Happy Birthday David Price

David Price turns 37 today.

Price was only with the Blue Jays for three months, but it was a pretty exciting three months.

We traded for him on July 30th, 2015. At the time, we were 52-51, tied for second place 6 games behind the Yankees. After the trade, we went 41-18 and finished first place in the AL East. That led to an exciting ALDS series with the Rangers and an exciting ALCS against the Royals (unfortunately, without the right outcome).

Price would go 9-1 in 11 starts for the Jays (amazing that he would get 10 decisions in 11 starts), with a 2.30 ERA. He had a rough time in the playoffs.

We finished 6 games up on the Yankees. I don’t think one guy can cause a 12-game swing over 59 games, but adding Price (and Troy Tulowitzki) seemed to bring new energy to the team.

When he wasn’t pitching, he was a lot of fun to have around. He was head cheerleader, loved Rogers Centre popcorn, and seemed to enjoy every moment. We heard how great he was with his teammates in the clubhouse.

After the season, he signed as a free agent with the Red Sox, getting $217 million for seven years. After five years, Price had a 46-24 record with a 3.84 ERA in 103 games, 98 starts. I wouldn’t suggest he’s been worth every penny, but he was pretty good if a bit hot and cold. He also missed some time with injuries.

In February 2020, the Red Sox traded Price to the Dodgers along with Mookie Betts. Price opted out of the 2020 season. Last year he was 5-2 with a 4.03 ERA in 39 games, 11 starts. This year he has a 2.43 ERA in 36 relief appearances. He said he is going to retire after the season.

Happy Birthday, David. I hope it is a good one.

Ex-Jays prospect Darin Mastroianni turns 37 today.

Darin appeared on our top 40 prospects lists a few times. In 2011 he was #10 on the list. Before that, he was 22nd and 26th on our lists.

We would lose him on waivers to the Twins before the 2012 season. He played for the Twins for parts of two seasons and three weeks, hitting .214/.286/.286 with 3 homers and 25 steals (caught 4 times) in 121 games.

In April 2014, we claimed him back off waivers. He played just 14 games for us, hitting .156/.156/.250. From there, he went to the Phillies, Nationals, back to the Twins (getting in another 7 MLB games) and Rangers. He hasn’t played in the majors since 2016

His best season in the majors was 2012. Playing in 77 games, he hit .252/.328/.350 with 21 steals. He was excellent defensively in the outfield. He was often used as a pinch runner/defensive replacement that season.

I had hopes for Darin. In the minors, he could take a walk, get on base, and he was an excellent base stealer (he stole 70 bases splitting time between Dunedin and New Hampshire in 2009), but with no power, pitchers at higher levels threw him strikes and made him hit his way on base.

Happy birthday, Darin.

Jayson Nix turns 40 today.

Nix had an 8-year MLB career, playing for 8 MLB teams.

He played 46 games for us in 2011, hitting .169/.256/.309 with 4 home runs. After that, he went to the Yankees and played two seasons there, filling in for the sometimes injured, sometimes suspended Alex Rodriguez. He hit a little better there, .239/.307/.340 in 161 games over the two seasons. He would play one more season in the majors (for three teams).

He hit .212/.282/.345 in his seven seasons in 466 games.

Happy birthday Jayson.