Blue Jays Tuesday: The Latest Spring Training Notes

Blue Jays spring training news and notes from March 5, 2019, including an update on Marcus Stroman trade talks and the frustration of the often-injured Devon Travis.

Buchholz expected to get MLB deal

Clay Buchholz, who signed with the Blue Jays as a free agent last week, is expected to receive a major league contract instead of a minor-league deal, according to Sportsnet’s Ben Nicholson-Smith. The deal has not yet been made official.

Buchholz, 34, is perhaps best known for his 10-year stint with the Boston Red Sox that saw him pitch to an ERA of 3.96 in over 1250 innings. Since leaving Boston, he’s logged time with the Phillies and Diamondbacks.

Stroman trade talks “relatively quiet”

Nicholson-Smith also notes that trade talks surrounding Blue Jays pitcher Marcus Stroman are “relatively quiet”. Previously, both the Cincinnati Reds and San Diego Padres had expressed some level of interest in Stroman.

Coming off one of his worst seasons, Stroman, who turns 28 in May, has spent parts of five seasons in the major leagues.

Travis “sick of” injuries ruling spring

Often-injured infielder Devon Travis, who was recently temporarily benched due to left knee inflammation, is “sick of [injuries] being the story every year”, Mike Wilner of Sportsnet Fan 590 writes.

In four seasons with the Blue Jays, Travis has only managed to play in 316 games, roughly 79 games per season. For his career, he has slashed .274/.314/.437 in 1169 at-bats.

Duncan taking charge in spring workouts

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New major league field coordinator Shelley Duncan, who spent seven years as a major-league outfielder, is leading the workouts in spring training, Buck Martinez and Joe Siddall observed during Sunday’s game.

Duncan has earned the respect (and praise) of his manager, Charlie Montoyo, who, per Martinez and Siddall, was “very impressed” with Duncan’s diligence and organization in planning and running the morning workouts.

Former Blue Jay Rowley signs on with Padres

According to Robert Murray of The Athletic, the San Diego Padres are signing pitcher Chris Rowley to a minor-league contract. Rowley spent the 2017 and 2018 seasons with the Blue Jays, pitching to an ERA of 7.91 in 19.1 frames.

Most likely minor league depth for the Padres in 2019, Rowley, who spent the 2018 season in the Texas Rangers organization, will get yet another shot at cracking a big league roster.

Tellez homers, Shoemaker solid in victory over Yankees

Rowdy Tellez went deep and starter Matt Shoemaker pitched a trio of good innings as the Blue Jays, playing against the steadfast split-squad New York Yankees, came away with a 5-2 victory Sunday at Dunedin Stadium.

Eric Sogard and Dwight Smith Jr. also tallied RBIs, while Ken Giles notched the win. Tim Mayza picked up his first save of the spring, with New York’s Trevor Stephan being handed the loss.