Friday Bantering: Former Blue Jay Colby Rasmus stepping away from baseball

The Rays announced yesterday that former Blue Jay outfielder Colby Rasmus is stepping away from baseball for the time being, placing him on the restricted list for an unknown reason.

“The Rays fully support Colby’s decision to step away from baseball,” the Rays tweeted. “We wish him and his family the best as they move forward. Respecting the privacy of Colby and his family, the Rays will have no further comment.”

Rasmus spent parts of four seasons with the Blue Jays, as well as considerable time with the St. Louis Cardinals and Houston Astros. Rasmus has a career batting average of .242 and OBP of .311.

The New York Yankees announced Friday morning (moments before this article was intended to be published) that starter Michael Pineda will likely require Tommy John surgery after being diagnosed with a UCL tear. Pineda will get a second opinion before committing to any path of action.

The Red Sox designated Pablo Sandoval for assignment on Friday morning, putting an end on his tumultuous stint with the team. Sandoval, 30 years of age, is still owed $49.5 million from today through the end of his contract with the Red Sox.

With Sandoval’s removal from the roster, third base is easily Boston’s greatest weakness.

Ian Hunter from BlueJayHunter.com reports that the Blue Jays may be shifting towards later game start times on Saturdays. Based off of a survey sent to season ticket holders, game times may shift from 1:07 PM to 4:07, or even 7:07.

The Blue Jays are back from the All-Star break tonight as they play the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park, starting at 7:10 ET. Broadcast on Sportsnet and Sportsnet 590, Aaron Sanchez will get the start for Toronto and Justin Verlander will be on the mound for Detroit. Sanchez, in his last start off of the disabled list, gave up five earned runs in just 1.2 innings.

Blue Jay links:

• Jonah Keri, in a piece for The Athletic (subscription required), interviews general manager Ross Atkins about the team’s future, both immediate and long-term. The most interesting quote of the article, from Atkins: “Josh Donaldson is one of the better players in the game. He makes a ton of sense for us. Moving him, we can't see the logic in it based on how we're built to compete for this year and next.”
• Eno Sarris (FanGraphs), after Marcus Stroman’s comments about the change in the baseball, provided an investigation of sorts into the relation between blisters and changes in seam height on the baseball.

Follow Mark on Twitter @MarkColley.