Headlines

Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Paxton Schultz

Blue Jays Designate Erik Swanson For Assignment, Place Bowden Francis On IL

By | at

The Blue Jays announced today that right-hander Paxton Schultz has been recalled from Triple-A Buffalo. Left-hander Justin Bruihl was also selected to the roster. In corresponding moves, the club placed right-hander Bowden Francis on the 15-day injured list due to a right shoulder impingement and designated right-hander Erik Swanson for assignment.

Swanson, 31, was acquired from the Mariners ahead of the 2023 season as part of the trade that sent outfielder Teoscar Hernández to Seattle. Swanson’s first season with the Jays was excellent, as he posted a 2.97 earned run average over 66 2/3 innings. He struck out 28.6% of opponents while only giving out walks at an 8% clip. He became a key cog in the bullpen, earning four saves and 29 holds.

That version of Swanson hasn’t appeared much since then. His 2024 got out to a scary start when his son Toby was hospitalized after being struck by a car during spring training. Fortunately, Toby was released from hospital within two weeks, but Swanson also faced some more traditional baseball challenges at that time. He was dealing with some forearm inflammation and started the season on the 15-day IL. After being reinstated, he struggled enough to get optioned to the minors, having a 9.22 ERA through the end of May.

He did finish 2024 on a high note, as he was recalled at the end of June and posted a 2.81 ERA the rest of the way, but his 2025 has started similarly to last year. He started the season on the IL due to a right median nerve entrapment and has struggled since being reinstated. He has tossed 5 1/3 innings with nine earned runs allowed, surrendering five walks while striking out just three opponents.

That’s obviously a tiny sample size but the Jays presumably don’t have faith in Swanson getting back on track. His fastball velocity is down by a mile per hour relative to last year, 92.9 compared to 93.9 in 2024. His splitter has fallen even farther, from 84.9 mph to 83.3 mph. On his rehab assignment before being activated, he allowed six earned runs in 5 1/3 innings.

Swanson now has over five years of major league service time, meaning he can’t be optioned to the minors without his consent, so the Jays can’t give him a break in Triple-A like they did last year. Instead, they’ve bumped him off the 40-man completely. Surpassing five years of service also means he can reject an outright assignment while retaining this year’s salary commitments. He and the Jays avoided arbitration in the offseason by agreeing to a $3MM salary.

DFA limbo can last as long as a week but the waiver process takes 48 hours, so the Jays can take up to five days to explore trade interest. Based on his salary and his recent performance, there’s not likely to be a ton of interest unless they want to eat some of the money to facilitate a deal. If Swanson clears waivers and elects free agency, the Jays will remain on the hook for that money. Any other club would then be able to sign him and pay him just the prorated portion of the league minimum salary, with that amount subtracted from what the Jays are paying.

The loss of Francis to the IL is a notable development for the Jays, even though there’s little information about his expected injury absence, as it opens a hole in their rotation. Francis hasn’t been good this year, with a 6.05 ERA in 14 starts, but he has continued to get starts largely due to a lack of better options.

The Jays have a solid veteran trio in Jose Berrios, Kevin Gausman and Chris Bassitt but those three have been joined by a struggling Francis and a patchwork of swingmen. Guys like Eric Lauer, Easton Lucas, Jose Urena, Spencer Turnbull and Schultz have been making spot starts or multi-inning relief appearances.

That’s due to Max Scherzer landing on the injured list after just one start due to right thumb inflammation. He tossed 4 1/3 innings on a rehab start on Friday and could perhaps rejoin the big league club after one more.

Starting tonight, the Jays play six straight and have one off-day before a 16-game stretch, making for 22 games in 23 days. Heading into that with only three true starters is obviously less than ideal. Perhaps Scherzer and/or Francis could return to the roster before that’s all done, but the Jays will be cobbling things together for now. Lauer and Turnbull are still on the roster and Schultz has now joined them, giving them three potential bulk guys. Lucas and Adam Macko are on the 40-man roster and on optional assignment, so they may end up getting recalled in the coming weeks as well. Urena recently elected free agency after a stint with the Dodgers, so perhaps the Jays will give him another call.

Despite all the rotation challenges, the Jays currently hold a Wild Card spot and figure to be in the market for starting pitching ahead of the deadline. That was true before Francis landed on the IL but it presumably only exacerbates the need.

Also providing the bullpen with a fresh arm is Bruihl. The 27-year-old signed a minor league deal with the Jays in March and has been pitching in Triple-A since then, with a 3.81 ERA in 28 1/3 innings. His 10% walk rate is a bit high but he has struck out 30% of opponents while getting grounders on 61.5% of balls in play.

He also has some major league experience under his belt, though without that kind of strikeout stuff. He logged 76 innings between the Dodgers, Rockies and Pirates over the past few years with a 4.62 ERA and a 15.9% strikeout rate. He still has an option remaining so the Jays could send him back to Buffalo fairly easily if they want to cycle some more fresh arms through the roster.

Photo courtesy of Eric Hartline, Imagn Images

Blue Jays Recall Spencer Turnbull For Season Debut

By | at

The Blue Jays announced this afternoon that they’ve recalled right-hander Spencer Turnbull from Triple-A Buffalo. In a corresponding move, right-hander Paxton Schultz was optioned to Triple-A.

Turnbull, 32, signed with Toronto on a one-year deal last month. The right-hander was added to the 40-man roster at the time of the signing but agreed to be optioned to the minor leagues at the time of his signing so he could build up his arm after missing all of Spring Training due to being unsigned. He made his fifth rehab appearance on Friday, when he threw 80 pitches across 4 2/3 innings of five-run ball against the Mets’ Triple-A affiliate. Despite those shaky results, it represented Turnbull’s longest appearance both in terms of pitch count and batters faced.

