Thomas Hatch designated for assignment as Blue Jays call up Davis Schneider

Davis Schneider is a Blue Jay.

As Johnny Giunta of the Gate 14 Podcast reported on Thursday, Schneider has been called up to the big-league club. Thomas Hatch was designated for assignment in order to make room for him on the 40-man roster.

The Blue Jays selected Schneider in the 28th round of the 2017 draft and he’s gone from an organizational depth name you’d never see near a top prospects list to a legitimately exciting bat.

Last year, Schneider put himself on the radar when he slashed a .253/.366/.457 line between High-A Vancouver, Double-A New Hampshire, and Triple-A Buffalo. He’s taken another step forward this year with the Bisons, as he leads the team with a .969 OPS and he leads the entire Blue Jays organization with 21 home runs.

Schneider plays second and third base along with left field so the Blue Jays have some options when it comes to how he fits on the team. What seems most likely is that he’ll play at second base considering the platoon of Santiago Espinal and Cavan Biggio has provided virtually nothing offensively this season.

On the other side of this transaction is the end of the line for a pitcher who once showed quite a bit of promise. The Blue Jays acquired Thomas Hatch from the Chicago Cubs in exchange for David Phelps back in 2019 and he posted a 2.73 ERA over 17 appearances for the team during the shortened 2020 season.

Since then, though, Hatch hasn’t been able to find a role at the big league level. He had a 6.75 ERA across three appearances in 2021, got drilled for 10 earned runs in one spot start in 2022, and was used as a mop-up arm at the back of the Blue Jays bullpen this season. Hatch allowed a couple of runs in garbage time against the Baltimore Orioles on Thursday and his ERA went up to 4.26 on the season.

In other news, Jay Jackson is back with the team following a few days away while on the family medical emergency list. Ernie Clement was optioned to Triple-A Buffalo to open up a spot on the roster for him.