Former Blue Jays currently featured on the AL/NL Championship Series rosters

The Toronto Blue Jays suffered an early exit in the 2022 postseason, dropping a best of three Wild Card series to the Seattle Mariners at home. The losses were shocking for a group that looked poised to contend for the World Series earlier this year, but unfortunately, a strong Mariners pitching staff and a Blue Jays bullpen meltdown in Game 2 saw the Jays head home early.

Fast forward to the Conference Series, and the two top teams in the American League are squaring off: the Houston Astros and the New York Yankees (Astros lead 2-0). The National League Championship Series has the Philadelphia Phillies and the San Diego Padres throwing down, with the Phillies in front 2-1 in the best-of-seven series.

While the Blue Jays are no longer in the playoff picture, there are former players that are still fighting for a shot at the World Series Championship. Some played integral roles on the club during their stay while some were only around for a short time, some with better track records then others.

There are also a few players featured who spent time in the Jays organization but never actually appeared at the big league level, getting traded early in their careers.

Let’s take a deeper dive:

Aledmys Díaz – UTIL

After spending two seasons with the St. Louis Cardinals, the Blue Jays traded for infielder Aledmys Díaz during the 2017/2018 offseason in exchange for outfield prospect J.B. Woodman (who retired shortly after).

At the time, the Jays were starting to trade away veteran players and were heading towards a rebuild, with Díaz receiving regular playing time during the 2018 season as the Jays primary shortstop option with some third base sprinkled in. At the plate, the Cuban product authored a .263/.303/.453 slash line through 422 at-bats, adding a career high 18 home runs and 55 RBI to the tune of a .756 OPS.

The following offseason, the Jays traded Díaz to the Houston Astros in exchange for prospect Trent Thornton and the infielder has remained with the club since the deal.

Looking at former Blue Jays currently playing in the 2022 AL/NL Championship Series.

The injury bug has limited the former Jays infielder since the trade but his role changed given the Astros at the time had solid infield options that pushed Díaz towards more of a bench/utility role. This season, the righty batter has spent time at six different positions and owns a .691 OPS through 305 at-bats.

Díaz has appeared in both ALCS games against the Yankees, going hitless through seven at-bats with one strikeout.

Tim Locastro – OF

A 13th-round pick of the Blue Jays from the 2013 MLB Draft, outfielder Tim Locastro spent roughly two years within the organization before he was traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers in exchange for international bonus pool funds, which would later be used to help sign Vladimir Guerrero Jr. without facing discipline for exceeding their pool allotment.

Locastro made his MLB debut with the Dodgers in 2017 but has struggled to carve out a full-time role since then, splitting time between the minors and the big leagues while working in a bench capacity.

He would be traded two years later to the Arizona Diamondbacks and would be acquired by the Yankees in July of the 2021 campaign, returning to the Bronx Bombers this season on a MiLB deal. The righty-batter currently owns a career .227/.325/.331 slash line with a .656 OPS through 475. For Locastro, his calling card is his speed, as he has swiped 39 bags compared to five caught stealing.

The New York product has not made an appearance in the ALCS yet.

Josh Donaldson – 3B

Acquired during the 2014/2015 offseason from the Oakland Athletics, Josh Donaldson was coming off an All-Star campaign and was a main reason the Blue Jays had such a successful 2015 season.

The “Bringer of Rain” ended up winning the AL MVP Award that season with 41 home runs and a league-leading 123 RBI to go with his .939 OPS, also taking home the Silver Slugger Award. As a member of the Blue Jays, Donaldson amassed a .281/.383/.548 slash line through 1749 at-bats, smashing 116 home runs to go with a .931 OPS and a 19.4 bWAR. He also earned two All-Star appearances during his three 3.5-year stay with the Jays.

With the Jays heading towards a rebuild and Donaldson struggling with injuries, Ross Atkins and co. traded him at the deadline to the then-Cleveland Indians in exchange for RHP Julian Merryweather.

He finished the season in Cleveland and signed a one-year deal with Atlanta for the 2019 campaign before inking a four-year $92 million contract with the Minnesota Twins. This past offseason, the Twins traded him, Ben Rortvedt, and newly acquired Isiah Kiner-Falefa to the New York Yankees in exchange for Gary Sanchez and Gio Urshela.

With the Yankees, Donaldson has had his clutch moments but has struggled to a .222/.308/.374 line and a career-low .682 OPS. The one thing trending in the right direction is his defence, as the third baseman amassed an 8 bDRS while sitting in the 92nd percentile in Outs Above Average (7).

In the 2022 postseason, Donaldson has appeared in every game in both the ALCS and ALDS, going 5 for 22 (.227) with one double compared to 11 strikeouts. He made waves earlier in the ALCS when he believed the ball was a home run but was ruled in play, with the infielder getting thrown out at second base after celebrating.

