Sportsnet’s Ben Wagner out as voice of Blue Jays radio broadcasts

Ben Wagner is out as the voice of Toronto Blue Jays radio broadcasts, Sportsnet announced on Wednesday.

The move comes in the wake of Rogers scaling back its radio broadcasts since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. Sportsnet was one of a select few teams last season to not send radio personnel to road games, while Rogers Communications, which owns Sportsnet and the Blue Jays, opted not to offer radio-specific broadcasts for the bulk of the 2021 season.

“After six seasons as the voice of our baseball radio broadcasts, Sportsnet has decided not to renew Ben Wagner’s contract for next season,” the statement reads. “Thank you, Ben, for sharing your voice and expertise with listeners across Canada. We wish you the very best.”

Whit Merrifield rips Blue Jays for pulling Jose Berrios at 47 pitches: ‘I hated it’

The Blue Jays’ decision to pull Jose Berrios not only backfired, but at least one member of the team was not thrilled with the decision.

The Twins eliminated the Blue Jays with a 2-0 win in Game 2 of their American League Wild Card Series on Wednesday, as Toronto gave Berrios a quick hook after just 47 pitches.

Infielder Whit Merrifield gave a candid response about the move, which did not help matters in the elimination game.

“I hated it, frankly,” Merrifield said after the game, according to Sports Illustrated. “It’s not what cost us the game, but it’s the kind of baseball decisions that are taking away from managers and baseball, at this stage of the game.”

Berrios had kept the Twins — his former team — scoreless through the first three innings before he gave up a leadoff walk to Game 1 hero Royce Lewis to start the fourth.

At that point, Blue Jays manager John Schneider decided it was time to move on from the righty and bring in Yusei Kikuchi, a lefty.

How to Save an Aging Ballpark

Led by the architecture firm Populous, the first phase of this $300 million CAD ($222 million USD) facelift debuted this season. The team trimmed capacity by 7% by removing about 8,000 seats, reconfigured the dimensions of the field, and added a host of gathering spaces to the 34-year-old facility.

“We’re in the business of competing for people’s time and money, and we’re competing with a broadcast experience that’s vastly different and better than when Rogers Centre was built,” says Blue Jays Executive Vice President Anuk Karunaratne. “We have to create reasons for people to want to come down here, and in doing so we need to create an experience that is reflective of what people expect when they go out in the city.”

The heart of this season’s fixes is a new “Outfield District” centered around multiple neighborhood bar-like social spaces. On the upper deck, the Corona Rooftop Patio is filled with the type of contemporary design touches and decorations one would expect for an Instagram-baiting rooftop bar, while Park Social promises to be a “park within the park,” with games and lawn furniture that attract an all-ages crowd. At field level, The Stop references unrealized early plans for a transit station inside the stadium; its subway tiles, blown up Toronto Transit Commission map, and mural full of local landmarks drive the point home. Nearby, The Catch resembles the type of newish downtown spot one goes for cocktails and small plates. New viewing decks along both foul poles and a shifted outfield wall that has brought seats closer to the field created asymmetrical dimensions for players to negotiate. Also, both bullpens are now fully visible.

“There’s a special sort of atmosphere that comes from being in a ballpark outfield that’s never quite the same,” says Derek Sommers, associate principal at Populous. “A lot of it is about providing a really comfortable space for fans, channeling that feeling of a great summertime game, even when the roof is closed.”

Alek Manoah Refused Triple-A Assignment, Unlikely To Pitch Again In 2023

Alek Manoah’s disappointing 2023 season has reportedly come to an end.

According to Jeff Blair of the Sportsnet podcast Blair and Barker, Manoah failed to report to his Triple-A assignment in Buffalo because he was upset at the Toronto Blue Jays’ decision to sideline him in favour of the team’s other starting pitchers.

“It seemed like the Alek Manoah camp didn’t like the fact this option was coming because it was performance-related,” Blair said. “Kevin, you and I have both witnessed this from a Major League level to a Triple-A level, when guys get sent back and it’s performance-related, they’re a little salty about it.”...

By refusing to report to Buffalo, Manoah has allegedly lost the opportunity to pitch for the Blue Jays at a Major League level in 2023 again.

“He’s not going to be able to ramp back up to help the Major League team in any capacity at this point,” Blair said. “He was taking a roster spot in Triple-A for a very depleted bullpen and pitching staff to begin with, so they had to make a move.”

Speakeasies, Golf and a Pool: 5 Baseball Parks That Go Beyond Baseball - NO PAYWALL

Like at every noteworthy speakeasy, it started with a knock.

After Chad Thompson and his wife, Kitty, found the secret door in an unassuming section of Citi Field, home of the New York Mets, they faced one more test that day in June before securing access to perhaps Major League Baseball’s most exclusive new fan experience. They needed to recite the correct password. It had three words.

