Mason

Fluharty

Miles took over after opener Mason Fluharty and threw 56 pitches (36 strikes) during a strong bulk relief outing on the road at Comerica Park. It’s a bit challenging to forecast whether Miles makes sense as a traditional starter for the remainder of the year, but he’s certainly shown an ability to excel in a multi-inning relief role. He’ll help fill the void left in Toronto’s rotation left by José Berríos undergoing elbow surgery. Despite his recent success, he’s not a recommended streaming option in an extremely challenging road matchup against the Yankees on Thursday.

Mason Fluharty was tasked with starting Saturday’s game against the White Sox as the opener. He gave up one run on a single, a double, and a sacrifice fly before getting out of the inning. Lazaro Estrada then took over in the second inning and held the White Sox scoreless over four frames. He did not allow a hit while issuing two walks and striking out three batters on eight whiffs. With the Blue Jays down a starting pitcher and Trey Yesavage not quite built up yet, Estrada could be in line for more bulk relief work if the team needs to go with a bullpen game in the next week.

It’s unclear if the Jays will add any fresh arms beforehand. They had to give 5 1/3 innings with the pen in today’s 10-inning loss. They did recently recall Lazaro Estrada, who could probably pitch up three innings if he’s not knocked around.

Fluharty took a comebacker to the knee, but the good news is that X-rays have already returned negative and it appears to just be a bruise for the left-hander. Consider the 24-year-old day-to-day.

Fluharty has been a fixture in the Jays’ bullpen this season, registering a 4.94 ERA, 1.27 WHIP an a 48/24 K/BB ratio across 47 1/3 innings in his 51 appearances. He’ll take the roster spot of Chris Bassitt who landed on the injured list on Saturday with inflammation in his lower back.

Fluharty returns to the minors after posting a pedestrian 4.94 ERA, 1.27 WHIP and 48/24 K/BB ratio across 47 1/3 innings (51 appearances) this season in his rookie campaign. The 24-year-old figures to return at some point in September.

Fluharty was called upon to clean up Jeff Hoffman’s mess in the ninth inning after Hoffman walked the bases loaded with only one out. Fluharty then came on and struck out Shohei Ohtani on a swinging third strike before getting Mookie Betts to bounce into a fielder’s choice to end the ballgame. He earned the first save of his big league career for his efforts. He’s not suddenly going to usurp the ninth-inning gig away from Hoffman, but this should go a long way toward earning him additional high-leverage opportunities going forward.

Fluharty allowed one run over 4 2/3 innings during his time back in Triple-A. He has a 5.66 ERA in 34 innings out of the Blue Jays pen this season, though his FIP Is 3.89 and his xERA is 3.29.

Fluharty heads to Triple-A with an ERA of 5.66 over 37 appearances with the Blue Jays after being recalled from Triple-A in Buffalo. It seems likely the 23-year-old will be back at some point before the end of the year, but he will head to the International League with Yimi García (shoulder) coming off the injured list.

Fluharty is coming up as bullpen depth while the Blue Jays designated Richard Lovelady in a corresponding move. Toronto could use a fresh arm in the bullpen after Max Scherzer could only get through two innings against the Orioles on Saturday.