According to Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet, Toronto Blue Jays manager Charlie Montoy oreported that it was very likely that southpaw knuckleballer Ryan Feierabend would get the ball on Saturday.
The Blue Jays initially were hopeful that Clayton Richard would finally make his season debut, however, it appears the veteran hurler will make a couple of minor league starts before being activated.
It became evident the Blue Jays would need an arm to toe the rubber today opposite Lucas Giolito after skipper Charlie Montoyo was forced to go to his bullpen in the fourth inning of last night’s contest following another blister flareup from Aaron Sanchez.
Move isn’t official yet but Charlie Montoyo said it’ll likely happen. Luke Maile would catch him #BlueJays
— Ben Nicholson-Smith (@bnicholsonsmith) May 18, 2019
Ryan Feierabend was signed as a free agent earlier this offseason after converting to a knuckleballer. The 33-year old last pitched in the majors in 2014 tossing six relief appearances with the Texas Rangers.
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Feierabend sports an inflated 7.15 earned run average 31 MLB games including 19 starts between 2006-14 with the Mariners and Rangers. The hurler spent the last four season abroad pitching in the Korean Baseball Organization before latching on with the Jays.
In three starts with the Buffalo Bisons, Feierabend is 2-0 with a tidy 2.70 earned run average fanning 13 and walking six in 16.2 innings of work this season. The lefty last pitched 5.1 innings on May 12th making him eligible for today’s start. Montoyo indicated that Luke Maile will get the nod to catch Feierabend if the move comes to fruition.
The Jays will have to make a roster move in order to activate Feierabend as he is currently not on the team’s 40-man roster. The starting rotation has been decimated with injuries this season as Ryan Borucki, Clayton Richard, Clay Buchholz, and Matt Shoemaker are all shelved with ailments. The knuckleballer will be the Blue Jays 10th pitcher to start a game this season already.
The Jays haven’t employed a knuckleballer since 2016 when R.A Dickey was fluttering baseball’s north of the border. Stay tuned to Jays Journal as this story continues to develop.