Blue Jays: Who’s the PTBNL they gave up for Taijuan Walker? - Jays Journal | Canada News Media
Connect with us

Sports

Blue Jays: Who’s the PTBNL they gave up for Taijuan Walker? – Jays Journal

Published

 on


The player going the other way to the Seattle Mariners is apparently among the top 30 prospects in the Toronto Blue Jays organization

The Toronto Blue Jays made two trades with the Settle Mariners this week. The first one saw the Blue Jays acquire Daniel Vogelbach for cash considerations. The sum the Jays are sending the Mariners way will probably never be revealed as these types of deals are never reported.

The second and more recent trade between the Blue Jays and Mariners was Canada’s team acquiring Taijuan Walker for a player to be named later. According to MLB analyst Jim Bowden, the player to be named later is among the top 30 prospects in the Jays organization.

Originally, there was a rule stating only players among each team’s 60 man player pool can be traded although they later altered that rule to allow players not named to training camp to be apart of trades.

As the player to be named later has been narrowed down to 30 players and we know for a fact that this player is not among the 60 invited to training camp, we can speculate in regards to who the return might be.

Further, baseball writer Joe Doyle who writes for Mariners sites has speculated that the player will be a position player.

With what we know, we can narrow it down to who it might be. 14 of the Jays’ top 30 prospects are pitchers meaning they are not the ones heading to Seattle. Among the top 30 that are not pitchers, Austin Martin, Jordan Groshans, Alejandro Kirk, Santiago Espinal, Kevin Smith, and Riley Adams are among the 60 in the Jays player pool. This means they are not headed to Seattle either as if they were, it would have been announced.

This leaves us with the following players of who could have been the return for Walker: Orelvis Martinez, Gabriel Moreno, Miguel Hiraldo, Otto Lopez, Griffin Conine, Leonardo Jimenez, Estiven Machado, Dasan Brown, Rikelvin De Castro or Will Robertson.

I highly doubt it is any of Martinez, Moreno, or Hiraldo as they are ranked in the top 10 among Jays prospects and it’s extremely unlikely the front office would part ways with a top 10 prospect for a rental. I wouldn’t suspect that it would be Lopez (15) or Conine (16) either as they would probably be ranked too high for a rental either.

That leaves us with Jimenez, Machado, Brown, De Castro or Robertson. I will go ahead and eliminate Brown as the Jays likely view him as a potential homegrown talent as he hails from Mississauga, Ontario.

Despite the outfield trio of Lourdes Gurriel Jr. Randal Grichuk and Teoscar Hernandez exceeding expectations this year, the outfield still has question marks regarding its future. With the Jays potentially in need of outfielders down the road, I would assume Robertson is not the return either.

That now leaves us to three players that could be the return for Walker: Jimenez, Machado or De Castro. All three players are middle infielders which they are all currently blocked at the big leagues by Bo Bichette and Cavan Biggio. Eventually, Groshans and possibly Martin will be part of the infield leaving them nowhere to play.

Jimenez is the Jays 17th ranked prospect and can play on either side of second base. The Jays signed him as an international free agent for $825,000 in 2017. In the minor leagues, he’s combined to slash .278/.358/.360 and has yet to leave the yard once. He’s reached Single-A and has an estimated time of arrival (ETA) of 2022.

Machado was signed for $775,000 last international free agent signing period and is the Jays 18th ranked prospect. At the age of 17, scouts are saying he’ll need a lot of time to develop in the minors and isn’t expected to reach the majors until 2024.

Like Machado, De Castro was also signed last year as an international free agent albeit for $1.2 million. Also 17 years old, he isn’t expected to reach the big leagues until 2024 although he’s been lauded for his defence and is compared to former Blue Jays shortstop Jose Reyes.

It really could be any of the three but if I had to guess, I think Jimenez is heading the other way. The Mariners have two top prospects on the verge of reaching the majors and would probably like to compete sooner rather than later in order to give Mariners fans competitive baseball as they haven’t reached the playoffs since 2021.

