Pitchers Marcus Stroman and Ricky Romero were sent to minor league camp this morning ruling them out of the starting rotation competition.
A little behind the times with this news, but better late than never! Top prospect Marcus Stroman and former ace Ricky Romero were both sent down to minor league camp today. Sitting in class this morning I followed the news by reading Brendan Kennedy's tweets, so let's recreate that below:
Nothing official from #bluejays yet, but Marcus Stroman looks headed to minor-league camp. Just packed bag & said goodbyes in clubhouse.
Ricky Romero joining Stroman in minor-league camp today. Both optioned. #BlueJays
At this point I raised an eyebrow and wondered how non-roster players were being optioned, but don't worry:
When I wrote Romero & Stroman were "optioned," I meant they were "returned" to minors. Neither on 40-man. It's spring training for me, too.
Gibby said Stroman had legit shot to make the team, but he needs more time. Romero, though, was more or less bound to start year in Buffalo.
So there's that covered. Romero pitched 9.2 innings allowing four earned runs and ten walks reminding everyone that the "ace" Ricky Romero won't be coming back anytime soon. Duke grad Stroman pitched 9.1 innings and allowed 15 earned runs and 19 hits. I haven't paid much attention to the non-TV games so I'm not even sure if the 15 runs is a typo, but if so, that's a bit extreme Marcus.
Both players will immediately go to minor league camp, which is much less serious than the big league camp and is run by our very own Minor Leaguer. At this day camp, players will play fun games to get them to forget about the fact that they just barely missed out on making the big squad. At 4:00 pm each day, Minor Leaguer will hand the players over to their parents and get some much needed rest.
Oh, and Aaron Sanchez isn't making the team, so relax:
In case there was any doubt, Gibby said Aaron Sanchez is still in camp solely to gain experience. "He won't make the team." #bluejays