Blue Jays host Royals after flurry of trade-deadline deals
The impact of Toronto's highest-profile deadline trade will not be evident Friday night when the Blue Jays host the Kansas City Royals to open a three-game series.
In one of several deals by both teams on Thursday, the Blue Jays acquired right-hander Shane Bieber from the Cleveland Guardians for a top pitching prospect.
The Blue Jays are taking a gamble with Bieber, who won the American League Cy Young Award in the abbreviated 2020 season. He is returning from Tommy John surgery and likely at least two weeks away from pitching for Toronto.
Bieber had the operation in April 2024, and the 30-year-old has a 1.59 ERA in four minor league rehabilitation outings.
'I feel like my stuff is in a really good spot,' Bieber told the Akron Beacon Herald on Tuesday after his outing with Double-A Akron on Tuesday. 'To be frank, it has been in a great spot since I started throwing. I am very confident with the action of my pitches. For me, it is really about building arm strength.'
In 136 games (134 starts) for the Guardians from 2018-24, the two-time All-Star went 62-32 with a 3.22 ERA.
'It will be hard to surpass his ceiling, what he has accomplished,' Toronto general manager Ross Atkins said. 'So, just getting him back to his potential would be him doing exceptionally well for us, so that's what we'll focus on with him, and we're really, really glad that he's here.'
The Blue Jays, who are returning from a 4-4 road trip, have a 3 1/2-game lead in the American League East over the second-place New York Yankees.
Toronto sent right-hander Khal Stephen to Cleveland in the Bieber deal. The 22-year-old was 9-1 with a 2.06 ERA in 18 appearances (17 starts) over three levels -- Double-A New Hampshire, high Class-A Vancouver, and Class-A Dunedin -- in his first professional season.
In a deal with the busy Minnesota Twins, Toronto netted right-hander Louis Varland and first baseman Ty France for outfielder Alan Roden and minor league left-hander Kendry Rojas.
Toronto also got minor league catcher Brandon Valenzuela from the San Diego Padres for infielder Will Wagner.
The Royals made three deals on Thursday. They picked up outfielder Mike Yastrzemski from the San Francisco Giants in exchange for minor league right-hander Yunior Marte. Yastrzemski is batting .231/.330/.355 with eight home runs and 28 RBIs.
'It was a late trade,' Royals general manager J.J. Picollo said. 'I want to say it was about a minute and a half left before the deadline. There were some components to it that we had to work out.'
The Royals picked up left-hander Bailey Falter from the Pittsburgh Pirates for left-hander Evan Sisk and infielder Callan Moss. Falter is 7-5 with a 3.73 ERA in 22 starts.
Kansas City also sent catcher Freddy Fermin to the Padres for right-handers Ryan Bergert and Stephen Kolek. Bergert is 1-0 with a 2.78 ERA in in 11 games (seven starts) in his first major league season. Kolek is 4-5 with a 4.18 ERA in 14 starts this year.
Picollo said trading Fermin was emotional.
'Nobody can outwork that guy,' he said. 'He was a perfect partner for Salvador Perez. Salvy mentored him in a way that he's ready to take over as a starting catcher somewhere.'
The Royals are scheduled to start right-hander Michael Wacha (4-9, 3.53 ERA) on Friday. He is 1-2 with a 5.20 ERA in eight career games (seven starts) against Toronto.
