The Toronto Blue Jays have made some roster moves during their series against the Kansas City Royals.
Toronto has gotten back above .500 and into a playoff spot as the Blue Jays have won three straight series. The Blue Jays are looking to sweep the Royals on Sunday.
Toronto is set to start Spencer Arrighetti on Sunday, with first pitch set for 2:10 p.m. ET.
Toronto Blue Jays Promote Struggling Pitcher
During the Toronto Blue Jays series against the Kansas City Royals, the team made a roster move.
Toronto promoted right-handed pitcher Yondrei Rojas to Triple-A Buffalo from Double-A New Hampshire. The move was made on Sept. 5, as seen on the MiLB transactions log.
Rojas is not ranked in Toronto’s top-30 prospects. The Blue Jays signed the right-hander in 2021 out of Venezuela. He has moved up the system rather quickly and has now been promoted to Triple-A before the year is up.
Rojas began the year in Double-A but did pitch in Single-A on a rehab assignment. With the Fisher Cats, the 23-year-old struggled as he went 5-4 with a 5.53 ERA in 35 games out of the bullpen.
After being promoted to Triple-A, Rojas did get into a game and was hit hard. He pitched 1 inning, allowing 3 runs on 3 hits, and gave up a home run while not striking out a batter. It was a frustrating Triple-A debut for Rojas, who’s looking to prove he can be a bullpen option for Toronto in 2027.
In his pro career, the 5-foot-11 pitcher has mostly been a reliever as he’s appeared in 143 games while starting just 17. Given that he is a reliever, it does give him a chance to make his MLB debut soon, as the Blue Jays always need fresh arms in the bullpen and shuffle relievers up and down all season.
Yet, if Rojas is going to get promoted, he will need to pitch better than he did in his Triple-A debut.
Toronto Right Now
The Blue Jays are concluding their three-game series against the Royals on Sunday.
Toronto is back above .500 and in a playoff spot, which has the team excited. Blue Jays pitching coach Pete Walker is thrilled with how the team has performed as of late.
“I think so, for a lot of reasons. Obviously, the expectations coming in on this team, where we saw ourselves, having to battle through to get to this point right now, it’s fantastic that we’re in this position,” Pete Walker said Saturday. “But the expectations being so high and dealing with those injuries is difficult.
“You’ve just got to find a way to dig deep as a staff, from a player’s perspective, and a coach’s perspective, to keep coming to the yard every day and finding a way to do everything we can to get a win. And I really do commend the pitchers. They’ve responded. It’s not ideal but we’re doing everything we can to give us a chance to win and ultimately get to the post-season.”
The Blue Jays are 72-71 and in the final Wild Card spot. Toronto will begin a three-game road series against the Athletics on Monday.
Blue Jays Promote Struggling Pitcher During Royals Series