The Blue Jays have released Tim Mayza, according to the left-hander’s player page on MLB.com. He was designated for assignment last week.
This marks the end, at least for now, of Mayza’s 11-year career with Toronto. The Blue Jays selected him in the 2013 draft, and he made his MLB debut at the Rogers Centre four years later. He would go on to make 352 appearances over the next eight years, far more than any other pitcher on the team in that span; he ranks eighth all-time in appearances by a Blue Jays pitcher.
Mayza became a key player in Toronto’s bullpen in 2021, and over the next three years, he pitched 155 innings with a 2.67 ERA. The southpaw had the best season of his career just last year, pitching to a 1.52 ERA in 69 games. His underlying stats were not quite as impressive, but his 3.11 SIERA and 3.38 xERA were still good numbers, especially for a higher-leverage reliever like Mayza. Thus, his struggles in 2024 came as a major surprise.
In 24 2/3 innings over 35 games this year, Mayza gave up 24 runs (22 earned) on 36 hits and 12 walks. He managed to strike out only 16 of the 121 batters he faced. All of that added up to an 8.03 ERA, which makes him the only reliever in the league (min. 20 IP) with an ERA over 8.00. While his underlying numbers are better than his ERA, they’re still disappointing across the board. His 5.04 SIERA and 6.77 xERA both rank last among Blue Jays relievers (min. 10 IP), which is especially bad considering the Blue Jays have had one of the least effective bullpens in baseball this season. With all that in mind, the team’s decision to release Mayza is not difficult to understand – even though it would have been almost impossible to imagine at the beginning of the year.
After more than a decade with the Blue Jays, Mayza will now be able to seek employment elsewhere. At 32 years old, he could be an intriguing reclamation project for an organization that thinks it can help him regain his 2023 form.
Welcome to Lehigh Valley Tim.
It’d be a homecoming for him. Wouldn’t be a bad AAA pickup for the Phillies, with potential to help down the stretch if he gets back on track…
Orioles have better bird seed …maybe bring back Mayza to the pathbof righteousness
The Mets to continue their youth movement, and sign Tim Mayza and release Jake Diekman. (lol) The Yankees sign Diekman to take the place of Bickford. And playing the DFA musical chairs, everyone tries to grab a seat as soon as that music stops.
Incredible how a team’s bullpen can crumble from year-to-year. To think – Mayza, Swanson and Romano are all but memories of a once fantastic relief corps.
no kidding eh?
in saying that, I think burn-out/over use(age) the last year or so has finally caught up with the entire pitching staff, and things like this are bound to happen all across the board.
Mayza has hovered around 50 innings pitched each year, which is a reasonable workload for the primary lefty in a bullpen.
Last year the Jays bullpen had the 4th fewest innings pitched in the majors.
It felt like they got used a lot, but evidently not, or at least not as much as almost every other team.
It really shouldn’t be burn out.
This is what happens when you don’t let your starters pitch longer. It’s a lot harder on the bullpen when they are counted on to pick up all the extra innings. These analytics nerds and big money executives haven’t figured that out. Or have, but don’t dare say anything. Back in the old days you would have a starter or two give the pen a break every five days and kee0nthem fresh. How are these guys supposed to stay sharp when they’re up throwing every other day?
Anytime the Jays wanna hold Atkins accountable, feel free.
shapiro/atkins are one in the same, and have never built an elite baseball club…They gotta go !
Loser team on the field and nothing in the farm system……Great job to the Cleveland Clowns….
I gave Shapiro a little longer rope to hang himself with because he’s baseball operations.
Atkins should not be the guy to going into the trade deadline, cause he terrible at judging talent.
Need new vision at GM.
Anyone care to give odds on Mayza re-surfacing soon in the Yankee bullpen?
I’d say 60/40
His velocity is down and ground ball rate too. He’s batting practice at this point.
Looks like he’s been waiting beside a taco stand
The termination of Tim Mayza’s tenure with the Toronto Blue Jays exemplifies the profound impact of aberrant performance metrics on a previously stable reliever’s career trajectory. Despite an illustrious period marked by a 2.67 ERA across 155 innings from 2021 to 2023, Mayza’s precipitous decline in 2024, evidenced by an anomalous 8.03 ERA, 5.04 SIERA, and 6.77 xERA, underscores the complex interplay of mechanical inefficiencies and potential biomechanical disruptions, necessitating a multifaceted reevaluation of his kinetic chain dynamics and proprioceptive feedback mechanisms to restore his former efficacy.
Old, that take is the best. Smile of the day right there.
If Mayza is not injured like a Dellin Betances burnout injury, he’ll be back somewhere. It might take a lot of work but he’ll get there barring injury.