Blue Jays claim right-handedness Junior Fernandez He has been waived by the Yankees, according to an announcement from both clubs. Fernandez was appointed last month.
Fernandez, who turned 26 in March, has spent most of his career with the Cardinals and made his major league debut in 2019. His 13.8% of hitters faced walking. His results in 2022 were a little better as he posted a 2.93 ERA on the card, but he still punched out 17.1% of hitters and gave his passes free to 11.4% of hitters.
2022 is Fernandez’s last option year, meaning he can no longer switch easily between the majors and minors going forward. Combined with the disappointing results, it appeared to churn him out of their plans in St. Louis.They appointed him in September. I put it in 3 games.
Despite the lukewarm results, the Yankees snatched him from the Pirates in November for a reason, and the Jays snatched him from the Yanks. He averaged 98.8 mph on the Four Seamer and 98.7 mph on the weight this year. His pitching speed places him in the 98th percentile among eligible pitchers, according to Statcast. He’s good at getting punch-outs in the minors, but his overall results haven’t improved.Over the past two years, he’s pitched his 58 2/3 Triple-A innings, and his earned run average is 5.22. , but as a hitter he beat 27.1%. His control problems were also seen in the minors, where he walked 10.4% of the Triple-A hitters he faced in his two years.
The Jays seem willing to take on the high-octane stuff and see if they can find a way to capitalize on it. He hasn’t broken the two-year mark yet, so he can hold on to Fernandez for the time being.
