Reinforcements for Jays’ pennant push
Manager Gibbons has a plethora of options with expanded roster
The Toronto Blue Jays’ clubhouse suddenly became a lot more crowded Friday afternoon.
September call-ups came flooding into the visitors clubhouse at Tropicana Field faster than the storm surge from hurricane Hermine.
The team added seven players with several more likely to come over the next few days.
Relief pitchers Danny Barnes, Ryan Tepera and Matt Dermody joined position players Dalton Pompey, Darrell Ceciliani, Devon Travis and Josh Thole.
The Travis and Thole moves were strictly procedural as the team moved bodies around over the last couple of days to maximize the number of players available.
When the Triple A season is over at Buffalo, you can expect Bo Schultz and Aaron Loup to join the pitching staff here as well.
On Thursday, the Jays signed speedy Quintin Berry, formerly of the Los Angeles Angels. He’ll be in Buffalo for a few days and could be activated. The expanded roster gives manager John Gibbons some room to manoeuvre after spending the last month trying to squeeze as much as he could from a 25-man roster that included six starting pitchers.
“It’s been challenging,” said Gibbons. “We have some guys in the pen we need to watch. They’re older. We still had a normal seven but it still sometimes felt like we were short because there are guys who needed a bit more rest.
“Plus, we had some position players who were beat up, which left us short on the bench. The extra starter made that a little bit tighter as well.”
Now the manager goes from one extreme to another. With so many bodies available, it will be difficult to give them all work.
“But for the most part, our regulars are here to play. Some of the call-ups might go in defensively or be called on to pinch-run. If we’re down in a game, certain guys will get some innings. But it’s not necessarily an audition, that’s for sure. With the exception of Dermody, we know them all anyway. We know what they can do.”
Dermody rocketed through the system this season, achieving success at Class A, Double A and Triple A. Across three levels, he pitched 54 innings with an ERA of 1.82 and a WHIP of 1.16. Among his 55 hits allowed there was only one home run.
Francisco Liriano will be skipped on this trip through the rotation. If the Jays were sticking to their sixman rotation, Liriano would not have pitched Friday night against the Rays, when he appeared in relief of starter Marcus Stroman. Marco Estrada will pitch on Saturday and J.A. Happ will follow him on Sunday.
“Liriano will be available out of the pen this weekend,” said Gibbons.