The Buffalo Bisons rotation took another hit today as the Blue Jays have parted ways with Canadian, Phillippe Aumont. The 6’7″ righty struggled during his brief stint with the Herd.
After enjoying a gold medal at the Pan Am Games, Aumont joined the Blue Jays organization on a minor league deal. His path to this point has been one of struggle and disappointment, though. Perhaps, the Blue Jays hoped to capitalize on his recent success. Perhaps, the hope was that he’d moved on from the fall from grace since being drafted. Our Keegan Matheson outlined his windy road to the Bisons mound HERE.
Toronto Blue Jays
After throwing just 4 innings with the Phillies earlier in the year, Aumont didn’t look like he’d return to pro ball. But, the Blue Jays gave him an opportunity. In 5 games, Aumont made 4 starts and put up a 0-2 record with a 6.00 ERA. In 18 innings, he walked 22 batters for an average of 11 walks per 9 innings or 25% of the batters he faced. His WHIP sat at 1.889. Obviously, this is not the type of success we were hoping for and a far cry from what many had expected when he was the third highest Canadian ever drafted.
The Bisons rotation has taken quite hit over the last while. Daniel Norris and Matt Boyd were dealt at the deadline. Randy Wolf was just dealt to the Tigers for cash and will make his first big league start of the season in place of the injured Norris. Drew Hutchison joined the club after being sent down by the Blue Jays. He forms a rotation with Scott Copeland and Jeff Francis. Who fills in that 5th starter spot remains to be seen. Todd Redmond has been used there (6 starts) this season. Andrew Albers is on the 7-day DL.
Betsided
Or, perhaps this opens up a spot for someone to come up. Does Casey Lawrence (11-13 in AA) get a shot? How about 20 yr old Conner Greene? He’s 10-6, 3.36 in AA. The Bisons have 17 games remaining on their schedule. They’re 13 games from being eliminated from the International League playoffs. Could they take a flier on someone like Greene? Surely, they won’t run with a 4 man rotation with no off days until the end of the season.
We cannot forget that the big league roster expands in September. Hutchison would likely come back to Toronto. So, the organization will need to make some decisions. Buffalo is realistically in a position where they can bring up some younger talent and test their mettle. Sean Reid-Foley, anyone? Though, this might be far fetched. Regardless, they will need to come up with some sort of plan to fill out the Bisons rotation. It will be interesting to see how the final 17 games play out in Buffalo.
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