Musik News » It’s going to be a fun team to manage

Tom Szczerbowski/Getty ImagesThe Toronto Blue Jays traded veteran reliever John Axford to the Los Angeles Dodgers for minor league right-handerCorey Copping http://www.dodgersfanproshop.com/authentic-andre-ethier-jersey , MLB.com's Mark Feinsand reported Tuesday.Axford has appeared in45 games this season and owns a 4.41 ERA and a 4.02 FIP, per Baseball Reference.With their playoff hopes all but extinguished, the Blue Jays have significantly reshaped their bullpen over the last two days and cashed in on their best trade assets.TorontoconfirmedMonday it dealt Roberto Osuna to the Houston Astros for Ken Giles, Hector Perez and David Paulino. On Tuesday, the teamannouncedit traded Aaron Loup to the Philadelphia Phillies for minor league pitcherJacob Waguespack.Axford is a free agent at the end of the year, so the Blue Jays had little reason to keep him past Tuesday's non-waiver trade deadline.The 24-year-old Copping has split his time between Double-A and Triple-A in 2018. He's 4-0 with three saves and a 2.52 ERA in 35 relief appearances.The Athletic's Andrew Stoeten sees potential in Copping but acknowledged the 2015 31st-round pick is far from a blue-chip prospect:Andrew Stoeten AndrewStoetenCopping is 24, a RHP just moved up to AAA. A reliever, his walk numbers are high, but he managed 55 Ks in 46.1 IP at AA this year, which was a big improvement on his first turn there in 17 (60 K in 68 IP). Generally tidy ERAs, but nothing super special. ZLA7wA1ayeThe Dodgers, meanwhile Chase Utley Jersey , add another experienced arm to their bullpen.Although Kenley Jansen is one of MLB's elite closers, Dodgers relievers are collectively 12th in FIP (3.93), according toFanGraphs.Axford has rebounded nicely from a 2017 campaign in which he finished with a6.43 ERA and 5.73 FIP. Manager Dave Roberts can lean on him in a middle-relief role as a setup man before bringing on Jansen in the ninth inning. TORONTO (AP) — Late in the season, as rumors of potential managerial openings swirled around baseball, Charlie Montoyo and fellow Tampa Bay Rays coaches Rocco Baldelli and Matt Quatraro started playing a game. When word of an expected vacancy surfaced, one member of the trio would slip that team’s media guide into the others’ locker. The suggestion: If someone comes calling you in the offseason, you’d better have done your homework.As it turned out, no one ever put a Blue Jays media guide in Montoyo’s locker, even though he saw Toronto as an enticing opportunity.“We were saying, that’s going to be a good job,” Montoyo said Monday in his first public appearance as the 13th manager in Blue Jays history. “This is an exciting team right here, for sure.”By the time Montoyo found out Toronto wanted to talk to him Kirk Gibson Jersey , there was no time to prepare.“I couldn’t,” he said. “It happened that fast.”Montoyo might not have known the Blue Jays organization inside out, but that didn’t stop him from becoming Toronto GM Ross Atkins’ preferred candidate. A week ago Sunday, about an hour after Rays GM Erik Neander told Montoyo the Blue Jays were interested in him, Atkins was calling to chat. Two days later, Montoyo was in Toronto to interview. By Thursday, the job was his.“He really fit our criteria the best before he ever set foot in our building,” Atkins said. “Excitement would be putting it lightly. I’m elated.”The Blue Jays had consecutive losing seasons under John Gibbons after making back-to-back AL Championship Series appearances in 2015 and 2016, but Montoyo said he sees plenty to look forward to.“It almost reminds me of the team we had in Tampa,” Montoyo said. “A lot of younger kids, there’s going to have to be a lot of player development. It’s going to be a fun team to manage.”Montoyo, whose only big league playing experience was a four-game stint with Montreal in 1993 http://www.dodgersfanproshop.com/authentic-maury-wills-jersey , was later a minor league teammate of Expos great Vladimir Guerrero. In Toronto, his top prospect will be the Hall of Famer’s son, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., who hit .381 with 20 homers at Double-A and Triple-A this past season.“To tell you the truth, I’ve never seen him play, but I’m looking forward to it,” Montoyo said.Montoyo served as bench coach for Rays manager Kevin Cash last season, moving back into the dugout after three years as Tampa Bay’s third base coach. Before that, he spent 18 seasons as a minor league manager in the Rays system, winning seven International League South Division titles and two Governors’ Cup championships (2009, 2013) with Triple-A Durham. He also worked with the Puerto Rican team at the 2009 World Baseball Classic.Acknowledging he has yet to discuss specifics with Atkins and team president Mark Shapiro, Montoyo said fans shouldn’t expect him to copy Tampa Bay’s use of opening pitchers and four-man outfield alignments.“Just because I come from Tampa Bay doesn’t mean we’re going to do everything they did over there Fernando Valenzuela Jersey ,” Montoyo said. “We’re a different team and we’re going to adjust to what we have.”One thing he will try to bring, however, is the goal of defying expectations for a young, unheralded team. Tampa Bay won 90 games this season, making a push for a wild-card berth in the final weeks of September. Previously, Shapiro and Atkins both suggested it could take two to four years for Toronto’s rebuild to bear fruit.“From the first game of spring training, we’re going to play to win,” Montoyo said.Montoyo said he was proud to put on a Blue Jays jersey for the first time Monday, one day after fellow Puerto Rican Alex Cora led the Boston Red Sox to the World Series title.“There’s a lot of happiness in Puerto Rico now and I’m proud of that,” he said.