Another reason why I think Jimenez is the return is that they currently have a shortstop in J.P. Crawford and although he doesn’t contribute much at the plate, he’s gifted defensively. They also currently have Dee Gordon as their second baseman whose contract ends after next season.

A top prospect for Walker is pricey, especially considering he’s a rental, but that’s sometimes the price you have to pay to buy. Also, Walker was targeted by other teams on the market including the New York Yankees.

Next: Blue Jays: Brandon Drury experiment comes to an end?

So far this season, Walker is 2-2 with a 4.00 E.R.A. with 25 strikeouts while walking only eight in 27 innings for an opponent average of .210. If the Jays end up signing Walker to an extension this offseason, then the return won’t matter but if he signs elsewhere, it might be seen as a bit of an overpay.

Let’s block ads! (Why?)



Source link

Continue Reading

Sports

Whitecaps, Timbers to face off in play-in match in Portland

Published

 on

 

VANCOUVER – The Vancouver Whitecaps will begin their post-season campaign with a play-in game against the Timbers in Portland on Wednesday.

The ‘Caps (13-13-8) ended the regular season with a 2-1 loss to Real Salt Lake on Saturday and finished eighth in Major League Soccer’s Western Conference standings.

The eighth and ninth spots from each conference meet in a play-in game this week, with the winner going on to face the No. 1 seed in the first round of the playoffs.

Each eighth-place team was set to host the play-in game, but Vancouver announced Friday that its home stadium, B.C. Place, is not available, so the club will cede home-field advantage to Portland (12-11-11), the ninth-place team.

The ‘Caps and Timbers split their three-game series during regular-season play, with each side taking a win, a loss and a draw.

The first round of the MLS playoffs is set to begin next weekend.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 19, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

Source link

Continue Reading

Sports

Real Salt Lake beats visiting Whitecaps 2-1 to set single-season club record for points

Published

 on

 

SANDY, Utah (AP) — Diego Luna scored a tying goal in the 73rd minute and Real Salt Lake added another on an own goal for a 2-1 victory over the Vancouver Whitecaps on Saturday night to set a single-season club record for points.

Real Salt Lake (16-7-11) secured the No. 3 spot in the Western Conference and will face Minnesota in the first round of the Major League Soccer playoffs. RSL reached 59 points this season, topping the 2012 team with 57.

Vancouver (13-13-8) will play the Portland Timbers on Wednesday in a wild-card game for a chance to play top-seeded LAFC.

Luna settled a long cross from Braian Ojeda before taking four touches to slot home a shot inside the far post for his eighth goal of the season.

RSL went ahead in the 83rd when Vancouver goalkeeper Isaac Boehmer misplayed a lofted ball that rolled into the back of the net.

Vancouver midfielder Ryan Gauld opened the scoring in the 58th to become the first player in club history to produce multiple seasons with at least 10 goals and 10 assists.

AP MLS:

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

Source link

Continue Reading

Sports

Juan Soto’s 3-run homer in 10th sends Yankees past Guardians 5-2 and into World Series for 41st time

Published

 on

 

CLEVELAND (AP) — Juan Soto’s arrival last winter was supposed to be that move that pushed the New York Yankees back to the top.

They’re one step away.

Soto hit a three-run homer with two outs in the 10th inning and the Yankees advanced to their 41st World Series — and first in 15 years — by beating the Cleveland Guardians 5-2 in Game 5 of the AL Championship Series on Saturday night.

Baseball’s biggest brand is going back to October’s main stage.

Soto, who was acquired in a seven-player trade from San Diego in December, pushed the Bronx Bombers into position with one big swing.

This was why he came, for this moment and for so many more.

“We’re right where we belong,” said Yankees general manager Brian Cashman, who pulled off the deal for Soto.

The Yankees will try to win their 28th title against either the New York Mets or Los Angeles Dodgers. Game 6 of the NL Championship Series is on Sunday at Dodger Stadium.

