Blue Jays forced to remove pitcher who wasn't on umpires' lineup card

Tom Gatto

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Blue Jays forced to remove pitcher who wasn't on umpires' lineup card image
A clerical error compounded by a possible umpiring error cost Jacob Waguespack an opportunity to pitch for the Blue Jays on Thursday night.

The right-hander was on Toronto's 28-man roster for its game against the Braves in Atlanta, but he wasn't listed on the lineup card that was transmitted to the umpires beforehand. When the Jays called upon him to relieve starter Nate Pearson in the sixth inning, home plate umpire Alan Porter, who had the lineup card in his possession, consulted with third base umpire Marty Foster. The two eventually told the Jays that Waguespack had to leave the game.

Rafael Dolis came on for Waguespack, whose name was not added to the official box score.

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The confusion may have stemmed from the Jays' yo-yo transactions involving Waguespack. The team announced about an hour before the game that it had recalled him from its taxi squad to replace injured pitcher Trent Thornton.

That move was made about six hours after the Jays transferred Waguespack to the taxi squad to help reduce Toronto's roster from 30 players to 28 players by Thursday's cutdown deadline.

Blue Jays manager Charlie Montoyo told reporters after the game that he knew Waguespack was on the roster but the umps somehow got an incorrect lineup card.

But that fact shouldn't have necessarily disqualified Waguespack. MLB Rule 4.03(c) states, in part, that:

As a courtesy, potential substitute players should also be listed, but the failure to list a potential substitute player shall not make such potential substitute player ineligible to enter the game.

Porter and Foster had not commented on the mixup as of late Thursday.

Dolis worked a scoreless sixth, but the Blue Jays ultimately lost 4-3 on a Nick Markakis walk-off home run.

Tom Gatto

Tom Gatto Photo

Tom Gatto joined The Sporting News as a senior editor in 2000 after 12 years at The Herald-News in Passaic, N.J., where he served in a variety of roles including sports editor, and a brief spell at APBNews.com in New York, where he worked as a syndication editor. He is a 1986 graduate of the University of South Carolina.