Blue Jays place closer Casey Janssen on disabled list

By Drew SilvaMar 30, 2014, 3:50 PM EDT
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According to John Lott of Canada’s National Post, the Blue Jays have placed closer Casey Janssen on the 15-day disabled list, retroactive to March 29, with a left abdominal strain. The Blue Jays recalled catcher Erik Kratz in a corresponding roster move.

Janssen was limited to three appearances this spring in the Grapefruit League because of soreness in his right shoulder. It’s not clear when he suffered the abdominal strain or how long it will sideline him for.

Sergio Santos will presumably handle the majority of early-season save opportunities for the Jays, who open Monday afternoon against the Rays.

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UPDATE, 4:18 p.m. ET: Blue Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos just spoke to the media …

Reds sign Nicholas Castellanos to a four-year deal

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By Craig CalcaterraJan 27, 2020, 9:26 AM EST
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The Cincinnati Reds have signed outfielder Nicholas Castellanos to a multi-year deal. That’s the report from C. Trent Rosecrans and Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. Jon Morosi of MLB.com was the first to report the Reds as frontrunners. The deal is pending a physical. UPDATE: The deal is four years. Financial terms have yet to be reported.

With Castellanos in the fold the Reds are going to have a lot of outfielders when they hit Goodyear, Arizona in a couple of weeks, with newcomer Shogo Akiyama, Jesse Winkler, Nick Senzel, Aristides Aquino, Travis Jankowski, Scott Schebler, and Rule 5 draftee Mark Payton already on the roster. Senzel was an infielder before last year, of course, so he could move back to the dirt, perhaps taking over short from Freddy Galvis, who could be dealt. Alternatively, the Reds could trade from their newfound outfield surplus.

Castellanos, however, will have left field to himself. While he’s shaky at best with the glove, he had a breakout year at the plate in 2019, hitting .289/.337/.525 overall (OPS+ 121), but slugging at a blistering .321/.356/.646 pace (OPS+ 151) after being traded from the Tigers to the Cubs. In Chicago — rescued from cavernous Comerica Park — his big doubles power turned into big homer power.

Now that he’ll be playing in hitter-friendly Great American Ballpark one can only imagine the damage he’d do.