Blue Jays drop 20-year-old shortstop prospect in latest round of roster cuts
Arjun Nimmala had a good run.
The 20-year-old shortstop got a 15-game cup of coffee in the Toronto Blue Jays ’ major league spring training camp as a non-roster invitee. Nimmala slashed .240/.367/.280 with a pair of stolen bases. He even lasted as long as outfielder Jonatan Clase , who’s on the team’s 40-man roster.
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The No. 3 prospect in the organization saw his time in the Blue Jays’ major league camp end March 16, when he was among a round of cuts that included Clase, Javen Coleman, Michael Plassmeyer , Giovanny Planchard, Sean Keys , and Charles McAdoo.
Nimmala, who played 120 games with Class-A Vancouver last year, is headed back to the minor leagues for the foreseeable future.
As a non-roster invitee who had never played at Double-A or Triple-A, Nimmala was not expected to make the Jays’ opening day roster.
“I want (Nimmala) to be around the speed of the game,” Blue Jays manager John Schneider said of his goals for Nimmala at the outset of camp. “Every time he’s been with us, we’ve been impressed with his baseball IQ, with his game clock.”
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The defending American League champions already have a shortstop, Andres Gimenez , under contract through 2029. But they might be forced to shift Gimenez to second base if Nimmala continues his upward trajectory.
In a March 1 game against the Detroit Tigers , Nimmala set a new career high for exit velocity when he hit a ball 111.2 mph off reigning Cy Young Award winner Tarik Skubal .
The Blue Jays selected Nimmala in the first round of the 2023 MLB draft.
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