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  • Toronto Blue Jays Free Agent & Trade Rumors, Notes, & Tidbits

    The latest Toronto Blue Jays free agent and trade rumors, along with notes and tidbits about the team.
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    Leo Morgenstern
    Nathan Lukes initially stayed in Sunday night's ALCS Game 1 after fouling a ball off his right knee, but the Blue Jays later removed him from the contest and sent him for testing. After the game, manager John Schneider told reporters that Lukes went for X-rays and a CT scan, which both came back negative for a fracture.
    While this is certainly good news for the club, Lukes is still dealing with pain, so it's not yet clear if he'll be able to play in Monday's Game 2. However, Schneider suggested the outfielder will be in the lineup as long as he is medically cleared.
    The lefty-batting Lukes is 4-for-13 with two doubles and five RBI through five games this October.
    Featured image courtesy of Nick Turchiaro, Imagn Images.
    Mike LeSage
    The Toronto Blue Jays have released their roster for the ALCS (first pitch at 8:03 PM EST tonight!), and there were a couple of changes from the team we saw in the last round. 
    First, we say goodbye to Tommy Nance and Justin Bruihl. Nance pitched an inning and a third in the ALDS and had a team-high 13.50 ERA (4-game small sample alert) of pitchers with at least one inning pitched. Bruihl misses the one-inning cut-off by two-thirds as he retired only one of the four batters he faced, gave up a dinger, and was saddled with an ERA of 54.00 (even smaller sample size alert!). Taking their places are Max Scherzer and Chris Bassitt. Bassitt ended the regular season on the IL with lower back inflammation, but was eligible to be selected for the ALDS roster. Scherzer struggled down the stretch, posting a 10.20 ERA in September (only Tyler Heineman's 67.50 was worse) to go along with a 5.34 FIP.
    The Jays haven't fully committed to a rotation plan this series, other than announcing Kevin Gausman as the Game 1 starter, but it is safe to assume, based on how the last round went, that Trey Yesavage and Shane Bieber get games 2 and 3. Does that give us a Scherzer Game 4 start with the shortest leash in the world and Bassitt out of the 'pen in relief? That's where my first thought would be.
    With all that shuffling of the pitchers, there was unfortunately no change on the hitters' side. Bo Bichette, despite running the bases yesterday, was not yet in a position to occupy a roster spot. As noted by Ben Nicholson-Smith, Bichette was still showing signs of discomfort in that knee that was injured September 6 in a collision with Yankee Austin Wells. The Jays will have to make the World Series now to guarantee Bichette another shot at playing in a Toronto uniform before hitting free agency this coming off-season.
    Leo Morgenstern
    A second opinion has confirmed that right-hander José Berríos does not have structural damage in his elbow (per Sportnet's Ben Nicholson-Smith). However, he has begun throwing again and will not be available to join Toronto in the upcoming ALDS. If the Blue Jays advance in the postseason, it remains a possibility that he could rejoin the team for a later round, presumably in a bullpen role.
    Thankfully,  Nicholson-Smith notes that right-hander Chris Bassitt is still on track to return for the ALDS. The veteran hit the IL with low back inflammation in mid-September. The Blue Jays have not yet confirmed whether or not Bassitt would get a start in the series, but he is a strong contender to take the ball for Game 3 or a potential Game 4.
    Finally, Bo Bichette continues to make progress, but general manager Ross Atkins told reporters (including MLB.com's Keegan Matheson) that the Jays "don’t have a date" for his return. Atkins added that "every day has gotten better for him," but he is still "day to day."
    In additional Blue Jays news, Sportsnet's Arden Zwelling reports the potential start times for Toronto's first two games in the ALDS. If the Jays are playing the Yankees, Game 1 on October 4 will begin at 4:08 pm, while if they are playing the Red Sox, the contest will start three hours earlier at 1:08 pm. Game 2 on October 5 will start at 4:08 pm regardless of Toronto's opponent.
    Featured image courtesy of Dan Hamilton, Imagn Images.
    Mike LeSage
    The Atlanta Braves announced earlier today that they have claimed Alek Manoah. They moved second baseman Ozzie Albies from the 10-day IL to the 60-day to clear a spot on their 40-man roster. If they can help him regain the form that saw him compete for the Cy Young Award in 2022, this will be a nice feather in the cap of former Jays and current Braves GM Alex Anthopoulos. Of course, Manoah was taken in the first round of the 2019 draft, four years after Anthopoulos parted ways with Toronto, so this isn't simply a case of 'the old guy holding on to old scouting reports.'
    Current Jays GM Ross Atkins said of the decision to DFA Manoah: "This just came down to a roster crunch and us feeling like [this was] the best decision for us to hold depth and support this staff as we push forward into very important weeks."
