Mason Fluharty to open bullpen game vs. Yanks

Serving as the opener in this one, Fluharty allowed two walks in the 2/3 of an inning he pitched, with Spencer Arrighetti coming on to retire George Lombard Jr. after a walk to Ben Rice put runners on first and second. Fluharty has pitched in three of the Blue Jays’ last four games and will revert to the bullpen after this outing.

Braydon Fisher is going to get the start against the Yankees on Saturday, but he won’t be able to go more than a turn through the lineup at most. Woods Richardson seems likely to be the bulk hurler for that game, but even with a chance to pick up multiple innings and potentially a win, he offers more risk than reward at this point.

The only positive takeaway is that initial imaging doesn’t seem to have turned up any structural issues after Taillon left Monday’s start against the Red Sox with forearm discomfort. The 34-year-old veteran heads back to the shelf after making only two starts for Toronto following his exit from Chicago’s rotation back in late July. It’ll likely be Simeon Woods Richardson taking his spot in the Blue Jays’ rotation against the Yankees this weekend.

Taillon was replaced by Simeon Woods Richardson after throwing just 61 pitches over four shutout innings. He finished with three strikeouts and also issued three walks. He’s in clear jeopardy of missing his next start against the Yankees on Saturday. It would presumably be Woods Richardson taking his spot in Toronto’s rotation. There should be additional clarity on his status in the coming days.

Woods Richardson provides the Blue Jays with a multi-inning relief option out of the bullpen as they kick off a four-game series against the sizzling-hot Red Sox. The 25-year-old reeled off 10 scoreless frames across three relief outings for Toronto after being acquired from the Twins back in early June.

Woods Richardson could elect free agency after being designated for assignment and unclaimed, but for now, it appears the 25-year-old will remain in the Toronto organization. He’ll need to be added to the 40-man roster if the Blue Jays deem him worth of an MLB roster spot.

Woods Richardson is DFA’d again despite pitching 10 scoreless innings for the Blue Jays, though those 10 innings did come with seven walks and just five strikeouts. Including his time with the Twins, he has a 6.40 ERA and a hideous 31/32 K/BB in 57 2/3 innings on the year. Still, since he’s young and can soak up innings, someone else will likely want him.

Louis Varland, Tyler Rogers and Jeff Hoffman all had this one off after working the previous two days. That seemed like it might come back to bite the Blue Jays, but Tommy Nance and Fluharty retired five of six batters in relief of Trey Yesavage to conclude a 4-3 win. Fluharty eliminated Wilyer Abreu, Willson Contreras and Jarren Duran without even breaking a sweat, inducing three balls in play with a combined xBA of .050. It was his second career save since debuting last year. He also has three wins and 10 holds to go along with a 3.64 ERA this season.

Back with the Blue Jays and pitching after an opener, it was a miracle Woods-Richardson didn’t give up a run here. He walked three, allowed three hits, and there was a runner in scoring position all three innings he pitched. That came while he only forced three swings-and-misses. He is only an option for the Blue Jays because of how depleted their starting pitching corps are should not be a consideration in any of our fantasy leagues dispute winning his first game of the season.

Corbin gave up four hits, including a two-run homer to Adolis García as he allowed four runs for the second consecutive start. The interesting wrinkle here is that Simeon Woods-Richardson tossed four scoreless innings out of the bullpen in his Toronto debut, which could set up a potential piggyback situation moving forward. Corbin is not a recommended fantasy option when he faces the Yankees on Sunday.