Jeremy Jeffress Designated For Assignment, Dave Bush Called Up

Feb 18, 2013; Dunedin, FL, USA; Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Jeremy Jeffress (33) during photo day at Florida Auto Exchange Ballpark. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports

Apparently, one bad appearance can make a world of difference when it came to Jeremy Jeffress.

The 25 year old fireballer Jeremy Jeffress has been designated for assignment by the Blue Jays, while Dave Bush has been called up to the big club, according to Sportsnet’s Shi Davidi.

This means that the Blue Jays would like to sneak Jeremy Jeffress down to the minors to work on his stuff, but will most likely be claimed on waivers by another team. Dave Bush has options and can be optioned if needed to be sent down, protecting him from being claimed from another team when Brett Lawrie comes back from injury.

The move to DFA Jeremy Jeffress makes sense, but replacing him with another reliever doesn’t. An 8 man bullpen leaves only 3 men on the bench, and right now those players are Henry Blanco, Mark DeRosa and, while injured for a second straight day, Jose Bautista. The Blue Jays are effectively using a bench consisting of two healthy players. That means that right handed hitter Rajai Davis will have to start today’s game against right handed pitcher John Lackey, and the Blue Jays are going to have to leave Emilio Bonifacio in at second base despite him committing 3 errors and 4 strikeouts last night.

The team needs to bring up a middle infielder to replace Jeremy Jeffress on the club. The team needs Mike McCoy back up with the club.

McCoy is a capable defender who can position all positions except for catcher and first base. He also pitched an inning for the Blue Jays back in 2011, in which he got a 1-2-3 inning. He has a lot better baserunning speed than Mark DeRosa, better defense than Emilio Bonifacio and, in dire emergencies, can provide an arm as the 8th man in the bullpen if absolutely necessary instead of Dave Bush or Jeremy Jeffress.

And now hearing that Brett Lawrie “seems a ways off” from recovering from injury, the time is now to get another man on the bench. The season is long enough already; it’ll feel a lot longer with such a short bench.