BWDIK: Black, Jenkins, Lopez, Paxton, Quantrill, Soroka

National Team alum Otto Lopez (Montreal, Que.) is fighting for a roster spot with the San Francisco Giants this spring.

February 25, 2024

By Kevin Glew

Canadian Baseball Network

Some Canadian baseball news and notes:

-The Toronto Blue Jays dealt Otto Lopez to the San Francisco Giants for cash considerations on February 13. The national team alum will compete for the final bench spot with the Giants this spring. The versatile 25-year-old can play second base, shortstop, third base and centre field and he’s prepared to play any of them for the Giants. “Wherever they put me, I’ll be ready for it,” Lopez told the The Mercury News in an article published on February 18. Lopez is likely in a battle with Casey Schmitt for the Giants’ final roster spot. Evan Webeck, of The Mercury News, points out that both players have one minor league option left. “I love my speed. … I’m starting this year to get more into stealing bags,” Lopez told Webeck. “As a hitter, last year I got more explosive with my swing and I feel way (more) comfortable with my swing right now.” Lopez got off to a good start with the Giants this spring, belting a two-run home run in the ninth inning against the Chicago Cubs in the team’s first Cactus League game on Friday. Lopez, who spent part of his youth in Montreal, batted .258 in 84 games with the triple-A Buffalo Bisons in 2023. He missed a large chunk of the season due to a left oblique strain. He joined the Bisons after going 5-for-17 (.294 batting average) with a home run and a team-leading six RBIs in four games for Canada at the World Baseball Classic. Born in Santo Domingo, D.R., Lopez was signed as an international free agent by the Blue Jays prior to the 2017 season. He hit well at every stop in the Blue Jays’ organization, registering a .298 batting average and a .364 on-base percentage (OBP) with 90 stolen bases in 510 minor league games. He got into eight games with the Blue Jays in 2022 and went 6-for-9 (.667 batting average).

-Colorado Rockies right-hander Cal Quantrill (Port Hope, Ont.) has a great attitude about pitching in hitter-friendly Coors Field this season. “Coors Field isn’t the best place in the world to pitch, but I think there are two approaches you can take: you can whine about it or you can accept the fact that the other guy is pitching there, too,” Quantrill told reporters on Monday. “And we have a job to do: to go out and see if we can win games.” Quantrill was traded to the Rockies by the Cleveland Guardians on November 17 after a rough 2023 campaign in which he was limited to 19 starts by shoulder woes. He completed the season with a 4-7 record and a 5.24 ERA in 99 2/3 innings. That came after Quantrill had set career-highs with 15 wins and 186 1/3 innings in 2022. The 6-foot-3 right-hander honed his skills with the Ontario Terriers and the Junior National Team before being selected eighth overall by the San Diego Padres in the 2016 MLB draft. He pitched in parts of two big league seasons with the Padres prior to being dealt to the Guardians on August 31, 2020.

-Thank you to Canadian Baseball historian Tyler Partridge for his recent tweets about some Canadian major league milestones that could be reached in 2024. He pointed out that Boston Red Sox right-hander Nick Pivetta (Victoria, B.C.) is just 33 strikeouts away from reaching 1,000 in his big league career. Meanwhile, Los Angeles Dodgers left-hander James Paxton (Ladner, B.C.) will begin the season 68 strikeouts shy of 1,000. Just five Canadians have struck out more than 1,000 big league batters: Fergie Jenkins (Chatham, Ont., 3,192), Ryan Dempster (Gibsons, B.C., 2,075), Erik Bedard (Navan, Ont., 1,246), John Hiller (Toronto, Ont., 1,036) and Kirk McCaskill (Kapuskasing, Ont., 1,003).

