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How are members of the 2023 Blue Jays doing on their new teams? (May update)
It is that time again to give some former Blue Jays some love
With almost seven weeks of the 2024 MLB season into the books, the Toronto Blue Jays have been desperately trying to stay afloat in the uber-tough American League competition. At a record of 19-23, they currently sit in last place in the AL East division with a whopping 9.5 games out of first. To make matters worse, their record ranks them only ahead of four teams in the entire American League.
With many members of the 2023 Blue Jays moving on from the team last year, could any of them have helped prevent the Jays’ current miserable start to 2024? Let’s take a look at how some of these former Jays are doing now as we reach the quarter mark of the MLB season.
Anthony Bass
For former reliever Anthony Bass, he still remains on the outlook in finding a new home ever since his dismissal from the team last June. Taking away his off-field distractions, Bass was actually decent in his two short stints with the club, as he compiled a 3.28 ERA and 1.16 WHIP over three seasons in Toronto.
Adam Cimber
After running into some injury troubles along with putting up some of his worst numbers of his career in 2023 with the Jays, Adam Cimber has found a new life with the Los Angeles Angels this season. Signed to just a one-year, $1.65M value deal, Cimber has rediscovered his previous dominant form in the early parts of this season with his new club.
To date, Cimber has posted a perfect 3-0 record with 5 holds and no blown saves, along with a 4.00 ERA, 1.00 WHIP with 6 walks and 16 strikeouts in 18 total innings pitched over 19 relief appearances. If we take away his disastrous recent outing against the St. Louis Cardinals on May 13, his ERA would have been sitting at a pretty 2.60 as well.
Thomas Hatch
For Thomas Hatch, he somehow never managed to reach his full potential with the Jays, despite often showing some glimmers of dominance at times over the years. Even just last season, he had held the opposition scoreless in his first four appearances for Toronto, then would subsequently lose it in his next couple of outings. In the end, he was designated for assignment and was ultimately picked up on waivers by the Pittsburgh Pirates to finish off his 2023 season.
For 2024, Hatch has signed on with the Hiroshima Toyo Carp team of Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan with hopes to revitalize his career. But similar to his time with the Jays, his struggles would resurface after a decent start to 2024 with his new club. As a result, Hatch has now seen time with both their professional league team and farm team this season. He has struggled to an 0-2 record with a gaudy 7.62 ERA, giving up 3 home runs in just 13 innings pitched over three games with the pro team, but has done better with their farm team, compiling a more impressive 1.02 ERA over 17.2 innings in four games played.
Jordan Hicks
With the trend in recent years of relievers successfully converting into starters, Jordan Hicks has quickly become one of the classic examples of it as well. After playing a huge part in the Jays' bullpen core down the stretch in 2023 following the trade from the St. Louis Cardinals at the deadline, he inked a four-year, $44 M contract with the San Francisco Giants this past offseason. With Hicks looking for the opportunity to become a starter once again since his last experience back in 2022, the Giants were willing to give him that chance.
With almost two months now into 2024, Hicks appeared to have answered all the questions about whether or not he should be in the starting rotation. In nine starts, he has posted a solid 3-1 record with a tidy 2.44 ERA, 1.15 WHIP, along with giving up just 2 home runs and recording 39 strikeouts in 48 innings pitched.
Jay Jackson
Jay Jackson has been one of the forgotten heroes from the Jays’ squad in 2023. A journeyman that was called upon at various times throughout the season to help out the battered and bruised bullpen, Jackson rose to the occasion to help the team solve many of their issues at hand. In total, he went a stellar 3-1 with a 2.12 ERA, 0.91 WHIP with 27 strikeouts in 29.2 innings of work. Most impressively, he only yielded runs in just four of his 25 appearances.
Surprisingly, Jackson was not re-upped by the Jays for 2024, as he ultimately latched on with the Minnesota Twins via free agency. However, this season has been a completely different story for Jackson thus far. He has struggled to avoid contact as he has compiled a 1-2 record with a 5.91 ERA, giving up 19 hits including 4 home runs in just over 21.1 innings pitched. In his 16 outings to date, he has given up runs in over half of them, including multiple runs in five of the games.
Wes Parsons
After having a forgettable debut with the Jays at the end of the 2023 season in which he gave up 9 earned runs on 10 hits in just 4 innings of work against the Tampa Bay Rays, Wes Parsons quickly wiped away any memories of it and did the unthinkable by making the Jays’ Opening Day roster for 2024. However, that dream was short-lived, as he appeared in just two games and gave up a whopping 6 runs in just 5 innings of work.
