Blue Jays, Julian Fernandez agree minor league deal

Blue Jays to get relief Julian Fernandez Sportsnet’s Ben Nicholson-Smith agrees to minor league dealtwitter link). He adds hard throwable pen depth to the upper minor.

Fernandez has more than two years of service in the major leagues, nearly all of which has been spent on the injured reserve. The Giants dropped rights holders from the Rockies Organization in the 2017 Rule 5 Draft. He suffered an elbow injury requiring Tommy John surgery before pitching in San Francisco and spent the entire following season on the MLB injured list. I insisted, but I spent the entire 2019 season at IL thanks to continuing elbow problems.

During the 2019-20 offseason, Miami waived its Rule 5 right. This put him back in his original organization, the Rockies, without needing his 40-man roster spot. Fernandez didn’t appear in his single game in MLB in his two years, but got his first real chance in the second half of the 2021 season. Colorado selected him to his 40-man roster as the September call-up. In his six appearances he allowed 8 runs in 6 2/3 innings, struggling with control but averaging a blistering 99 mph with a sub-101 fastball. .

Fernandez held a roster spot with Colorado last winter, but spent the first few months of the season assigning options to Triple-A Albuquerque. I was. He cleared full immunity and stuck with Isotope for the entire season, pitching 57 innings in 58 appearances. The Dominican-born Hurler had a 6.63 ERA in a very hitter-friendly league, and he posted a staggering 2.37 home runs per nine innings. He beat his opponents with an impressive 13.6% swing with his strike rate of 24.9%, but the long balls and his 12.3% walk rate were too much for him to return to the majors. also turned out to be a problem.

After qualifying for minor league free agency at the end of the season, Fernandez found new opportunities in Toronto. His arm strength is certainly of interest to the Jays’ pitching development staff, despite his inconsistent league record in the minors. The 27-year-old has a minor league option in his two years left, so if he cracks his 40-man squad at any time in Toronto, the next few seasons will see Rodgers see him center and triple. You can move freely between A Buffalo.