    Manoah put up a 2.24 ERA over his rehab starts as he worked his way back from Tommy John surgery. The Jays clearly made an assessment that he would be unable to help their 2025 push for the playoffs, but there was always a feeling that he would be in the competition for a spot in the 2026 rotation. Atlanta, for their part, has already been eliminated from possible playoff contention this season after a disappointing year in the NL East. It is not out of the realm of possibility that they could even find a spot for Manoah on their 28-man roster to make a start against Pittsburgh in their final series of the year.
    Featured image courtesy of Brian Bradshaw Sevald-Imagn Images.
    Brock Beauchamp
    José Berríos is going to the injured list for the first time in his major league career. Since debuting in 2016, he has avoided the MLB injured list; the only prior disabled-list notes were minor-league 7-day stints in 2013 and 2014 while in the Twins organization. 
    Berríos was placed on the 15-day injured list Thursday with a right elbow ailment, manager John Schneider told reporters. Schneider said the issue is something Berríos has been “dealing with for a while.” He had recently been moved to the bullpen; in his first relief outing on Wednesday, he allowed three earned runs in two innings. Toronto recalled right-hander Paxton Schultz in a corresponding move. 
    No timetable was announced.
    Context underscores how rare this is for a modern starter. Berríos has made 32 starts in each of the last six full seasons (excluding 2020), a run documented by MLB.com in June. He also entered 2025 with 204 starts since the beginning of 2018, second most among MLB pitchers over that span behind Phillies starter Aaron Nola. In 2024, he worked 192 1/3 innings.
    Leo Morgenstern
    The Toronto Blue Jays were first reported to be signing Seojun Moon last month, and today, the team announced that the deal is official. The 18-year-old is the first Korean-born player the team has ever signed in international free agency.
    The Athletic's Mitch Bannon notes that the Dodgers were "very interested" in signing Moon, but the talented young hurler chose the Blue Jays instead. On top of that, TSN cites a report from The Chosun Daily that claims he turned down offers from both the Dodgers and the Mets this summer.
    While Moon won't be pitching at the Rogers Centre anytime soon, he'll be an exciting prospect to watch in the Jays' minor league system next season. 
    Interested in learning more about the Toronto Blue Jays' minor league system? Check out our comprehensive top prospects list that includes up-to-date stats, articles, and videos about every prospect, scouting reports, and more!
    Mike LeSage
    With Anthony Santander ready to return from the 60-day injured list, the Blue Jays had to make a move. The first move was Ty France going to the IL with an oblique strain that may or may not be code for "Toronto needs to shuffle some bodies," and despite France's short time here, he's a team player.
    The more surprising move involved Alek Manoah being DFA'd, clearing a spot on the 40-man roster. Manoah was drafted by Toronto in the first round of the 2019 draft and quickly made his presence known - finishing third in Cy Young voting in 2022. His struggles in 2023 were followed by Tommy John surgery and a lengthy rehab assignment that he was nearing the end of.
    Updates to follow...
    Leo Morgenstern
    To make room for top prospect Trey Yesavage on their active and 40-man rosters, the Blue Jays designated Ryan Borucki for assignment earlier today. In additional transaction news, the team released former top prospect Orelvis Martinez.
    Borucki, 31, signed a minor league contract with Toronto in late August and joined the big league club in early September. He threw 4.1 scoreless innings for the Blue Jays, striking out five and walking four. While his second stint with the Blue Jays turned out to be a short one, he has reportedly expressed a desire to remain in the organization (per Sportnet's Arden Zwelling). So, if he clears waivers, he will presumably accept an outright assignment and return to Triple-A Buffalo. 
    Martinez, 23, was DFA'd last week. He could not be traded with the deadline in the rearview mirror, and because he is injured, the Blue Jays did not have the option to place him on outright waivers. So, his release was an inevitable outcome. Of course, it would have seemed like an inconceivable outcome back in 2018, when the Blue Jays signed the promising young infielder to a contract with a $3.5 million bonus. This only goes to show how much he has struggled since his days as one of the top 100 prospects in the sport.
    Featured image courtesy of Kevin Sousa-Imagn Images.
    Simon Li
    Reports from Shi Davidi of Sportsnet indicate that Trey Yesavage is being called up to the big leagues. He is expected to be activated on Monday and should provide some additional firepower to the bullpen. The Jays must make a corresponding move when Yesavage is added, and will need to make a decision to remove someone from the 40-man roster to make room.
    The Blue Jays' bullpen was one of the strengths early in the season, but as the season went on, there have been a few notable meltdowns in the second half of the season. The Jays' bullpen had the 10th-worst WPA since August 1st, and had a below-average ERA. The bullpen additions have not performed up to expectations, and bullpen mainstays like Brendon Little, Jeff Hoffman, and Yariel Rodriguez all have struggled since the deadline. Trey Yesavage has recently seen work in the bullpen, with three relief appearances in his last seven outings, as the Jays aim to acclimate him to not starting.
