The Blue Jays revealed their Opening Day roster this morning and, in the process, announced that they have designated three right-handed pitchers for assignment: Zach Pop, Tommy Nance, and Nick Robertson. The three DFAs make room for right-hander Jacob Barnes and outfielders Alan Roden and Myles Straw on the 40-man roster. The Blue Jays had already confirmed their intention to select Barnes, Roden, and Straw, and today, they made the decision official. In addition, the Blue Jays formally placed right-handers Erik Swanson and Ryan Burr on the 15-day IL and center fielder Daulton Varsho on the 10-day IL. The team had already announced that Swanson, Burr, and Varsho would miss the beginning of the season.
Pop, 28, has pitched for the Marlins and Blue Jays throughout his four-year MLB career. In that time, he has a 4.45 ERA and 3.94 SIERA across 155 2/3 innings of work. He was electric after Toronto acquired him at the 2022 trade deadline, pitching to a 1.89 ERA in 17 appearances down the stretch. However, he has struggled at the big league level in each of the past two seasons, pitching to a 5.81 ERA in 73 total appearances. His 4.31 SIERA is better but still not especially promising. The righty is a groundball pitcher who does not miss many bats. His home run rate over the past two years (1.89 HR/9) is far too high for a pitcher who also issues his fair share of walks. To make matters worse, Pop was set to begin the season on Toronto’s injured list with elbow discomfort that arose this spring.
Nance, now 34, made his MLB debut with the Cubs at age 30 in 2021. He has had somewhat of an up-and-down career to this point. His rookie season was rough, but he looked like a capable low-leverage reliever over 43 2/3 innings with the Marlins in 2022. Then, injuries kept him out for much of 2023. He signed a minor league deal with the Padres last offseason and failed to make his way back to the majors in San Diego. Yet, after a late-summer trade to Toronto, he looked perfectly serviceable once again, pitching to a 4.09 ERA and 3.96 SIERA in 22 innings of lower-leverage work. He leads with a curveball and a sinker, a good approach for inducing groundballs, but hasn’t been able to consistently induce outs and strand baserunners at the highest level.
Robertson, 26, has already pitched for four different teams over his two MLB seasons, suiting up for the Dodgers and Red Sox in 2023 and the Cardinals and Blue Jays in 2024. He also pitched in the Angels’ system in between his stints with St. Louis and Toronto. The right-hander has a 5.30 ERA but a 3.52 SIERA in 35 2/3 career MLB frames. He has shown the ability to pitch multiple innings out of the bullpen as needed, but his performance has been poor at both the major and minor league levels since he left the Dodgers organization as part of the Enrique Hernández deadline trade in 2023. At times in the minors, Robertson has shown sharp strikeout stuff, but he has struggled in recent years to consistently rack up strikeouts and limit walks. He has one option year remaining, which could make him a bit more appealing to a club in need of bullpen help.
The Blue Jays will enter 2025 with something of a new-look bullpen, led by free agent acquisition and 2024 All-Star Jeff Hoffman. Other new pieces include Yimi García, who is back after a brief stint with the Mariners; Nick Sandlin, whom the Blue Jays acquired as part of the Andrés Giménez trade; and Richard Lovelady, who, like Barnes, signed a minor league deal with the club this offseason. Toronto selected his contract last week.
