John Axford traded to the Dodgers
By Cam Lewis
5 years agoThe trades! Keep them coming! Good Canadian boy John Axford got to fulfill a dream of playing for his childhood team this year when the Jays inked him to a one-year deal. Now he’ll get to try to win a World Series with the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Axford signed with the Jays as a free agent back in early February. He would make 45 appearances, 44 as a reliever and ONE as a STARTER, posting a 4.41 ERA while striking out 8.8 batters per nine. Though his numbers weren’t spectacular, Axford was a gem to have on the Blue Jays this season.
And coming back to the Jays will be Triple-A reliever Corey Copping. The righty was just recently recalled to Triple-A after posting a very good 2.53 ERA in 30 appearances in Double-A. All told, Copping has a 2.52 ERA between Double- and Triple-A through 53 2/3 innings this year. He’s striking out 9.9 batters per nine and, much like the dude the Jays got in the Aaron Loup deal, really limits homers, as he’s allowing just 0.3 bombs per nine.
Copping said his fastball was clocked between 86 and 88 mph at the end of spring training. After 10 weeks of Driveline, he was regularly touching 92 to 94. Reid-Foley said his velocity went from 88-91 mph at the end of spring training to 90-94.And their actual performance?Reid-Foley allowed 17 runs in 8 2/3 innings (a 17.65 ERA) with advanced Single-A Rancho Cucamonga in 2015. This year, his ERA is down to 5.16 and he’s averaging nearly a strikeout per inning.Copping was promoted to Rancho Cucamonga in July. Since then he hasn’t allowed a run in eight of 10 appearances out of the bullpen.“After an outing I did all my recovery stuff through Driveline,” Copping said, “and it felt like I didn’t pitch that night.”
Recent articles from Cam Lewis
