I’ll throw this in at the top, since it just broke. Freddy Galvis is headed to the Reds.
#Reds claim shortstop Freddy Galvis off waivers from #BlueJays, per industry source.
— Shi Davidi (@ShiDavidi) August 12, 2019
Galvis did quite well holding down the fort for the Jays, hitting .267/.299/.444 (93 wRC+) while playing good defense and providing great leadership for the club. Thank you for your time here Freddy!
I’m guessing the Jays will add Rowdy Tellez, who just won the player of the week award.
Congratulations to this week's @ADPROSports Player of the Week, @RowdyTellez! pic.twitter.com/AQc4g9ZU94
— Buffalo Bisons (@BuffaloBisons) August 12, 2019
The Blue Jays lost another member of their front office today, this time losing Executive Vice President Andrew Miller (not that Andrew Miller) to the Minnesota Vikings of the NFL. Miller will take over as the Vikings Chief Operating Officer, a step up the corporate ladder as he moves on to a new franchise in a new sport.
As per the Vikings’ Press Release, in Toronto, Miller was responsible for “...managing all business operations of the Blue Jays and Rogers Centre, with a focus on understanding and enhancing the fan experience.” I’m sure many will argue whether he did a good job, but regardless, he has found greener pastures in a higher position, so good for him. Miller’s new job begins September 1, and I’m sure the Jays likely knew this was coming a ways out, so I’m sure they’ve already began the process of backfilling Miller’s old position and there will be a fairly unnoticeable transition period.
The Blue Jays have released their schedule for 2020.
Your 2020 #BlueJays schedule... pic.twitter.com/1UWDfCR5tD
— Ben Nicholson-Smith (@bnicholsonsmith) August 12, 2019
They open the season on Thursday March 26 at home against the Red Sox. They’ll head to New York in what looks like it’ll be their Home Opener the following Thursday, which is followed by the weird Friday off day in case of a rain (or snow) out.
The NL Central will be our National League opponents, with the Jays heading to St. Louis, Pittsburgh and Milwaukee, as well as the 2 games in Philadelphia.
This seems to be a bit better of a schedule than the 2019 one, as the Jays face each of their 4 AL East opponents once in March/April and then by the end of May they will have faced them 2 or 3 times already. It’s nice to get a good chunk of those games out of the way before summer comes, but I’m sure by next May I’ll be tired of writing about them.
For those looking to do their yearly pilgrimages, the Jays are in Seattle the weekend of July 24-26. They’re also in Minneapolis the weekend of July 9-12, a 4 game set right before the All Star Break.
The Blue Jays get a lot of the holiday weekends too. They’re home for Easter (April 10-12 vs KC), they’re home for Victoria Day (just the Monday game against Houston after being in Baltimore the day before). They’re home Canada Day against the White Sox, but they’re also very stupidly at home for American Independence Day, hosting the Yankees (big fail there MLB). They’re home August Long Weekend (whatever you call that holiday on August 3, hosting both the Orioles over the weekend and the Rays to kick off the week). They’re home the weekend of Labour Day against the Rays, but they have the holiday Monday off as a travel day.
Today marks the 25th anniversary of the 1994-95 Player’s Strike.
It's official: Major League Baseball is on strike. pic.twitter.com/E16EXH5Aaf
— 1993 Jays In Real Time (@RealTime93Jays) August 12, 2019
The strike resulted in the World Series being cancelled, the first time since 1904 that it wasn’t played. At the time of the strike, the Montreal Expos had the best record in baseball at 74-40, dashing any hopes that the team had of contending for a World Series. Many will argue that was the beginning of the end for the storied franchise, who were out of Montreal 10 years later thanks to decreased fan interest and Jeffrey Loria’s ownership interest.