    This puts a feather in the cap of Trey Yesavage's first pro campaign, and he's done nothing but excel since joining the Jays organization. There is one interesting thing to look out for, however; each first appearance in a new level is a struggle for the 2024 first-rounder. He walked four batters in his Triple-A debut, four in his first Double-A appearance, three in his first High-A outing, and six in his professional debut in Dunedin. Hopefully, he's able to shake off his first game jitters in his first time pitching for the Toronto Blue Jays. 
    Simon Li
    With Alek Manoah nearing the end of his rehab assignment, the Toronto Blue Jays had to make a decision about adding him to the major league roster, as well as back on the 40-man roster. Ultimately, they announced that Manoah was reinstated from the 60-day IL and then optioned to Triple-A Buffalo. As the corresponding move, former top prospect Orelvis Martinez was designated for assignment in order to make room on the 40-man roster. 
    Martinez made his major league debut with the Blue Jays in June of 2024 and quickly earned his first hit, but shortly after, he was suspended by Major League Baseball for 80 games for testing positive for a prohibited substance. This put into question the validity of Martinez's top prospect status, as his performance was potentially tainted by PED use. 
    After serving his suspension, Martinez came into the 2025 season ice cold, as he hit just .147/.237/.279 while striking out near 40% of the time in April. He was hitting much better in May, cutting his strikeout rate to 23.5% and hitting .259/.340/.471 for a 115 wRC+, which signaled a possible turnaround for the 23-year-old infielder. Unfortunately for the Blue Jays and Martinez, that month was the last time he hit in Buffalo, as his remaining months were similarly disastrous as his April. He hit .148/.282/.317 for the rest of the year and showed little of the promise that he displayed prior to his suspension. 
    The Jays will have to face another difficult 40-man roster decision in the near future as well, as Anthony Santander has just started his rehab assignment with the Bisons. The team will need to make another cut from the roster to add him back from the 60-day IL. In the offseason, the Jays will also need to add a few prospects to the 40-man, which would result in more hard decisions about how to free up the space.
    Featured image courtesy of Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images.
    Simon Li
    The Toronto Blue Jays are sending a group of prospects to the Arizona Fall League, who will play for the Glendale Desert Dogs. Their manager will be Toronto Blue Jays minor league field coordinator Eric Duncan.
    The main headliner is Angel Bastardo, whom the Jays stole from the Boston Red Sox in the 2025 Rule 5 Draft, as he was left unprotected after undergoing Tommy John surgery. This will be his first taste of action with the Jays, as he hasn't pitched since last June. 
    Josh Kasevich is Jays Centre's highest-ranked prospect going to Arizona, as the infielder struggled with injuries throughout the season and will surely appreciate the extra reps that the AFL provides.
    Catching prospect Edward Duran was heating up at the end of the season for the High-A Vancouver Canadians and will hopefully maintain that momentum in Arizona. The 21-year-old catcher has turned heads and established himself as the best catching prospect within the system.
    In addition to those three prospects, the Jays are also sending over four relief prospects who excelled in the 2025 minor league season. Right-handers Alex Amalfi and Chay Yeager have already made their way to Double A and will most likely get a shot at Triple A next season. Meanwhile, right-hander Yondrei Rojas and left-hander Kai Peterson were mainstays in the Vancouver bullpen in High A, and both had a taste of Double A as well. 
    Unfortunately, Ricky Tiedemann doesn't seem to be ready for reps, as he's not attending the AFL season. So, the calibre of prospects being sent over is lighter than usual, but it will still be exciting to see Bastardo in action.
    Featured image courtesy of Nathan Ray Seebeck, Imagn Images.
    Leo Morgenstern
    What initially seemed like a very minor ailment for Bo Bichette has turned out to be at least a bit more serious.
    The shortstop hurt himself on a play at the plate on Saturday. He remained in the game (a rain delay gave him some time to rest), and while his left leg was apparently "cut up pretty good," X-rays came back negative. 
    Yet, while Bichette finished out the game on Saturday, he was not in Sunday's lineup. Sportsnet's Shi Davidi reported at the time that the Jays were "hoping" their shortstop would be ready to play on Tuesday. Clearly, that's no longer the case.
    As the team relayed to reporters this afternoon, Bichette continued to feel discomfort in his left leg, and an MRI revealed the sprain. He has been placed on the 10-day IL retroactive to September 7. There is currently no timeline for his return; he will take the next few days to rest before the Blue Jays decide what's next.
    Joey Loperfido was recalled from Triple-A Buffalo to take Bichette's place on the active roster, while Ernie Clement is expected to take over as Toronto's primary shortstop in the interim. 
