C’s Recap – 2021 Offseason in Review

This blog went dark for the better part of three months after the final pitch of the Vancouver Canadians 2021 season.

To get you all caught up, here is a recap of some of the events involving past and present Vancouver Canadians players since the season finale September 19.

September 28 – 2011 C’s righty Noah Syndergaard pitches a shutout inning against the Miami Marlins in his first game back from Tommy John surgery that forced him to miss the 2020 season.

September 30 – Baseball America ranks 2021 C’s shortstop Orelvis Martinez the third-best prospect in the Low-A Southeast League and the sixth-best prospect in the High-A West League.

October 1 – MLB Pipeline names 2021 Vancouver Canadians shortstop Orelvis Martinez and 2017 C’s lefty Zach Logue the 2021 Prospects of the Year in the Toronto Blue Jays system. The 20 year-old from Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic batted .214 with the C’s but homered nine times in 27 games.

October 5 – 2015-2017 Vancouver Canadians lefthander Travis Bergen elects free agency. The 28 year-old hurler was 2-0 with a 1.69 ERA in 10-1/3 innings with Toronto but had a K/BB total of 6/8 and hit a couple of batters.

October 7 – Minor League Baseball announces the selections of 2019 & 2021 Vancouver Canadians Spencer Horwitz and Tanner Morris to the High-A West All-Star Team. Horwitz and Morris shared the High-A West lead in total hits with 113 apiece. The 23 year-old Morris batted .285 with a .381 OBP, seven homers and 57 RBI.

October 11 – 2014 Vancouver Canadians DH Rowdy Tellez hits a two-run home run to give Milwaukee a 2-1 win over Atlanta in Game 1 of the National League Division Series.

October 16 – 2017 Vancouver Canadians righthander Dany Jiménez signs a minor-league contract with the Oakland Athletics. The 27 year-old Jiménez struck out 73 batters in 44-2/3 innings with a 2.22 ERA for Triple-A Buffalo.

October 19 – 2019 Vancouver Canadians righthander Alek Manoah is named to MLB Pipeline’s All-Rookie Team.

October 21 – 2011 Vancouver Canadians infielder Andy Burns is recalled by the Los Angeles Dodgers to replace an injured Justin Turner during the National League Championship Series against Atlanta. Burns was 0-for-2 in the NLCS but played nine games with the Dodgers and batted .273. He also pitched an inning of relief and got his first major league hit against Texas June 12.

October 23 – 2014 Vancouver Canadians shortstop Franklin Barreto becomes a free agent. The 25 year-old missed all of 2021 after undergoing Tommy John surgery on his right elbow. He began his big league career with Oakland in 2017 and remained with the A’s until August 29, 2020 when he was traded to the Angels for infielder Tommy La Stella. Barreto had just two hits in 17 at-bats with the Halos.

November 1 – 2014 Vancouver Canadians first baseman Ryan McBroom is released by the Kansas City Royals and signed by the Hiroshima Carp of Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball League. The 29 year-old McBroom played parts of the last three seasons with the Royals, batting .268 in 66 career games.

November 3 – 2012 Vancouver Canadians lefthander Daniel Norris elects free agency. The 28 year-old began the year with Detroit but was traded to Milwaukee for righty Reese Olson July 30. Norris was 1-3 with a 5.89 ERA and a save with Detroit and 1-0 with a 6.64 ERA with the Brew Crew.

November 5 – 2011 Vancouver Canadians outfielder Kevin Pillar elects free agency after turning down a player option from the New York Mets. The 32 year-old batted .231 with 15 home runs and 47 RBI.

November 7 – 2015 Vancouver Canadians righthander Jon Harris, 2016 and 2021 righty Justin Maese, 2017 outfielder Reggie Pruitt, 2014 shortstop Richard Ureña and 2017 shortstop Kevin Vicuña all elected free agency after spending the year in the Toronto system.

The 28 year-old Harris had a 2.93 ERA in 40 innings of relief with Double-A New Hampshire and made two appearances for Triple-A Buffalo. Harris was 0-5 with the C’s in 2015 after being the Jays first round pick earlier in the year.

The 25 year-old Maese was 3-1 with a 4.75 ERA and struck out 63 batters in 53 innings for the C’s in 2021. The Jays 3rd-rounder in 2016 was 2-2 with a 2.05 ERA for Vancouver five years earlier

The 24 year-old Pruitt hit .164 with 12 stolen bases for Double-A New Hampshire but hit .273 with a home run in a late-season call up to Triple-A Buffalo. Pruitt scored the winning run of the 2017 Northwest League championship clinching Game 4.

