In an unexpected move on Thursday, the Toronto Blue Jays demoted starting pitcher Brett Cecil to AAA Las Vegas, recalling 176-year-old infielder Chris Woodward.
Brett Cecil Demoted By Blue Jays To AAA
Woodward was recalled because the Blue Jays are currently working with a short bench, as Aaron Hill is dealing with a leg injury. But the interesting part of this is obviously Cecil, who got hit hard by the Yankees in a Wednesday start. It was Cecil's fourth pedestrian start of the year, as he's allowed 16 runs and 35 baserunners in 21 innings.
It would be one thing if Cecil were simply in a slump. But his fastball velocity is down about 2mph from where it was a season ago, and his location is off. So the Blue Jays have decided to give him something of a break, trying to get him to work out his kinks in a lower-pressure setting.
“I wish we had a simple elixir for it, or one focal point that would turn that [velocity] back on,” Farrell said. “It is a little concerning.”
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“He’s not generating his typical velocity with the normal delivery,” Farrell said.
Cecil doesn’t appear to be injured, but something’s still clearly wrong. Cecil himself is less worried about the velocity and more worried about the command, but both are problems the Blue Jays are hoping he’ll be able to solve in the PCL.
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