August 3, 2023

By Tyson Shushkewich

Canadian Baseball Network

The Toronto Blue Jays have added another Canadian into the organization, as right-hander Rowan Wick (North Vancouver, B.C.) has been signed to a minor league deal.

The 30-year-old reliever will be reporting to triple-A Buffalo, according to the Minor League Transactions page.

Initially drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals in 2012, the Blue Jays are the third team Wick has joined in the past 18 days. The triple-A Iowa Cubs released him on July 15 and he signed a minor league deal with the Atlanta Braves on July 27, lasting three days on the triple-A Gwinnett Stripers before getting released from that contract and joining the Blue Jays a couple of days later.

A former catcher and an outfielder, converted into a pitcher a few years into his pro career, Wick made his big-league debut with the San Diego Padres in 2018 and has amassed a 3.82 ERA through parts of five seasons and 146 innings at the majors. His best season came back in his sophomore campaign - his first year with the Cubs - where he posted a 2.43 ERA and a 2.82 FIP while riding the options bus for the organization.

The Canuck missed a large portion of the 2021 season with an oblique strain but was a mainstay for the club the following year, making a career-high 64 appearances while pitching to a 4.22 ERA with an 11.3 K/9, another high for the reliever.

Armed with a four-seam fastball and a curveball as his main two offerings, Wick sits in the mid-90 mph range with his heater and generates over 65 inches of drop with his curveball, while also mixing in a cutter on occasion.

Heading into this season, Wick was looking to lock down a spot on the Cubs’ Opening Day roster after signing a one-year deal worth $1.55 million but was a late Spring Training cut, eventually being outrighted off the 40-man roster and accepting the assignment to triple-A. He could have refused given he had the minimum three years of service time required to do so but decided not to, reporting to Iowa instead.

In triple-A this season with the Cubs, Wick struggled to an 8.60 ERA through 30 1/3 innings. Wick did make one spot start for the triple-A Cubs, going 2 1/3 innings against the Buffalo Bisons. The B.C. product did not make an appearance for Gwinnett prior to being released from his contract.

With over 146 innings of big league experience, Wick adds some additional bullpen depth to the Blue Jays organization.

Now with the Blue Jays, Wick becomes the 11th Canadian in the organization and will join Zach Pop (Brampton, Ont.) on the triple-A Bisons.

The Canucks with Canada’s team include injured Otto Lopez (Montreal, Que.), Damiano Palmegiani (Surrey, BC) at double-A New Hampshire; Dasan Brown (Oakville, Ont.) and LHP Adam Macko (Stony Plain, Alta.) at class-A Vancouver; Nicolas Deschamps (Quebec City, Que.) and Bryce Arnold, Grimsby, Ont.) at class-A Dunedin, Jean-Christophe Masson (Levis, Que.), plus recently drafted Connor O’Halloran (Mississauga, Ont.) and Sam Shaw (Victoria, BC), Wick and Pop.