Jays protect prospects Alford, Borucki, Urena, plus notes

Richard Urena, currently No. 1 on MLB Pipeline's Blue Jays prospect list as Jays file protected rosters.

By Andrew Hendriks
Canadian Baseball Network
As a precautionary measure in advance of the December Rule 5 draft, the Toronto Blue Jays added a trio of players to their 40-man roster on Friday, thus rendering them ineligible for selection this December.

Toronto protected three prospects to its roster on Friday, all of which are currently featured on mlbpipeline.com’s list of top 30 Blue Jays prospects. They are:

Richard Urena; Signed by Toronto as an international free agent in 2012, the switch-hitting 20-year-old infielder has spent the last four seasons in the organization while amassing a MiLB career slash line of .287/.331/.418 over 381 games. Expected to be big league ready by 2018, Urena is currently the No. 1 Blue Jays prospect on MLB Pipelines top 30.

Anthony Alford; A former third-round pick who has played in parts of five minor league seasons in the Blue Jays organization following his draft year in 2012. Since dropping football and moving to baseball full-time in 2015, the 21-year-old native of Petal, MS, has hit .270 with 13 home runs and 45 stolen bases in 58 attempts. Having recently helped Mesa earn a berth in the Arizona Fall League championship game, Alford checks in as No. 3 with regards to current Blue Jays prospects listed by MLB Pipeline.

Ryan Borucki; This 23-year-old southpaw has pitched in four seasons of affiliated ball since being drafted by the Blue Jays in the 15th round of 2012’s June amateur draft. 38 of his 46 minor league appearances have been starts including 20 with the Lansing Lugnuts where the product of Mundelein, IL, pitched to an ERA of 2.80 with 108 strikeouts, 26 walks and only one home run allowed in 2016. Reaching high A for the first time last season, Borucki is projected to make his MLB debut at some point in 2018, and is currently ranked No. 17 by MLB Pipeline.

Created as a means of preventing major league clubs from aggressively stockpiling big league ready talent within the minor league network, the Rule 5 draft serves as a benefit to the players who have spent no fewer than four years in their parent clubs system without being added to the team’s 40-man roster.

Once selected by a rival organization, that player must remain on his new team’s 25-man roster for the duration of the upcoming season. Should he need to be removed, he is then offered back to his original club at half of the $50,000 paid in order to secure his services.

The obvious drawback in acquiring a player via the Rule 5 comes in the form of inexperience. As is often the case, prospects added through the draft require additional time in the minors in order to further sharpen their trade, and, because of this, fail to see an extensive amount of playing time during their initial season with the big league club.

With pitchers, teams can choose to monitor their innings in a relief role, thus keeping them on the major league roster but not overexposing them to the point in which they become a hindrance to the club. It’s a bit harder to do so with position players as having them ride the pine for the majority of the season may pose an adverse affect on their development.

In addition to claiming a coveted spot on the big club’s 40-man roster, those added on a protection basis will also see their MLB service time begin to take effect. Once assigned to the roster, players have three option years in which the MLB team can use to demote their players without exposing them to waivers. Should any one of the players added on Friday fail to make the MLB team out of spring training, the Blue Jays will be forced to option them back to the minor leagues, thus beginning the clock on that pivotal three-year stretch.

Historically, the Blue Jays have done quite well in the Rule 5. Beginning with Willie Upshaw and Andy Dyes in 1977, Toronto has selected a total of 32 players in the annual draft. Of the 32, many have gone on to have fruitful careers with the Blue Jays including Jim Acker (1981), Kelly Gruber (1983), Manuel Lee (1984) and the 1987 American league Most Valuable Player: George Bell, who was selected out of the Phillies organization in 1981.

Of course, Toronto has also had their pocket picked on a few occasions. Of the 37 players drafted out of the Blue Jays organization, outfielder Jay Gibbons may be the most prominent. Selected by the Orioles in 2000, Gibbons went on to play nine seasons in the show while slashing a respectable .260/.315/.453 with 127 home runs in 840 MLB contests. For what it’s worth, 19 of the 127 round trippers came against Toronto, which tied Tampa Bay for the most Gibbons hit against any other major league club during his professional career.

This year’s Rule 5 Draft takes place on Dec. 8th as part of the 2016 Winter Meetings at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Centre in National Habour, Md.

CLEARED FOR TAKEOFF
When R.A. Dickey landed a one-year deal with Atlanta earlier this month, his personal catcher Josh Thole was put on outright waivers shortly after. The Blue Jays announced on Friday that the 30-year-old veteran had cleared and subsequently elected free agency. 

On November 8th, Toronto adjusted their 40-man roster by adding 26-year-old catcher A. J. Jimenez . Despite having played in parts of nine minor league seasons with Toronto, the product of San Juan, PR, has yet to make his MLB debut as an untimely string of injuries has plagued his overall development.

Barring any further additions this winter, Jimenez will back up Russell Martin in 2016.

Jimenez has slashed .268/.311/.380 over 545 minor league contests since signing with the Blue Jays in the 9th round of 2008’s June amateur draft.

KINGS OF LEONE
As first reported by Arizona’s mlb.com beat writer Steve Gilbert, the Blue Jays claimed right-handed reliever Dominic Leone in advance of announcing their roster additions on Friday.

Having recorded an overall ERA of 4.07 across 108 and a third innings of work, Leone, 25, has pitched in 95 games at the MLB level since breaking in with Seattle in 2014. The product of Norwich, CT, has struggled with his consistency since posting an impressive FIP of 3.07 during his rookie campaign with the Mariners.

The 5’ 11” product of Norwich, CT, has struggled with his consistency since posting an impressive FIP of 3.07 during his rookie campaign with the Mariners.

Perhaps torched by the BABIP gods, Leone allowed an overall batting average of .378 on ground balls in 2016. That said, the former 16th round draft pick (2012) also surrendered a total of seven home runs in just 27 innings of work on the year.

NEW IN CAMPOS
In addition to Leone, Toronto also claimed fellow right-handed reliever Leonel Campos off waivers from San Diego.

Campos, 29, has appeared in 25 games since breaking in with San Diego in 2014, and is currently playing winter ball with Aguilas de Zulia in his home country. The native of Valera, VZ, has posted an overall ERA of 5.40 across 30 innings of work at the big league level while striking out 34 and walking 19.

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