JAYS DEAL DIAZ FOR PITCHING HELP
SPORTS Toronto uses infield depth to land right-hander from Astros,
The Blue Jays’ off-season plan to turn position player depth into pitching is a go.
The Jays flipped infielder Aledmys Diaz to the Houston Astros for right-hander Trent Thornton on Saturday, their first trade since finishing a distant fourth at 73-89 in the American League East.
The move starts to clear an infield logjam at the big-league level that still includes Devon Travis, Lourdes Gurriel Jr., Richard Urena, Brandon Drury, Yangervis Solarte and Troy Tulowitzki. At the top of the minor-league system, infielders Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Bo Bichette and Cavan Biggio are all knocking on the door.
At 28, Diaz was the third-oldest of the bunch behind Tulowitzki (34) and Solarte (31). Question marks remain about the availability of Tulowitzki, who hasn’t played since July 2017 because of a series of injuries. The Jays declined Solarte’s contract option last month, but he remains on the 40-man roster.
The 25-year-old Thornton went 9-8 with a 4.42 ERA in 24 games (22 starts) for the Triple-A Fresno Grizzlies this past season.
“We feel that this represented a good opportunity to use an area of our depth to acquire a player that can be a part of our pitching core,” said Jays general manager Ross Atkins. “Trent is someone that we’ve targeted for some time, and are confident that his deep repertoire and strike throwing ability allows him to be a factor for our major-league rotation in the near term.”
Astros president and general manager Jeff Luhnow told the Houston Chronicle that Thornton was “on the radar of a lot of teams” and “can probably pitch in a big-league rotation next year.”
The six-foot, 175-pound righty — whose strengths include a mid-90s fastball and a hard curveball, according to scouting reports — was drafted in the fifth round in 2015. He was ranked 24th in Houston’s deep system by MLB Pipeline prior to the trade and had been projected to reach the majors in 2018, blocked by the Astros’ depth at the big-league level and other more highly ranked prospects. He is now considered the Jays’ No. 22-ranked prospect. Thornton — who recently threw 152⁄3 innings in the Arizona Fall League, allowing seven runs and striking out 20 — wasn’t immediately added to the 40-man roster, which still sits at 36. The Jays would have to add him by Tuesday to protect him from the Dec. 13 Rule 5 draft, on the final day of the MLB winter meetings in Las Vegas.
Thornton isn’t alone in that regard. Other top prospects who could be lost in the draft if not protected include righthanders Hector Perez (No. 11, acquired in the Roberto Osuna trade in July) and Jordan Romano (No. 27), and catcher Max Pentecost.
Diaz played on a one-year contract worth $2 million (U.S.) this past season and will be ar- bitration eligible in 2020. He was deployed primarily at shortstop with some time at second base, third base and even left field as a Jay. In Houston, he’s seen as the likely replacement for free agent Marwin Gonzalez.
“He’s got some versatility, got some power and can do a lot of things,” Luhnow told MLB.com after Saturday’s trade. “It seems like it’s an opportunity for us to improve our team. We’re dipping into prospect depth, but if there’s one area we probably have some surplus it’s in the upper-level pitching area.”
Diaz provided a solid option at short in Tulowitzki’s absence, hitting a team-high .263 this past season with 26 doubles, 18 home runs and 56 RBIs in 130 games. After the all-star break, he hit .290 with 10 homers and 32 RBIs.
Off the field, the Jays are expected to announce more moves in the next few days, including the promotion of minor-league hitting co-ordinator Guillermo Martinez to bigleague batting coach, according to a Sportsnet report. He would replace Brook Jacoby, who was fired along with Tim Leiper earlier this month, and join new bench coach Dave Hudgens. Third base coach Luis Rivera and pitching coach Pete Walker are both expected to return under new manager Charlie Montoyo. Former FanGraphs writer Carson Cistulli also announced he would be joining the club’s pro scouting department.