Blue Jays: Teoscar Hernandez may be coming soon

In an interview on the MLB Network this morning, John Gibbons was asked if Teoscar Hernandez is being promoted soon, and he didn’t exactly deny it.

The Blue Jays have started the season out very well, but that doesn’t mean the roster tweaking and analysis is over. For example, they had to place Kendrys Morales on the 10 day disabled list earlier this week, and brought up left-handed reliever Tim Mayza to fill his spot on the 25 man roster.

The club could elect to go with eight relievers for awhile, but it’s equally possible they could send an arm to Triple-A and bring up another bat until Morales is healthy. The most obvious choice for that bat would be Teoscar Hernandez, who arguably could or should have made the team out of spring training. When the team broke camp, there simply was no room for the talented power hitter, at least not in the form of regular playing time.

As certain players have struggled to open the season, it has only reinforced some folk’s belief that Hernandez should be with the big league club, and his performance has certainly warranted as much. He was outstanding in September with the Blue Jays, and continued to mash during Grapefruit League action as well.

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You can’t fault the Blue Jays for being reluctant to count on him as a full time starter, but it’s been easy to question why they didn’t, especially as others have struggled, like newcomer Randal Grichuk who is hitting just .077 with three hits in his first 39 at bats. While it’s a small sample size, it’s easy to understand why some fans would like to see Hernandez sooner than later.

That exact topic came up when John Gibbons appeared on the MLB Network Radio on Sirius XM show, and Gibbons had a hard time keeping his cards to his chest. To be clear, he didn’t admit anything outright or make any announcements, but when he was asked if the Blue Jays might see Teoscar Hernandez soon, even tonight or tomorrow, Gibbons chuckled coyly before, and while answering. Have a listen for yourself in the tweet below:

Gibbons went on to talk about how Hernandez looked even better this spring than he did last season, and that he’s a “huge fan”, so it’s pretty obvious where he stands with the 25 year old. And if you did listen to the audio above, I’m confident you’ll agree that Gibbons didn’t do a very good job at “hiding” what’s about to come.

The odd thing was that Hernandez was lifted from a close game last night with the Buffalo Bisons in Triple-A, so the speculation started that he was either injured, or possibly getting promoted. The timing of pulling him seemed strange, as the Bisons were down 2-1 in the 8th inning, and Hernandez had hit a home run earlier in the game, so you can’t blame people for raising an eyebrow. There have been no announcements from the Blue Jays or Bisons, as of this writing.

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Don’t be surprised if Hernandez is with the Blue Jays for their series with the Cleveland Indians this weekend, an addition that would require another move on the 25 man roster.

*Edit- It appears that Hernandez has joined the big league club already.