The Toronto Blue Jays have announced they have made a decision on rookie outfielder Yohendrick Pinango ahead of Tuesday’s game.
With the team in need of adding another pitcher to the 26-man roster, Pinango was the odd man out as he has been optioned back to Triple-A Buffalo.
With Pinango going down, the Blue Jays recalled reliever Chad Dallas from Buffalo to take his place on the 26-man roster.
“ROSTER MOVES: RHP Chad Dallas recalled from Triple-A and will be active tonight OF Yohendrick Piñango optioned to Triple-A,” the team wrote on X.
🔹 RHP Chad Dallas recalled from Triple-A and will be active tonight
🔹 OF Yohendrick Piñango optioned to Triple-A
Yohendrick Pinango Has a Higher OPS Than Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
While Pinango has been scuffling at the plate as of late, the 24-year-old Venezuelan native still has an OPS of .726, which is higher than the team’s superstar first baseman, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., who has a poor .693 OPS this season.
Pinango also has a higher OPS than Nathan Lukes (.723), Daulton Varsho (.717), George Springer (.681), and Myles Straw (.633). Yet, he was the one who was sent down since he still has options remaining, while none of those other veterans do.
The Blue Jays could have optioned down Jonathan Clase or Sean Keys, but they chose to send down Pinango instead, which is an interesting decision given how badly the team is struggling to score runs these days.
Although Pinango’s outfield defense is terrible, his bat is still pretty good, so it’s a bit odd that the team felt like they should option him down when they have a few other players on the roster who could have been sent down instead.
Ultimately, Pinango will likely be back up at some point in the season, but it’s still a bit of a controversial move to send down a guy who has a better OPS than a bunch of your team’s regulars when the team is being criticized online for not being able to hit.
Blue Jays Have to Win
It’s the beginning of July, so it’s hard to say that a game is truly a must-win as there are still 70-plus games left in the season. But with the Blue Jays holding a poor 42-49 record right now, the team has to get back into the win column ASAP or else they risk falling completely out of the American League Wild Card race.
On paper, the Blue Jays should be much better than they are, but for whatever reason, things just aren’t working out for the team this year.
With Guerrero and Springer both having terrible offensive seasons, the burden has been placed on the rest of the team to get going at the plate, but they just haven’t been able to get hot and score runs.
The team needs to win on Tuesday night in San Francisco when they take on the Giants, who have also been one of the most disappointing teams in MLB this year. The Blue Jays absolutely need to salvage the rest of this series and their upcoming series against the San Diego Padres, or else they will go into the All-Star break with zero momentum.
Blue Jays Announce Decision on Outfielder Yohendrick Pinango