Parsons was eventually designated for assignment and then traded to the Cleveland Guardians for $250,000 international signing bonus pool money. He would go on to make two scoreless appearances for the Guardians in April before he was sent down to their Triple-A affiliate Columbus Clippers and has remained there ever since. With the Clippers, Parsons has maintained an impressive 1.84 ERA with 20 strikeouts in just 14.2 innings of work over six appearances.
Hyun Jin Ryu
Despite eliciting both exciting and disappointing moments during his four-year tenure with the Jays, we will always remember the valiant effort Hyun Jin Ryu gave the club down the stretch in 2023 after coming off Tommy John surgery. He provided the team with solid innings in each of his 11 starts following his activation off the IL, posting a 3.46 ERA and getting some crucial wins to get the Jays into the playoffs.
With Ryu no longer in the Jays' immediate plans, he returned to South Korea this past offseason, likely to finish off his professional baseball career. That's because he signed a huge record-breaking eight-year deal (the longest in league history) with the Hanwha Eagles in the KBO league. So far in 2024, he has struggled to a 2-4 record with a 5.33 ERA and a 1.45 WHIP, giving up 57 hits with 47 strikeouts in 49 total innings in nine starts.
Trent Thornton
Trent Thornton had always shown some flashes of brilliance during his time with the Jays. However, he failed in maintaining the level of consistency needed to keep a full-time gig in the major leagues, perhaps until now. After spending five seasons with the Jays and posting a disappointing 4.77 ERA and 1.42 WHIP over 108 games, Thornton has become a totally different pitcher since joining the Seattle Mariners in the latter parts of 2023.
This year, Thornton has pitched to a 2.50 ERA and 1.00 WHIP, has yet to yield a home run while striking out a batter per inning in his 18 relief appearances to date. Not too shabby to follow up his 2.08 ERA and 1.08 WHIP performance during the final two months last season with the Mariners. In the hearts of the Jays’ faithful, they must be shaking their heads and wondering where this version of Thornton was when he was played for them.
Mitch White
What can we say about Mitch White and his adventures with the Jays? After several failed attempts to impress the club as both a starter and reliever, he was finally designated for assignment last season at the trade deadline. However, by remaining with the organization after clearing waivers, he appeared to have earned himself a second life, putting together a strong stretch with the Jays’ Triple-A affiliate Buffalo Bisons to end 2023. Following a solid training camp this spring, White actually made the team’s 26-man roster to begin the 2024 season.
However, his shortcomings would arise once again as he ended up getting designated for assignment for a second time by the Jays. This time though, there was no third life for White as he was traded to the Giants in exchange for cash considerations. White would appear in three games with his new team and promptly gave up 7 runs on 8 hits over just 5.1 innings of work. And lo and behold, the Giants would also DFA White and trade him, this time to the Milwaukee Brewers. Now with his third team in under two months, he has made two appearances for the Brewers and has given up 2 runs in just 3.2 innings pitched.
Brandon Belt
For one of the team’s best hitters last season, Brandon Belt has yet to land with a new team for 2024, despite reported interest during the offseason. In 2023, he hit .254 with an .858 OPS, along with 23 doubles, 19 home runs and 43 RBI in 103 games to help support the Jays’ offensive attack. With Belt giving subtle hints of potentially retiring towards the end of last season in an interview with Foul Territory, sad to say, he may need to seriously consider it now with the wane in interest for his services as of this moment.
Matt Chapman
As one of the fan favourites leaving via free agency upon the conclusion of the 2023 season, many Jays fans were angered by the fact that they were unable to re-sign him, especially when he ended up just signing a short three-year, $54M deal with the Giants. However, that failure in getting it done may now be a blessing in disguise as Chapman has struggled mightily as a whole so far in 2024.
When Chapman went into almost a year-long funk following his blazing start to 2023 with the Jays, who would have thought it was a fore-shadow of what was to come for him in his proceeding years. This season thus far, he has put up a paltry .218 average along with a .635 OPS and a less than 90 OPS+, easily among some of his worst numbers he has put up for his career. More significantly was the fact his unbreakable and sure-handed Gold Glove-calibre defense appears to be beginning to fall apart, as he has committed 6 errors already in 125 chances for a .952 fielding percentage.
Paul DeJong
Paul DeJong’s stint with Toronto may have lasted all but a little less than three weeks time, but what he accomplished with the Jays during that time will forever be remembered, but for all the wrong reasons. Acquired at the trade deadline to act as Bo Bichette’s temporary replacement while Bichette was nursing an injury, DeJong failed miserably in providing any impact at all to the club in the end. DeJong went 3-for-44 with one run scored, one driven in and 18 strikeouts over 13 games played. He was performing so horribly that the moment Bichette came off the IL, the Jays didn’t even bother to keep him as a bench player and quickly designated him for assignment.
