Jake

Bloss

Tiedemann was widely regarded as one of baseball’s premier pitching prospects just a few years ago before a cascade of significant arm injuries stalled his career. The 23-year-old southpaw was shut down from throwing earlier this spring after experiencing renewed elbow soreness. At this point it’s impossible to forecast whether he’ll be able to stay healthy long enough to make a sustained impact at the highest level.

It figures to be a season-ending procedure for Bloss, who hit the minor league injured list earlier this month with a right elbow issue. It’s unclear whether it’ll be a traditional Tommy John operation or an internal brace procedure. The 23-year-old pitching prospect came over last July at the trade deadline as part of the Yusei Kikuchi trade with the Astros. There should be an exact return timetable following the surgical procedure.

Bloss will undergo further evaluation and imaging to determine the extent of the issue and won’t make his next start at Triple-A Buffalo. There should be an update on his status at some point in the coming days. The 23-year-old righty made three starts last year for the Astros before being shipped to the Blue Jays last July at the trade deadline as part of the Yusei Kikuchi deal.

The expectation was that Walker would land a spot in the Jays’ Opening Day bullpen after he was signed to a major league deal over the winter, but he’ll begin the season as a depth option at the Triple-A level instead despite posting a solid 3.86 ERA, 1.14 WHIP and a 6/3 K/BB ratio over seven innings during Grapefruit League action.

Bloss got 12 missed swings among his 37 pitches, winding up with five strikeouts and a stellar 54% CSW. Toronto’s rotation is full, so Bloss appears destined to open up in Triple-A. However, it’s possible he could overtake Yariel Rodríguez to be the first guy in if something opens up.

In total, Bloss allowed just three hits on the evening and didn’t walk a batter while recording one strikeout. Austin Wells led off the game with a solo shot against him and two batters later Cody Bellinger repeated the feat. Bloss generated four swings and misses on 41 pitches on the night — three of those on his slider — while posting a CSW of 17 percent. Bloss will enter the year as the seventh or eighth option on the depth chart among starting pitchers, so it could be a while before we see him get an opportunity in the big leagues.

The Jays have gone carefully with Bloss since picking him up from the Astros in the Yusei Kikuchi trade. The 23-year-old was a major leaguer at the time of that deal, but the Jays sent him down and have limited to just 15 1/3 innings in the month since he arrived in the organization. It suggests we won’t be seeing him in the majors this month.

Bloss was acquired Monday in the deal for Yusei Kikuchi, but the 23-year-old will have to wait a bit to make his debut with the Blue Jays. He put up sensational numbers in Triple-A, but he did scuffle in his limited time in the majors. He’ll be matchup dependent when he gets the call to join Toronto.

This just seems like such a peak Vince Carter slam dunk for Toronto that we can’t help but wonder what the Astros’ concerns were in regard to Bloss. He was one of this year’s fastest rising prospects, having posted a 1.64 ERA in 13 starts at three minor league levels before recently debuting in the majors. If this had just been a one-for-one with Bloss and Kikuchi, we would have called it a win for the Blue Jays. That they received two other intriguing players, too, is just incredible, and all for a free-agent-to-be. Bloss might go right into Toronto’s rotation, and while he’s probably not a mixed-league guy for the rest of 2024, he’ll be a 2025 sleeper.

Bloss’s major league career isn’t off to a great start, but he’s an excellent prospect, and if this signals a trade, it’d have to be for someone pretty good. Alternatively, it could be an injury of some sort.