    Featured image courtesy of John Jones, Imagn Images.
    Leo Morgenstern
    The Toronto Blue Jays have signed catcher René Pinto to a minor league contract. He will report to the Triple-A Buffalo Bisons, where he will offer catching depth alongside veteran Christian Bethancourt and prospect Brandon Valenzuela.
    Update: The Buffalo Bisons released Christian Bethancourt earlier this week.
    The 28-year-old Pinto has three seasons of MLB experience with the Tampa Bay Rays. In 83 games from 2022-24, he slashed .231/.263/.404 with an 87 wRC+. While he hit for a fair bit of power, poor plate discipline and contact skills held him back. Similarly, he flashed some terrific tools on defense – his pop times were elite and his framing was solid – but he gave up way too many passed balls and stolen bases. 
    Pinto spent most of 2025 in the Diamondbacks' system, where he produced a .268/.324/.517 slash line and a 92 wRC+ in 54 games at Triple-A. He had hit well early in the year (117 wRC+ in April), but after spending May on the injured list, he struggled to a 79 wRC+ from June to August. Arizona granted him his release last week.
    The Blue Jays now have one more insurance policy in case of an injury to Alejandro Kirk or Tyler Heineman. With the way both Bethancourt and Valenzuela have struggled at the plate lately, it's hardly surprising that Toronto wanted another option. 
    In additional Blue Jays transaction news, the team has reunited with infielder Buddy Kennedy. The 26-year-old played in two games for the Jays earlier this year, going 1-for-5 with a walk and a run scored. The Dodgers claimed Kennedy off waivers when the Blue Jays DFA'd him in August, but after just seven games with L.A., he was DFA'd once more. This time, he cleared waivers, elected free agency, and chose to return to the Blue Jays organization.
    Featured image courtesy of Kim Klement Neitzel, Imagn Images.
    Leo Morgenstern
    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.
    Simon Li
    Dominican designated hitter and outfielder Eloy Jiménez has reportedly signed a minor league contract with the Toronto Blue Jays, according to reporter Mike Rodriguez. 
    Rodriguez adds that the former top prospect is still waiting on his work visa but is healthy and ready to play. Most recently, Jiménez was playing in the Rays' minor league system, where he was a below-average hitter for Triple-A Durham, slashing .278/.335/.397 with a 92 wRC+. He was released in July.
    Jiménez has struggled for the past few years, losing a lot of the power he was touted to have as a prospect. He has posted poor slugging numbers after numerous injury-plagued seasons. In 2024, splitting time between the Chicago White Sox and Baltimore Orioles, he had a 78 wRC+. However, he was an above-average hitter for the five seasons before that, with a 119 wRC+ from 2019 to 2023.
    If Jiménez does indeed join the Jays organization, they will hope that they can tap into the talent that he has showcased at times throughout his career. Despite poor results recently, Jiménez can still hit the ball hard, as he had a 108.6-mph 90th percentile exit velocity and a 47.1% hard-hit rate in Triple-A. He does chase and whiff a lot, which can prevent him from tapping into that power, but the hard contact is still encouraging to see.
    Jiménez will be a potential backup right-handed outfield/DH option in case of an injury to Ty France, Davis Schneider or George Springer. This also may suggest that Anthony Santander is further out than the team might hope, as he's just begun swinging a bat again. No matter what, the Jays are hoping that Jiménez's talent can prevail and he can find some semblance of his old form. If his signing is made official before August 31, Jiménez would be available as a possible injury replacement for the postseason.
    Featured image courtesy of  Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images.
    Leo Morgenstern
    Ryan Borucki is back. Following parts of five seasons with the Blue Jays from 2018-22, the left-hander briefly suited up for the Mariners and Cubs before settling in with the Pirates in 2023. 
    However, after spending much of the last three seasons with Pittsburgh, Borucki was released last week. It didn't take long for his former team to scoop him up, and he will be active today for the Buffalo Bisons.
    Borucki has appeared in each of the last eight MLB seasons, tossing 252 career innings with a 4.36 ERA and 4.35 FIP. He is neither a dominating strikeout arm nor a control artist, but he's always been able to induce weak contact on the ground, especially from same-handed opponents.
    While the southpaw will report to Buffalo for now, it wouldn't be surprising to see him join the Blue Jays' bullpen, at least briefly, at some point soon. The Jays will be one man down in the arm barn for as long as they stick with a six-man rotation. That means fans can expect plenty of roster churn to ensure the bullpen always has a fresh arm. In the past few days, Toronto has already optioned Braydon Fisher and Mason Fluharty, recalled and subsequently optioned Paxton Schultz, and recalled Justin Bruihl.
    Featured image courtesy of Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images.
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