Blue Jays' Justin Bruihl: Removed from 40-man roster
Rotowire
The Blue Jays designated Bruihl for assignment Monday.
The transaction clears a spot on the 40-man roster for Tyler Rogers, whose signing was officially announced Monday. Bruihl made 15 appearances out of Toronto's bullpen in 2025, collecting a 5.27 ERA and 18:7 K:BB across 13.2 frames. The southpaw has been outrighted previously, so he would have to approve an outright assignment by the Blue Jays.
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Blue Jays' Michael Plassmeyer: Gets minors pact from Blue Jays
Rotowire
The Blue Jays signed Plassmeyer to a minor-league contract Dec. 6.
Plassmeyer spent all of the 2025 season at Triple-A Round Rock in the Rangers organization, posting a 4.43 ERA and 99:34 K:BB over 105.2 innings while splitting time between the rotation and bullpen. It's unclear what role the Blue Jays have in mind for the southpaw, but he's likely headed to Triple-A Buffalo to begin the 2026 season.
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Blue Jays' Tyler Rogers: Inks three-year pact with Jays
Rotowire
Rogers signed a three-year, $37 million contract with the Blue Jays on Friday that includes a vesting option for 2029, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports.
After bolstering their rotation by signing Dylan Cease and Cody Ponce earlier this offseason, the Blue Jays now add an elite back-end bullpen arm in the form of Rogers. The 34-year-old righty enjoyed one of his best MLB seasons in 2025, logging a 1.98 ERA and 0.94 WHIP across 77.1 innings between the Giants and Mets. Given Jeff Hoffman's struggles as Toronto's primary closer this past season (4.37 ERA), there's a chance that Rogers takes over as the club's primary ninth-inning option.
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Blue Jays' Chase Lee: Shipped to Toronto
Rotowire
The Tigers traded Lee to the Blue Jays on Friday in exchange for Johan Simon, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports.
Lee reached the big leagues for the first time in 2025 and finished the regular season with a 4.10 ERA and 1.10 WHIP over 37.1 innings. He'll now help bolster Toronto's bullpen, but he's unlikely to work as more than a middle-relief option.
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Blue Jays' Spencer Miles: Snagged by Toronto
Rotowire
The Blue Jays selected Miles with the 10th pick of the Rule 5 Draft on Wednesday.
Miles logged just 14.2 total innings in the minors for the Giants since getting selected in the fourth round of the 2022 draft, with a back injury sidelining him for most of 2023 and 2024. He struck out 12 and walked one over 8.2 innings in five Arizona Fall League appearances this year and should enter camp healthy. Miles has a couple quality fastballs and some untapped potential, albeit with zero track record of being able to stay healthy for an extended period of time.
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Blue Jays' Shane Bieber: Coming back from forearm fatigue
Rotowire
Bieber dealt with right forearm fatigue toward the end of this season, Mitch Bannon of The Athletic reports.
It's not clear exactly when the issue popped up for Bieber, who was the last Blue Jays hurler to throw a pitch in Game 7 of the World Series against the Dodgers, serving up a go-ahead home run to Will Smith in the top of the 11th inning. General manager Ross Atkins said Monday that Bieber is "in a strong position" and the righty being ready for Opening Day is "a very realistic outcome." While the concern for Bieber doesn't currently seem to be high, the forearm issue and past Tommy John surgery surely weighed into the pitcher's decision to exercise a $16 million player option rather than test the open market. More should be known about Bieber's health status during spring training.
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Blue Jays' Anthony Santander: Healthy after shoulder/back issues
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Blue Jays manager John Schneider said Tuesday that Santander's left shoulder and back "finally feel normal" again, Mitch Bannon of The Athletic reports.
Santander was limited to only 54 games in 2025 due to a shoulder subluxation and also a nagging lower-back issue. He slashed just .175/.271/.294 in those contests and saw his strikeout rate spike to 27.6 percent. It appears Santander is healthy now, though, and Schneider believes the 31-year-old "is going to be huge for us." Santander split his time between the outfield and designated hitter in 2025 and could do the same in 2026.
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Blue Jays' Yariel Rodriguez: Sticking in bullpen
Rotowire
Rodriguez will remain a reliever heading into the 2026 season, Keegan Matheson of MLB.com reports.
The Blue Jays hope Rodriguez can continue to improve his command out of the bullpen after he excelled in a relief role down the stretch of the 2025 regular season. Free passes became an issue for him during the postseason, issuing four walks in 2.2 frames. Rodriguez was booted from the 40-man roster earlier this month, though he'll have a chance to win his spot back if he puts together a strong spring camp.
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Blue Jays' Shane Bieber: Workload could be eyed this spring
Rotowire
Blue Jays general manager Ross Atkins said Monday that the team could monitor Bieber's workload during spring training, Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet.ca reports.
Bieber isn't dealing with any known injury, but the Blue Jays will be careful with him in his first full season back from Tommy John surgery. The 30-year-old threw a total of 88 innings in 2025 after handling only 12 innings in 2024. Bieber exercised his $16 million player option for 2026 last month to remain with the Blue Jays rather than test the open market.
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Blue Jays' Trey Yesavage: No hard innings cap in 2026
Rotowire
Blue Jays general manager Ross Atkins said Monday that Yesavage will be in the team's rotation in 2026 and will not have a strict innings limit, Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet.ca reports.
Between the minors, regular season and postseason, Yesavage threw a total of 139.2 innings in 2025 in his first professional season. While the Blue Jays will no doubt keep an eye on the right-hander's workload, particularly early on in the season, he will not be working with a strict innings cap. Yesavage posted a 3.21 ERA and 16:7 K:BB over 14 regular-season innings and a 3.58 ERA and 39:11 K:BB across 27.2 postseason frames for Toronto.
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Blue Jays' Louis Varland: Will remain in bullpen
Rotowire
Blue Jays general manager Ross Atkins said Monday that Varland will remain in a bullpen role in 2026, Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet.ca reports.
Varland excelled in a full-time move to a relief role in 2025, posting a 2.97 ERA and 75:22 K:BB over 72.2 regular-season innings between the Blue Jays and Twins. The 28-year-old has a career 5.18 ERA over 23 starts at the major-league level, and it does not appear the Blue Jays have interest in giving Varland another chance to start anytime soon. He's likely to begin the 2026 campaign in a setup role.
Blue Jays' Yariel Rodriguez: Outrighted to Buffalo
Rotowire
Rodriguez cleared waivers Saturday and was sent outright to Triple-A Buffalo, Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet.ca reports.
Rodriguez's performance improved considerably upon moving to the bullpen in 2025, as he finished the regular season with a 3.08 ERA and 1.15 WHIP through 73 innings. Despite his strong numbers, he became the roster casualty necessary to make room for Cody Ponce, who signed with the Jays on Tuesday. None of the other 29 clubs were willing to pay Rodriguez the $17 million he's owed over the next three seasons, so the right-hander will remain in the organization without a spot on the 40-man roster and attempt to win it back during spring training.
Ponce signed a three-year, $30 million contract with the Blue Jays on Tuesday, Jeff Passan of ESPN.com reports.
Ponce will return to Major League Baseball for the first time since 2021 after playing three seasons in Japan, followed by one year in Korea. He was dominant this past season in the KBO, turning in a 1.89 ERA and 0.94 WHIP across 180.2 innings and taking home the league's MVP award. He'll now join a Blue Jays squad that is putting a clear emphasis on adding rotation talent after also signing Dylan Cease earlier in the offseason.
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