{
  "id": 6949826,
  "title": "Blue Jays Birthdays: Maicer Izturis",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/12/blue-jays-birthdays-maicer-izturis",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-09-12T16:18:53.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Yahoo Sports",
    "slug": "yahoo-sports",
    "url": "https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/blue-jays-birthdays-maicer-izturis-161853432.html"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "On April 20, 2013, the Toronto Blue Jays faced the New York Yankees at the Rogers Centre, with Maicer Izturis celebrating his 44th birthday. The Yankees emerged victorious, 5-3. Izturis joined the Blue Jays as a free agent in November 2012, signing a three-year contract worth $3 million annually. However, the deal didn't pan out as anticipated. The team hoped Izturis would become the primary second baseman, but remained intent on improving the position. They traded Mike Aviles and Yan Gomes to Cleveland for Esmil Rogers, yet these moves didn't yield the desired results. Aviles, while a solid defensive player, failed to meet offensive expectations, and the Blue Jays obtained Emilio Bonifacio from the Marlins, who shared second base with Izturis throughout the 2013 campaign. Over the next few years, the team shuffled second basemen, including Munenori Kawasaki and Ryan Goins. Izturis played in just 118 games over three seasons, frequently dealing with injuries and sitting out on the disabled list more often than not. The Blue Jays declined Izturis' team option before the 2016 season, opting instead to pay him a $1,000,000 buyout. He signed a minor-league contract with the Blue Jays in January 2016 but ultimately never played professionally again. During his tenure with the Blue Jays, Izturis posted a .240/.291/.310 batting average and hit five home runs. In his 11-year major league career, Izturis achieved a .269/.331/.372 average with 39 home runs in 909 games, primarily with the Angels. Today also marks the 43rd birthday of Clayton Richard, another former Blue Jays pitcher. Richard's time with the team was relatively unremarkable, as he went 1-5 with a 5.96 ERA in 10 starts during the 2019 season. The Blue Jays acquired Richard in a trade with the Padres, sending Connor Panas, who never made it to the majors, to Arizona. Standing at 6'5\" and weighing 240 pounds, Richard was a left-handed pitcher known for his pitch-to-contact style, seldom missing bats. Over his 11-year career, Richard compiled a 69-84 record with a 4.51 ERA across 275 games, including 210 starts.",
  "summary": "Today marks the 44th birthday of former Blue Jays infielder Maicer Izturis. You might remember that Alex Anthopoulos signed Izturis as a free agent in November 2012. He agreed to a three-year contract (with a team option for a fourth year) worth $3 million annually, making it Alex’s most significant free-agent signing at the time. […]",
  "key_points": [
    "Maicer Izturis celebrated 44th birthday on April 20, 2013",
    "Blue Jays traded Izturis after 2013 season, paid $1M buyout in 2016",
    "Clayton Richard shares birthday with Izturis, 43 years old today"
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}