Blue Jays add Langerhans to roster
BALTIMORE -- The Blue Jays added some much-needed depth to their roster for the final four games of the season by purchasing the contract of Ryan Langerhans from Triple-A Buffalo.
Langerhans spent part of this year with the Bisons, but just finished a stint with the Sugarland Skeeters of the independent Atlantic League. He played for the club earlier in the season and decided to re-join the Skeeters for the playoffs when Buffalo finished up its season.
The fact that Langerhans was still playing professional baseball late in September was one of the main reasons he got the call over some of the other players that received consideration.
"The first thing is, we know there are a handful of candidates and let's find out what they've been doing, if they've been working out," Blue Jays general manager Alex Anthopoulos said of the process to select a player this late in the year. "Ryan would have been one of those candidates because he was down there playing, but Ryan had been the one who had been playing the longest.
"He just got done playing last Friday so that's part of it. Guys like Mike McCoy we talked about, but he hasn't done anything since Sept. 2 -- the last game of the season. Ricardo Nanita is another guy we talked about, he has been working out in the Dominican. Ryan was the most game-ready of all of them."
Langerhans immediately found a spot in the Blue Jays' lineup as he got the start at first base on Thursday night against the Orioles. The 33-year-old took the place of Adam Lind, who was held out of the lineup because of back soreness.
Even though the Blue Jays have only one series remaining this season, Lind said he doesn't expect to be shut down. Lind remained optimistic that he would be back in the lineup on either Friday or Saturday against Tampa Bay.
Langerhans will provide some depth at first base and also in the outfield where the Blue Jays are short on available players. Moises Sierra made his return to the lineup on Thursday after missing one game with a sprained ankle, but veteran Rajai Davis left the club on Thursday to attend the birth of his first child.
Davis isn't expected to re-join the club again this season, which would have left the Blue Jays with only three healthy outfielders in Sierra, Kevin Pillar and Anthony Gose. Langerhans now provides manager John Gibbons with another option.
"Lang has been around for awhile," Gibbons said of the 10-year veteran. "It's only four days, but he gets to finish the year in the big leagues and has some good service time in. He's a good solid baseball player."