The Blue Jays recalled Pop from Triple-A Buffalo on Friday.
The departure of Yimi Garcia to the Mariners on Friday cleared a spot in the Blue Jays' bullpen, so Pop will come up from the minors to fill the opening. The 27-year-old righty owns a 5.90 ERA and 1.41 WHIP through 29 innings in the majors this season, and he'll likely be limited to middle relief while in Toronto. Jonatan Clase was optioned to Buffalo in a corresponding move.
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Blue Jays' Jonatan Clase: Optioned to Triple-A
Rotowire
The Blue Jays optioned Clase to Triple-A Buffalo on Friday.
Clase was acquired by Toronto on Friday as part of a package that sent Yimi Garcia to Seattle, and the 22-year-old Clase will now return to Triple-A to begin his tenure with the Blue Jays organization. He has slashed .274/.373/.483 with 10 homers and 34 RBI through 280 plate appearances in the minors this season and could earn a spot in Toronto's outfield unit if he continues to produce with Buffalo. Zach Pop was recalled from Triple-A in a corresponding move.
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Blue Jays' Jacob Sharp: Traded to Toronto
Rotowire
The Blue Jays acquired Sharp and Jonatan Clase from the Mariners on Friday in exchange for Yimi Garcia, Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet.ca reports.
Sharp has slashed .255/.339/.435 with six home runs over 44 games this season with Single-A Modesto. The 22-year-old is considered to be the secondary piece in the trade.
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Blue Jays' Jonatan Clase: Lands with Blue Jays
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The Blue Jays acquired Clase and Jacob Sharp from the Mariners in exchange for Yimi Garcia, Jeff Passan of ESPN.com reports.
Clase, 22, has managed just a .452 OPS in 19 games with the Mariners this season but has slashed .274/.373/.483 with 10 home runs and 26 stolen bases at Triple-A Tacoma. He is capable of playing all three outfield spots and will be under team control for several years.
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Blue Jays' Isiah Kiner-Falefa: Rehab assignment scheduled
Rotowire
Kiner-Falefa (knee) will begin a rehab assignment with Triple-A Buffalo on Saturday, Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet.ca reports.
Kiner-Falefa is slated to be at third base Saturday, designated hitter Sunday and shortstop Tuesday, with a return to the Blue Jays coming after that if all goes well. He's been out since early July with a left knee sprain and has been mentioned as a possible trade candidate. Players can be traded while on the IL, so the fact that Kiner-Falefa isn't scheduled to return until after the deadline wouldn't necessarily preclude a trade.
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Blue Jays' Daulton Varsho: Absent from starting nine
Rotowire
Varsho is out of the lineup for Friday's game against the Rangers.
After making eight straight starts, Varsho will get the night off Friday against lefty Andrew Heaney. Davis Schneider, Kevin Kiermaier and George Springer will fill the outfield from left to right. Varsho is 4-for-21 with one RBI and one run since the All-Star break.
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Blue Jays' Yerry Rodriguez: Summoned from minors
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The Blue Jays recalled Rodriguez from Triple-A Buffalo on Friday, Keegan Matheson of MLB.com reports.
Rodriguez appeared in 12 games with the Rangers earlier this season, allowing 13 runs with a 12:11 K:BB over 17 innings. He figures to operate in low-leverage spots.
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Blue Jays' Ryan Burr: Optioned to Triple-A
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The Blue Jays optioned Burr to Triple-A Buffalo on Friday, Keegan Matheson of MLB.com reports.
The Jays are swapping out relievers, replacing Burr with Yerry Rodriguez. Burr holds a 5.40 ERA and 9:4 K:BB over 10 innings at the big-league level this season.
Bassitt (8-9) took the loss Thursday against Tampa Bay, allowing three runs on five hits and a walk across five innings. He struck out six.
