Blue Jays castoffs impress with new teams out of the gate

A few Toronto Blue Jays castoffs have impressed with their new teams, so much so, that they broke camp with their new clubs to begin the 2019 campaign.

On March 08th, the Blue Jays shipped Dwight Smith Jr. to the Baltimore Orioles in exchange for International bonus slot money. The 26-year old became redundant in the Jays outfield picture and was slated to begin the season in Triple-A prior to the trade.

Smith must have taken the trade personally because he concluded spring training with a .325/.357/.725 line with five homers and two stolen bases in 19 Grapefruit League action games. The outfielder made the Baltimore Orioles opening day roster batting second and starting in right field yesterday versus the New York Yankees.

The San Francisco Giants nabbed reliever Travis Bergen in the Rule 5 draft earlier this offseason and Bergen has not looked back. The hurler boasted an impressive 1.69 earned run average while striking out 13 in nine spring training appearances for the Giants. Bergen earned an opening day roster spot in the Giants bullpen, a definite arm the Blue Jays could definitely use in light of the recent injuries to their relief corps.

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Harold Ramirez waived his opt-out clause to remain in the Miami Marlins organization after an impressive spring. Although the outfielder did not make the team out of camp, Ramirez hit a respectable .324/.351/.441 with 11 hits in 22 games for his new team.

Ramirez will undoubtedly get the call sooner than later from the Marlins if he can continue to hit for a high average in Triple-A.

The Blue Jays had pitcher Jordan Romano returned back to them from the Texas Rangers after Romano failed to make the squad out of spring training. The 25-year old sported a 3.86 earned run average while fanning six in 9.1 innings of work with the Rangers. Romano will begin the 2019 campaign in Buffalo providing much-needed depth for the Jays.

Blue Jays fans will get a first-hand look at Smith Jr. and the Orioles when they come into town on Monday for a three-game series at the Rogers Centre.