Jose

Rodriguez

Rodríguez heads back to the minors to allow the Blue Jays to bring up a couple fresh arms for the nightcap of Wednesday’s doubleheader against the Orioles.

It’s the first trip to the big leagues for the 25-year-old hurler who joined the Blue Jays in a minor league swap with the Dodgers at the trade deadline. Rodríguez has posted a 3.79 ERA, 1.40 WHIP and a 51/23 K/BB ratio over 38 innings at the Triple-A level this season. He’ll add a fresh arm to the Jays’ bullpen for the weekend.

José Rodríguez has spent the majority of the season at Triple-A for the Dodgers, posting a 3.38 ERA, 1.40 WHIP, and 36/18 K/BB ratio in 29 1/3 innings mostly out of the bullpen. The 25-year-old could be an option for the Blue Jays’ bullpen down the stretch. In exchange, the Blue Jays sent 20-year-old right-hander Sebastian Rodríguez to the Dodgers. The younger Rodríguez pitched just nine innings in the Dominican Summer League, but did have an 11/3 K/BB ratio.

The 23-year-old backstop doesn’t have much left to prove in the minor leagues, but with Will Smit and Austin Barnes holding things down at the game’s highest level, he’ll need to work his way into the crowded outfield mix in order to have any shot of breaking camp. He’ll be an intriguing option for fantasy purposes when he does finally arrive in Los Angeles, but it’ll probably take an injury to Smith or Barnes for it to happen. Roki Sasaki and Zyhir Hope also received official invitations to spring training on Friday.