Blue Jays' Brandon Barriera: Needs left elbow surgery
Rotowire
Barriera is set to undergo left elbow surgery, Scott Mitchell of TSN.ca reports.
Barriera has been on the 7-day injured list with Single-A Dunedin after sustaining a left elbow injury April 6. It's unclear whether the operation will be for Tommy John surgery or an internal brace, but Mitchell notes that the left-hander will be out for at least 10 months. Barriera was taken by the Blue Jays in the first round of the 2022 MLB Draft. The southpaw posted a 4.42 ERA and 0.99 WHIP over six starts with Dunedin in 2023.
... See More... See Less
Blue Jays' Isiah Kiner-Falefa: Not starting Saturday
Rotowire
Kiner-Falefa is not in the starting lineup for Saturday's game against the Dodgers.
Kiner-Falefa will retreat to the bench after going 1-for-4 in the series opener Friday. Righty-hitting Ernie Clement will start at third base Saturday and bat eighth against Dodgers right-hander Tyler Glasnow.
... See More... See Less
Blue Jays' George Springer: Sitting Saturday
Rotowire
Springer is not in the starting lineup for Saturday's game against the Dodgers.
Springer has gone 7-for-28 with two doubles and a solo home run since his last day off April 19. Addison Barger will make his third major-league start in right field Saturday and bat ninth against Dodgers right-hander Tyler Glasnow.
Bassitt (2-4) took the loss Friday against the Dodgers, allowing seven runs on nine hits and three walks over 2.2 innings. He struck out four.
Bassitt allowed a solo home run to Shohei Ohtani in the first inning before imploding in the third, when he allowed another six runs on six hits including a Max Muncy three-run homer. It's been a rocky start to the year for the 35-year-old Bassitt -- his ERA is up to 5.64 with a 1.85 WHIP and 30:17 K:BB across six starts (30.1 innings). He'll look to right the ship in his next outing, currently slated for next week against Kansas City.
Green (shoulder) hopes to begin throwing in three to seven days, Kaitlyn McGrath of The Athletic reports.
Green is nearly a week removed from landing on the 15-day injured list with a teres major strain in his right shoulder. He will rehab for a few more days before hopefully starting a throwing program. Green still looks to be multiple weeks away from rejoining the Blue Jays.
... See More... See Less
Blue Jays' Ricky Tiedemann: Ulnar nerve issue in elbow
Rotowire
Tiedemann has been diagnosed with ulnar nerve inflammation in his left elbow, Kaitlyn McGrath of The Athletic reports.
The hope is that Tiedemann will be ready to begin throwing again in 7-to-10 days. All things considered, it's a very favorable diagnosis for the top pitching prospect. Tiedemann was struggling at Triple-A Buffalo before getting hurt, posting a 5.63 ERA, 2.00 WHIP and 10:9 K:BB over eight frames.
... See More... See Less
Blue Jays' Ernie Clement: Swipes second bag
Rotowire
Clement went 1-for-1 with an RBI and a stolen base in Thursday's rain-shortened loss to the Royals.
Getting the start at third base and batting sixth, Clement did what he could with his opportunities, dropping a sacrifice bunt in the second inning before singling home the Jays' only run of the game in the fourth. The 28-year-old has a four-game RBI streak going despite sporadic playing time, and while he sports an impressive .292/.300/.479 slash line on the season with two homers, two steals, six RBI and nine runs in 51 plate appearances, Clement is one of five utility players currently on the big-league roster -- along with Isiah Kiner-Falefa, Cavan Biggio, Davis Schneider and the recently promoted Addison Barger -- who are splitting time between second base, third base and left field. Unless that logjam gets cleared a little, it will be tough for Clement or any of that cohort to provide consistent fantasy value.
... See More... See Less
Blue Jays' Josh Kasevich: Drawing raves at Double-A
Rotowire
Kasevich has been praised for his work ethic and defense this season while slashing .353/.413/.456 through 16 games for Double-A New Hampshire, Keegan Matheson of MLB.com reports.