The 25 year-old Ureña spent 2021 in Buffalo and hit .272 with nine homers and 49 RBI and the 23 year-old Vicuña played mostly at New Hampshire and batted .242 with two homers, 35 RBI and 12 stolen bases. Update – Ureña signed a minor-league contract with the Washington Nationals November 28.

2012 C’s second baseman Christian Lopes also went the free-agency route after playing in the Arizona organization. The 29 year-old slashed .271/.384/.497 with the Triple-A Reno Aces and added nine home runs, 12 doubles, a triple and 34 RBI and stole four bases in 66 games. He missed a good part of May and June on the injured list.

2015 C’s righty Conor Fisk also elected free agency after spending the season in the Colorado Rockies system. The 29 year-old pitched just once for the Triple-A Albuquerque Isotopes and gave up two runs in his lone inning before being placed on the injured list for the rest of the year.

2015-2016 C’s righty Jackson McClelland is also available in free agency after wrapping up the year with Triple-A Iowa, a Chicago Cubs affiliate. The 27 year-old was released by Toronto July 13 after a 5.51 ERA with Triple-A Buffalo over 16-2/3 innings. His ERA with Iowa was eight points higher in 9-2/3 innings but won his only decision with the I-Cubs.

2013 C’s righthander Chase De Jong is a free agent after making nine starts with the Pittsburgh Pirates. He went 1-4 with a 5.77 ERA over 43-2/3 innings. The 28 year-old collected a double in Washington for his first major league hit June 16. His lone win came against Atlanta with five innings of one-run ball July 5.

2013 C’s designated hitter Mitch Nay is also looking for another employer. He was in the Los Angeles Angels system. He hit 23 home runs and 20 doubles with an .826 OPS with the Double-A Rocket City Trash Pandas.

Best of luck to these gentlemen in their future endeavours.

November 10 – 2017 Vancouver Canadians lefty Zach Logue, 2017 righty Graham Spraker and 2019 and 2021 C’s first baseman Spencer Horwitz are selected to represent the Toronto Blue Jays in the Arizona Fall League’s Fall Stars Game.

November 15 – 2019 Vancouver Canadians pitcher Alek Manoah finishes eighth in American League Rookie of the Year voting, garnering two third-place votes. The 23 year-old won nine of 11 decisions with the Toronto Blue Jays, recording a 3.22 ERA and striking out 127 batters in 111-2/3 innings.

November 16 – 2011 Vancouver Canadians pitcher Noah Syndergaard signs a one-year deal with the Los Angeles Angels for $21 million. The man known as Thor returned from Tommy John surgery to pitch two innings with the New York Mets. Syndergaard will wear #34 with the Angels, the same number as the late Nick Adenhart after Adenhart’s family gave him their blessing.

November 17 – The Vancouver Canadians announce game times for its 2022 schedule. Game times Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays will be at 7:05 p.m. while games on Fridays and Sundays will be played at 1:05 p.m. On Saturdays, games will start at 1:05 p.m. in April and May and 7:05 p.m. for June to September. The season begins April 8 in Spokane and the home opener is set for Tuesday, April 19 against Eugene.

November 18 – 2014 Vancouver Canadians outfielder Jonathan Davis signs a minor-league deal with the Milwaukee Brewers. Davis began the year with Toronto before being claimed on waivers by the New York Yankees. The 29 year-old played 122 games with the Jays over parts of four season before playing in a dozen games with the Bronx Bombers.

November 19 – The Toronto Blue Jays add 2017 Vancouver Canadians lefthander Zach Logue and 2021 C’s righthander Hagen Danner to their 40-man roster. The 25 year-old Logue posted a 3-1 record with Double-A New Hampshire and a 9-3 mark with Triple-A Buffalo with ERAs of 4.54 and 3.32. The 23 year-old Danner was 2-1 with a 2.02 ERA and three saves with the C’s in his first year of professional pitching after catching in his previous four years in the Jays system.

The Boston Red Sox add 2018 Vancouver Canadians pitcher Josh Winckowski to their 40-man roster. The 23 year-old split the season with Double-A Portland and Triple-A Worcester, winning a combined 9 of 13 decisions with a 3.94 ERA. Baseball America rates him as the ninth-best prospect in the Red Sox system. The 2018 Northwest League Pitcher of the Year posted a 2.78 ERA with the C’s. Winckowski was punched by Pirates prospect Canaan Smith-Njigba after being hit by a Winckowski fastball November 6 during an Arizona Fall League game.

