MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. — Years ago, when Blue Jays utilityman Jimmy Paredes was playing Dominican winter ball for the Gigantes del Cibao, he got to know a Toronto Blue Jays third baseman by the name of Edwin Encarnacion.
Then, in his early 20s, Paredes was trying to carve his own path to MLB, where Encarnacion had been playing for a handful of years already. Paredes would ask his fellow Dominican for hitting advice, lean on him as a mentor, and even stay at his house whenever the Gigantes were in Encarnacion’s hometown of La Romana to play the Toros del Este.
“Sometimes the games would end very late, and I lived two hours away, so he would let me stay at his house in Romana,” Paredes says. “It was a very nice house, very big. The next day he would put out all kinds of food. Like a buffet. It was always a good time with him. He’s such a good guy. A really good person.”
Now, Paredes and Encarnacion are on the same team in Toronto after the Blue Jays claimed Paredes off waivers from the Balitmore Orioles earlier this week. Known as a productive switch-hitter without a true position on the diamond, Paredes rewarded his new team quickly with a loud hit in his first plate appearance and a home run the next day.
Friday night against the Twins, as the Blue Jays were trying to add to a 3-1 lead, manager John Gibbons called on Paredes to pinch-hit with two out and two runners on. The 27-year-old worked a 2-2 count before sending a curveball down in the zone back up the middle to score an add-on run and bring up Jose Bautista, who went deep to blow the game open.
“It was a really a good feeling,” Paredes said. “When you’re on the bench and they give you an opportunity to take a big AB, and then you get a base hit and an RBI—that’s what I want to do. I want to help the team and provide energy. I want to do the best I can to help the team win. Whatever I can do to help my team to win, I’ll do.”
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Paredes isn’t much of a defender and likely won’t draw too many starts in the field during his time with Toronto. But he does provide Gibbons with an impactful bat off bench, which he’s been lacking since Chris Colabello was suspended earlier this season.
The situation Paredes was used in Friday night was ideal. He pinch-hit for Ryan Goins—who was 8-for-his-last-84 at the time—with the defensively gifted Darwin Barney waiting on the bench to take over at second base.
“It’s always nice to have a guy on the bench who can hit. It’s not like we have a lot of guys we’re going to hit for. But sometimes you get the right situation,” Gibbons said. “He’s done it before. He’s hit at this level. I think he knows who he is. He’s always been a guy who can play sparingly and hit.”
For his part, Paredes says he’d like to play everyday in the majors, and that he’s working to make himself a better defender. But for now, as he joins his fifth organization since he was signed by the New York Yankees in 2006, he’ll take what he can get.
“The Blue Jays, they’ve given me an opportunity to play,” Paredes said. “And I’m going to try to take advantage of it and do everything I can.”
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Travis, Loup, Schultz on the mend in Buffalo
Second baseman Devon Travis went 0-for-5 for the Buffalo Bisons Friday night, as he continues to work his way back from offseason shoulder surgery. He’s now played six games between Buffalo and the high-A Dunedin Blue Jays, batting .348/.360/.478 in 25 plate appearances.
Although the early returns are positive, and Travis is certainly beyond eager to get back to the majors, Gibbons says the second baseman will likely be left in Buffalo for more seasoning through the end of Toronto’s current road trip.
“You’ve got to be careful you don’t jump the gun on him. You can get excited because he’s had a few good games. But we don’t want to get too giddy,” Gibbons said. “He’s missed so much time. Big league pitching’s still different. But as far as health-wise, he feels great, and that’s the important thing.”
Meanwhile, Blue Jays left-hander Aaron Loup joined Travis in Buffalo Saturday afternoon as he continues his own rehab assignment. Loup suffered a strain on the inside of his forearm during spring training, but has steadily been building himself back up and could be ready to rejoin the Blue Jays soon. He’s currently eight days in to a 20-day rehab assignment.
“They say he looks good, looks strong,” Gibbons said. “They said he hasn’t felt any after effects.”
Right-hander Bo Schultz, recovering from offseason hip surgery, is also in Buffalo, working his way back to full health. He pitched two innings on Saturday, allowing four runs on five hits and a walk while striking out one.
“The big question was his knee; that was aggravated a little bit,” Gibbons said. “But he’s had no real complaints. He’s getting better. He’s got a great arm, you know? He just needs to harness it.”