The Blue Jays had not named a starter as of Thursday night.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Winnipeg Free Press
39 minutes ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Byron Buxton looks to be a calming presence in Twins' clubhouse after a flurry of deadline moves
CLEVELAND (AP) — Every time Byron Buxton picked up his phone Thursday afternoon, there was a text message or news ping that one of his Minnesota Twins teammates was being traded. Two days later, Buxton was still trying to take in all the moves the Twins made as the front office made nine trades and turned over nearly 40% of the roster. Even though the All-Star center fielder is on the 10-day injured list with left ribcage inflammation, Buxton joined the Twins in Cleveland for this weekend's series as the franchise's clubhouse leader wanted to be there to provide support and be a sounding board for teammates. 'I mean ,trading nine guys like that is something that's not normal, so it was a little bit of a shock for sure,' Buxton said before Saturday's game. 'Right now, obviously, I haven't processed it. I don't know who has processed it, but something we'll talk about a little bit more at the end of the season.' Manager Rocco Baldelli said that having Buxton on the trip was important, not only for the support that he can give, but also because he remains on track to rejoin the lineup on Wednesday when the Twins are at Detroit. 'Keeping him with our trainers here and being able to get on the field here with the group when he's ready was important, but also the support that he's going to be giving the guys around him. Everybody looks to him, everyone looks to see how he'll respond to things, and he's a passionate guy. He cares about his teammates and his team and guys respect him immensely.' Buxton said he understands that baseball is a business and he anticipated moves were going to be made near the deadline. However, the amount of turnover was surprising. The Twins' most-significant move near the deadline was when shortstop Carlos Correa was dealt to Houston. Correa broke into the majors with the Astros and still has a house in Houston as he waived his no-trade clause. 'It's one of those things where you didn't think he was going to leave but with the opportunity that was ahead of him and just him being an Astro before, it's hard to pass that up in his situation. I couldn't be happier for him and his family. It is what's best for him,' Buxton said about Correa. Thursdays Keep up to date on sports with Mike McIntyre's weekly newsletter. While there are a lot of unknowns about the Twins as the team remains for sale, Buxton is trying to focus on the present. That includes making sure the new faces on the team can get acclimated quickly as well as trying to make sure the season doesn't spiral too much out of control. Minnesota won the AL Central in 2023, but missed the playoffs with an 82-80 mark last season. The Twins entered Saturday at 51-58 and on a three-game losing streak. 'These guys coming up, I don't want them to look at this as 'I finally got a shot.' You came up here because you want to win and you want to be better. So it's just playing together and having each other's backs is going to be the biggest thing going forward,' he said. ___ AP MLB:
Toronto Star
an hour ago
- Toronto Star
Texas Rangers put outfielder Evan Carter on IL, recall outfielder Alejandro Osuna
SEATTLE (AP) — Texas Rangers outfielder Evan Carter was placed on the 10-day injured list Saturday because of back spasms and outfielder Alejandro Osuna was recalled from Triple-A Round Rock to replace him on the active roster. The 22-year-old Carter went 0 for 4 with three strikeouts during Friday night's loss to the Seattle Mariners, and had gone only 4 for 34 since the All-Star break.
National Post
an hour ago
- National Post
Sportsnet tennis debacle reveals the have and have nots in Rogers sports empire
As a popular Canadian athlete and Olympic medallist, appearing at the downtown dome to toss out a ceremonial first pitch prior to a recent Blue Jays home game, the cross-promotion made sense for tennis player Felix Auger-Aliassime. Article content A Rogers-sponsored athlete at the Rogers Centre for a Rogers-owned pro team to help pump up an event in which Rogers is the presenting sponsor. Article content Article content Article content All the more reason, then, for those in the Auger-Aliassime camp and Tennis Canada to be miffed at how the Rogers-owned network broadcasting this week's National Bank Open at York University dropped the ball. Article content Sportsnet's decision not to produce its coverage of opening week action of the NBO in both Toronto (men) and Montreal (women) has not sat well with many of the principals involved with Canada's marquee event for the sport. Article content Though reluctant to criticize their broadcast partner directly and publicly, behind the scene Tennis Canada and tournament officials are miffed at Sportsnet's cost-cutting moves during the early rounds, opting for the ATP world feed for the first week of play. Article content (On Saturday through next weekend's finals, Sportsnet's regular, top-notch tennis crews were back in action in both Montreal and Toronto, as were the network's own producers.) Article content Even that development has come with some trimmed corners, however. There will be production crews on site at both venues, as well as those calling the action. Studio coverage will be from Rogers headquarters, however, eliminating the possibility of big-name players dropping by the set for interviews. Article content Article content The most egregious shortfall took place on Wednesday, however, when Auger-Aliassime's match, a tense straight-set loss to Hungary's Fabian Marozsan, was not shown at all on Sportsnet. Tennis Canada officials had purposely scheduled the popular Canadian in prime time and on the stadium court to maximize the audience — a win-win exposure wise. Article content Article content Where the communication broke down between Sportsnet and ATP's in-house folks remains to be seen. Article content 'Obviously what happened, we didn't want that to happen,' Hale said, according to the Canadian Press. 'We're going to have those discussions (on Sportsnet producing the full event in future years.) We've already started it. So I think there will be a better solution going forward as we move along.'
