Blue Jays claim RHP Preston Guilmet from St. Louis Cardinals

The Blue Jays made yet another minor move this weekend, claiming right-handed pitcher Preston Guilmet from the St. Louis Cardinals, designating Deck McGuire for assignment to make room on the 40-man roster.

According to a tweet from the team, the Blue Jays have claimed RHP Preston Guilmet off waivers from the St. Louis Cardinals. To make room on the 40-man roster, the Jays have also designated RHP Deck McGuire for assignment, per the same announcement. According to Sportsnet, the transaction took place during the eighth inning of Saturday’s game.

Mike Wilner of Sportsnet reported that Guilmet will report to the Blue Jays on Sunday, allowing him a day to travel and join the team in Toronto.

Guilmet, 30, has had limited experience at the big league level. In 25 innings across parts of four seasons in Cleveland, Baltimore, Tampa Bay, Milwaukee and St. Louis, he’s put up a 9.36 ERA with 22 strikeouts and nine walks. He has only appeared in relief at the major league level.

At this minor league level, however, he’s dominated this year. In 29.0 innings with St. Louis’ Triple-A affiliate, the Memphis Redbirds, he’s pitched to a stunning 0.93 ERA with 35 strikeouts and five walks, amounting to an outstanding WHIP of 0.483. He was an effective closer for Memphis, notching 11 saves in 21 appearances. He was designated for assignment by the Cardinals on June 7th.

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Guilmet, who was drafted by the Indians in the ninth round of the 2009 draft, has also spent time with Cleveland’s lower level affiliates, briefly appearing with the big club in 2013.

Although he might be a new name for Blue Jays fans, this is not Guilmet’s first stint with the Jays. In October 2014, the Jays acquired him from the Pittsburgh Pirates for cash considerations, only to be designated for assignment the following May, without having played a game for the organization.

Keegan Matheson of Baseball Toronto also noted on Twitter that Guilmet was drafted by the Indians when Mark Shapiro was their general manager, going on to note that Ross Atkins was also the director of player development for Cleveland at that time. While it’s a bit of a stretch to say that the Blue Jays front office actively pursued Guilmet, it’s an interesting link nonetheless.

On the short end of this transaction is former first-round draft pick Deck McGuire, who was reacquired by the Jays in November 2017 following a surprisingly successful stint in Cincinnati. He was invited to spring training and started off the year at Triple-A Buffalo.

Following his promotion on May 13th, McGuire pitched to a 6.48 ERA over 8.1 innings, striking out seven and walking five. He mostly appeared as a mop-up man, tossing low-risk innings when the game was already out of hand.

Guilmet will probably end up riding the shuttle from Toronto to Buffalo as they get their bullpen situation sorted out. With a possible pen sell off happening soon, it’s possible that Preston Guilmet will be getting a lot of innings for this team.

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