Blue Jays Select Dillon Tate as Rosters Expand

On September 1, MLB active rosters expand from 26 to 28. That means the Toronto Blue Jays now have two additional roster spots to work with. At least for now, one of those spots is going to right-handed reliever Dillon Tate, while the other belongs to recently acquired utility man Isiah Kiner-Falefa.

To make room for Tate on their 40-man roster, the Blue Jays moved fellow righty reliever Nick Sandlin from the 15-day injured list to the 60-day injured list. Kiner-Falefa was added to he 40-man on Sunday. 

Tate, 31, first joined the Blue Jays one year ago today, when they claimed him off waivers from the Baltimore Orioles. He owns a career 4.11 ERA and 4.05 FIP in 221 innings from 2019-25. In 8.2 innings with Toronto, he has given up five earned runs on 11 hits, striking out 11 but walking nine. On the bright side, the righty has looked much sharper in the minor leagues. In 56.2 MiLB innings over the past two years, he has pitched to a 2.06 ERA and a 3.57 FIP. 

Tate will offer low-leverage depth to a bullpen that has seen plenty of turnover lately; a six-man starting rotation has forced the Blue Jays to cycle through relievers at a faster-than-normal rate. 

Featured image courtesy of Dan Hamilton, Imagn Images.