Three of the five hits Bassitt allowed Thursday went for extra bases, with Brandon Lowe lifting a solo homer in the first frame before Lowe and Isaac Paredes logged back-to-back RBI doubles in the third. Bassitt has taken a loss in three of his last four starts, logging a 6.23 ERA with 21 strikeouts in 21.2 innings during that stretch. He's tentatively scheduled to face the Orioles in Baltimore early next week.
Blue Jays' Bowden Francis: Likely to start during doubleheader
Rotowire
Francis is likely to be called up from Triple-A Buffalo to start one game of Monday's doubleheader versus the Orioles, Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet.ca reports.
Yariel Rodriguez is tentatively lined up to pitch the other game Monday. Francis has tossed nine scoreless innings with a 13:1 K:BB in two starts since being optioned to Buffalo on July 14 and would be available on four days' rest Monday. Francis has been less effective during his time in the majors this season with a 5.82 ERA covering three starts and 13 relief outings.
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Blue Jays' Isiah Kiner-Falefa: Rehab assignment imminent
Rotowire
Kiner-Falefa (knee) is on track to begin a rehab assignment with Triple-A Buffalo on Saturday, Keegan Matheson of MLB.com reports.
Kiner-Falefa will be cleared for rehab games as long as he gets through workouts the next couple days with no issues. The utility infielder has been out since early July with a left knee sprain. He shouldn't need too many rehab at-bats before being activated, with a return next week being possible. Kiner-Falefa could take over at shortstop for the Blue Jays while Bo Bichette (calf) is out.
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Blue Jays' Nate Pearson: Moves past illness
Rotowire
Pearson (illness) gave up an earned run on one hit and one walk over one inning out of the bullpen in Tuesday's 4-2 loss to the Rays.
Pearson made his first appearance of the second half Tuesday after he had been unavailable out of the bullpen for the Blue Jays' series with the Tigers this past weekend while he was battling an illness. Though the right-hander yielded a run in his return to action, he looked to be at close to full strength while pumping in 13 of his 20 pitches for strikes Tuesday.
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Blue Jays' Kevin Kiermaier: Retreating to bench Thursday
Rotowire
Kiermaier is out of the lineup for Thursday's game against the Rays.
Though the Blue Jays are facing off against right-hander Taj Bradley on Thursday, the lefty-hitting Kiermaier will get a breather for the day game after he started in center field in Wednesday night's 6-3 win. Davis Schneider will pick up a start in the outfield in place of Kiermaier, who made headlines Wednesday by announcing that the 2024 season would be the last of his 11-year MLB career.
Springer went 0-for-3 with a walk, a stolen base and one run scored in Wednesday's 6-3 win over the Rays.
Springer has reached double digits in steals in each of the last three years. He's been fairly selective on the basepaths in 2024 -- he's logged 10 thefts without getting caught so far. The outfielder had gone 16 games without a steal before Wednesday, and he's hitting a respectable .279 (19-for-68) over 18 games in July. Springer is at a .227/.309/.390 slash line with 13 home runs, 40 RBI and 48 runs scored over 94 contests this season.
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Blue Jays' Justin Turner: Another three-hit effort
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Turner went 3-for-4 with one RBI and one run scored in Wednesday's 6-3 win over the Rays.
Turner has logged back-to-back three-hit efforts after opening July in a 4-for-41 slide. While he didn't knock an extra-base hit Wednesday, it's still encouraging to see the veteran make better contact. For the year, he's slashing .243/.339/.359 with six home runs, 31 RBI, 35 runs scored and no stolen bases across 85 contests.
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Blue Jays' Vladimir Guerrero: Swats homer, drives in two
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Guerrero went 2-for-3 with a solo home run, a walk, an additional RBI and two total runs scored in Wednesday's 6-3 win over the Rays.
Guerrero plated the Blue Jays' first two runs with an RBI single in the first inning and a solo shot in the third. The first baseman has homered in five of his last six games, adding eight RBI in that span as he looks to make up for a slow start to the year. Overall, he's at a .296/.366/.488 slash line with 18 homers, 62 RBI, 52 runs scored, two stolen bases and 21 doubles through 100 contests in 2024.
