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Toronto Blue Jays set to call up pitcher Yariel Rodriguez

Originally posted on Bluejaysnation | By Zach Laing | Last updated 4/12/24

The Toronto Blue Jays are set to recall pitcher Yariel Rodriguez to the big league roster, Francys Romero reported Thursday night.

Rodriquez, 27, signed with the Blue Jays this past offseason, inking him to a five-year, $32-million deal. Now, according to Romero and later confirmed by Sportsnet’s Shi Davidi, he will join the club Saturday for game two of their impending series against the Colorado Rockies.

Rodriquez joined the Jays late in Spring Training, making two starts and allowing just one earned run across five innings, and the plan all along for the righty was for him to start the season in AAA Buffalo to bring him up to speed after he didn’t pitch last season. He’s made an equal number of starts with Buffalo this spring, dazzling across six and one-third scoreless innings in which he allowed just one hit while striking out 10 of the 24 batters he faced.

BREAKING: The Toronto Blue Jays are calling up Cuban right-hander Yariel Rodríguez, per sources.

Yariel should be activated this Saturday.

His journey to the Big Leagues began a year ago and now he will be able to make it a reality. pic.twitter.com/fQ3i3qVCig

— Francys Romero (@francysromeroFR) April 12, 2024

It comes at a time when the Blue Jays’ pitching staff has been struggling. The club hoped that Alek Manoah would be able to rebound from a rocky 2023 campaign, but after working through a shoulder issue from Spring Training, he was shelled for six earned runs, in which he issued four walks in one and two-third innings of FSL ball.

In the big leagues, Bowden Francis has been pegged as his replacement as the No. 5 starter, but he has struggled in his own right this year. In his two starts, he’s allowed 12 earned runs across eight and one-third innings to the Houston Astros and New York Yankees. The club, meanwhile, traded Wes Parsons to the Guardians days ago for international bonus pool money after two early season appearances in which he allowed six earned runs across five of his own innings.

This isn’t to say that Rodriguez would be able to fix any or all of these woes, but what’s clear is that something has to give early on. The Jays have been able to work their way through these issues with a 6-7 record, winning their first series of the season against the Seattle Mariners days ago.

The Jays continue their three-series homestand Friday with the Colorado Rockies coming to town for a three-game set, before they square off against the New York Yankees for another trio of games.

This article first appeared on Bluejaysnation and was syndicated with permission.

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