Rowdy Tellez and Jonathan Davis among next wave of September additions
By Cam Lewis
5 years agoThe Blue Jays announced four more players joining the big league team’s expanded roster today. Dwight Smith Jr. and Richard Urena will return to the team while Rowdy Tellez and Jonathan Davis will be called up for the first time.
- Smith was the 53rd overall pick by the Blue Jays back in 2011. He made his debut with the team last season and saw a decent amount of action in May and June. He’s actually fared really well at the MLB level as he has an .831 OPS over the course of 89 plate appearances.
- Urena made his debut with the team last September and has been up and down a little bit as a backup infielder this season. Through 124 career MLB plate appearances, Urena has a .643 OPS.
- Rowdy Tellez is an interesting addition to the roster. Justin Smoak and Kendrys Morales, you’d think, will gobble up most of the at bats at first and DH for the remainder of the season. Still, Tellez had a very strong finish to the year and the organization is likely looking to build his confidence on a stellar finish, even if he doesn’t see much playing time. The Tellez story, in particular, is fantastic given what he’s battled through off the field.
- Jonathan Davis had a breakout season in Toronto’s system this year. He was a 15th round pick of the Jays back in 2013 and was never really on the prospect radar. This season, though, he put up a .830 OPS in New Hampshire before getting the call up to Buffalo in mid-July.
- Anthony Alford and Dalton Pompey weren’t among the players recalled by the Blue Jays. It’s interesting to see because that would potentially mean that Smith and Davis are viewed higher on the depth chart. I have a feeling this is the end for Pompey in the Jays organization given the fact he’s out of options, while Alford, who still has options, will get another year at Triple-A.
- It was also speculated that Justin Shafer, David Paulino, and Jake Petricka, 40-man roster pitchers not currently with the Jays, would be added to the roster at the end of Buffalo’s season. It doesn’t appear that they’ve been added, though I could be missing something. EDIT: Petricka is there, but the other two aren’t.
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