The Blue Jays announced that they have selected an infielder Is Wagner on their list, breaking the big league list for the first time. Striker Luis De Los Santos optioned to Triple-A Buffalo in the corresponding move. @LoperBloss reported Wagner's move to X yesterday. After yesterday's game, Julia Kreuz of MLB.com relayed to X that De Los Santos has been optioned to Triple-A Buffalo. “They want to see new players in the organization,” said De Los Santos. “But it's okay. I will continue to work, do my part and hope to be back soon.” The Blue Jays had some spots on their 40 man roster but now we are full.
Wagner, 26, is the son of a longtime confidante Billy Wagner. The older Wagner had spent most of his career with the Astros and it was that organization that drafted the younger Wagner, using his 18th round pick in 2021. Houston turned to Wagner, an outfielder. Joey Loperfido and the right hand Jake Bloss to the Blue Jays in a recent trade that sent a lefty Yusei Kikuchi otherwise.
In his professional career, Wagner has consistently put up solid numbers at the plate, albeit at a higher level. He has 1,273 minor league plate appearances with 25 home runs in that span. But he was only struck out on 17.1% of those trips to the plate while striking out at a strong 13.9% clip. Despite the limited pop, his combined line of .297/.402/441 translates to a 125 wRC+, which is 25% better than the overall league average.
That includes solid work at the Triple-A level. He was promoted to the minor league majors in September of last year and has since slashed .337/.445/.465 with a 136 wRC+ in 383 plate appearances. He only had six home runs but walked more than he hit, getting a free pass in 15.9% of his games compared to 10.2% of his strikeouts.
That quality plate decision was enough for the Jays to direct him into trade talks with the Astros and now they will promote him to the majors after giving him a seven-game closer look at Triple-A Buffalo. Baseball America ranked him as the #17 prospect in the Astros' program coming into the year, matching his hit tool but noting that he is not a strong defender. He is currently ranked 25th in the Jays program in BA. In June, FanGraphs ranked him 26th in the Astros system and he is currently ranked 30th in the Toronto organization.
The Jays are out of contention and are using the remainder of the season to evaluate current players and make decisions about how to approach their offseason. The club plans to return to contention in 2025 and is currently giving playing time to young lads such as Loperfido, Spencer Horwitz, Leo Jiménez, Addison Barger and now Wagner, seeing which positions are most demanding or most demanding to address during the winter season.
Wagner has played all three nonstop positions in the infield this year, though the Jays have mostly had him at second base since the trade. The Astros have given him plenty of playing time at first base, but that may be indicative of that team's struggles at that position, and Jose Altuve the keystone is closed.
The Jays have been giving Horwitz a lot of time at second base this year but maybe they could have him again Vladimir Guerrero Jr. separate first base and the designated hitter now that Justin Turner sold and no longer on DH site. Or maybe Wagner will see significant time as a DH as his glovework is largely overlooked. Guerrero has also been playing third base this year and could move to that side of the diamond, with Jiménez and Ernie Clement and in the mix for some playing time in the infield. Barger and Davis Schneider can also play the infield, although the Jays have one George Springer, Daulton Varsho and Loperfido getting regular playing time there.
There are a lot of moving parts but there is a lot of diversity on the team, so manager John Schneider will likely spend the rest of the year rotating guys around and spreading out opportunities so the club can test each player at the plate and in the middle. field.
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