November 20 – The Mesa Solar Sox defeat the Surprise Saguaros to win the Arizona Fall League championship with 2017 C’s pitcher Graham Spraker on the mound for the final pitch. Spraker was joined by 2017 C’s lefty Brody Rodning and 2019 and 2021 C’s first baseman Spencer Horwitz.

Spraker did not give up a run in 11-1/3 innings, striking out 17 and walking four. Rodning struck out 16 batters in 11-2/3 innings and Horwitz batted .375 with a .944 OPS along with a home run, four doubles and 12 runs batted in.

November 23 – Baseball America reports the release of 2018 and 2021 Vancouver Canadians righthander Connor Law and 2021 C’s outfielder Justin Ammons by the Toronto Blue Jays.

The 26 year-old Law signed with the Blue Jays as a free agent on June 25, 2017 from Lindenwood College. He struck out 33 batters in 27/2-3 innings with a 4.23 ERA in 2018 before going 1-0 with a 3.75 ERA with 15 whiffs in 12 innings this past season.

Ammons signed with Toronto as a free agent on July 16, 2019 and got into five games with the C’s at the end of the year after a promotion from Low-A Dunedin. The 23 year-old batted .143 with a double and an RBI with the C’s.

All the best to those two in their future endeavours.

November 30 – 2014 Vancouver Canadians designated hitter Rowdy Tellez signs $1.94 million dollar deal to return to the Milwaukee Brewers. Tellez batted .272 with an .814 on-base-plug slugging percentage with the Brewers after being dealt to Toronto for pitchers Trevor Richards and Bowden Francis July 6.

The Boston Red Sox non-tender 2014 Vancouver Canadians second baseman Tim Locastro, 25 days after being claimed off waivers by Boston. Locastro spent the majority of 2021 with Arizona before being traded to the New York Yankees for pitcher Keegan Curtis July 1.

December 1 – 2012 Vancouver Canadians pitcher Marcus Stroman signs a three-year contract with the Chicago Cubs for $71 million. The 30 year-old Stroman won 10 games with a 3.02 ERAN with the Mets in 2021.

December 8 – Seattle Mariners select 2018 and 2021 Vancouver Canadians outfielder Tanner Kirwer in the Rule 5 minor league draft. The Sherwood Park, Albertan batted .280 and .285 in his two years with the C’s and stole 20 and 25 bases respectively.

December 13 – Baseball America‘s Top 10 prospects in the Toronto Blue Jays system includes 2017 Vancouver Canadians pitcher Nate Pearson (#2), 2021 C’s shortstop Orelvis Martinez (#3) and 2018 C’s infielder Otto Lopez (#6). Pearson also was rated to have the best fastball and slider on the farm and Martinez earned best power hitter honours. Best strike-zone discipline went to 2019 and 2021 first baseman Spencer Horwitz, 2021 righty Sem Robberse had the best curveball and 2017 outfielder Chavez Young earned plaudits for having the best outfield arm.

December 14 – The Toronto chapter of the Baseball Writers Association of America names 2019 Vancouver Canadians righthander Alek Manoah the Blue Jays Rookie of the Year.

December 15 – 2018 Vancouver Canadians infielder Otto Lopez wins the Canadian Baseball Network’s Randy Echlin Award winner as the top minor league hitter in affiliated baseball. The 23 year-old Dominican batted .331 with Double-A New Hampshire and .289 with Triple-A Buffalo and also made his MLB debut in Washington August 17.

December 26 – Bob Elliott of the Canadian Baseball Network reports Matt Bishoff joining the Los Angeles Angeles as their international/amateur crosschecked after spending 11 years in the Toronto Blue Jays organization. He was the signing scout for 2017 C’s pitcher Nate Pearson, 2018 hurler Cobi Johnson and 2021 infielder Addison Barger. Bishoff was also the signing scout for non-Vancouver Canadians shortstop Bo Bichette and lefty Kirby Snead. He also signed 2014 C’s outfielder Romeon Fields who set the C’s short-season stolen bases record with 48. Brother Brandon Bishoff was the signing scout for 2021 C’s righty C.J. Van Eyk.

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That wraps up the offseason in review. Time to look forward to 2022 and hopefully a full season worth of baseball at Nat Bailey Stadium beginning April 19 against Eugene.