Blue Jays trade Paredes, option Girodo for Grilli

The Toronto Blue Jays have made a pair of minor moves ahead of their series finale against the New York Yankees.

Left-handed reliever Chad Girodo has been optioned to the triple-A Buffalo Bisons to make room for Jason Grilli, who was added in a trade from the Atlanta Braves yesterday. This leaves Aaron Loup as the lone lefty in the Blue Jays bullpen for the time being.

Across 8.1 innings pitched at the Major League level in 2016, Girodo has allowed nine hits and a 4.32 ERA. What’s really sunk the lefty-specialist is the home run ball (three allowed), something that his sinking movement has typically allowed him to avoid.

In other news, the Blue Jays have traded infielder Jimmy Paredes to the Philadelphia Phillies. Paredes was recently designated for assignment as the Jays moved to an eight-man bullpen.

Paredes was 4-for-15 in his very brief stint in Toronto, but his lack of a strong defensive position eventually cost him his roster spot. While his designation for assignment has left the Blue Jays without a true offensive threat off the bench, it was necessary to keep Ryan Goins on the roster as the primary reserve at shortstop behind Darwin Barney.

If the finalized deal sees Toronto receive cash from the Phillies, that could help to even further offset the small cost of acquiring Grilli.