OFFICIAL: We’ve signed INF Michael Stefanic and RHP Kevin Gowdy to Minor League deals with invites to #SpringTraining.
News and Notes: The Blue Jays sign Kevin Gowdy to a minor league deal with an invite to Spring Training
Photo credit: © Nathan J. Fish/The Oklahoman - USA Today
Dec 5, 2024, 20:00 ESTUpdated: Dec 5, 2024, 17:34 EST
It may not be the transaction we all want, but the Toronto Blue Jays made one nonetheless.
On Tuesday, the Blue Jays officially signed Michael Stefanic, as well as Kevin Gowdy. We’ve already looked a Stefanic, but what about Gowdy, what does he bring to the table?
Gowdy is a 27-year-old right-handed pitcher who was selected in the second round of the 2016 draft by the Philadelphia Phillies. He’s never pitched in the big leagues before but spent the entirety of the 2024 season with the Los Angeles Dodgers’ Triple-A team where he had a 4.38 ERA and a 4.09 FIP in 51.1 innings pitched, along with a 19.5 K% and a 10 BB%.
This will be Gowdy’s fourth professional organization, as the Phillies traded him to the Texas Rangers before the 2021 trade deadline before he elected free agency and signed with the Dodgers before the start of the 2023 season.
He was ranked as the Texas Rangers’ 26-best prospect in Fangraphs’ mid-season update in 2021, noting his low-90s fastball and good slider. Gowdy has been a pure relief prospect since the 2021 trade.
Baseball America’s Top 10 Blue Jay prospects
Speaking of top prospects, Baseball America updated their Top 10 Blue Jay prospect list. Ranking first is Ricky Tiedemann.
NEW 2025 BLUE JAYS TOP 10 PROSPECTS 🚨 If Ricky Tiedemann is able to stay healthy after lingering elbow issues ... he has the potential to be a mainstay in a big league rotation. See the @BlueJays top prospects, new scouting reports & more: baseballamerica.com/stories/toront…
Other players on the list (not in order) include Orelvis Martínez, Landen Maroudis, Arjun Nimmala, Kendry Rojas, Josh Kasvich, and a handful of others. Realistically, the Blue Jays could have four players, Tiedemann, Martínez, Trey Yesavage, and Nimmala contend for the top spot.
Overall, the farm system isn’t as weak as some believe, as they have quite a few upper minor prospects ready to break through next season, as well as potential Top 100 prospects that were just listed. Moreover, they’ll have a high draft pick in the 2025 draft to help improve their farm system quite a bit.
Kōyō Aoyagi and Hyeseong Kim posted
Two players from Asia, Kōyō Aoyagi and Hyeseong Kim, have been posted in recent days.
RHP Koyo Aoyagi's 45-day negotiating window with @MLB teams has begun, after the Hanshin Tigers made his posting official. Aoyagi, a sidearm starting pitcher, had 6.2 K/9 and a 1.307 WHIP over 114 innings this year. @MLBNetwork
Kim, a South Korean second baseman, slashed .326/.383/.458 with 11 home runs in 567 plate appearances last season for the Kiwoom Heroes of the Korean Baseball Organization. For his career, the 25-year-old is slashing .304/.364/.403 with 37 home runs in 3,819 plate appearances.
Aoyagi is a 30-year-old right-handed pitcher who has spent his entire career with Hanshin Tigers in Nippon Professional Baseball. For his career, he has a 3.08 ERA in 898.1 innings pitched, with a 17.1 K% and a 7.9 BB%. Last season, Aoyagi posted a 3.69 ERA in 61 innings pitched, with a 13 K% and a 7.8 BB%.
As always, you can follow me on Bluesky @ryleydelaney.bsky.social.
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