Joe Biagini turns 35 today.
Biagini was a Rule 5 pickup before the 2016 season. And, kind of surprisingly, he became an essential part of the bullpen that year. He pitched in 60 games, with a 3.06 ERA. He was used as a long reliever (long in a minimalist way), throwing two innings in 13 games.
And he was great in interviews. He had an interesting sense of humour
2017 started well, with him in a setup role in the bullpen. At the end of April, he had a 2.12 ERA. And then….injuries hit the rotation, and Joe was dropped into it. His first couple of starts went well and then….not.
He had a run of nine starts with a 6.70 ERA and was back in the bullpen.
In 2018, he started in the rotation, making five starts with a 7.71 ERA. He then went back to the bullpen, but he didn’t have the success he had in his rookie year. In 2019, he was back in the pen and did fairly well, with a 3.78 ERA in 50 games.
At the deadline, he and Aaron Sanchez were traded to the Astros for Derek Fisher (the less said about his Jays career, the better).
Biagini pitched in 17 games for the Astros in 2019 and 2020. After the season, he signed with the Cubs as a free agent and spent most of the year in Triple-A.
He returned to the Jays in 2022, spending the season with the Bisons.
Joe was a favourite. We didn’t do him any favours by suddenly throwing him into the rotation without any time to stretch out his arm. He was the rare athlete who showed a little personality with the press.
Happy Birthday, Joe. I hope it is a good one.
Bill Risley turns 58 today.
Risley was a right-handed reliever who was an Expo in 1992 and would pitch in three games for them over two seasons. They lost him on waivers to the Mariners, where he pitched in 82 games, over two years, with a 3.28 ERA.
The Mariners traded him, along with Miguel Cairo (who would go on to have a long career, just not for the Jays) for Edwin Hurtado and Paul Menhart.
Risley would spend three injury-filled (back, gall bladder, arm) seasons with the Jays. He’d pitched in 72 games in the three seasons with a 4.83 ERA.
In his career, he pitched in 157 games with a 3.98 ERA and one save.
Steven Matz turns 34 today.
Matz came up with the Mets and pitched there for six seasons. He came to the Jays in a trade for Yennsy DÃaz, Sean Reid-Foley and Josh Winckowski. None of the three of them did much for the Mets.
Matz had an excellent season for the Jays. He went 14-7 with a 3.82 in 29 starts in 2021. The Jays finished 91-71 that year, which left them one game short of Wild Card spot.
He left the team as a free agent and signed with the Cardinals for four seasons and $44 million. We were sad to lose him, but in those four seasons, he has a 13-13 record, one save, and a 4.10 ERA in 67 games and 36 starts.
Happy Birthday, Steven.
Trever Miller turns 52 today.
He pitched six games of relief for us as a small part of his 13-year career in 2011.
In total, he pitched in 694 games, 5 starts with a 4.18 ERA and 11 saves.
Happy Birthday, Trever.