Jays busy on trade deadline day
Toronto acquires starters Ray, Stripling
The Toronto Blue Jays have added depth to their pitching staff and offence, acquiring left-hander Robbie Ray, right-hander Ross Stripling and infielder Jonathan Villar in a series of trades before Monday’s deadline.
The Blue Jays acquired Ray and cash considerations from the Arizona Diamondbacks in exchange for lefty Travis Bergen.
Toronto then acquired Villar from the Miami Marlins in exchange for a player to be named later and stripling from the Los Angeles Dodgers for two players to be named later.
The 28-year-old Ray was a 2017 all-star and finished seventh in the National League Cy Young Award voting that year after going 15-5 with a 2.89 ERA. He’s known for his big strikeout numbers and had a career-high 235 last season.
But Ray has struggled with his command so far this year. He has a 1-4 record with a 7.84 ERA. He’s walked 31 batters in 31 innings and given up nine homers while striking out 43.
The 26-year-old Bergen is in his second year in the big leagues. He played for the San Francisco Giants in 2019 and had a 5.49 ERA in 21 relief appearances. He pitched for the Blue Jays once in 2020, throwing
1 2/3 scoreless innings while striking out three.
If Ray can figure out his command issues, he could help the Blue Jays, who are pushing for a playoff spot in the expanded 16-team format. They have an 18-14 record and are one game behind the New York Yankees for second place in the AL East.
Stripling is another former all-star, making an appearance in 2018 when he went 8-6 with a 3.02 ERA and 136 strikeouts.
The 30-year-old has a 3-1 record with 27 strikeouts, 11 walks and a 5.61 ERA across seven starts for the Dodgers this season. The six-foot-three, 220-pound righty has a career 3.68 ERA across five seasons.
Stripling is headed to Toronto to rejoin longtime Dodgers starter Hyun-Jin Ryu, who left for an $80 million US free agent deal in the off-season. Although Stripling is a steady, dependable arm, the major league-leading Dodgers have a wealth of rotation candidates behind stars Clayton Kershaw and Walker Buehler.
The Blue Jays have been looking for pitching help with starters Nate Pearson, Matt Shoemaker and Trent Thornton all on the disabled list.
Villar, 29, is batting .259 with four doubles, two home runs and nine runs batted in this season. The native of La Vega, Dominican Republic, has stolen a MLB-high nine bases this season.