Jimenez, Berroa promoted to Triple-A Buffalo

Jimenez hit .287 with .808 OPS, Berroa stole team-high 43 bases

August 29, 2023

READING, Pa. – The Toronto Blue Jays announced Tuesday that infielder Leo Jimenez and outfielder Steward Berroa have been promoted from the New Hampshire Fisher Cats, the Double-A affiliate, to the Triple-A Buffalo Bisons. Jimenez slashed .287/.372/.436 in 76 games with the Fisher Cats. He hit a career-high eight homers,

READING, Pa. – The Toronto Blue Jays announced Tuesday that infielder Leo Jimenez and outfielder Steward Berroa have been promoted from the New Hampshire Fisher Cats, the Double-A affiliate, to the Triple-A Buffalo Bisons.

Jimenez slashed .287/.372/.436 in 76 games with the Fisher Cats. He hit a career-high eight homers, drove in 44 runs, and collected 25 extra-base hits. Jimenez started 42 games at shortstop and did not make an error in 25 starts at second base. He matched the team’s longest on-base streak this season, reaching in 24 consecutive games from June 16 – July 22. Jimenez is the No. 6 prospect in the Blue Jays organization, according to MLB.com.

The 22-year-old Panama native was signed by the Blue Jays as an international free agent on July 2, 2017. Jimenez was added to the 40-man roster in November 2021 after posting a career-high .320 batting average in 59 games, mostly with Single-A Dunedin. He drove in a career-best 40 runs in 69 games with High-A Vancouver last year.

Berroa played 103 games with the Fisher Cats this season after playing three games in 2021 and 21 last year. He ranked second in the Eastern League at the time of his promotion with 43 stolen bases, one behind Portland’s Corey Rosier. Berroa hit .272 with a .380 on-base percentage and seven home runs, including a go-ahead three-run homer in Friday’s win over Binghamton. It was New Hampshire’s first pinch-hit home run since Cavan Biggio at Harrisburg on May 10, 2018.

The 24-year-old Dominican Republic native signed with the Blue Jays as an international free agent on July 4, 2016. Berroa was a Florida State League Post-Season All-Star after stealing 55 bases for Single-A Dunedin in 2021. He added three more with the Fisher Cats and finished the year with a career-high 58.

This is the first time both Jimenez and Berroa have been promoted to Triple-A in their respective careers.

In a corresponding move, outfielder Devonte Brown has joined the Fisher Cats from Vancouver. Brown is in his second professional season and hit 14 home runs in 83 games with the Canadians. The 23-year-old Hinesville, Ga., native was signed as an undrafted free agent last year on July 26 after playing college baseball at North Carolina State.

The Fisher Cats begin a 12-game road trip with a six-game series against the Reading Fightin Phils Tuesday at 6:45 p.m. The final six-game homestand against the Somerset Patriots begins Tuesday, Sept. 12, at 6:35 p.m. Tickets are available at NHFisherCats.com, via email at info@nhfishercats.com, by phone at (603) 641-2005, and in-person at the Fisher Cats box office on 1 Line Drive in Manchester.