Lourdes Gurriel Jr Gets The Call
In a series of related moves, the Toronto Blue Jays have sent Tim Mayza and Gift Ngoepe to AAA while activating Kendrys Morales from the DL and promoting Lourdes Gurriel Jr to the majors. The activation of Morales was expected and having Tim Mayza sent down to make room was also predictable. It's also not entirely surprising that Gift Ngoepe was sent down, considering he has hit a woeful .056/.105/.056 with a 63.2% strikeout rate.
What was a little more surprising was the call-up of Gurriel. Not that Gurriel hasn't earned the call-up. He looked very good in spring training and has carried that success into the start of the minor league season with a .347/.382/.510 slash line at AA. He has struck out just 10.9% so he is making lots of contact, and the contact he has made has often been hard. He most likely will be an offensive upgrade over Ngoepe, which would be most welcome. Hopefully Gurriel can maintain a super low strikeout rate in the majors. This will give him a very high floor of offensive production.
Gurriel's defensive versatility will come in handy as he's currently the only infielder on the Blue Jays bench. He can play all of the infield positions and a bit of outfield as well. There are some concerns about whether he will get enough playing time since he won't be a regular starter, but I feel this concern is not that big of a deal. He will get a start at second base every 3 or 4 games to rest Travis and should see some time at third base and shortstop as well. The Blue Jays have a lot of platoon players so Gibbons will likely be making plenty of roster moves during games. This should provide many opportunities for Gurriel to see playing time as a defensive sub. Ideally a prospect would be getting everyday at bats, but there simply isn't enough at bats to go around right now. He should get 2 or 3 starts a week and a few substitution appearances mixed in. His numbers may suffer from irregular appearances, but the chance to face major league pitching should be a valuable learning experience.
I expect when Donaldson returns Gurriel will head back to the minors so he can see regular playing time. Solarte will then slot back into a super utility role that he is well suited to. Some fans may object to Solarte not being in the everyday lineup, but his track record isn't one of a guy who you must absolutely make room in the lineup for. The Padres didn't even feel the need to find everyday playing time for him and this Blue Jays team is far deeper than they were. Solarte has been excellent to start the year, but he is still just a career 107 wrc+ hitter. That's not the kind of offensive production you desperately need in the lineup. However, it's phenomenal production from your utility infielder and an excellent weapon coming off the bench. His high contact rate is also extra valuable in a pinch hitting role for when you really need someone to put the ball in play, like, say, oh, I dunno, bases loaded, down by one, with a struggling strikeout prone hitter at the plate against a division rival. Just to pick a random scenario out of thin air.
I expected Ngoepe to be sent down when Donaldson returned, but I really like the front office's thinking to get Gurriel some playing time in the majors while the opportunity is there. Once Donaldson returns there just won't be room for Gurriel unless someone in the infield gets injured. Hopefully Gurriel proves he can hit at the highest level and gives the team yet another layer of depth to what is already an extremely deep roster.
