Blue Jays outright former Guardians reliever who was included in Andrés Giménez deal

Last offseason, Nick Sandlin’s time with the Guardians came to an unceremonious end when he was traded to the Toronto Blue Jays alongside Andrés Giménez.

His time with the Blue Jays came to an even more unceremonious end over the weekend, as the club outrighted him off their 40-man roster after an injury-filled season north of the border. 

While the Guardians trade(s) with the Blue Jays last offseason have been an abject disaster, Sandlin being sent off the Blue Jays’ roster confirms that neither team got much right. 

Blue Jays outright Nick Sandlin off 40-man roster after one season away from Cleveland 

Sandline posted a 2.20 ERA in 16 1/3 innings with the Blue Jays last year in a season marred by injuries. 

He initially went on the injured list three weeks into the season with a lat strain and appeared in June but only appeared in nine games before being shut back down with elbow inflammation that eventually ended his season. 

He was set to hit arbitration for the first time in his career this offseason and was projected to earn $2 million. 

In the end, the Blue Jays decided he wasn’t worth that price or the roster spot that he’d take up during the offseason. The fact that he cleared waivers means that every other team in baseball felt the same way. 

The Guardians got infielder Spencer Horwitz in exchange for Sandlin and Giménez before flipping Horwitz to the Pirates later in the offseason in exchange for minor leaguers Josh Hartle, Michael Kennedy and Luis Ortiz. 

Hartle ended up finishing the year as the High-A Pitcher of the Year after a dominant season at Lake County, while Kennedy had a 3.86 ERA in 65 1/3 innings.

Ortiz got off to an okay start with the Guardians but was placed on non-paid leave as a part of an MLB investigation into sports betting that ended up ending his season. 

Ortiz was indicted on a variety of charges in relation to the investigation earlier this month. 

Although Sandlin posted a 3.27 ERA during his time with the Guardians, he was a bit of an unreliable arm who always seemed to struggle when called upon in high-leverage roles. 

He’s also clearly not at his best, as he only averaged 91.4 miles per hour on his fastball after averaging 94 mph earlier in his career. 

Sandlin’s MLB track record means that he should have some interest in his services during the offseason, but he’ll likely have to settle for a minor league contract somewhere.