Blue Jays AAA Buffalo Bisons Activate Ezequiel Carrera

When the Blue Jays formed a partnership with the Buffalo Bisons a few years back, Alex Anthopoulos wanted their fans to know that the partnership wasn’t just to provide a quicker trip for players heading to Toronto. He wanted to also help put a quality product on the field. And, over the last couple years, he’s done just that. Bisons fans have seen Daniel Norris, Marcus Stroman, Aaron Sanchez, Dalton Pompey and Kevin Pillar make several appearances.

When this past trade deadline passed, there was a lot of minor league talent flying out of the Blue Jays system. Buffalo lost Norris and Matt Boyd. Heck, even a “name” like Felix Doubront had been taken away from the Bisons. The life of a AAA team means that some of your roster will be a revolving door. Well, now, that door has spun and Ezequiel Carrera has come back through. He was designated for assignment recently and has decided to accept. He’s been activated by the Bisons.

In order to make room for Carrera, the Bisons sent Melky Mesa to AA New Hampshire. Carrera’s decision might come as a surprise to some. You’d think there would be a team out there looking to add a speedy outfielder. But, surely Carrera would have tested the waters a little bit before coming to the decision to accept the assignment. Not liking what was out there, he will return to the Bisons and create quite a speedy and exciting looking outfield.

As the voice of the Bisons, Ben Wagner tells us, this outfield has speed written all over it. If you’re in Buffalo, you might want to get a glimpse of these guys in action. This outfield group is interesting for another reason, though. In one way or another, each of these guys could be considered for a September call up. Surely, Carrera’s big league experience will play into his favor a little bit. He does bring an experienced bat off the bench. Remember when John Gibbons surprised us all in Seattle and used Carrera as a pinch hitter? We all thought that was a silly call. At least until Zeke hit a home run. Likewise, he could be used as a pinch runner in tight situations. 

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But, the same could be said for the other two. Pompey is fighting his way back from what has been a humbling season and a rejuvenating one all in one. After being named the big league starting CF, he struggled early and was demoted all the way to AA. It has been argued that part of his struggles came from a lack of confidence. Well, if that is the case, he might just have done very well to rebuild that in the minor leagues. After hitting .351 in AA, he’s doing well in Buffalo at .278/.384/.374. He’s hitting .333 over his last 10 games (14 hits) and has stolen 3 bases.

Roemon Fields has done quite well for himself this season. Our Keegan Matheson profiled him as someone the Blue Jays could look to bring up when rosters expand in September. And, why not? At 24, he started the year in Dunedin and ran his way all the way up to AAA. In total, he’s stolen 29 bases this year. That’s after stealing 48 in Vancouver the year before. He too is having a good year with the bat. 

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After hitting .351 in AA (like Pompey), though, he has had little success in just 4 games at the AAA level (coming into play Saturday night). Thus far, he’s hitting just .176. But, this is a very small sample size and we should not be concerned. There is plenty of time to let him get his feet wet in Buffalo. Let him run that outfield with Pompey and Carrera. Let him get comfortable so he can continue his successful 2015 season. There is no need to rush him the big leagues. I did say that all of these guys have a shot at getting calls in September. And, I’m not ruling it out for Fields. I’m just saying he has an outside shot.

While September call ups are within reason for these players in varying degrees, we shouldn’t look past the current situation it presents in Buffalo right now. If the goal is to produce a quality product on the field at Coca Cola Field, this outfield certainly does present that. If speed is your interest, check it out while you can. The revolving door spins.

Next: Has Marco Estrada Given the Blue Jays the Best Trade Value of All?

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