Blue Jays: How are 2021 Ex-Jays making out with new clubs (update)

Most teams around the league are around 30 games into their 2022 MLB seasons, and the Toronto Blue Jays are going through a bit of a dry patch on the offensive side of the game and are dropping down in the AL East standings.

During this past off-season the club had a few top-end players head to new teams, the question is would they have been able to help the team this year.  Two weeks ago, I looked at how those players were doing and here is an update.

Marcus Semien – Texas Rangers

In 2022, Marcus Semien set the single-season record for most home runs by a second baseman in MLB history, however, he has not been able to get his power going this year.  Through 27 games and 119 plate appearances, Semien is still looking for his first long ball as a Texas Ranger while he has a total of just six extra-base hits and eight RBI.

The $175 Million dollar man saw his batting average drop down to .149 on May 1 after going through a 1 for 23 stretch, however, he had three consecutive two-hit games to raise the average a bit.  Semien currently has a slash line of .171/.236/.225 to start the season.  As stated in the first article, Semien had a slow start with the Blue Jays in 2021, but by this time last year he had eight home runs and had raised his average to .262.

You can only imagine that Rangers fans might be getting worried about that contract, especially since Texas is currently sitting second-last in the AL West with an 11-16 record.

Robbie Ray – Seattle Mariners

Robbie Ray has not been able to replicate his first appearance of the season when he threw seven innings and allowed just one run on three hits to collect a win in his debut appearance for the Mariners.  Seattle is 4-3 when he starts so far this season but he currently sits with a 4.22 ERA on the year and since his first start, Ray has posted a 4.79 ERA with a 1-3 record.

The positive is Ray has only allowed more than two walks in one appearance since his debut and just one home run over his last four appearances.  Through his six starts, Ray has a 0.0 WAR, which for him is a far cry from where the Cy Young award winner was sitting in Toronto at this point last year.

Randal Grichuk – Colorado Rockies

One of the Jays Journal co-editors, Tyson Shushkewich, touched on the season Randal Grichuk– is having Monday morning so you can click on the link for more details.  As soon as Teoscar Hernandez went down with an injury, you had to wonder if the trading Randal Grichuk in Spring Training was a bad move.  The now 30-year-old outfielder was traded for Raimel Tapia and prospect Adrian Pinto.

Grichuk’s strikeouts continue to be high as he has gone down on strikes 27 times to just four walks through 96 plate appearances.  While he has struck out a lot, he is also putting the bat on the ball as he is 25 for 89 (.281) at the plate with three doubles, four home runs and 16 RBI.  Early in the month, Grichuk had got his slash line up to .325/.369/.519, however after going 0 for 12 over his last three games, including eight strike outs, his numbers have dropped.  Grichuk has been splitting time between Center Field and Right Field to start the season.

Rowdy Tellez – Milwaukee Brewers

Rowdy Tellez has had a strong start to his 2022 campaign, which included setting the Milwaukee Brewers record for most RBI in one game.  On May 4, the Brewers beat the Cincinnati Reds 18-4 and during that game, Tellez went 4 for 6 with a double, a pair of home runs and the record-setting eight RBI.

Rowdy Tellez has had success since being acquired by the Milwaukee Brewers during the 2021 season from the Blue Jays with 14 home runs in 85 games.

Tellez currently leads the team in RBI, while sitting just one home run shy of the club lead in that category.  Tellez has helped the Brewers jump out to the NL Central lead with a 19-11 record and if he can keep up his current pace he should see some consideration for the All-Star Game.

Steven Matz – St. Louis Cardinals

In 2021, Steven Matz had a quietly strong season posting a 14-7 record with a 3.82 ERA and has had an interesting start to this season with St. Louis.  Matz has started the season with a 3-2 win-loss record and he has been absolutely dominant in his wins while being abysmal in the other appearances.

In his three wins, Matz has a 0.54 ERA over 16.2 Innings pitched while striking out 16 and posting a 0.96 WHIP.  However, in his three other starts, Matz is 0-2 and has surrendered 19 earned runs in just nine innings.  In those three outings, he has lasted just 3.0, 4.0 and 2.0 innings respectively.

Which one of these players would you want most back on the Blue Jays on their current contracts?