Kikuchi emotional after leaving possible final start with Blue Jays
The trade deadline brings up all kinds of emotions. For fans, there’s excitement to see what new players will be joining their favourite teams. But for the players themselves, the deadline can be stressful as they and their families await the news that they have been moved. Those emotions bubbled to the surface for Yusei Kikuchi on Friday as he left the field for possibly the final time as a Blue Jays pitcher.
TORONTO — Shortly after the Toronto Blue Jays began batting practice Friday afternoon, Yimi Garcia’s phone rang. General manager Ross Atkins was on the other end with word of a trade — the coveted right-handed leverage reliever was headed to the Seattle Mariners.
Garcia wasn’t surprised, he knew a deal was coming and had fully prepared for it, so he proceeded with his day, which meant heading to the barbershop for one last haircut at Rogers Centre, talking on the phone throughout the trim.
Though flight arrangements were being made to get him to Chicago to join the Mariners as soon as possible, and he expected to be in uniform for his new team Saturday, there was no need to rush.
“Everything is packed already,” he said with a grin.
And so the Blue Jays’ sell-off is on, Garcia returning Jonatan Clase, a super-toolsy but raw switch-hitting outfielder optioned to triple-A Buffalo, and catcher Jacob Sharp, bound for either low-A Dunedin or possibly a promotion to high-A Vancouver.
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The primary get is Clase, the No. 13 prospect in Seattle’s system who debuted in the majors this season and whose inclusion tipped the scales in what was a strong market for Garcia that included multiple teams.
Listed at five-foot-nine and 150 pounds, the 22-year-old has elite speed and power that belies his size, hitting a career best 20 homers at double-A Modesto last year when he also stole 79 bases. In 59 games at triple-A Tacoma this year, he’s batting .274/.373/.483 with 10 homers and 26 stolen bases, while hitting .195/.233/.220 with three steals in 19 games with Seattle.
A strong batting-eye that leads to walks has helped him reach base at a .375 clip in five minor-league seasons, but it’s counter-balanced by an aggressive approach that leads to some chase. That’s an area where the Blue Jays will be betting on some positive growth.
Still, Clase is also an on-the-cusp talent with the type of dynamic skillset the Blue Jays are sorely lacking in their farm system, slowly becoming what the Mariners envisioned when they signed him out of the Dominican Republic back in 2018.
“Our scout, Audo Vincente, loved Clase’s speed, loved his instincts on the bases,” recalled Tim Kissner, who was the Mariners’ director of international operations at the time. “He made hard contact, short swing, played baseball very aggressively. During workouts, he had instincts to play the game, knew how steal, could bunt for a hit, move baserunners with the bat.”
Kissner, who also oversaw the signings of Julio Rodriguez and Freddy Peralta among others with the Mariners, described Clase as exceptionally fast and strong, with a quick and compact swing they felt would lead to consistent quality contact.
“He had a positive energy to him off the field and he played with energy on the field,” said Kissner, who left baseball in 2022 to become a police officer in Juneau, Alaska.
Sharp, meanwhile, is someone the Blue Jays scouted ahead of the 2023 draft, when he was selected in the 17th round by Seattle. Though he’s only five-foot-seven, the Blue Jays feel he has a chance to stick behind the plate, where his disciplined approach and short, high-contact swing might play.
At low-A Modesto, the 22-year-old hit .255/.339/.435 in 44 games, with 18 walks and only 19 strikeouts in 191 plate appearances.
There is risk with all prospects, of course, especially ones who profile the way Clase and Sharp do. But, especially in Clase’s case, it’s a big swing at upside that could make a real impact if it connects.
Now, the Blue Jays expected to be among the teams surrendering these types of prospects rather than acquiring them ahead of the July 30 deadline, but their season hasn’t played out that way. Garcia expressed surprise over how this season has played out and his trade is a product of that.
“It’s a mix of emotions that I’m feeling right now,” Garcia said through interpreter Hector Lebron. “Very happy that I’m going to the Mariners, of course, they’re contending right now. And very sad. The Blue Jays organization, first class, they treated me with a lot of respect, and my teammates, too. So in that aspect, I’m very sad.”
A prevailing emotion for any team selling the way the Blue Jays are right now.
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