The Blue Jays are selling outfielder Will Robertson to the majors, in keeping with a report from Trevor Hahn of Information Tribune Sports activities. Toronto has house on their 40-man roster, so the one corresponding transfer wanted to convey Robertson into the fold can be one to clear room on the lively roster.
Robertson, 27, was Toronto’s fourth-round decide again in 2019. After getting a style of professional ball in Low-A throughout his draft yr, Robertson’s profession was delayed barely by the canceled minor league season in 2020 and when he returned in 2021 he struggled considerably throughout 56 video games on the Excessive-A stage with a wRC+ of simply 94 as he hit .235/.310/.385. He as soon as once more put up comparatively middling numbers the next yr, this time slashing .215/.291/.401 (89 wRC+) throughout 90 video games in his first style of the Double-A stage. Total, Robertson’s strategy got here with a hearty dose of strikeouts and considerably restricted energy that made it tough for him to place up even common outcomes early in his skilled profession.
Issues started to vary throughout a repeat of the Double-A stage in 2023, nonetheless. That yr, Robertson hit .245/.323/.488 with a wRC+ of 118. He pushed his stroll fee as much as 9.7%, one of the best it had been since his draft yr, reduce his strikeout fee by two factors, and slugged 19 homers in 103 video games. That kind of robust efficiency is to be anticipated of a 25-year-old making his second journey by Double-A, but it surely was nonetheless sufficient to get him promoted to Triple-A Buffalo for the primary time in his profession. Whereas Robertson’s elevated stroll fee and energy remained from the yr prior, his strikeout fee jumped to 31.3% in 2024 as he struggled in opposition to Triple-A pitching an finally slashed simply .226/.319/.429 with a wRC+ of 95.
Robertson’s 2024 efficiency might have appeared to point he didn’t have a lot of path to the massive leagues, however he’s modified that narrative with an excellent season in 2025 thus far. In 51 video games for the membership’s Buffalo affiliate, Robertson has crushed the ball to the tune of a .288/.410/.582 slash line. He has 12 residence runs in simply 188 plate appearances, he’s strolling a whopping 17.0% of the time, and he’s putting out lower than he has since 2019 with a 23.9% clip. Taken collectively, it leaves him with a 159 wRC+ that’s good for fourth within the Worldwide League this yr. Robertson isn’t thought-about a lot of a prospect, as he isn’t even ranked on MLB.com’s Prime 30 Blue Jays prospects listing. No matter a participant’s prospect standing, nonetheless, Robertson’s numbers are the kind that may get you consideration from the massive league membership.
That’s very true for a Blue Jays membership that’s operating a bit skinny on outfield depth after dropping each Anthony Santander and Daulton Varsho to the injured listing. Alan Roden, Myles Straw, Jonaton Clase, Addison Barger, and Nathan Lukes have been mixing and matching within the outfield for the Jays in latest weeks alongside veteran proper fielder George Springer, and Ben Nicholson Smith of Sportsnet was amongst these to relay this afternoon that Lukes had been scratched from at this time’s lineup on account of neck discomfort. Maybe Robertson’s call-up is an indication that Lukes’s neck situation is severe sufficient to require a stint on the injured listing, although it’s additionally doable Robertson’s phenomenal play up to now within the yr has merely pressured the problem within the eyes of Blue Jays brass.