This year, DeJong has at least gotten his numbers back up to be more on par with his career standards, as he is currently hitting .242 with a .733 OPS, 16 runs scored, 7 doubles, 6 home runs and 12 RBI with a middling Chicago White Sox squad. However, his strikeout total stills remain a major problem, with a strikeout-to-walk ratio at almost 11:1.
Santiago Espinal
Victim of the revolving door at second base for the Jays, Santiago Espinal’s disappointing 2023 season may have played a role in his eventual departure from the team in 2024. After putting up an All-Star season in 2022, Espinal struggled to get adequate playing time last year, leading to his tumbling stats line of a .248 batting average and .644 OPS with 30 runs scored, 14 doubles, a pair of home runs and 25 RBI in 93 games played. With the recent signing of utilityman Isiah Kiner-Falefa and the emergence of players such as Davis Schneider and Ernie Clement, Espinal became expendable and was traded to the Cincinnati Reds in exchange for pitcher Chris McElvain in March.
Despite getting more playing time with the Reds this season, Espinal has yet to rediscover his form when he first broke into the big leagues with the Jays. On the season, he is batting .198 with a .531 OPS with 2 home runs, 14 RBI and 5 stolen bases in 35 games. Although, he appears to be starting to turn things around, as in his last 18 games entering Friday, he has hit .246 with 7 runs scored, 2 home runs and 9 RBI.
Tyler Heineman
After providing some solid backup catching when the Jays were hit with some injury woes to their starters last year, Tyler Heineman was lost through waivers to the New York Mets during the 2023-24 offseason. However, he didn’t stay long there as the Mets eventually traded Heineman to the Boston Red Sox in February for cash considerations.
So far for the 2024 season, Heineman has found himself primarily playing in the Red Sox minor league system. Over 13 games of action, he has posted a .243 batting average with a .674 OPS, along with 9 runs scored, 4 RBI and 2 stolen bases in 37 at-bats. He did manage to appear in one game at the major league level this year, but went hitless in two plate appearances.
Jordan Luplow
Despite his brief time with the club, Jordan Luplow did get into a few games of action for the Jays last season after he was claimed off waivers from the Atlanta Braves in early April. Luplow never turned out to be the offensive impact they were expecting, as he slashed .214/.353/.214/.567 over seven games, recording 1 run and 1 RBI in 17 plate appearances. He would later be claimed off waivers by the Twins in August to finish off the season.
This season, Luplow became a part of the Phillies organization after signing a minor league contract during spring training. Starting the year with their Triple-A affiliate Lehigh Valley IronPigs, he has been on a tear, compiling a .295 batting average, .852 OPS, with 26 runs scored, 8 doubles, 6 home runs, 21 RBI and 6 stolen bases in just 36 games played. If the main rostered players on the Phillies hadn’t been doing so well already this year, Luplow may have already received a call-up to the big leagues.
Mason McCoy
When the Jays managed to recoup an asset after designating Thornton for assignment, it came in the form of infielder Mason McCoy from the Mariners. But more surprisingly was the fact that he actually saw some playing time down the stretch for the Jays, as he appeared in six games, but mainly as a defensive replacement. He was not retained by Toronto at the conclusion of the 2023 season and was picked up by the San Diego Padres on a minor league deal during free agency.
For 2024, McCoy hasn’t seen any MLB time as of yet as he has spent all of his time with the Padres’ Triple-A affiliate El Paso Chihuahuas to start the season. In 39 total games of action, he has posted a solid .252 average with a .681 OPS with 19 runs scored, 5 doubles, 3 home runs, 22 RBI and 7 stolen bases.
Whit Merrifield
After having a huge bounce-back year with the Jays in 2023, Merrifield was looking to continue to make strong contributions as part of a winning team for the upcoming season. His pursuit included the possibility of returning to the Jays for another run. But when talks failed to materialize between the two parties as it was later revealed that Jays’ GM Ross Atkins was intending to be a big player in free agency instead, Merrifield diverted to signing on with the formidable Philadelphia Phillies team for 2024.
However, he has been a huge disappointment to date. In addition to not getting the expected playing time that he thought he would get, Merrifield has also struggled mightily at the plate this season as a result. In the 25 games he has played, he has batted only .188 with a .552 OPS and 59 OPS+, which are his worst marks to date in his career. On top of that, he has only registered 3 doubles, a couple of home runs, 4 RBI and 4 stolen bases in 94 plate appearances. Not exactly the prized acquisition that the Phillies had in mind when they signed the super utilityman.