Miguel Castro – RHP

A product of the Dominican Republic, right-hander Miguel Castro spent parts of four seasons within the Blue Jays organization early in his career, making his MLB debut with Toronto in 2015 when he cracked the Opening Day roster.

He spent a month with the Blue Jays, pitching to a 4.38 ERA with four saves through 12.1 innings, before being demoted to AAA. Later that year, Castro would be included in the Troy Tulowitzki trade package to the Colorado Rockies and would finish the season at the big league level.

Former Blue Jays featured on all four Championship Series teams during 2022 playoffs.

He spent another year with the Rockies before being moved to the Baltimore Orioles, where he would spend the next 3.5 seasons facing his former team before being dealt at the 2020 trade deadline to the New York Mets.

Early into the 2022 campaign, the Yankees made a rare cross-town trade and acquired the reliever from the Mets. While a shoulder strain had him on the IL for more than two months, Castro still appeared in 34 games for the Yanks, pitching to a 4.03 ERA through 29.0 innings while earning a 9.6 K/9.

This postseason, Castro did not pitch in the ALDS against Cleveland but has made one appearance so far against Houston, pitching a clean inning in the eighth in game #1.

Brandon Drury – INF

Acquired by the Blue Jays as part of the trade package for J.A. Happ back at the 2018 trade deadline, Brandon Drury played a large role on the 2019 roster, suiting up in 120 games across the infield, with most of his reps coming via third base.

His time with the Blue Jays didn’t produce the best results, as he amassed a .208/.253/.353 slash line and a.606 OPS through 490 at-bats across two and a half seasons. He became more of a bench player once the younger core was brought up and he left via free agency following the 2020 campaign.

After a quick stint with the Mets last year, Drury joined the Cincinnati Reds on a one-year deal and has produced the best numbers of his career as he looks to cash in this free agency. With the Reds, he saw his OPS climb to .855 and he added 20 home runs, already a career-high as the calendar flipped over into August.

Former Blue Jays making a difference in the 2022 postseason

The Reds flipped him at the deadline to the Padres in exchange for prospect Victor Acosta and Drury saw his production drop to a .724 OPS through 46 games and 168 at-bats with San Diego. Since moving to the Friars, Drury has been used across the diamond, with the most starts coming via first base, while also suiting up as the DH for 14 games as well.

This postseason, Drury has been splitting time with Josh Bell at first base, with the Padres utilizing him for just one game in the Wild Card, three games in the NLDS, and two games in the NLCS. Through the six games, Drury has gone 5 for 23 (.217) with one home run, three RBI, and seven strikeouts.

Noah Syndergaard – RHP

Drafted by the Blue Jays 38th overall in the 2010 MLB Draft, Noah Syndergaard was one of the top prospects in the organization when he was moved during the 2012/2013 offseason as part of the R.A. Dickey trade package with the New York Mets.

He would later make his MLB debut during the 2015 campaign and spent six seasons with the Mets, pitching to a 3.32 ERA through 718.0 innings. Injuries limited the right-hander to just 121 appearances across those six seasons, as the Texas product missed the entire 2020 season and most of 2021 recovering from Tommy John surgery.

New York did not present him with a qualifying offer and Syndergaard signed a one-year deal with the Los Angeles Angels for the 2022 season. Through 15 starts with L.A., Syndergaard pitched to a 3.83 ERA with a 7.2 K/9. The Angels dealt him at the trade deadline to the Philadelphia Phillies, with the Toronto Blue Jays reportedly close to acquiring the former top prospect before he was moved to the east coast.

For the 2022 postseason, Syndergaard has seen his role changed, as he made an appearance out of the bullpen during the second game of the NLDS but then made a spot start in the fourth game against the Atlanta Braves, going three innings. Combined, the Texas product has only been impacted by one hit, a solo home run off the bat of Orlando Arcia, while also adding three strikeouts.

So far, he has not appeared in the NLCS but could be called upon today following starter Bailey Falter.

Brad Hand – LHP

With the Blue Jays needing some bullpen help as they were making a postseason push in the 2021 campaign, they sent prospect catcher Riley Adams to the Washington Nationals in exchange for veteran relief pitcher Brad Hand.

Hand was being used as the Nationals’ closer at the time of the deal, racking up 21 saves but was struggling heading into the trade deadline, allowing seven earned runs through six appearances. This trend continued with the Jays, as the southpaw struggled through 11 appearances, pitching to a 7.27 ERA while allowing 13 hits, and seven earned runs through 8.2 innings pitched. He would be designated for assignment in late August.

He finished the season with the Mets and signed a one-year deal with the Philadelphia Phillies worth $6 million for the 2022 season. The Minnesota product has found his rhythm again, as he amassed a 2.80 ERA through 45.0 innings with five saves, much to the dismay of Blue Jays fans.

In the postseason, Hand has been pretty effective, allowing just one earned run off four hits through four appearances, three in the NLDS and one in the NLCS. While the opposing teams have knocked him to a .333 batting average, he keeps them off the board and has also added three strikeouts to his postseason line.