The Blue Jays announced that they have selected the contract of infielder Luis Urías. It was reported over the weekend that the Jays had acquired him from the Diamondbacks. Outfielder Yohendrick Piñango was optioned to Triple-A Buffalo as the corresponding active roster move. Toronto had a 40-man vacancy, so no corresponding move is required in that regard for the moment. However, right-hander Shane Bieber is expected to come off the 60-day injured list to start tomorrow’s game, so the Jays will need to open a spot for him before then.
This will be the ninth big league season for Urías as soon as he gets into a game. He hasn’t played shortstop since 2022 but has remained a viable second baseman and third baseman. His offense has been mercurial. He broke out with the Brewers in 2021 and 2022, hitting 39 home runs over those two seasons, leading to a combined .244/.340/.426 slash line and 111 wRC+. Since then, he has a .213/.319/.337 line and 88 wRC+ in 616 plate appearances split between the Brewers, Red Sox, Mariners and Athletics.
Thanks to that stretch of poor results, he had to settle for a minor league deal with Arizona coming into this year. He has been in good form for Triple-A Reno, with caveats. His .361/.393/.546 line is enormous, though it has been propped up by a .367 batting average on balls in play. He has also been playing in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League, though his 123 wRC+ indicates he has been well above average even in the context of that league. He had an upward mobility clause in his minor league deal, which led to his trade and this big league opportunity with Toronto.
For the Jays, they surely don’t expect Urías to be a star, but he will balance out their position player mix. They recently reinstated Daulton Varsho from the injured list, giving them four lefty-swinging outfielders, with the other three being Nathan Lukes, Jesús Sánchez and Piñango.
Meanwhile, they have been operating without much infield depth on the active roster. They usually have Kazuma Okamoto, Andrés Giménez, Ernie Clement and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. from left to right. Among their bench players, Davis Schneider was the only other infielder, and he’s only really an option at second base. Clement can bounce around, so it was somewhat tenable, but having Urías around gives the club more infield cover and another righty bat off the bench.
The shuffle will cost Piñango his roster spot for the moment. The rookie has been performing well, so the move is likely more about the aforementioned redundancies on the roster. He has a .283/.331/.433 line and 113 wRC+ on the year. He was a bit better when first called up but even his recent form has been good. He had a .294/.333/.447 line and 117 wRC+ through the end of May. Since the calendar has flipped to June, his .262/.326/.405 line isn’t as strong but still leads to a wRC+ of 105.
Piñago’s defense has been subpar, so his value to the club this year isn’t as robust as you might expect with that level of offense. He is only 24 years old, so there should be room for improvement there. For now, he can get regular at-bats with Buffalo while also perhaps making strides in the field.
Photo courtesy of Daniel Kucin Jr., Imagn Images