Jays bring back A.J. Cole on a minor league deal

Though it may not be the #TransactionFriday blockbuster that Blue Jays fans had wished for, the team has made a move!

Bob Nightengale @BNightengale

The Toronto #BlueJays, who non-tendered reliever A.J. Cole last month, bring back by signing him to minor-league deal worth $1 million if he makes their major-league team with $200,00 in incentives.

Cue fans rushing into Nightengale’s mentions to make the exact same “joke” about this not being a very significant move. But you know what? It’s actually kind of an interesting one. And as for significance, this guy pitched in the playoffs for the Blue Jays just three agonizingly long months ago! Sure, he only faced three batters and took the Game One loss after giving up a two-run shot to Manuel Margot, but still!

If we can look past the way that it ended, Cole actually had a pretty good season for the Jays in 2020. He allowed earned runs in just five of his 24 appearances for the club, pitching to a 3.09 ERA (4.31 FIP) while typically being deployed in medium or high leverage situations. And despite only averaging 93 on his fastball, not particularly spinning it well, and being below average at generating strikeouts and suppressing walks, he managed to do an outstanding job of keeping balls away from the sweet spot of his opponents' bats — as his various Statcast rankings attest.

Cole’s didn’t show an ability to suppress good contact like this in previous years, and since we’re only talking about a 23 1/3 inning sample, it’s entirely possible that what we’re seeing there is more luck than skill. But it's worth noting that Cole was a different pitcher in 2020 than in previous years, too. In 2019, for example, he was primarily a fastball-slider guy, throwing those pitches 45 and 46 percent of the time respectively. He also used his curve as a third pitch, throwing it seven percent of the time. In 2020 he ditched the curve almost entirely (2%), backed off his four-seamer usage significantly (35%), while adding a cutter (10%) and a changeup (8%).

Could success with that approach be something Cole can replicate? Obviously by not guaranteeing him anything the Jays aren’t willing to bet too big on that. But clearly they like what they saw. And actually, Ross Atkins practically telegraphed this move when Cole was non-tendered.

“We made the tough decision to non-tender A.J.,” Atkins told reporters at the time, “but remain interested and will consider him as an alternative for the remainder of the offseason.”

At the time, the Jays were in a crunch to free up a spots on their 40-man roster in advance of the Rule 5 draft. Cole, though he had pitched well, was arbitration eligible, meaning he would be looking for a raise on his 2020 salary of $850,000 (which, of course, was prorated to $314,815). The terms likely wouldn’t have been all that different that what he’ll end up making in 2021, provided he makes the team. But by getting him off the 40-man and giving themselves the entirety of spring training to evaluate him some more, the Jays have done a tidy bit of business here.

Main image: Screengrab via MLB.com/Sportsnet