Henry Palattella

Lakewood

Editor, Sports Betting at Forbes

Site Expert at Jays Journal

Articles

Schwarber's thunder (2 HRs) leads Phillies past Guardians

3 days ago | mlb.com | Henry Palattella

After seeing a ball and a strike from Guardians starter Luis L. Ortiz in the second inning of the Phillies’ matchup against the Guardians, Schwarber mashed a changeup over the heart of the plate to the right-field seats for a solo home run to give the Phillies their first run in a 3-0 win. CLEVELAND – There wasn’t drama around whether Kyle Schwarber would extend his on-base streak to 46 games on Sunday. In fact, it took him all of three pitches. It was the classic Schwarber home run.
Nola, offense struggle vs. Guardians: 'Didn’t get the job done'

4 days ago | mlb.com | Henry Palattella

That bevy of offense never came on Friday, as the Phillies only tallied six hits against four Guardians pitchers in a 6-0 loss to Cleveland at Progressive Field. “Tough travel last night. We had our chances tonight and didn’t get the job done,” shortstop Trea Turner said. The lack of offense came on a day where Aaron Nola labored on the mound. He allowed four runs on six hits in five innings.
Blue Jays' Erik Swanson injury update is painful reminder of Teoscar Hernández trade

5 days ago | jaysjournal.com | Henry Palattella

This trade hasn't aged well for Toronto. On Monday, the Toronto Blue Jays announced that they’d placed reliever Erik Swanson on the 60-day injured list. It was a move that impacted the Blue Jays on multiple levels. The first impact was on the 2025 Blue Jays. Swanson entered spring training as one of the most important arms in the Blue Jays bullpen, but now he won’t make his season debut until the end of May (at the earliest). The second level was a bit more macro.
Yankees' George Lombard Jr. move puts Blue Jays on the clock with their top prospect

1 week ago | jaysjournal.com | Henry Palattella

What are the Blue Jays going to do with Arjun Nimmala? On Sunday, the Yankees shocked the baseball world by promoting top prospect George Lombard Jr. to Double-A Somerset. While Lombard’s promotion makes sense given his stats (he slashed .329/.496/.488 with one home run and 11 stolen bases in 24 games at High-A), he’s still only 19, and the Yankees are an organization known for taking its time with top prospects. But it looks like they’re breaking the mold with Lombard.
Former Blue Jays fan favorite pitcher retires after nine MLB seasons

1 week ago | jaysjournal.com | Henry Palattella

Ross Stripling has called it a career. In 2022, Ross Stripling pitched his way into Blue Jays’ lore with a second half for the ages on Toronto’s quest toward a postseason berth. On Monday, the 35-year-old Striping officially called it a career after nine MLB seasons. He spent all of the 2024 season with the Oakland Athletics and was in camp with the Kansas City Royals this spring, but wasn’t able to earn a roster spot at the start of the season.
Blue Jays provide disheartening updates for Max Scherzer and Erik Swanson

1 week ago | jaysjournal.com | Henry Palattella

It looks like both Max Scherzer and Erik Swanson will be out for most of May. The Blue Jays have had 20 players throw a pitch for them this year, and it looks like that number isn't going to stop growing any time soon. On Monday, the Blue Jays officially announced their previously reported signings of pitchers Spencer Turnbull and José Ureña, who will provide the team with the latest round of pitching reinforcements.
Blue Jays bolster pitching depth with two veteran signings

1 week ago | jaysjournal.com | Henry Palattella

The pitching reinforcements are here. On Friday, Blue Jays general manager Ross Atkins alluded to the team being close to adding some free agent reinforcements to the big league roster. It took less than 24 hours for that to come to fruition. On Saturday morning, the New York Post's Jon Heyman reported that the Blue Jays were in agreement on free agency contracts with Spencer Turnbull and José Ureña. They both inked major league deals. Jose Urena and Spencer Turnbull both going to Jays. MLB deals.
Blue Jays' Vladimir Guerrero Jr. had perfect response to baffling Alex Cora decision

1 week ago | jaysjournal.com | Henry Palattella

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. made Alex Cora pay for pitching to him. When the Blue Jays signed Anthony Santander to a five-year, $92.5 million contract in the offseason, they did so in the hopes that the slugger would be able to provide even more protection for Vladimir Guerrero Jr. in the Blue Jays lineup. We got a tangible example of that happening on Thursday when Red Sox manager Alex Cora had to decide how to handle Guerrero with first base open in the eighth inning.
Latest comments hint Blue Jays rotation seems poised for free agent change

1 week ago | jaysjournal.com | Henry Palattella

It looks like some external reinforcements could be coming to the Blue Jays' rotation. The Toronto Blue Jays' starting rotation has been a bit up and down so far in 2025. They've gotten solid starts to the season from Kevin Gausman and Chris Bassitt, an okay start from José Berríos, a rough start from Bowden Francis, and next to nothing from the fifth spot in the rotation.
It's time for the Blue Jays to send this struggling prospect back to Triple-A

1 week ago | jaysjournal.com | Henry Palattella

Alan Roden has been a bit of a disappointment this season. There was perhaps no prospect in the Blue Jays' system who got more hype in spring training than Alan Roden. In a farm system that doesn't have a ton of MLB-ready talent, Roden put himself on the map last year by winning Blue Jays Minor Leaguer of the Year. Couple that with Ross Atkins calling Roden the prospect he was most excited to watch during camp, and it shouldn't be a surprise that he was named to the team's Opening Day roster.