That may have been close enough to a full big league start that the Jays were comfortable adding him back to the roster, but it’s worth noting that Turnbull’s optional assignment could only last a maximum of 35 days. That window would have expired tomorrow, meaning that Turnbull’s addition to the roster was imminent unless he suffered an injury or agreed to a longer stay in the minors. Despite his shaky rehab outings, the addition of Turnbull into the fold should hopefully provide a stabilizing force for a Jays pitching staff in serious need of reinforcements.

The righty had an up-and-down career over five years with the Tigers where he at times flashed the ability to be a quality mid-rotation arm but was too often held back by injuries. He enjoyed his healthiest season in years with the Phillies last year, and while he did ultimately miss the second half of the season with a lat strain he made 17 appearances (including seven starts) where he pitched to an impressive 2.65 ERA with a 3.85 FIP and 3.67 SIERA aross 54 1/3 innings of work. He struck out a career-high 26.1% of opponents while walking a fairly manageable 9.0%, and despite the season-ending injury re-entered free agency with a fairly strong argument for a solid contract.

While he ultimately lingered on the open market long enough to get snapped up by the Blue Jays on what was effectively a $1MM guarantee, the talent Turnbull flashed last year would go a long way to shoring up a beleaguered pitching staff in Toronto. They’ve been operating with a four-man rotation of late, and it seems fairly likely that Turnbull will now join that mix at least until an injured pitcher like Max Scherzer or Alek Manoah is ready to step back into a rotation role with the team. With no starter in line for their game against the Cardinals on June 11, it would be no surprise if the right-hander ends up taking the ball that day.

With that being said, Shi Davidi of Sportsnet suggested the possibility that Turnbull could either begin his time with the Jays in the bullpen or perhaps piggyback with southpaw Eric Lauer, who has been pitching in a long relief role for Toronto this season. Turnbull’s no stranger to a swing role after his work in Philadelphia last year; he started his first six appearances with the Phillies before moving to the bullpen last May and being utilized in a flexible role that saw him make both single-inning relief appearances lasting less than 20 pitchers and multi-inning appearances that pushed 60 pitches. Whether the Blue Jays ultimately decide to start Turnbull or use him in the bullpen at first, that flexibility is sure to come in handy during his time with the club.

Blue Jays Place Nick Sandlin On Injured List, Select Paxton Schultz

By | at

The Blue Jays announced a handful of roster moves this morning, headlined by the club’s decision to place right-hander Nick Sandlin on the 15-day injured list due to a right lat strain. Toronto has recalled right-hander Dillon Tate to replace Sandlin on the roster, and also selected the contract of right-hander Paxton Schultz. Right-hander Jacob Barnes was designated for assignment to make room for Schultz on both the 40-man and active rosters.

Sandlin, 28, came to Toronto as part of the trade that brought in Andres Gimenez and saw Spencer Horwitz depart the club. He had plenty of success over the years in Cleveland as a middle reliever despite shaky peripherals, pitching to a 3.27 ERA (126 ERA+) in spite of a 4.41 FIP and an 11.4% walk rate. In the early going this year, Sandlin has managed to tighten things up with a 2.25 ERA and 2.77 FIP across his first ten appearances with the Blue Jays. It’s a significant loss for the Blue Jays’ bullpen, as both Sandlin and fellow newcomer Jeff Hoffman have both been key cogs in Toronto’s early success this year.

Fortunately, there are some signals that this could be a fairly short absence. John Schneider told reporters this morning (including Keegan Matheson of MLB.com) that the lat issue Sandlin is currently dealing with is one that’s been nagging him for a while, and that they’ve decided to be “proactive” about it rather than risk it becoming a larger issue down the road. While Sandlin will be shut down for at least a few days, it seems possible that he could return relatively quickly if the strain improves during that layoff. In any case, he’ll be down for at least the next two weeks.

Replacing him on the roster for the time being is Tate, who the Jays claimed off waivers from the Orioles back in September. He was non-tendered by Toronto over the offseason but re-signed with them on a big league deal back in March. He’s yet to appear in the majors for the club this year but has generally been a cromulent middle reliever over the years, with a 3.89 ERA and a near-matching 3.88 FIP since the start of the 2021 season. He’ll be joined as a option for the middle innings by Schultz, a 14th-round pick by the Brewers back in 2019 who has spent the majority of his professional career as a starting pitcher in the Blue Jays organization. Toronto brass moved him to the bullpen last year, and despite previous middling results he’s looked quite good in 8 2/3 frames of multi-inning relief work this season with a 2.08 ERA and a 27.2% strikeout rate with Triple-A Buffalo.

Schultz’s addition to the roster is made possible by the departure of Barnes, a veteran currently in his tenth major league season. Signed to a minor league deal back in February, Barnes impressed during camp enough to get called upon to make the Jays’ Opening Day roster but has struggled in eight innings of work with the club this year, surrendering nine runs (eight earned) on ten hits and three walks while striking out five. The Jays will have one week to either trade Barnes or pass him through waivers, at which point he’ll have the opportunity to either accept an outright assignment from the club or elect free agency in search of greener pastures. The right-hander posted a 4.36 ERA in 66 innings for the Nationals last year and has a career 4.79 ERA over his decade of work in the majors.

Show all

MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

hide arrows scroll to top