“Let’s go Mets,” Mr. Thompson, a resident of Manhattan, told the guard.

The couple walked into the Cadillac Club to catch a game between the Mets and their crosstown rival Yankees. Once inside, the Thompsons snacked on bacon-wrapped dates and complimentary glasses of prosecco and Glenfiddich 15-Year-Old Solera Reserve. They sat in plush brown leather seats with personal TVs attached, where they were served Shake Shack burgers and Häagen-Dazs ice cream bars.

Blue Jays demote Alek Manoah to rookie-level Florida Complex League

Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Alek Manoah was optioned Tuesday to the rookie-level Florida Complex League, a demotion designed to help the former ace reset from a nightmare start to the season.

The Blue Jays made the move one day after Manoah lasted just one-third of an inning and allowed six runs in a loss to the Houston Astros. The 2022 American League Cy Young Award finalist is 1-7 with a 6.36 ERA in 13 starts this season.

Blue Jays manager John Schneider acknowledged after Monday’s 11-4 loss that “everything is on the table” in terms of the organization’s options for Manoah, whose demotion came amid a series of roster moves.

Jesse Barfield says arm tells all in war for drug-free baseball

Yikes! Greg Luzinski must have been on turanabull from a very young age!

Since Barfield is so familiar with strong arms he thinks it’s a giveaway to which players are on performance enhancing drugs. The giveaway is not when an outfielder suddenly develops a rocket arm. It’s when someone with a rocket arm suddenly can’t throw.

“When you look at guys, you have a pretty good idea of whether they are on something or not. It’s not natural to have muscles growing out of your neck like this,” Barfield said, holding his hands on his neck in a big circle.

Barfield said outfielders using PED’s build up their muscles so much around their shoulders, they can’t throw.

“They can’t get the arm up over the top because of how the muscles are built up,” he said. “It’s not natural. Guys who could throw, suddenly can’t throw.”

Barfield said it was never an issue with the Blue Jays of his era. With Lloyd Moseby and George Bell as his outfield mates, Toronto had one of the finest young outfields in the business.

“As close as we were as a team we would know if anyone was doing anything like that and if they were, we would have . . . stopped it right away.”

MLB Trade Rumors: Bartolo Colon Agrees to Sign With Unknown Team

Bartolo Colon has agreed to a deal with an unknown club reports Bob Nightengale of USA Today (on Twitter). The right-hander wouldn’t divulge the team because he has not yet passed his physical.

Pretty sure it’s either the All-Stars or the Champs.

Blasts from the Past

With the Hall of Fame results being announced today, we decided to take a trip down memory lane and dig up some old scouting reports from the Baseball America archives on some of the ballot’s notable candidates. . .

8. Barry Larkin, ss, 21, 5-11, 175, R-R
Larkin looked right at home in AA, hitting .267 for Vermont. He didn’t show power (one home run in 255 at-bats), but that will come. The key for him was just getting his feet on the ground, and he was not overpowered by the high level of competition (21 strikeouts in 255 at-bats). He will have good power for a shortstop.

6. Edgar Martinez, 3b, 25, 5-11, 175, R-R
Martinez’s discipline will produce runs. He’s averaged 70 RBIs the last four years. In the field, he’s solid, with good reactions and the soft hands of a middle infielder.

White Sox trade Jason Frasor to Jays

Reliever Jason Frasor is headed back to the Toronto Blue Jays.

The 34-year-old righty was traded from the White Sox to Toronto on Sunday, five months after the Blue Jays dealt him to Chicago.

The White Sox got minor league right-handers Myles Jaye and Daniel Webb in this latest swap….

“It felt like I was never coming back. (His July 27 trade) was an emotional day. I think it was the first time I’d cried since I gave up five runs in Atlanta a couple of years ago,” Frasor said….

Frasor, from Chicago, was 3-3 with a 3.60 ERA in 64 relief appearances with the White Sox and Toronto last season. Chicago acquired him and pitcher Zach Stewart from the Blue Jays for pitcher Edwin Jackson and infielder-outfielder Mark Teahen in midseason.

Frasor had been the longest serving member of the Blue Jays and left as the franchise leader in games pitched when they traded him. He spent eight seasons—2004-11—with the Blue Jays, posting a 24-28 record in 455 games with 36 saves and a 3.69 ERA.

And who is 119th in franchise history in games pitched - who else? - Octavio Dotel.

Griffin: Jays need to be transparent on Darvish and move on

But that policy sometimes leads to reported Jays participation and in interest being exagerrated and perpetuated, in rumours not being nipped in the bud and continuing to grow. That then encourages media searching out secondary sources, subject to interpretation. There Are even top player agents that will include the Jays as being interested in their client in order to drive up the price, confident that Anthopoulos won’t confirm or deny. It’s always been clear that there are times when the club would benefit from total transparency. Darvish is one of those times.

