Steward

Berroa

Berroa went 5-for-33 (.152) with no home runs and one RBI in his first taste of the majors with Toronto earlier this year. He had five stolen bases in 24 games, though. Berroa hit .281 with 10 home runs and 47 RBI at Triple-A so Toronto believes it’s worth it to give him another look before the end of the season. He’s not a recommended fantasy option at the moment.

Berroa saw limited playing time over the past month with the Blue Jays and has hit just .152/.317/.182 with zero homers, one RBI and a 13/8 K/BB ratio in 41 plate appearances with the Jays. Nathan Lukes was recalled from Triple-A Buffalo on Friday to take his place on the active roster.

Berroa’s speed would make him interesting in fantasy leagues if the playing time were there, but the Joey Loperfido acquisition tonight makes it unlikely that he’ll get anything close to regular at-bats in the final two months. He’s probably a 26th man at best anyway. The start tonight was only his third in four weeks with the Blue Jays.

With Justin Turner set to miss a few games while on paternity leave, Berroa will add depth to the Blue Jays’ bench. The 25-year-old has had a solid season at Triple-A Buffalo, slashing .296/.387/.456 with eight homers, 37 RBI and 30 stolen bases (in 38 attempts) in 239 plate appearances. He’s unlikely to see enough action to be relevant from a fantasy perspective.

Berroa was only up for two games. The 25-year-old will head back to Triple-A with Bo Bichette (calf) coming off the injured list in the corresponding transaction. Berroa could be back at some point this summer as an option off the bench.

Berroa gets the call to the majors in place of Blue Jays top prospect Orelvis Martinez, who has been placed on the restricted list after receiving an 80-game suspension following a positive test for a performance-enhancing substance. The 25-year-old has posted an .831 OPS with seven homers and 29 steals this season for Triple-A Buffalo.

Martinez, 22, slashed .243/.340/.496 with 28 homers, 94 RBI and a 126/67 K/BB ratio over 530 plate appearances between Double-A New Hampshire and Triple-A Buffalo during the 2023 season. It won’t be surprising at all to see him debut with the Jays at some point during the upcoming 2024 season.

Berroa hit .272/.380/.414 with 43 steals in 103 games at Double-A New Hampshire in 2023. The Blue Jays promoted him to Triple-A Buffalo where he hit just .156/.283/.222 in 22 games. He does have some swing-and-miss to his game with a 26.8 percent strikeout rate in Double-A and doesn’t figure to be much more than organizational depth going forward.