It looks like the Blue Jays are going to be getting some bullpen reinforcements after all,
#BlueJays acquiring Jason Grilli from #Braves in exchange for Sean Ratcliffe, sources say. Story coming soon on @BB_Essential.
— Robert Murray (@RobertMurrayBBE) May 31, 2016
According to reports, the Jays have agreed to a swap of minor league pitcher Sean Ratcliffe for veteran reliever, Jason Grilli.
As some of you may remember, the Blue Jays were actually very close to signing Grilli when he eventually re-upped with Pittsburgh after the 2012 season. He pitched a couple of good years there before being traded to the Angels for human homer machine, Ernesto Frieri, then signed with Atlanta following the 2014 season. His Atlanta tenure started out brilliantly, as he struck out 45 batters in 33 innings and posted a 2.94 ERA, and once again the Jays showed interest in acquiring his services, but his season was cut short by a torn achilles.
Fully healthy this year, Grilli was installed as the Braves closer The plan was surely to flip him at the deadline and install Arodys Vizcaino as the closer, but a disastrous few outings caused that switch to happen a lot sooner than expected. At the time of this trade, Grilli has a 5.29 ERA in 17 innings of work. The strikeouts are still there, with a very healthy K/9 of 12.2 (23 Ks), but his command has been horrible. In those 17 innings, he has walked 13 batters (6.9 BB/9). He has never been a command specialist, per se, but that’s far and away the worst rate of his career.
One argument would suggest that he is bound for some regression in that area, but Grilli is 39 years old, and happens to be dealing with some lost velocity.
Like the last closer the Blue Jays have brought in (Storen), Grilli is down over two miles per hour from his 2015 averages, and over one and a half from his 2014 numbers. The max velocity numbers are even more worrying.
Grilli’s max fastball velocity is down over 2.5 mph from the last three seasons. He had an abridged spring training (still recovering), so he could be still rounding into form, but is also getting fewer missed swings on his slider. In short, there are lots of reasons to worry.
All of that being said, this is a relatively low cost pickup. Sean Ratcliffe is from the Toronto area (Ajax), but has yet to reach full-season minor league ball. He was a former 18th round pick (2013), and has pitched as a reliever his entire time in the minor leagues. At 21 years old already, he does not appear likely for a big league future. Even though the Braves are picking up all but the pro-rated minimum, it still amounts to not much more than a salary dump for Atlanta.
So Grilli is finally a Blue Jay and it cost them basically nothing. The expectations should be low, but if there is even a small chance that he can recover any of his former glory, it’s a good move. Even if he just pitches slightly better, it’s a great move.
After all, the bullpen can use all the help it can get.
Lead Photo: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports