Blue Jays trade John Axford to Dodgers

The Toronto Blue Jays have moved on from hard-throwing reliever and local boy John Axford, sending him to the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Axford has been solid, if unspectacular, with the Blue Jays this season posting a 4.41 ERA and 4.02 FIP in 51 innings. While those numbers don’t jump off the page, the Canadian has a fastball that averages 95.5 mph, a ground-ball rate of 53.3% and has demonstrated the ability to throw multi-innings with consistency in 2018. That makes him a valuable commodity for the Dodgers, who’ve sported a middle-of-the pack relief corps this year.

Going the other way is minor-league reliever Corey Copping, a 24-year-old who has been successful out of the bullpen in the high minors. Although he isn’t a big arm who tends to work in the low 90s, Copping has posted a 2.52 ERA across 53.2 innings split between Double-A and Triple-A. The right-hander has shown the ability to provide some length out of the pen, registering his 53.2 innings in just 35 appearances. He does not appear on the Dodgers’ top-30 prospect list from MLB Pipeline.

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