Also, now that we will have covered the latest and greats of the minors transactions over the last 9 months, we will also be updating all Jays minors transactions in our new “Jays Minors Transactions” page, so check back there from time to time if you’re curious about what’s happening in the Jays affiliates and depth chart.

End of July 2010

RHP Bubbie Buzachero – Traded – 5’10″ 180 lbs, 29 years old (more…)

Patterson is the only new name to be announced on this list, as the other five on this list had all been announced in some way before today.

Mat announced the signing of catcher Ryan Budde yesterday, and Winston Abreu on December 7th. I touched on Abreu’s Winter League progress back on December 8th, and took a look at the Mike Hinckley signing way back on November 20th.

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AAA Las Vegas – Won 6-2 vs Colorado

• Brett Cecil‘s line: 6 IP, 7 hits, 2 walks, 1 ER, 3 strike outs, and he now has a 2,45 ERA on the season. It seems Brett is still the most likely call up candidate if changes are to be made in Toronto.
• Sean Henn and Rommie Lewis threw 3 shut out innings afterwards. Henn still has a 0 ERA over his 5 innings of work in 2010, while Lewis has also been great thus far, only giving up 1 run in 5 IP.
• 1B Brett Wallace (.303) hit his 4th HR the year, while 1B Brian Dopirak (.286) also went deep for his 2nd of the year.
• C JP Arencibia went 2 for 4 to bring his average up to .273 on the year.

AA New Hampshire – Lost 9-5 to Binghamton

• Marty McLeary had a night to forget, lasting only 0.1 innings while allowing 5 ER. His relief, Buzzie Buzachero was a little better, which isn’t saying much. He lasted 2.2 innings and allowed 7 hits and 4 ER. You can’t blame the guy though as he was probably shocked to be in the game that early!
• Randy Boone was strong in relief, stemming the tide by going 5 strong after the first 2 and only allowed 1 hit and 2 walks, giving NH a chance to get back in the game.
• The offensive side the of the game was alright for NH, as 5 hitters were able to knock out 2 hits in the game – 1B David Cooper, SS Jonathan Diaz, 3B Manuel Mayorson, RF Adam Loewen, and LF Eric Thames. Loewen had the best day of all, however, as his hits were both for extra bases, a double and a HR – his 1st of the season.

HiA Dunedin – Lost 4-1 to Brevard County

• Joel Carreno had a decent outing, nothing spectacular, as he went 5 innings while allowing 9 hits and 3 ER.
• C Travis d’Arnaud joined fellow Doc trade member Brett Wallace in adding to his power totals by smacking his 3rd HR of the season. He went 3 for 5 in the game, raising his season’s average to .429, impressive to say the least.
• SS Tyler Pastornicky (.189) went 3 for 5 in the game and was caught stealing once, while 3B John Tolisano went 2 for 4 to raise his average to .226.
• 1B Michael McDade is not having a great start to the season, as his average dipped to .176 after going 0 for 4 in the game.

LoA Lansing – Lost 6-3 to Lake County

• First rounder Chad Jenkins did enough to earn a win but lacked the support to get there. He threw a mediocre but effective 6 innings, allowing 8 hits, 3 ER, 1 walk, and getting 4 Ks in the start.
• Dustin Antolin continued the outstanding performance of the Lansing pen by throwing 2 shut out innings in relief, striking out 3 in the process. He now has 7 shut out innings, allowing only 2 hits, 1 walk, and getting 8 Ks on the season. What a great start for the 20 year old from Hawaii.
• C Sean Ochinko finally got going offensively with a 2 for 4 day, including 1 double. 3B Mark Sobolweski was the only other bright spot for Lansing as he went 2 for 5 with 2 RBI.

Brett’s game stats were not overly dominant, but they were effective. He threw 5 innings, gave up 6 hits that resulted in 2 earned runs. More importantly, he struck out 8 hitters and didn’t walk any, which showed his propensity to throw strikes (65 of 92 pitches). Josh Roenicke and Sean Henn followed up his outing with 3 shutout innings of their own, while Rommie Lewis skated with danger, giving up 1 ER over 3 hits but still getting the save in the end (his second of the season).

Chris Lubanski, Jorge Padilla, Jarrett Hoffpauir, and Jesus Merchan all had 2 hits a piece, and Lubanski added a SB. For those wondering how prized acquisition Brett Wallace is doing, he went 0 for 4 (2 strike outs) and is now hitting .214 on the year. Let’s hope that changes some time soon – at least before he is sent down to AA.

Las Vegas is now 3-1 on the season and looking good overall. They should be able to do this well all season long and that winning attitude should transfer well to the Jays when promotions occur. Good stuff! It’s nice to know the Jays have a winner like Brett Cecil waiting in the wings.

Offensively, Brian Dopirak, Jeremy Reed, Christian Colonel, Aaron Matthews, and Brett Wallace had 1 hit each, but the real story of the game was Jesus Merchan who went 3 for 3.

Of note in this game was the confirmation that the Jays intend to use David Purcey out of the pen from now on (foreseeably).

Other notes from the game that I gathered include the fact that very time Travis Snider is in the #6 spot in the lineup he gets at least a hit. Today was no different since he gathered 2 hits including a solo HR off Kam Mickolio. Cito may want to consider keeping Snider in the #6 hole as he seems very comfortable there. Brian Dopirak went 0 for 4 to bring his average down to .222 while Randy Ruiz went 1 for 4 and now has a .467 average on the spring. It’s looking more and more like Dopirak may begin the year in AAA unless he gets hot from now to April. I’m still impressed about how consistently the Jays are getting 10 hits or more per game this spring.

Other news and notes:

• Apparently some teams have shown interest in SP David Purcey who has really found himself at the bottom of the list in terms of depth for the Jays. Some believe he can still be a starter, while others believe he could be a power reliever. My question is if the Jays trade him now, would they be selling low? They’d be better off showcasing him for a little while and getting a better price for him once teams get desperate for pitching.
• I think the Jays may have a closer by committee situation until Kevin Gregg proves he can handle the job (if he does, that is). There’s an article by Jordan Bastien on the subject here.
• No official word on the Adeiny Hechavarria signing yet. Who knew a physical could take that long. Maybe U.S. authorities are having a hard time putting the controls on that $10 million dollar check!
• The Jays optioned pitchers Sean Henn and Reidier Gonzalez to AAA Las Vegas.
• The Jays are facing Baltimore again tomorrow, followed by Houston and the Braves.