Blue Jays: Former players in the postseason
The 2017 postseason kicked off last night as the New York Yankees reigned victorious over the Minnesota Twins in the American League Wild Card contest, although the Toronto Blue Jays season is over, here is a look at some former Jays players who will be participating in the MLB playoffs.
The Cleveland Indians will be hosting the New York Yankees on Friday as the AL Division Series kicks off. The most prominent former Blue Jays player in the postseason is none other than Edwin Encarnacion. The Jays wild card game hero from just a year ago will look to lead the tribe to the World Series dance again. Encarnacion slashed .258/.377/.504 with 38 round trippers with the Indians this past season.
Yan Gomes and Joe Smith also make the list of former Blue Jays on the tribe’s postseason roster. Smith was acquired at the trade deadline by Cleveland and has done an admirable job posting a 3.44 earned run average in 21 appearances since the acquisition.
The New York Yankees have no former Blue Jays on their roster of note, which makes it even easier to root against them.
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The other AL series will see the Boston Red Sox challenge the Houston Astros in a battle of division leaders. Two former Jays in David Price, and the speedy Rajai Davis will represent the Boston postseason contingent. Price who historically has struggled in the playoffs, has been relegated to the bullpen, while Davis was a late-season pickup for the Red Sox.
The Astros have former Blue Jays farmhands Jake Marisnick and Joe Musgrove, along with trade deadline acquisition Francisco Liriano suiting up for them at the Juice Box.
The National League Wild Card game kicks off tonight with the Colorado Rockies visiting Arizona to take on the Diamondbacks in the one-game playoff. The Rockies will sport Jeff Hoffman as the lone Jays player who was dealt to the mile high city in the Troy Tulowitzki deal. The lone desert representative will be backup catcher Jeff Mathis who last played in Toronto in 2012.
The Los Angeles Dodgers await the winner of the desert battle and have a former Jays hurler dominating out of their bullpen. The oft-injured Brandon Morrow has rejuvenated his career in the Los Angeles bullpen earning a tidy 2.06 earned run average in 45 games this past season.
The former World Champion Chicago Cubs will host the battle-tested Washington Nationals in the final NL playoff series. The Washington Nationals have one former Toronto slugger as well, as Adam Lind had a solid season in a part-time role with the National League contenders, while the Cubbies don’t have anyone with a tie to the Blue Jays.
Next: Blue Jays: Early prediction about free agent additions
So even though our Jays are making offseason plans, there are still some former favourites we can root for as October baseball kicks off.