On Wednesday morning, Anthopoulos had staged a 15-minute conference call with local Toronto media to say nothing. He coyly deflected questions of what had been Jays’ interest in Darvish, of having made any offer at all and of the dollar amount that was reported by national sources said to be runner-up to the Rangers’ reported winning bid of $51.7 million.

He must have known that being recognized as runner-up would generate fan support since he would be perceived to have made a sincere effort. In this case the speculation was helping the team’s off-season image and interest. But, now, with all the denials of the $50 million bid that had been reported in multiple outlets elsewhere before being confirmed here, angles offered about the plucky Jays being competitive for Darvish, the previous fan and media support is turning to frustration and anger at being played. Are the Jays trying to take unwarranted credit for aggressiveness to curry public support?

Thanks to Sh.

Boston Red Sox - Red Sox have more competition than ever - The Boston Globe

This week’s Boston Globe Sunday baseball column.

NY Post: Blue Jays believed to outbid Yankees, others for Darvish

Having made a posting bid above $40 million and possibly close to $50 million, the Blue Jays are the favorites to land the negotiating rights to Yu Darvish.

Yahoo Sports: Passan: Darvish bidding process is a cloak and dagger affair

The deadline for bids on Darvish is today at 5 pm (eastern time).  Passan makes the whole process sound like executives have spent several years in Australia bulding up an immunity to iocane powder just for this moment.

The Texas Rangers, for example, have told rivals they’re cash-poor this offseason. A TV deal that will net them $80 million annually doesn’t kick in until 2015. The purchase price of the team for the ownership group – jacked up in an auction by Mark Cuban – wound up tens of millions of dollars higher than expected and sucked up the $90 million signing bonus Fox Sports delivered. And the TV contract itself wasn’t nearly as lucrative as Chuck Greenberg, the club’s deposed CEO, purported it to be.

To which one GM said: “Yeah, right.”

And another executive said: “They’re sandbagging.”

Phillies Trade Francisco to Blue Jays for Local Product

The ‘Cisco Kid was a friend of mine.

Outfielder Ben Francisco was traded to the Toronto Blue Jays in exchange for left-hander Frank Gailey, the Phillies announced today.

Gailey, a 26-year-old native of Philadelphia, split last season between single-A Dunedin and double-A New Hampshire in the Blue Jays’ minor league system where he combined to go 5-6 with a 3.41 ERA in 45 relief appearances.  For his minor league career he has gone 23-15 with a 2.45 ERA in 175 games (one start).  Gailey, Toronto’s 23rd round selection in the June 2007 draft, attended Archbishop Carroll High School and West Chester University.

Interpreting Scott Boras’ Comments On Prince Fielder: MLB Rumors - MLBTradeRumors.com

The big concern for anyone signing Prince is that he will age like his father.

There has been some talk of Boras trying to get Fielder signed to a three or four year contract, so that Prince gets another bite at the free agency apple. That strategy, I would think, would work best for teams and Prince’s long-term earnings. Of course, who knows what silly offer could already be on the table? I am just glad the Red Sox already have Adrian Gonzalez.

White Sox trade Sergio Santos for Blue Jays prospect Molina

Sergio: Once Upon a Time in the East…Duck, You Sucker!

The Chicago White Sox sent closer Sergio Santos to the Toronto Blue Jays for pitching prospect Nestor Molina in a trade of right-handed pitchers Tuesday.

Santos, 28, saved 30 games in 63 appearances in his first full season in the majors in 2011.

Molina, a 22-year-old from Venezuela, was 12-3, pitching at Class A Dunedin (Fla.) and Class AA New Hampshire for the Jays last season. For his minor-league career he is 22-7 with a 2.21 ERA.

Santos was originally drafted as a shortstop by the Diamondbacks with the 27th overall pick in 2002.

Hardball Talk: UPDATE: Angels trade Jeff Mathis to Blue Jays for Brad Mills

UPDATE: Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times confirms that the deal is done.

12:10 PM: Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports.com reports that the Angels are on the verge of trading catcher Jeff Mathis to the Blue Jays for left-hander Brad Mills.

The Angels acquired Chris Iannetta from the Rockies earlier this week, which made Mathis a virtual lock to be non-tendered. The 28-year-old backstop stands to make close to $2 million in his second year of arbitration, so it’s a wonder why the Blue Jays didn’t just wait to see if he hit the free agent market. I could be wrong here, but I can’t imagine teams were falling over themselves for a .194 career hitter whose defensive contributions can be overstated at times.

The Angels just traded their Tim Tebow and replaced him with Kyle Orton!

Sickels:  Toronto Blue Jays Top 20 Prospects for 2012

What can you say? This system has incredible depth, and a year from now it could look even better, depending on how Nicolino, Norris, and Syndergaard perform in full-season ball, not to mention hitters like Smith and Dean who are just getting started. Sanchez and Woj have the natural ability to zoom up the list as well.