The 23-year-old hasn't shown a lot of power or speed since being drafted 60th overall in 2022 -- he has only one homer and one steal for New Hampshire -- but Kasevich appears on track to at least be a bench player in the majors given his slick glove at shortstop and strong hit tool. Given his age and performance, a summer promotion to Triple-A could be in the cards.
Blue Jays' Jose Berrios: Takes loss against Royals
Rotowire
Berrios (4-1) took the loss Thursday against Kansas City, allowing two runs on three hits and three walks with a strikeout over five innings.
All of the damage against Berrios came via a Salvador Perez two-run home run in the first inning. Berrios failed to complete six innings for the first time this season, an impossible task considering Thursday's game was called due to rain after five frames. The outing snapped Berrios's scoreless inning streak that spanned 21.2 innings. He's tentatively scheduled for another start against the Royals early next week.
Blue Jays' Alek Manoah: Likely to make another rehab start
Rotowire
Blue Jays manager John Schneider said Thursday that Manoah (shoulder) is likely to make another rehab start with Triple-A Buffalo, Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet.ca reports.
Manoah was roughed up for six runs on seven hits and four walks over three innings in his latest start with Buffalo on Wednesday. Three of his four rehab outings have been poor, and overall batters have hit .406/.474/.703 off Manoah. He does not appear close to being ready to help out the major-league club. Per Kaitlyn McGrath of The Athletic, Manoah's 30-day rehab assignment runs out May 6, although if the club doesn't feel he's ready to join the MLB rotation at that point, he could still be activated from the IL and optioned back to Triple-A.
... See More... See Less
Blue Jays' Cavan Biggio: Sits against southpaw
Rotowire
Biggio is out of the lineup for Thursday's game against the Royals.
With the Blue Jays and Royals concluding their series with a day game after a night game and with a southpaw (Cole Ragans) on the hill for Kansas City, the lefty-hitting Biggio will get the afternoon off. Isiah Kiner-Falefa will step in for Biggio at the keystone.
... See More... See Less
Blue Jays' Danny Jansen: Gets rest Thursday
Rotowire
Jansen is out of the lineup for Thursday's game against the Royals.
Jansen will get a breather for the day game after he caught eight innings of Wednesday's 3-2 loss while going 1-for-3 with a walk. Alejandro Kirk gets the nod behind the dish for Toronto in the series finale in Kansas City.
... See More... See Less
Blue Jays' Brendon Little: Summoned from Triple-A
Rotowire
The Blue Jays recalled Little from Triple-A Buffalo on Thursday.
He'll join the Toronto bullpen as a replacement for Bowden Francis (forearm), who was placed on the 15-day injured list. Little has compiled a 2.89 ERA, 1.65 WHIP and 16:8 K:BB over 9.1 innings across his nine relief appearances for Buffalo.
... See More... See Less
Blue Jays' Bowden Francis: Shelved with forearm injury
Rotowire
The Blue Jays placed Francis on the 15-day injured list Thursday with right forearm extensor tendinitis.
Since making his last start April 7, Francis has made his subsequent three appearances as a piggyback reliever behind starter Yariel Rodriguez. Francis scooped up wins in 2.1- and two-inning outings April 13 and 19, but he didn't factor into the decision in Wednesday's 3-2 loss to the Royals after tossing two scoreless frames once Rodriguez exited the contest. Though he didn't appear to be nursing any sort of injury during the relief outing, Francis was apparently diagnosed with the forearm issue when he was evaluated afterward. He won't be eligible to rejoin Toronto until May 10 after landing on the IL.
... See More... See Less
Blue Jays' Alek Manoah: Scuffles in latest rehab start
Rotowire
Manoah (shoulder) yielded six runs on seven hits and four walks over three innings in a rehab start with Triple-A Buffalo on Wednesday.
Manoah had seemed to make some strides in his previous two rehab outings, but he took a big step backward Wednesday. The right-hander's velocity was down 0.8 mph on both his sinker and four-seamer and down 1.4 mph on his slider, which was his most-used pitch in the start. Manoah walked four of the 19 batters he faced and surrendered a pair of home runs. The Blue Jays had seemed optimistic that Manoah would be ready to rejoin their rotation for his next start, but they might reconsider following the righty's struggles Wednesday. Manoah has been out all season with right shoulder inflammation.