–Jim Henderson (Calgary, Alta.) had served as the Milwaukee Brewers’ bullpen coach for the past two seasons. He recently had his title changed to assistant pitching coach, which means you will see more of him in the dugout this season. Charlie Greene has taken over as the Brewers’ bullpen coach. Prior to being promoted to the big league coaching ranks, Henderson was the pitching coach of the Brewers’ triple-A Nashville Sounds in 2021. Originally selected in the 26th round of the 2003 MLB draft by the Montreal Expos, Henderson pitched parts of three major league seasons with the Brewers from 2012 to 2014. The 6-foot-5 right-hander’s best campaign came in 2013 when he posted a 2.70 ERA and recorded 28 saves in 61 games. He finished his MLB career by registering a 4.11 ERA in 44 appearances for the New York Mets in 2016. The Okotoks Dawgs alum also pitched for the Canadian national team on multiple occasions, including for the gold medal-winning squad at the 2011 Pan Am Games.

Fergie Jenkins (Chatham, Ont.), on the right, at Chicago Cubs spring training camp in Mesa, Ariz. Photo: Matt Dirksen

-Canadian baseball legend Fergie Jenkins (Chatham, Ont.) has been spotted at the Chicago Cubs training camp in Mesa, Ariz. (See above). It’s great to see the 81-year-old Jenkins in uniform and still sharing his wisdom.

–Baseball America has ranked Tyler Black (Stouffville, Ont.) as the eighth-best third base prospect heading into the 2024 season. The 23-year-old Black split last season between the Milwaukee Brewers’ double-A Biloxi Shuckers and triple-A Nashville Sounds, batting a combined .284 with a .417 OBP in 123 games. The Toronto Mets and Butler Prospects alum had 25 doubles, 12 triples, 18 home runs, 73 RBIs, 105 runs and 55 stolen bases. For his efforts, he was named a Southern League All-Star, the Milwaukee Brewers co-Minor League Player of the Year and the Canadian Baseball Network’s Randy Echlin Award winner, as top Canuck minor league hitter. Taken 33rd overall by the Brewers in the 2021 MLB draft out of Wright State University, Black is entering his third full pro season. He is in the Brewers’ big league camp this spring.

-Right-hander Michael Soroka (Calgary, Alta.) is attempting to pitch his way into the Chicago White Sox rotation. The 26-year-old right-hander was traded to the Sox by the Atlanta Braves on November 16 after posting a 6.40 ERA in seven big league games last season. Those were his first major league appearances since he tore his right Achilles tendon for the first time on August 3, 2020. Soroka is looking forward to his new opportunity with the White Sox. “There’s a lot of guys in this clubhouse that are fighting for careers,” Soroka told CP for an article published on February 15. “I think there’s a lot of guys that think they have a lot more to give to this game. You know, that’s what makes a gritty team, and I’m excited to be a part of that.” Soroka spent the bulk of 2023 with the triple-A Gwinnett Stripers, going 4-4 with a 3.41 ERA in 17 starts, striking out 92 in 87 innings. After initially tearing his right Achilles tendon in August 2020, Soroka then re-tore it the following June. After two years of recovery and rehabilitation, he returned to game action in August 2022 and made six late-season starts between class-A and triple-A. A graduate of the Calgary Redbirds and Junior National Team, Soroka was a first-round pick (28th overall) of the Braves in 2015. In 2019, he went 13-4 with a 2.68 ERA in 29 starts and finished second in the National League Rookie of the Year voting.

-Happy 50th Birthday to former Blue Jays leadoff hitter Shannon Stewart! Selected in the first round of the 1992 MLB draft by the Blue Jays, Stewart played parts of 10 big league seasons with the club. He ranks in the top 10 in several of the Blue Jays’ all-time offensive categories, including fifth in batting average (.298) and stolen bases (166), sixth in doubles (222) and seventh in runs (595) and hits (1,082 hits).

-Congratulations to Ben Wagner who has been hired by the Baltimore Orioles. He joins the O’s broadcast team after six seasons as a play-by-play announcer with Sportsnet and the Blue Jays Radio Network. Before working for the Blue Jays, Wagner called games for 11 seasons for the triple-A Buffalo Bisons. The Orioles plan to use Wagner on select radio and television broadcasts.