball on the ground, another thing he will need to do once again if he hopes to build on last start’s success.

C.J. Wilson will take to the mound for the Angels, who are looking to salvage a series split against an injury decimated Toronto squad. Wilson has the unenviable task of cooling off a red-hot Jays offense that put up 11 runs Saturday afternoon in an 11-2 route.

Though a difficult job, Wilson may be just the man for it. Over his last seven outings the former Texas Ranger has allowed more than a single earned run just one time. He has also collected five wins over that stretch.

While it’s difficult to project the outcome of a revved up offense colliding with a sizzling pitcher, there is one certainty regarding tomorrow’s outing.

Jays fans, prepare to welcome back the red uniforms!

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

The Toronto Blue Jays laid into the Los Angeles Angels Saturday afternoon for an 11-2 victory.

The offensive bombardment both took game three of a four game series between the teams and allowed the Jays to finish off a tough June with a much-needed W.

In a month characterized by the decimation of the squad’s pitching rotation, the Jays managed to muster a respectable 13-14 record over 27 games.

Though a sub-.500 record in any month is somewhat unforgivable in a viciously competitive American League East, all things considered, the Jays salvaged what they could.

With starters Brandon Morrow, Drew Hutchison and Kyle Drabek on the disabled list for much of June, the Jays were forced to rely on minor leaguers and bullpen fixtures like Jesse Chavez, Aaron Laffey and Carlos Villanueva to step into starting roles. 

While the absence of three starters did not go unnoticed, the club was able to band together on the strength of some seriously explosive offense and keep it together behind the patchwork rotation.

Jose Bautista set a personal mark for home runs in a month, with 14, Colby Rasmus transitioned from floundering washout to offensive force, Brett Lawrie began tapping into his reserves of extra-base power and Edwin Encarnacion continued doing what he has done all season long.

The resilience of the Jays roster showed time and time again in June as they fought and clawed to stay in games they had no business winning.

And Saturday’s victory was a fair exclamation point on the month.

In spite of the hard times on which Toronto has fallen, the Jays are not going to go quietly. While Saturday’s win counts the same as any other, it is a sign that the Jays will not roll over for anyone, and regardless of who takes the mound as the season wears on, the team has a legitimate chance at victory on any given night.

Whether the Blue Jays proves capable of climbing the AL East ladder remains to be seen.

But as the halfway point of the season nears, the scrappy Jays have made it clear that any opponent looking for an easy series win best look elsewhere. 

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

Earlier today Gregor Chisholm of MLB.com reported that the Toronto Blue Jays have inked 49-year-old pitcher Jamie Moyer to a minor league deal. 

That the Jays are actively pursuing and acquiring pitching depth comes as a surprise to no one given the rash of injuries plaguing the team’s starting rotation. Brandon Morrow, Drew Hutchison and Kyle Drabek already populate the disabled list, and may soon be joined Henderson Alvarez, who exited Monday night’s game in Boston with arm soreness.

After beginning the season in Colorado where he became the oldest pitcher in MLB history to record a win, Moyer was released and then picked up by the Baltimore Orioles organization with whom he made three Triple-A starts. 

Moyer’s 2012 major league line is less than stellar (2-5, 5.70 ERA), though he was able to maintain a sub-2.00 ERA with the Orioles’ Triple-A affiliate.

Despite the positive impression made with the Orioles, Moyer’s route back to the MLB was never very clear and he was granted the opportunity to look elsewhere.

The 25-year-veteran will hope to replicate that recent success as he heads to Las Vegas to join the 51s.

The deal is a curious one given the team’s handling of Vladimir Guerrero, combined with reports from Shi Davidi that the organization has made no promises to Moyer in terms of his road back to the big league.

On the other hand, the partnership seems to be mutually beneficial at this point. In Moyer, the Jays get an established veteran with a wealth of major league experience. They also get a rotation piece with proven durability.

In the Jays, Moyer finds an organization ready to promote a pitcher (or two…or three) to their big league roster in the immediate future.

Given the current situation the Jays find themselves in, it seems more than likely that Moyer will indeed crack the rotation before long. However, if it takes more than two weeks it means it probably will never happen, so the question should be answered one way or another before long.

A major factor in the equation is the health of Henderson Alvarez. If the youngster needs to visit the DL, it is almost certain that Moyer will don a Blue Jays uniform.

If Alvarez is good to go for his next start, Moyer may need to move on down the line and hook up with a new organization for the fourth time in 2012.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

The AL East will be the home of a formidable group of center fielders in 2012. The position is represented by Adam Jones (Baltimore), Jacoby Ellsbury (Boston), Curtis Granderson (New York), B.J. Upton (Tampa Bay) and Colby Rasmus (Toronto).

Here, we will compare the value of each team’s representative to determine which squads will enter the season with a positional advantage over their rivals.

Blue Jays center fielder Colby Rasmus is hoping to have a breakout season, but he will collide with some of baseball’s finest sluggers.

Begin Slideshow