Who doesn’t love transactions.
Unfortunately, the transactions that we’ll cover in this article aren’t of the trade variety. On Tuesday afternoon, the Blue Jays selected the contract of Luis De Los Santos and called him up to the big leagues, while also calling up Yariel Rodríguez. Recently acquired Jake Bloss was optioned to Triple-A.
It was reported by Jays Journal’s Eric Treuden on Monday evening that the Blue Jays were recalling De Los Santos, so this was to be expected. Signing on July 2, 2015, he (alongside Vladimir Guerrero Jr.) are the longest serving Blue Jays in the organization.
This season in Triple-A, he’s slashing .243/.393/.400 with three home runs in 90 plate appearances for a 114 wRC+, while also hitting a home run in a rehab appearance with the Single-A Dunedin Blue Jays. It’s doubtful his stint with the Jays will be a long one, but after being in the organization for 10 seasons, he deserves a chance to make his big league debut.
As you may recall, Yariel Rodríguez was optioned to Buffalo yesterday, but that was the plan all along. After a rough two thirds of an inning in game one of the doubleheader, he, along with Yerry Rodríguez, were sent down to bring up fresh arms. However, with Yusei Kikuchi being traded, the Jays were able to bring him back up for his next scheduled start instead of waiting the 15 days before being able to recall him again.
Despite the rough outing on Monday, the 27-year-old has a 4.20 ERA and a 3.92 FIP in 40.2 innings pitched, along with a 24.4 K% and a 13.6 BB%. Four more years of Rodríguez? Sign me up!
The Kikuchi trade brought in Jake Bloss from the Houston Astros, along with Will Wagner and Joey Loperfido. Wagner was optioned to Triple-A, while Loperfido will be on the Blue Jays 26-man roster. Bloss was selected in the third-round by the Astros during the 2023 draft, and had a meteoric rise, making the big leagues in his second season.
Now, that was out of necessity as the Astros’ rotation was in rough shape, but Bloss earned it as he has a 1.64 ERA and a 3.18 FIP in 66 minor league innings this season, along with a 25.6 K% and an 8.5 BB%. He’s currently second on MLB Pipeline’s top 30 Blue Jays list.
Update:
After Trevor Richards was traded to the Minnesota Twins for Jay Harry, the Blue Jays recalled Yerry Rodríguez, who was also sent down before game two of Monday’s doubleheader. Moreover, it’s expected that Paolo Espino will be added to the 26-man roster and start Wednesday’s game.
Either way, the moves keep coming, so expect more call-ups in the near future.
As always, you can follow me on Twitter @Ryley_L_D.