Many of the C+ guys (and even some of the Cs) have B or even A-level physical ceilings but need to play and get some experience in, particularly pitchers like Carmona and Osuna.

Overall, I think this list speaks for itself. There is upside with guys who could be stars, there are solid future role players, there are arms, there are bats, there is power, there is speed, there is defense. It will be interesting to see if the Blue Jays are able to keep the talent spigot on full blast under the new CBA

Jays target Heath Bell

But not Yu:

Insiders say Jays president Paul Beeston is not a fan of the current posting system in place which sees teams pay anywhere from $50-to-$100 million to the Nippon Ham Fighters for just the right to negotiate with right-hander Yu Darvish.

Cleveland Indians trade Luis Valbuena to Toronto for cash

Luis Valbuena, one of the many players who have tried to fill the hole at second base since the Indians traded Brandon Phillips, was traded to Toronto for cash Saturday.

Valbuena was designated for assignment by the Indians on Nov. 18 as they set the 40-man roster in preparation for the Rule 5 draft. He’ll turn 26 Sunday.

The Indians acquired Valbuena and Joe Smith in a three-team trade with Seattle and the Mets at the winter meetings in 2008. Valbuena, acquired from Seattle, caught the eye of former Tribe manager Eric Wedge in 2009 as he hit .250 (92-for-368) with 25 doubles, three triples, 10 homers and 31 RBI in 103 games.

It was downhill from there.

Thanks to RD.

Blue Jays wanted Buchholz for John Farrell

CLAY?!...I’d alert Sons of Anarchy before Sons of Sam Horn!

According to a tweet from David Waldstein from the New York Times, the Blue Jays asked for Clay Buchholz as compensation if the Red Sox were going to hire away John Farrell to become their manager. FoxSports.com originally reported that the Red Sox had identified Farrell as a potential candidate for their managerial opening, but, as Ken Rosenthal wrote, “never considered it likely the Jays would engage in serious discussions about Farrell, and the conversations failed to progress.”

The Red Sox are still currently considering three candidates—Bobby Valentine, Gene Lamont and Torey Lovullo—for their open manager job.

MLB: Blue Jays unveil new logo for 2012 season

No snark. These are just plain great. May those black and grey atrocities never again darken our doors.

The Blue Jays dipped into their past when looking for inspiration for the club’s new logo that was revealed at Rogers Centre on Friday afternoon.

The new look is a modernized version of the franchise’s first logo that was used from 1977-97. It features a sleeker-looking Blue Jay bird head with a prominent red maple leaf to showcase Toronto’s standing as the only Major League Baseball team in Canada.

The design also marks the return of “Blue” in Blue Jays for the first time in almost 10 years and will be reflected on two of the three uniforms.

Griffin: Blue Jays’ chances of making playoffs just improved by 10 per cent

We are the 10%!

But for current GM Alex Anthopoulos and Rogers ownership the bar has been raised. The rebuilding is over. The new target is high 80s in wins in order to compete.

...But what this has done is amp up the adrenaline level in all middle of the pack major-league cities and their fan bases. It has raised the bar for all GMs, so that if you finished around .500 and have some young prospects coming up that could just as easily develop at the major-league level as you tell your fans you are rebuilding with youth, you had now better think twice about throwing in the towel and trading your veterans to save money. It’s good for the game, good for September.

But for Anthopoulos, his job has just got a little bit more difficult and his moves will be under a little bit more scrutiny at the winter meetings and beyond. He was always planning on winning in 2012, but he didn’t have to announce it until spring training. Now the pressure is on the Jays.

The best thing is that at long last there can be no excuses about the AL East being the reason for no playoffs and the best Ontario whine can return to the Niagara region where it belongs.

Griffin: Jays’ J.P. Arencibia surprisingly blanked in AL rookie voting

However, after that there was certainly room for the steady Arencibia on someone’s ballot as a third-place vote. Catching is the toughest position on the field and Arencibia, in addition to racking up 23 homers and 78 RBIs, both second among AL rookies, had to worry about handling the complicated, physical demands of the position. No other rookie candidate had to worry about leading a staff through nine innings and controlling the running game while trying to correct flawed footwork behind the plate and bad habits when it comes to blocking balls. He progressed on all fronts.

...Certainly nobody was expecting Arencibia to actually win the award, so that’s not the issue. He has a weakness catching balls from the top of his left knee to his left ankle and he batted just .219, but the fact that M’s second baseman Dustin Ackley, promoted to the majors on June 17, received a first- and a third-place nod and Rays outfielder Desmond Jennings secured a third-place recognition despite a mere 247 at-bats and not playing his first ML game until July 23 is a joke.

Thanks to Chet.