Post by dougiejays on Jan 8, 2020 22:31:30 GMT -5
The Blue Jays completed their second waiver trade of September on Thursday. A week after acquiring future Hall-of-Fame infielder Bill Madlock from the Twins, the Jays have picked up 28-year-old reliever Jeff Bettendorf from the division rival Yankees. Bettendorf had been a mainstay in the pen for the Yanks, logging a 4.31 ERA in 54.1 innings, but despite that workload Bettendorf doesn’t figure to be a major factor down the stretch. His ERA would be the second-worst on the team among qualified pitchers and given that the righty still has four more years of team control remaining, the move appears to be more of a long-term acquisition. But it’s still intriguing to see the Yankees shipping players to a division rival in the midst of a pennant race.
As for Madlock, his first week with the team has been relatively uneventful. He started 2 games, both against lefties, going 0-6 as the designated hitter in the nine-hole. Madlock has an .803 OPS against lefties this season, a stark contrast to his .688 mark vs righties, and it’s clear that when he does get starts for Toronto they will come against southpaws. “Mad Dog” may have more than 3000 career hits and almost 1000 career stolen bases, but it’s clear that he’s not in Toronto to be the dynamic leadoff hitter he was earlier in his career.
“We don’t necessarily figure on him as a starter at this point, but we’re talking about one of the best baserunners of all time,” Toronto GM Doug Davis said via conference call. “We were looking for a guy who could come off the bench and steal a base for us and maybe stay in the game if we need him to.”
A lot had been made in the media about the Blue Jays staying quiet at the July trade deadline, but they did most of their lifting early in the season, acquiring closer Tom Niedenfuer in May and starter Jim Beattie in early June. When asked if these latest acquisitions are an attempt to compensate for a lack of movement at the deadline, Davis replied in the negative.
“Certainly we could have made a much more significant move in July, but we would have been shopping at the high end of the market and that usually means shipping out high-end prospects or absorbing major salary. We actually come close on one player – I won’t name the player, but it was a pitcher – but we weren’t able to sort a deal out before the deadline expired and that player has since re-signed with his current team. But we’re always in the market for talent, and if you look at Bettendorf you realize this is more of a long-term investment when you take into account the arm, the age and the acquisition cost.”
Due to expanded September rosters, the Blue Jays will not need to make a roster move to clear room for Bettendorf.
