After taking the defending champion Los Angeles Dodgers to the 11th inning of Game 7 of the World Series before finally falling, the Toronto Blue Jays have embarked on an all-out upgrade project this offseason, starting with their pitching staff.
President/CEO Mark Shapiro and general manager Ross Atkins made the first big splash of the free agency period by signing the top hurler on the market, former San Diego Padres Cy Young candidate Dylan Cease, to a massive seven-year contract at $30 million per season, despite the fact that Cease is already 30 years old.
Surprising Decision by 24-Year-Old Prospect
The Jays followed up with a three-year, $30 million deal for Korean Baseball Organization star Cody Ponce, and another three-year deal, this one at $12.3 million per year, for submarine-throwing reliever Tyler Rogers.
Despite apparently losing workhorse veteran Chris Bassitt to free agency, the Blue Jays appear to have reinforced their pitching staff for another run at the World Series.
But not every prospect sees a future for himself that leads to a multimillion dollar deal on a championship-level staff. That became clear on Saturday when, in a quiet move that went largely unnoticed, one of the Blue Jays’ more intriguing pitching prospects made the decision to give up professional baseball at the age of 24.
Nate LaRue Had ‘Bazooka’ Arm as Catcher
Nate LaRue was drafted by the Blue Jays in the 25th round, a round so low it does not exist anymore, with 2019 actually the final year that the draft extended beyond 20 rounds. Primarily a catcher who sometimes doubled as a hurler at McGill-Toolen Catholic High School in Mobile, Alabama, LaRue declined to sign with the Jays at the time.
Instead, the two-way prospect chose to play at Auburn, focusing almost exclusively on catching. And that is the position the Blue Jays intended for him when they signed him as an undrafted free agent in 2023, after his senior year with the Tigers.
“He’s got a bazooka behind the plate,” said Blue Jays minor league pitching coordinator Ricky Meinhold, who later encouraged LaRue’s switch to pitching, in an April 2025 interview with MiLB.com. “It helped that he had pitched already… we have some clay to mold.”
Meinhold told the site that he was confident that LaRue could succeed as a pitcher due to his high baseball IQ and dedicated work ethic.
Ankle Surgery Derails Catching Hopes
Meinhold’s idea to convert the right-handed LaRue to a full-time pitcher came after the 6-foot-3, 223-pounder suffered a severe ankle injury during spring training of 2024 and was forced to undergo surgery.
By August he had completed his rehab and was ready to be activated but instead of adding him to an active minor league roster, the Jays placed him on the Development List — similar to a practice squad — at the Double-A New Hampshire Fisher Cats.
After that, LaRue agreed to try his hand at full-time pitching.
He spent all of 2025 as a pitcher, and as might be expected for a player who had not pitched seriously since high school, LaRue struggled. Between the Single-A and High-A levels, he got into 27 games, throwing 30 2/3 innings with a 5.30 ERA.
On Saturday, LaRue’s decision not to continue with baseball was announced publicly, appearing as a notice on his MiLB.com transactions ledger.
What specifically led to his drastic decision is not entirely clear, but his little-known career will now be remembered for his determination to defy the odds that were heavily stacked against him, until the point when he must have decided that it was in his best interests to pursue a different path in life.
Blue Jays Lose 24-Year-Old Pitcher With ‘Bazooka’ Arm to Sudden Retirement