Aaron Laffey Joins Blue Jays In Minor League Deal
While the rest of us was busy celebrating the arrival of 2012 over the last few days, Blue Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos was hard at work, rebuilding the bullpen with a batch of moves that was highlighted by the return all-time Blue Jays relief appearances leader Jason Frasor.
Among the personnel acquisitions made during the last couple of days was the signing of former Indians pitcher Aaron Laffey to a minor league contract. Laffey, a soft-tossing starter-turned-reliever who spent 2011 between the Mariners and the Yankees bullpens, posting a 3.88 ERA with an unsightly 1.65 WHIP in the process.
This is mostly a depth move to bolster the AA/AAA bullpen at this point, and while Laffey hasn’t been particularly impressive to date, the lefty ground-baller will give the Blue Jays an additional left-handed arm out of the pen should they require it in 2012. Even if the bluebirds now have – on paper – a fairly solid bullpen headlined by closer Sergio Santos, with guys like Frasor, Janssen, and the newly-acquired Darren Oliver holding down the late innings, the fact is that the rotation remains somewhat unproven, with Ricky Romero being the only starter who could be considered a lock for 200+ innings. The bullpen is expected to have a heavy workload this season, and it certainly would not be a surprise to see Laffey coming up to bolster the bullpen.
Considering that a guy like Oliver – or even Frasor (again) – could wound up being trade bait in the upcoming season, an extra MLB-seasoned arm is a good thing to have in the minors. Along with Laffey, the Blue Jays have also announced the minor league signings of RHP Jerry Gil, RHP Garrett Mock, RHP Robert Coello and SS Brian Bocock. These players will be given invites to spring training, but is considered minor league depth.
Of particular interest to me here is Garret Mock, a power arm who was considered one of the better pitching prospects in the Nationals organization for years. Mock walked into 2010 with a rotation spot all but guaranteed, but wound up missing the all but the entire season with a neck injury, and spent much of the last season trying (unsuccessfully) to find his form in the minors in 2011 as a converted reliever. The 28-year old still possesses good stuff, and it’s a risk-free flier that could turn into a useful piece for the Blue Jays.
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