A slew of roster moves have been announced heading into Wednesday’s finale with the Baltimore Orioles.
It was announced that the Pirates claimed Zack Collins off of waivers, which you can read more about here courtesy of BJN’s Thomas Hall.
However, more moves were made, as reliever Zach Pop has been recalled, along with catcher Gabriel Moreno, arguably the Blue Jays’ best prospect. To make room for those two players, starter Mitch White was optioned to Triple A, and outfielder Teoscar Hernandez was placed on the paternity list.
Starting with Pop, the 25-year-old righty has a 3.25 ERA and 3.22 FIP in 27.2 innings pitched in the big leagues this season. His walk rate sits at just 1.8% this season, but he doesn’t have an incredibly high K% either, as it sits at 14% between Miami and Toronto. However, Pop does get a ton of ground balls, as his GB% sits at 55.3% on the season.
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As for Moreno, he didn’t quite deliver in his stint with the Blue Jays, slashing .276/.300/.293 with a BB% of 3.3 and an 11.7 K% in 60 plate appearances for a wRC+ of 71. However, since returning to the Bisons, Moreno has a .304/.393/.441 slash line with a 10.3 BB% and 16.2 K% in 117 plate appearances. He has also added two homers for a 124 wRC+.
Overall in Triple A, Moreno is slashing .315/.386/.420 with a 120 wRC+, 9 BB%, and 16.9 K% in 267 plate appearances.
As for Mitch White, he has a 8.17 ERA and 3.82 FIP in his 25.1 innings pitched with the Jays. His 17.9 K% is on the rather low side, while his 8.9 BB% is average. There’s definitely something there, especially with the team control, but in the midst of a playoff race, it’s quite risky running him out there.
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In his last three starts, he has a 13.50 ERA and 5.28 FIP with a 19.4 K% and 11.3 BB%. Now, the defense has definitely let him down in at least one of those games, but the Jays can’t afford to run him out there if he’s going to pitch like that.
It’ll help Buffalo’s playoff chances by adding another starter, as they currently sit 7 games out of a playoff spot with 22 games remaining. It’s likely White will be re-called as the extra man when the Jays face the Rays in a doubleheader next week.
As always, you can follow me on Twitter @Brennan_L_D.

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