Toronto Blue Jays: Players that the club lost for nothing

During the course of a franchise, every team is guilty of giving up on a player too early, which fans will later watch become a strong contributor on another team. The Blue Jays are no different.

With no news going on in Major League Baseball, I thought I would look at some of the players the Blue Jays had drafted and let go for nothing and turned into players on other teams.  The four players I have chosen, have been drafted by the Blue Jays and were either released, exposed for the Rule 5 Draft or placed on waivers.

Looking back over the years, a few times the Blue Jays have drafted, developed and then released players just prior to them becoming stars.

Chris Carpenter

The Blue Jays used the 15th overall pick in the 1993 MLB Draft, which was compensation from the Texas Rangers for signing Tom Henke, on Chris Carpenter.  Carpenter had just turned 18 years old two months prior to the draft and would turn professional the following season.  Over the next three seasons, Carpenter had a steady rise through the ranks and made his MLB debut as a 22-year old in May 1997.  He made three appearances that month, however, after posting a 12.71 ERA over 11.1 innings, he was sent back down to Triple-A Syracuse.  Carpenter would be recalled in July and finished the season with 11 starts posting a 3-5 record with 3.86 ERA, which earned him a spot in the rotation for the remainder of his Blue Jays career, when healthy.

During the 2001 season, it looked as though Carpenter had taken some giant steps and showed he may be the type of pitcher that could lead a team.  He led the rotation in both innings pitched (215) and ERA (4.09), and with the emergence of Roy Halladay, it looked like the Blue Jays had a dynamic duo in the making.

Carpenter would be named the Opening Day starter in 2002 but after surrendering six runs in just 2.1 innings he was placed on the injured list (formerly known back then as the disabled list) and missed almost three weeks.  In his next start, he was removed after the third inning and again found himself on the IL, which took over two months to return to the team.  Carpenter would return in late June and make nine more starts, posting a 4.55 ERA before landing on the IL for the third time that season in mid-August which resulted in shoulder surgery.

At the conclusion of the campaign, the Blue Jays removed Carpenter from their roster and attempted to sign him to a minor league deal, however, he refused.  He would sign on with the St. Louis Cardinals, who allowed him to heal in 2003 before becoming a dominant starter for them.

Carpenter would make it back to the major leagues in 2004 and for the next three seasons, he made two All-Star Appearances, won a Cy Young Award, finished third in Cy Young voting another year and posted a 51-18 record with a  3.10 ERA in 93 starts.  Injuries would derail his 2007 and 2008 seasons but again returned in 2009, finishing second in Cy Young voting in 2010 while posting a 44-22 record with a 3.02 ERA over those three seasons.

Carpenter would retire after the 2013 season due to injuries, but over nine seasons with the St. Louis Cardinals, he posted a 95-44 record with a 3.07 ERA and 1.125 WHIP.

Reed Johnson

When you find a major league player outside of the top 10 rounds, you know your scouts are doing their job.  When you find a leadoff hitter in the 17th round, the scout that found him needs to be promoted.  The Blue Jays selected Reed Johnson deep in the 1999 MLB Amateur Draft out of California State University.  Johnson had a slow rise to the major leagues but he kept pushing his way through each door and at the age of 26-years old made his Blue Jays debut in 2003.

Johnson started 2003 with Triple-A Syracuse and after posting a slash line of .327/.369/.446 with the Sky Chiefs he earned a promotion to the Blue Jays.  Johnson had a quick cup of coffee with the club which included one start where he went 1 for 2 with a pair of hit-by-pitches but was demoted before getting another plate appearance.  Johnson would be recalled as the club’s fourth outfielder on May 16 and hit 6 for 13(.462) with four extra-base hits over the next week and a half, which led to him becoming an everyday player for the remainder of his Blue Jays career.

Johnson was the primary lead-off hitter over the next few seasons and from 2003-2006 posted a .288/.348/.423 slash line that included 153 extra-base hits in 1,808 at-bats.  Unfortunately, in 2007 Johnson would miss almost three months after having surgery to repair a herniated disk in his lower back in April.  The injury caused his numbers to drop and he finished the year with a batting average 48 points lower than the previous four seasons.

Going into the 2008 Spring Training, the Blue Jays decided to bring back Shannon Stewart who had been one of the best hitters in the franchise a decade earlier, as well as bringing in Canadian Matt Stairs.  The crowded outfield led to the Blue Jays releasing Johnson in favour of the two veterans.  Stewart would get into just 52 games, hitting just .240 and along with the emergence of Adam Lind, was released in mid-August.  Stairs would take on the role of Designated Hitter.

Johnson would sign on days later with the Chicago Cubs and posted a slash line of .303/.358/.420 on the season hitting all over the order but found his success at the bottom of the line-up.  Johnson would play parts of eight more seasons bouncing around the National League and after he left the Blue Jays, the righty batter played in another 710 games, posting a slash line of .277/.32/.399 and was always known as a player that would do anything to get on base or track down a ball.

Casey Blake

The Blue Jays weren’t the only team to lose out on Casey Blake, but they were the first.  Prior to being selected in the seventh round of the 1996 MLB Amateur Draft, Blake had been selected twice previously in prior drafts.  In the Blue Jays organization, Blake started to show a solid bat, especially in 1998 when he hit a combined 43 doubles, 18 home runs and 103 RBI while posting a slash line of .357/.421/.574 over two levels.

In 1999, Blake hit 22 home runs in 110 games at Triple-A which led to a September call-up. Blake went 10 for 39 (.256) with one home run, however without being given an opportunity in 2000, the club put him on waivers early into the season and he was picked up by the Minnesota Twins.

Over the next two and a half years, Blake would be claimed on waivers by the Baltimore Orioles, then again the Minnesota Twins and then released by the Twins at the end of the 2002 campaign. It was the Cleveland Indians (Guardians) that would end up giving him a chance and signed him for the 2003 season.

Over five and a half seasons with Cleveland, Blake crushed 183 doubles and 116 home runs.  During the 2008 Trade Deadline, the Indians were out of the playoff race and Blake was one of the top names in trade talks.  Cleveland moved Blake to the Los Angeles Dodgers for Jon Meloan and 22-year old prospect Carlos Santana.

Blake would become an everyday major leaguer for the next nine seasons, playing third base for the Indians and the Los Angeles Dodgers, which included three consecutive trips to the American League and National League Championship Series.  Blake would finish his career averaging 34 doubles and 21 home runs over a 162 game season, including posting a career WAR of 24.9.

Do you remember any of these players as Blue Jays?  How did you feel at the time when the club let them go for nothing?