Solarte to DL; 2 top prospects join Blue Jays

Catcher Jansen recalled; righty Reid-Foley expected to start Monday

August 12th, 2018

TORONTO -- The Blue Jays' youth movement is underway, and while it doesn't involve Vladimir Guerrero Jr., it does include two other highly regarded prospects.
Toronto recalled catcher from Triple-A Buffalo on Sunday morning when infielder was placed on the 10-day disabled list with a strained right oblique. Right-hander Sean Reid-Foley also unofficially joined the big league club and is expected to start Monday in Kansas City.
Jansen, who was not in Sunday's starting lineup, is the Blue Jays' No. 3 prospect according to MLB Pipeline. He was having an impressive season for the Bisons, with a .275/.390/.473 with 12 home runs and 58 RBIs in 88 games. Jansen is generally regarded as Toronto's catcher of the future, and he'll likely be behind the plate for Reid-Foley's debut on Monday.

"It's like something I've never felt before, it was an amazing feeling," said Jansen, who was informed of the promotion when he was pulled during the ninth inning of Buffalo's game on Saturday night.
"It really sunk in when I called my parents and got to talk to them, some tears came out, everyone's happy, everyone's excited about it, and my brother actually lives in Kansas City, so it's a pretty awesome moment."

Reid-Foley is Toronto's No. 10 prospect per MLB Pipeline. He has yet to be placed on the 25-man roster, but the 2014 second-round Draft pick was in attendance for Sunday's series finale against the Rays. Reid-Foley was 7-4 with a 3.50 ERA in 15 starts at Buffalo.
The 22-year-old takes the spot of right-hander , who was optioned to Buffalo earlier this week following a start against the Red Sox. Toronto will have to make an additional roster move on Monday to make room for Reid-Foley on the 25-man and 40-man rosters.
"Something that we harped on every day and worked on was fastball command," said Reid-Foley, who posted a 5.09 ERA last season but has been much better in 2018. "Down and away to each hitter and getting over the baseball.
"Once I started to get better at that and kept doing it and repeating it, it definitely showed and helped with the results that I was getting. Even whenever it was going, we never got away from it. We would always work on it."

Solarte is going on the DL after he was removed from Saturday's 3-1 loss to Tampa Bay in the second inning. The versatile infielder took an awkward swing, then fell to one knee before he was taken out of the game by Blue Jays trainer Nikki Huffman.
The Blue Jays now have three catchers on the 25-man roster, but is expected to see some time at third base during Solarte's absence, which will create more playing time for Jansen. remains in his backup infielder role, and he continues to be a candidate for third base as well.
Jansen and Reid-Foley join lefty starter and injured infielder Lourdes Gurriel Jr. as the group of top Toronto prospects who have made the jump to the Major Leagues this season. Jansen's familiarity with Reid-Foley and Borucki should help ease him into the Majors as he learns everyone else's arsenal.
"It means a lot that these guys are here," Jansen said. "Hopefully I can be with those guys and get to work with them and make it a little easier for me especially because I know those guys so well, and I know that they know me so well.
"There will be a little bit of comfort there and of course, it's every kid's dream to be with each other, to be with good friends in the big leagues together. So of course we talked about it, but now it's happening, so it's amazing."