Blue Jays placed RHP Alan Farina on the 60-day disabled list.
He was cleared to make room for the newly-signed Rick VandenHurk on the 40-man roster. Farina underwent Tommy John surgery last July and is unlikely to pitch in a game until later this summer. The 25-year-old could be a useful bullpen piece in the long term.
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Blue Jays signed RHP Rick VandenHurk to a one-year contract.
He’ll receive a non-guaranteed split major-league contract. VandenHurk was released by the Orioles earlier this month after spending most of last season at the Triple-A level. The 26-year-old right-hander owns a career 5.97 ERA in the major leagues.
Source: twitter.com
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Blue Jays and RHP Casey Janssen avoided arbitration by agreeing to a two-year, $5.9 million contract with a $4 million option for 2014.
Source: twitter.com
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According to Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca, the Blue Jays are nearing a two-year deal with Casey Janssen.
The contract will cover Janssen’s final year of arbitration eligibility and his first year of free agency. It also carries an option for 2014. He posted a 2.26 ERA and 53/14 K/BB ratio across 55 2/3 innings last season and has developed into one of baseball’s more reliable setup men. The 30-year-old right-hander should remain a valuable piece of the Toronto ‘pen for the next couple years.
Source: twitter.com
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Blue Jays signed INF-OF Koby Clemens to a minor league contract.
Roger’s son failed to progress after his promising 2009 season and wasn’t able to make the transition behind the plate. The 25-year-old batted .234/.331/.424 with 16 homers, 55 RBI and a .756 OPS with the Astros’ Triple-A affiliate last year while making starts at first base, third base and left field. He’ll serve as organizational fodder with Toronto.
Source: twitter.com
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Francisco Cordero understands his role as the Blue Jays’ setup man in 2012, vowing to “treat the eighth inning like the ninth and get us to [Sergio] Santos.”
Cordero added, “They explained to me what my role is going to be, I agreed to it, and I’ll be more than happy to do it.” The 36-year-old has been a closer for most of his career and is 12th on the all-time saves list. With anointed closer Sergio Santos amassing eight blown saves in 39 career chances, Cordero could accrue more value as the season progresses.
Source: torontosun.com
Tagged as: Blue Jays, Francisco Cordero, news
Blue Jays designated OF Darin Mastroianni for assignment.
Mastroianni was cleared to make room for the newly-signed Francisco Cordero on the 40-man roster. The 26-year-old outfielder had three plate appearances with the Blue Jays last season, but spent the majority of the year in the minors, batting .268/.353/.377 with three homers, 36 RBI, 10 stolen bases and a .730 OPS between Double- and Triple-A. There’s a chance he’ll slip through waivers.
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Blue Jays signed RHP Francisco Cordero to a one-year, $4.5 million contract.
The deal was reported last week, but wasn’t made official until Wednesday. Cordero struggled to find a job this winter and ultimately settled for a set-up role with the Blue Jays after the Reds signed Ryan Madson to serve as their closer. The 36-year-old right-hander posted a 2.45 ERA and 37 saves as the Reds’ closer last season, but his fastball velocity and strikeout rate were both on the decline. He likely won’t be relevant in mixed leagues unless Sergio Santos struggles or hits the disabled list.
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Jose Bautista insisted to MLB.com’s Jesse Sanchez on Tuesday that he has been tested 16 times over the past two years for performance-enhancing substances.
Jeff Passan of Yahoo! Sports was told by a source that Bautista was “not even in the ballpark” with his claim that he was tested 16 times, but the slugger stands by recent comments that were printed in Hoy, a newspaper in the Dominican Republic. “Whoever is saying that I wasn’t tested might have their reasons,” said Bautista. “I don’t know why somebody would feel they have to defend themselves. I’m part of the program, and the program says you have to be tested once during the season and once mandatory during Spring Training. Since it’s random, you can be tested multiple times, and if that’s what happened to me, I’m fine with it. I don’t see why somebody needs to be so defensive about it and make it sound like I wasn’t. I know what happened. I know how many times I was tested, and I don’t really care if anybody says I wasn’t.” Bautista, 31, has led the majors in home runs in each of the past two seasons.
Source: mlb.com
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Jeff Passan of Yahoo! Sports was told by a source that Jose Bautista has not been drug tested 16 times in the past two seasons.
Dominican newspaper Hoy reported last week that Bautista recently said at a banquet that MLB tested him 16 times for PEDs between 2010-2011, but a source told Passan that the number is “not even in the ballpark.” It’s not clear whether the number wasn’t accurately stated by Bautista or there was some confusion on the part of the newspaper, but Passan’s source claims that the slugger was tested the normal amount by MLB.
Source: twitter.com
Tagged as: Blue Jays, Jose Bautista, news