Blue Jays fans glad they're keeping 23-year old rising star after risk of losing him

Billy Heyen

Blue Jays fans glad they're keeping 23-year old rising star after risk of losing him image

The Toronto Blue Jays' fanbase was concerned just a bit about the Rule 5 Draft.

They were worried about losing Yohendrick Pinango, who the Blue Jays had left unprotected.

In the end, the good news came Wednesday that Pinango hadn't been chosen.

The Blue Jays will get to keep developing the talented outfielder.

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Pinango is a 23-year old outfielder from Venezuela who bats left and throws left.

He made it to Triple-A for the first time in 2025. At Double-A before his call-up, he batted.298 with a.928 OPS. After being moved up to Triple-A, Pinango hit.235 with a.714 OPS.

He's now playing in the Venezuelan Winter League and putting up an OPS of 1.000.

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For another team to have picked Pinango in the Rule 5 Draft, they have to have believed he could last at the MLB level for an entire season. It's a bit easier to hide a pitcher than it is a hitter given the light benches teams usually operate with.

Pinango's relative struggles in his first exposure to Triple-A likely kept him a Blue Jay.

Now, it'll be up to Toronto to continue developing him in the hopes of him making it work in the major leagues someday soon.

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News Correspondent