Jays deal relievers Axford and Loup before trade deadline
TORONTO — The Toronto Blue Jays traded two relief pitchers for prospects before Tuesday’s Major League Baseball non-waiver trade deadline, sending longserving left-hander Aaron Loup to the Philadelphia Phillies and Canadian right-hander John Axford to the Los Angeles Dodgers.
The 30-year-old Loup, the longest-tenured Blue Jay before the trade, was dealt for minor-league right-handed pitcher Jacob Waguespack. Axford, 35, was traded for right-hander Corey Copping.
Tuesday’s deals ended a busy period for Toronto that also saw the Jays deal controversial closer Roberto Osuna to Houston and dependable left-handed starter J.A. Happ to the New York Yankees.
The cumulative return for the Blue Jays is a mixed bag. Some new acquisitions such as infielder Brandon Drury and closer Ken Giles are major-league ready, while others will bolster the Jays’ system for now.
The 24-year-old Waguespack, a six-foot-six, 225-pound pitcher
from Waco, Texas, is a combined 4-6 with a 4.68 ERA in 21 games for the double-A Reading Fightin Phils the triple-A Lehigh Valley IronPigs.
Waguespack only had to change dugouts to join his new team. The IronPigs are in Buffalo for a series with the Bisons, the Blue Jays’ triple-A affiliate.
Copping, 24, is 4-0 with a 2.52 ERA in 35 games for the double-A Tulsa Drillers and triple-A Oklahoma City Dodgers. The 6-1,
175-pound righty from Pasadena, Calif., owns a career record of 11-4 and a 3.37 ERA in four minor league seasons.
Loup is 0-0 with a 4.54 earnedrun average in 50 games this season.
Axford is 4-1 with a 4.41 ERA in 45 games with one start for the Jays this season. The six-footfive, 220-pound native of Simcoe, Ont., has a career record of 38-34 with a 3.78 ERA and 144 saves in 538 games for seven teams.