A few days ago, the Toronto Blue Jays went on a release spree within their organization.
It hasn’t been the way the Blue Jays would have wanted the 2026 season to have gone at this point. Toronto is 42-49, in third place in the AL East, and continues to stack bad losses. The Jays are currently out west, playing the San Francisco Giants.
Here are the four players the Blue Jays released over the past week: Justin Topa, Josh Fleming, Matt Bowman, and Travis Kuhn.
On Tuesday, Justin Topa found a new home in MLB.
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GettyMINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA – MAY 03: Justin Topa #48 and Victor Caratini #37 of the Minnesota Twins celebrate the win against the Toronto Blue Jays after the game at Target Field on May 03, 2026 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Twins defeated the Blue Jays 4-3. (Photo by David Berding/Getty Images)
Per his MLB.com transactions page, Justin Topa has signed with a new MLB team, the Kansas City Royals.
MLB.com wrote (on 7/7): “Kansas City Royals signed free agent RHP Justin Topa to a minor league contract.”
MLBTR.com’s AJ Eustace wrote about the Blue Jays releasing Topa, who did not pitch one inning with Toronto:
“Of the two relievers, Topa has had more recent success in the Majors. The righty had a decent 3.90 ERA in 60 innings for the Twins last year and allowed just two home runs all season. Topa’s 18.3% strikeout rate was below average, but he compensated by walking just 6.7% of opponents and inducing grounders at a 47.7% clip. Unfortunately, he followed that up with a dreadful 8.05 ERA in 19 innings earlier this season before Minnesota designated him for assignment in May.”
So, Justin Topa has returned to the AL Central, where his previous MLB stint resided.
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Justin Topa’s MLB Career
It’s a minors deal for Justin Topa, so we’ll have to see if he ends up getting his contract selected, because as Eustace notes, it’s been a rough 2026 for Topa.
Justin Topa has a career pitching record of 6-11 with a 4.27 ERA over 168.2 innings pitched and 141 strikeouts. He also has nine saves to his name.
The 35-year-old right-hander has spent MLB time with the Minnesota Twins, Milwaukee Brewers, and Seattle Mariners over parts of seven MLB seasons.
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