Blue Jays Lose Two: Jordan Bastian and Taylor Buchholz

In an unexpected announcement, Jordan Bastian, MLB.com reporter for the Blue Jays since 2005, is moving on to become the MLB.com reporter for the Cleveland Indians in 2011.

His motivation for the move was to be closer to family and friends, and especially now that he has a son, time with his family is of the utmost importance. You can (and should) read his very classy post on his blog, Major League Bastian. It’s easy to tell he had a very strong connection with the Toronto Blue Jays franchise and the Toronto area.

We as Blue Jay fans were quite fortunate to have him as our team’s reporter, and his passion for his work was evident. I remember many times, without even looking at the byline on an article, that I could tell whether or not it was written by Bastian, because he just had a unique style that I had grown accustomed to. All the best in the future to you and your family Jordan, and thank you for your contributions over the years!

In other Jays news, the awesome folks at MLB Trade Rumors first reported that RP Taylor Buchholz has been claimed off waivers by the Boston Red Sox.

I’m not exactly elated about the move, but GM Alex Anthopoulos no doubt has more ideas up his sleeve for the bullpen this offseason. For more information on Buchholz, I had this to say about him in one of my previous posts, The 2011 Bullpen Situation:

"A harmless waiver claim from Colorado by Anthopoulos, Buchholz returned from Tommy John surgery near the end of the year and did not surrender a hit in 2 appearances for the Jays. As someone who posted a 2.17 ERA in 63 games in 2008, he represents another low cost, high reward pickup for the Jays. It will be interesting to see what kind of spring he has, but he could be a dark horse for a role in 2011."

-JM