Blue Jays Quick Hits: Vernon Wells, John Gibbons, and more

Blue Jays news and notes from January 3rd, 2019, including an update on the Blue Jays’ search for free agents and the status of a former friend on the Hall of Fame ballot.

Gibbons Speaks Out On Tulowitzki

Former Blue Jays manager John Gibbons spoke with Joel Sherman of the New York Post, noting that the New York Yankees’ signing of Troy Tulowitzki is “as good a move as you can make”, adding that the Yankees have “almost nothing to lose”.

Gibbons also observed that the Blue Jays “don’t make the playoffs” in 2015 without Tulowitzki’s contributions. While Gibbons lauded Tulo’s ability to “run the infield”, his offensive contributions certainly were not forgotten during the second half of 2015; he slashed .256/.313/.378 from August 21 onward, adding two home runs and five doubles in 90 at-bats.

Vernon Wells Off Hall of Fame Ballot

Blue Jays great Vernon Wells, who this year is eligible to be elected into the National Baseball Hall of Fame for the first time, has officially been eliminated from the race, according to an (immaculate) updated voting spreadsheet assembled by Ryan Thibodaux and company.

Wells, who just turned 40, appeared in 1393 games as a Blue Jay, smashing 223 home runs (fourth in franchise history) and driving in 813 runs (second) while adding 339 doubles (second), 30 triples (10th) and 90 stolen bases (11th).

Richard Family Ready for Toronto

Clayton Richard, who was recently acquired by the Blue Jays in a trade with the San Diego Padres, is ready to come to Toronto with his family, he jovially posted on Twitter Thursday.

Richard’s three children can be seen decked out in Blue Jays gear and standing in line for what appears to be a passport desk. Richard, 35, had been with San Diego since 2016, having previously logged time with the Chicago Cubs and White Sox organizations.

More from Toronto Blue Jays News

• Matt Chapman has been exactly what the Blue Jays needed
• Blue Jays: The goalposts are moving in the right direction
• Single-A Dunedin Blue Jays advance to the Championship Series
• Blue Jays: Comparisons for Alek Manoah’s Second Season
• Blue Jays: Adam Cimber, the unlikely decision King

Fisher Cats Twitter Pokes Fun at Blue Jays/Harper Dreams

The always clever and witty social media team for the Double-A New Hampshire Fisher Cats were at it again Thursday, poking fun at the hopeless dreams that superstar Bryce Harper could join the Blue Jays in Toronto, specifically, a recent column by USA Today’s Gabe Lacques.

The Cats official Twitter hilariously pondered that Harper playing alongside Vladimir Guerrero Jr. would be “almost as good as [Guerrero Jr.] on the same team as Bo Bichette, Cavan Biggio, Lourdes Gurriel, Max Pentecost, Jonathan Davis, T.J. Zeuch, Sean Reid-Foley….(the list goes on) #SuperTeam”.

Blue Jays “discussed…every free agent possibility”

According to Gregor Chisolm of MLB.com, the Blue Jays have, in their pursuit of acquiring low-profile free-agent talent this winter, “discussed just about every free-agent possibility”, likely internally.

So far, the Blue Jays have been preliminarily connected to Dallas Keuchel and were linked to pitchers Yusei Kikuchi, Mike Fiers, Kendall Graveman, Charlie Morton and Lance Lynn before they were signed away by other teams.