By: Jay Blue and @JaysGirlEmily

Blue Jays From Away

Now that the season is over, the crew at Blue Jays from Away will take a look at the Blue Jays one by one and review how each player’s season went, whether he met expectations (or not) and look at how he fits into (what we think of) the Blue Jays’ plans going forward.

One of the surprises of the Blue Jays’ 2015/16 offseason was when the Blue Jays signed Gavin Floyd, coming off an injury-plagued season with the Cleveland Indians (Mark Shapiro’s former club), for a guaranteed contract of $1,000,000.

Floyd had only pitched 13 innings the season before but had shown good stuff, when healthy. A $1,000,000 flyer was not a huge commitment for an oft-injured pitcher who was trying to reclaim the solid seasons he had as a starter for the Chicago White Sox from 2008 to 2012.

Floyd came into spring training, his first training camp since 2013, looking to compete for a starting spot. In 14 innings, he was outstanding, giving up just three runs on 10 hits and three walks with 12 strikeouts. With Aaron Sanchez putting on a show of his own, Floyd wound up in the bullpen and was one of the Blue Jays’ top relievers early on.

Despite giving up two runs in his first appearance of the year, Floyd went on to pitch for the rest of the month of April without a run, totally 10 1/3 innings with 11 strikeouts and three walks. In May, things started to go downhill as he posted a 5.68 ERA over 11 outings in the month, giving up four home runs and he went on to allow three runs in his first outing in June. After that, however, Floyd made a comeback, giving up one run over his last eight outings before making his final appearance of the year on June 25 before succumbing to a torn lat muscle and losing the rest of the season.

For $1,000,000, Gavin Floyd gave the Blue Jays 0.3 Wins Above Replacement over 31 innings, according to Fangraphs. Had he not gotten injured, he might have been a key cog for the Jays down the stretch, but history only works one way.

Contract Status

Floyd is a free agent.

Emily Says

In spring training, Gavin Floyd was in contention for the fifth rotation spot that would eventually go to Aaron Sanchez. Placed instead in a bullpen role, he allowed two earned runs in his first appearance and then didn’t allow another run over 10.1 innings in April, giving him a 1.74 ERA for the month. He struck out 11 and walked three.

In May, he made eleven appearances, spanning 12.2 innings and allowed eight runs, including four home runs. He got both of his wins for the season in May, as well as three of his four losses. He had thirteen strikeouts and three more walks.

He allowed four runs in June, but one was a three-run, five-hit outing. All but three of his nine outings were hitless, and his monthly ERA was 4.50. His strikeouts dropped, with six across 8.0 innings.

He was placed on the 15-day DL at the end of June with tightness in his shoulder, then transferred to the 60-day a month later when it the injury was revealed to be a partial lat tear. For the season, his ERA was 4.06 and his WHIP was 1.00. He had a career high K/BB rate of 3.75.

Regular Season Grades

Jay: C+
Emily: B