With the Palacios earning a spot on the 40-something, the Maxed roster gives Blue Jays options

TORONTO – Josh Palacios played a few games during spring training, joined the Toronto Blue Jays for summer camp after the shutdown and spent the season at an alternative training ground in Rochester. When it was time to go home, he suddenly appeared in the club’s 40-man playoff pool, heading to Florida for the post-season series against the Tampa Bay Race.

On Friday, he visited Dunedin, Fla. While working at Blue Jays’ new training center in, Gil Kim, the director of player development, pulled him aside and said he was being added to the list of 40 people, an important step. Finally for promotion to Majors.

The 25-year-old iel Tfefielder from Brooklyn said in an interview, “This is a really weird year. “If you had told me this five years ago, I would have had the whole season without playing a game, it’s still over with 40 people, you’re crazy. It’s like some kind of alternative reality. But making some progress through all of this is a blessing. It was exciting to take another step forward to live my dream. ”

Along with Blue Jays Palacios, catchers Riley Adams and Gabriel Moreno, infielder Otto Lopez and right-hand tie tie were kept out of the Rule 5 draft next month to increase their 40-man roster room ahead of Friday’s deadline.

Although they have options to clear space for future Big-League acquisitions – iel tfielder Derek Fisher is sticking to one spot and Travis Shaw is a non-tender candidate – the Blue Jays have set themselves up to make some trades by recruiting more players.

Adams and Moreno, Danny Johnson, Alejandro Kirk and Reese McGuire are all part of the club’s 60 regular season pool, with no area left over from the catcher for 40. It has a typically high number of spots to dedicate to the location, which is the ideal area of ​​depth to deal with.

Kirk, who made an impressive debut in that direction, was sought by the Pittsburgh Pirates during a trade deadline this summer, and the Texas Rangers have also long been interested in the club’s backstops. Cleveland recently opted for Roberto Perez’s option, but was thinner behind the plate and sought volume in recent trades.

At the same time, there is no doubt that the Blue Jays are aggressively trying to protect themselves from the Rule 5 draft, especially if the big-league rosters extend beyond 26 players. Collegians and selected high schools in 2016 dropped 40 people from the 2017 draft. Those selected must remain in the majors for the entire season or return to their original squad.

Two years ago, for example, Jordan Romano and Travis Bergen both got out of Blue Jays, but eventually came back.

“We really trust our players, and we hope they can help us achieve success at the big-league level at some point in the near future,” said club director Gil Kim. “We have added five players, but we hope another team of five can help our big-league club soon.”

Shortstops include Kevin Smith and Logan Warmoth, trustees Josh Winkowski and Justin Dillon and Lt. Jack Log.

Logical addition to the bubble with the left-handed iel tfielder and right-heavy roster Palacios Fisher. He spent the entire 2019 Double-A in New Hampshire and got a ticket for the Triple-A Buffalo before hitting the shutdown.

In the absence of games, he worked with co-ordinator Hunter Mens and field tffield coach Devon White to strike out, truly honoring specific skills during what is described as a “risk-free year” because “there is no fear of failure.”

“With Hunter, we were able to get a little smoother in my ing poo and get a few more contacts to go across the field,” Palacios said. “And on the field, Devon White was able to open my mind to the various things you do on the field, such as ways to the ball, pull my head to see the ball in different directions, and be more comfortable.”

The advances he made there convinced Blue Jays that there was no danger of exposing him.

“He definitely deserves this opportunity,” Kim said. “Really, the alt-site experience solidified it for us.”

The same thing happened to others, a 22-year-old man named Lopez who spent the whole of 2019 in low-A Lansing‌ and was not in an alternative training ground. Instead, he spent the summer in Montreal and shared videos of his progress with various coaches.

The under-the-radar talent, who constantly impressed the player-development staff, confidently told Lopez Blue Jays that “he will at some point become a factor for us at the big-league level.”

“He came into great shape into our fall development camp and showed more progress,” Kim continued. “He’s athletic, he’s high-contact bat, plus speed, defensive mastery to play in the middle on the infield and outfield. Sure, he’s not played on the A – ball, but he has a history of success. We feel it. ”

After dividing 2019 between New-Hampshire and Buffalo, Ties, the hard-throwing reliever. He remains impressive when the club’s 60-man regular-season is in the pool and could take part in some relief innings next year.

Palacios finished his workout on Friday, called his parents to break the news, and planned to chat with friends in the evening and let them know.

“Everyone is excited,” he said. “But I told them I hadn’t played in the major leagues yet. I’m one step closer.”