Shelton: Shoemaker exactly what Jays need in rotation

The Toronto Blue Jays signed right-hander Matt Shoemaker to a one-year contract on Friday.

By Cole Shelton

Canadian Baseball Network

The Toronto Blue Jays have made their first major signing of the off-season. According to Jeff Passan of Yahoo! Sports, the Blue Jays have signed starting pitcher Matt Shoemaker to a one-year deal worth 3.5 million.

Entering the off-season, Toronto needed starting pitching depth, and were set to sign someone like Jaime Garcia as they did last season. Now, they did exactly that in signing Shoemaker who should slide into the fourth or fifth starting role.

The right-hander has spent his entire career with the Los Angeles Angels, and after an injury-riddled 2018, the veteran is heading North. Shoemaker is exactly what Toronto needed and will add starting pitching depth to the roster. Aaron Sanchez, Marcus Stroman, and Ryan Borucki will be locks for the first three spots in the rotation, while Shoemaker will add another veteran arm to what looks to be a young roster.

Last season, Shoemaker started only seven games and went 2-2 with a 4.94 ERA and a 1.26 WHIP. Although the ERA is fairly high, Shoemaker was getting hitters to strikeout and whiff on balls more than ever. He had a strikeout rate of 25.4, four percent higher than his career best, and got his walk percentage down by one percent from last season. He also relies on five pitches, which should bode well in the AL East. If Shoemaker is going to have success in 2019, he will need to lower the exit velocity and the launch angle down to get more ground balls.

Ultimately, Shoemaker will not be an ace of this team, rather he will be a middle to late rotation arm who should add value to the team. Plus, if Shoemaker is having a good season, the Blue Jays can also try and flip him at the trade deadline for assets as they have done in seasons past.

However, there is risk signing Shoemaker given he has only pitched 108 2/3 innings in the past two seasons combined and he has been sidelined with a forearm injury. Shoemaker is also a fly ball pitcher which is a worry in a hitter-friendly park like the Rogers Centre. Throughout his career, he has averaged 1.2 home runs per nine innings. Obviously, the Blue Jays are hoping he can be similar to Marco Estrada who was a fly ball pitcher and had success in the AL East.

Shoemaker will likely come into the season penciled in as a fourth starter. If he can remain healthy for an entire season and pitch five to six innings every start, Toronto will be pleased. The signing will also allow for the younger starters to get more starts in triple-A.

For now, Shoemaker is the first big signing in what should be a fairly quiet off-season for the Blue Jays. More moves like this are expected and more should be on the way to help shore up the bullpen. In the end, Shoemaker signing in Toronto is exactly what the Blue Jays needed in a rotation upgrade.