In the third consecutive tight game in three nights at Progressive Field, Austin Wells walked with one out in the 10th and Alex Verdugo followed with a grounder to Guardians second baseman Andrés Giménez, whose soft toss to the bag was dropped by rookie shortstop Brayan Rocchio for an error.

Hunter Gaddis struck out Gleyber Torres and had Soto in a 1-2 count before New York’s stylish outfielder sent a shot over the wall in center. Soto danced down the first-base line and paused to celebrate with his teammates before circling the bases.

“I was just saying to myself, `You’re all over that guy. You’re all over that guy. He ain’t got anything,’” said Soto, who moved alongside his manager, Aaron Boone, as the only New York players to homer in an extra-inning, series-clinching win.

Luke Weaver got the final three outs with Lane Thomas flying out for the last one, which was caught by Soto.

“We get to play for a world championship,” Boone said. “That’s pretty sweet.”

The 25-year-old Soto is eligible for free agency this winter, and Yankees fans chanted “Re-sign Soto!” during the postgame festivities. He’s expected to get a contract upwards of $600 million, and his heroics in Game 5 may have raised his price.

Giancarlo Stanton hit a two-run homer and was named ALCS MVP as the Yankees took care of the Guardians in five games. It wasn’t easy.

New York won the first two at Yankee Stadium without much fanfare or any major drama. However, it was a different story in Cleveland as all three games at Progressive Field were nail-biters.

The Guardians rallied to win Game 3 on two, two-run homers in their last two at-bats, and the Yankees held on to win Game 4 after blowing a four-run lead.

“This was a rollercoaster and we were able to just keep punching back,” Stanton said. “We know there’s much more work to do and it’s only uphill from here and we got to get it done.”

Cleveland just didn’t have enough and a surprising season under first-year manager Stephen Vogt ended just short of a World Series. The franchise remains without a title since 1948, baseball’s current longest drought.

“There’s only one team that gets to win the last game of the year, and unfortunately it’s not going to be us,” Vogt said. “But we accomplished a lot as a group. We got better. We worked extremely hard. I couldn’t be more proud of this group. We just didn’t get quite as far as we wanted to.”

The Yankees are back in the World Series, back where their fans expect them to be every year.

The club’s 82-80, fourth-place finish in the AL East last season led to some “soul searching as an organization” during the winter, according to Boone, who has been widely criticized but is one of just three managers to take New York to playoffs in six of his first seven seasons.

While the team’s core stayed mostly intact, getting Soto in a blockbuster trade on Dec. 7 — New York sent five players to San Diego for the three-time All-Star — accelerated the team returning to title contender.

“That was a good day,” Boone said with a laugh before the game.

Stanton’s 446-foot rocket into the left-field bleachers tied it at 2 in the sixth and chased Tanner Bibee, who had struck out New York’s dangerous DH in his first two at-bats and held the Yankees scoreless for the first five innings.

It was Stanton’s fourth homer in this series — his third in three days — and his 16th in the postseason, moving him into fourth place on the club’s career list behind Bernie Williams (22), Derek Jeter (20) and Mickey Mantle (18).

Before the game, Boone was asked what makes Stanton so good.

“He can hit it harder than anyone, first of all,” Boone said. “So there’s the physical nature of what he does that’s different than just about everyone in the world.”

But Boone went on to compliment Stanton’s discipline at the plate, “his approach, his process, how he studies guys.”

“There’s something that he does when he gets familiarity with people on top of being very physically gifted,” Boone said.

The Guardians took a 2-0 lead in the fifth off Carlos Rodón on Steven Kwan’s RBI single with two outs. But Cleveland missed a big chance for more, leaving the bases loaded when Lane Thomas grounded out on the first pitch to him from Mark Leiter Jr.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Yankees: LHP Nestor Cortes (elbow strain) had another successful live batting practice session. The reliever remains on track to join the Yankees on their World Series roster. Boone said Cortes would throw again early next week. Cortes went 9-10 with a 3.77 ERA in 30 starts.

___

AP MLB:

Source link

Continue Reading

Trending

Exit mobile version