The Blue Jays have claimed left-hander Easton Lucas off waivers from the Tigers and optioned him to Triple-A Buffalo, per bulletins from each golf equipment. The lefty was designated for project by Detroit a number of days in the past. The Jays transferred right-hander Alek Manoah to the 60-day injured record to open up a 40-man roster spot.
Lucas, 27, made his main league debut with the Athletics final yr. He had been within the Orioles’ system previous to that however went to Oakland within the July 2023 commerce that despatched righty Shintaro Fujinami to the O’s. This yr, Lucas has discovered himself on the waiver wire a few occasions, getting claimed by the Tigers in Could and now by the Jays.
Between the A’s and Tigers, he has 13 2/3 main league innings at this level in his profession. He has allowed 14 earned runs thus far, resulting in an unimpressive 9.22 earned run common in that small pattern of labor.
The curiosity from the Jays doubtless comes from his intriguing leads to a bigger pattern of labor within the minors. He has thrown 49 Triple-A innings this yr with a 3.31 ERA. His 11.2% stroll charge in that point is on the excessive aspect however he struck out 25.2% of batters confronted. Final yr, he threw 46 2/3 minor league innings with a 3.86 ERA, 25.8% strikeout charge and eight.6% stroll charge.
Lucas is in his first of three choice years and has lower than a yr of service time. Meaning the Jays can stash him within the minors till he’s prepared for one more look within the large leagues or they’ll merely deliver him up at any time when they subsequent want a contemporary arm. If his efficiency justifies his continued presence on the roster, he’s nonetheless a methods away from qualifying for arbitration or free company.
The Jays have not too long ago been remaking a bullpen that allow them down right here in 2024. Jordan Romano has been on the injured record for a lot of the yr and it’s unclear if he’ll be capable of make it again earlier than the marketing campaign is completed. Erik Swanson struggled sufficient to get despatched to the minors for some time, although he has since returned. Tim Mayza’s struggles had been robust sufficient that he was launched and is now with the Yankees.
Final yr, the membership’s relievers had a collective 3.68 ERA, one of many ten greatest marks within the majors. This yr, the group is at 4.22 and within the backside ten. That undoubtedly performed a job within the membership falling from competition, which led them to additional subtract from the group by buying and selling Yimi García, Trevor Richards and Nate Pearson previous to the deadline.
Because the season has gone alongside, they’ve picked up Ryan Burr, Tommy Nance, José Cuas, Yerry Rodríguez, Luis Frías and now Lucas, both by small trades or waiver claims. The membership will undoubtedly be making extra strikes to handle the reduction corps within the offseason, however for now, the Jays can attempt them out both within the majors or Triple-A as they give the impression of being to bolster the depth for subsequent yr’s membership.
As for Manoah, he underwent UCL surgical procedure in June and received’t be again till subsequent summer season on the earliest, so this transfer was an inevitable formality. He’ll keep on the IL for the remainder of the yr however might want to retake a 40-man roster spot in November because the IL goes away within the days after the World Collection.
