The Blue Jays got a right-hander Zack Thompson Pirates vs. minor league players Chavez Young, in the team’s announcement. Toronto has named the right-hand man Junior Fernandez For the job, it would open a spot on the 40-man roster for Thompson, which would provide the Jays with additional spinning depth. Thompson was assigned a task by the Pirates last week.
Thompson, 29, was drafted by the White Sox in 2014 but was never added to their roster and reached secondary free agency after 2020. He then signed a secondary contract with the Marlins just in time for their runaway campaign. He cracked Miami’s roster that year and ended up playing 26 games, starting 14 of them. He pitched 75 innings with a 3.24 ERA, 21% strikeout rate, 8.9% walk rate and 43.4% rushing rate.
After that sweet snap request, the Marlins sold high and returned Thompson to the Pirates as part of a Jacob Stallings yes. Unfortunately, the move to Pittsburgh did not go well for Thompson, who was deployed in a swing role. He made 22 starts and seven relief appearances, and posted a 5.18 ERA in ​121 2/3 innings pitched. He still hits solid ground at 45.3% but his strike rate has dropped to 16.6%. The Bucs named him for assignment last week when they signed the rich hill official.
Despite this poor season, there is little damage for the Jays to take a flyer on. Thompson still has a full list of options and could be kept in the palace until needed. The Jays have four turnovers to speak of, b This is ManoahAnd Kevin GusmanAnd Chris Bassett And Jose Berrios firmly. Fifth place is less certain, but they have plenty of options including Yosei KikuchiAnd Michael White And Nate Pearson. Thompson would jump into the mix and give the club another layer of depth. He has between one and two years of service in the MLB, which means he’s not yet in arbitration and could remain cheap for the foreseeable future.
In order to get that extra depth, the Jays parted ways with Young. The 25-year-old will be moving to a new organization for the first time, having spent his entire career in the Jays system so far. He was selected in the 39th round of the 2016 draft, drafted from the Bahamas. Since then, he’s worked his way up the minor league ranks, hitting every tackle all the way to Triple-A. In 78 Double-A games in 2021, he hits 0.265/0.350/0.409 for 109 wRC+. In 65 Triple-A games last year, his output is down to 0.234/0.331/0.350, 86 wRC+. He’ll be looking to make a step up with his new team, but provides a solid foundation for the Bucs with his speed and defense regardless. He played in all three positions, including much of center field, and stole at least 20 bases in each of his last four major league seasons.
The Jays are also giving up Fernandez, who just held him off waivers from the Yankees last week. The right-handed person has tremendous speed but has not yet figured out how to use it properly. He averaged 98.8 mph on his four bases this year and 98.7 mph on dunks last year, but he only took out 16.7% of the hitters he faced while walking 14.3% of them. 2022 was his final year of electives and he has become a popular target for exemptions in recent months. After being nominated for assignment by the Cardinals in September, he was claimed off waivers by the Pirates, Yankees, and Blue Jays. The Jays will now have a week to trade him or place him on waivers.
