The Jays will in return send pitcher Drew Hutchison to the Priates. At the time of the deal, the Jays likely planned to have Feldman in the rotation, but a last minute deal for Francisco Liriano likely makes him the swingman for the time being.
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This was a surprising, but strong, move for GM Ross Atkins. “We’re still working through the timing but this (trade) allows us to do that”. “With that in mind, we now have the option to do that”. Liriano is under contract at $13 million this season and next.
Huntington stressed the Pirates still believe they can compete this season and believes in a way addition by subtraction might help.
“The fact he’s been there before in a playoff chase, pitched in a major playoff game, and still has very good stuff”. “A few hours ago, he’s in our clubhouse and a big part of our chemistry and our culture and then we walk him off. Let’s wait and see how he pitches before we pass judgment”.
Sanchez is still scheduled to start Friday against Kansas City while its unclear when Liriano will make his debut. Sanchez is 11-1 with an American League-leading 2.71 ERA in 21 starts this year.
Looking specifically at the deal for Scott Feldman, the Blue Jays are adding an experienced right handed swingman, not all that much different from what they had in Jesse Chavez.
Feldman, 33, is 5-3 with a 2.90 ERA in 26 appearances (five starts) for the Astros this season.
Everyone, it seems, understands there’s no clear answer on how to properly handle Sanchez – allow him to stay in the rotation and greatly exceed his heretofore career-high in innings pitched or move him to the bullpen to control his innings – and so the lack of hard science on the matter lends itself to general support of whatever decision gets made.
But he had trouble going deep into games, often running up against a pitch count after five or six innings. He is 94-90 with a 4.09 career ERA in 11-plus seasons, topped by a 16-8 record with a 3.02 ERA and 162 strikeouts in 2013. The Astros (56-49) snapped a three-game losing skid thanks to brilliant relief work from right-handers Chris Devenski, who struck out seven over 4 1/3 ideal innings, and Michael Feliz (7-1), who pitched a flawless 14th.Altuve launched a 1-2 curveball from Toronto right-hander Marcus Stroman 362 feet to left-center field in the fifth, his 19th home run providing Doug Fister ample run support before closer Will Harris came unglued again in the ninth.Fister allowed four hits and walked one batter while striking out eight, making a start despite his wife being on the brink of delivering the couple’s first child. The Astros recalled RHP Joe Musgrove from Triple-A Fresno, where he was 5-3 with a 3.81 ERA in 10 starts.
“We feel like we did that with the acquisition cost, also bringing young talent into our system that we didn’t plan on as a focus, but we were opportunistic when it presented itself”.
The Toronto Blue Jays were missing two big bats from their starting lineup in the series opener but hope to at least have third baseman Josh Donaldson back when they visit the Houston Astros on Tuesday for the second contest of their four-game set.
Liriano has struggled with a 5.46 ERA, but prior to 2016, he was one of the best pitchers in baseball.
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The 32-year-old Jesse Chavez is 1-2 with a 4.57 ERA in 39 relief outings for Toronto.
