Blue Jays make roster moves ahead of September call-ups

With the Toronto Blue Jays promoting 9 players as part of September roster expansion, there were going to be some guys left out of the mix. There are just so many 40-man roster spots to go around and the Blue Jays need this time to evaluate where they stand with certain prospects and veterans, leaving very little room for some fringe guys.

That means that some room needed to be made for the likes of Dalton Pompey, Kendall Graveman, and Daniel Norris, all of whom were not yet on the 40-man roster. As Brendan Kennedy of The Star notes in the tweet below, those moves came in various forms.

The first and somewhat disappointing news is the inevitable transfer of third baseman Brett Lawrie to the 60-day disabled list. It just became a time crunch for Lawrie, who simply ran out of time to rehab from his oblique stain and return to the Blue Jays in 2014. It’ll go down as another lost season for the 24-year-old, who finished the year with a .247/.301/.421 slash, 12 home runs, and 38 RBI in just 70 games played.

The Blue Jays also did some housecleaning, designating veteran minor leaguers Matt Hague and Darin Mastroianni for assignment, opening up their 40-man roster spots.

The Jays had selected Hague off waivers from the Pittsburgh Pirates on August 18th, but the move now seems nothing more than adding a piece for the playoff push for the Buffalo Bisons. The 29-year-old would appear in just 13 games for the Bisons, but hit .377/.411/.566 with 1 home run and 10 RBI in that span.

Darin Mastroianni made two separate trips to Toronto this season after being claimed off waivers from the Minnesota Twins in mid-April. The 29-year-old outfielder was unimpressive during his brief stint with the Jays, posting just 5 hits in 32 plate appearances with Toronto. He was significantly better for the Bisons, where he managed a .267/.349/.369 slash-line in 88 contests. However, he was never a part of the Blue Jays future, so his release was more of a formality, and was expected given the promotion of Dalton Pompey.

The Blue Jays also granted release to Mike Zagurski, who the Blue Jays picked up as a minor league free agent on May 27th. The release was initially reported by Tim Dierkes of MLB Trade Rumors.

The 31-year-old lefty was not on the 40-man roster, but based on his 2-1 record, 1.83 ERA, and 12.4 K/9 ratio over 44.1 innings of work at Triple-A Buffalo, he was likely a bit disappointed to find out he wasn’t going to get another chance at the Major Leagues this season.

The one name that was widely speculated on his way out, but seemingly escaped the cuts was reliever Colt Hynes. The 29-year-old was plucked off waivers on August 13th, but only managed to make 7 appearances with Buffalo before the season ended. He’s not likely to receive a call-up, so his omission may just be a matter of time at this point should another spot be needed.