Pirates trade Zach Thompson to Blue Jays

Pirates trade Zach Thompson to Blue Jays

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Blue Jays win right hander Zach Thompson From the Pirates in exchange for a minor league outfielder Chavez Young, as announced by the team.Toronto picks right-hander Junior Fernandez For an assignment to open a spot on Thompson’s 40-man roster, Thompson will provide even more rotation depth to the Jays. Thompson was drafted by the Pirates last week.

Thompson, 29, was drafted by the White Sox in 2014 but was never added to the roster, reaching minor league free agency after 2020. He topped Miami’s roster that year, eventually appearing in 26 games, of which he started 14. He pitched his 75 innings with a 3.24 ERA, a 21% strikeout percentage, an 8.9% walk rate, and a 43.4% ground ball percentage.

After that nice surprise campaign, the Marlins sold for a high price and converted Thompson to the Pirates. Jacob Stallings handle. Unfortunately, the move to Pittsburgh did not go well for Thompson, who was deployed in a swing role. He made his 22 starting appearances and his seven relief appearances, and in 121 2/3 innings he posted a 5.18 ERA. He still got 45.3% consistent ground balls, but his strikeout rate dropped to his 16.6%.The Bucks said last week that they rich hill Formal.

Despite that lackluster season, it hardly hurts for the Jays to take the flyer for him. The Jays have 4 rotation his spots, Alec Manoa, Kevin Gaussman, Chris Basit When Jose Berrios Firmly settled. The 5th spot is a little less certain, but there are many options such as Yuusei Kikuchi, Mitch White When Nate PearsonThompson dives into that mix to give the club another depth. He has his 1-2 year service term in his MLB. That means he hasn’t reached arbitration yet and can be kept cheaply for the foreseeable future.

To get that extra pitching depth, the Jays are parting ways with Young. The 25-year-old has spent his entire career in the Jays system so far, making the jump to a new organization for the first time. He was selected by the Bahamas in the 39th round of the 2016 draft. Since then, he has worked his way up the minor league ladder, hitting well at each stop until reaching Triple-A. In his 78 Double-A games in 2021, he posted .265/.350/.409 and wRC+ he had 109. In his 65 Triple-A games last year, his grades dropped to .234/.331/.350 with an 86 wRC+. He expects to take a step forward with his new team, but his speed and defense provide a solid floor for the Backs, who play all three of his outfield positions, including many in center field. and has stolen at least 20 bases in each of his last four minor league seasons.

The Jays are also letting go of Fernandez, who was just fired by the Yankees last week. Right-handed players have tremendous speed, but have not yet figured out how to use it properly. He averaged 98.8 mph with a four-seamer this year and 98.7 mph with a sinker last year, but he hit just 16.7 percent of hitters while walking 14.3 percent of them. 2022 will be his final selection year, and he’s been a popular target for Waiver in recent months. Canceled. Jays now has one week to trade him or bring him back to waivers again.

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