Tommy

Nance

Nance has missed the last two weeks and change with right forearm discomfort. The veteran right-hander had a 4.05 ERA, 1.20 WHIP, and 24/8 K/BB ratio over 20 innings in the bigs before his injury. He’ll be part of the late-game mix with the Blue Jays when healthy.

Forearm discomfort is usually a precursor to elbow issues, so don’t be surprised if Nance misses more than the minimum time on the injured list. Nance had pitched relatively well in his 19 appearances, posting a 4.05 ERA, 1.20 WHIP and a 24/8 K/BB ratio over 20 innings of work. Adam Macko was recalled from Triple-A Buffalo to take his place in the Jays’ bullpen.

The blown save actually went to Brendon Little, who gave hits to both batters he faced and took the loss in the three-run frame. Hoffman was down today after throwing 39 pitches the last two days, and the Jays also clearly wanted to stay away from Seranthony Domínguez, who is probably second on their bullpen depth chart. It doesn’t seem likely that Nance will get many more save chances.

It’s the first trip to the big leagues this season for the 34-year-old right-hander. Nance had registered a 5.74 ERA, 1.21 WHIP and a 42/7 K/BB ratio over 31 1/3 innings in 27 outings out of the bullpen at Triple-A Buffalo. He’s taking the place of the injured Ryan Burr (shoulder).

Toronto cleared out three spots on their 40-man roster to make room for outfielders Alan Roden and Myles Straw in addition to veteran reliever Jacob Barnes. No real surprises here, but Pop should garner some interest on the waiver wire as a viable middle relief option.

Nance gets booted from the roster to make room for Brett de Geus, with the Blue Jays making the most critical switch of the 2024 season before Wednesday’s game against Boston.

Nance joins Toronto’s bullpen for Thursday’s showdown against the Orioles with lefty Génesis Cabrera going on paternity leave just one day after being acquired from the Padres in a rare post-trade deadline deal. The hard-throwing 33-year-old righty hasn’t appeared in the majors since the 2022 campaign when he made a career-high 35 relief appearances for the Marlins.

The Padres are trimming down their roster a bit more aggressively than most teams, as they’re set to open up the season first in South Korea against the Dodgers in just a couple of weeks. None of the five players sent out on Saturday were real candidates to break camp with the big league club, though Jacob should see plenty of action out of the Padres’ bullpen during the 2024 campaign.

Nance, 32, elected free agency in early November after he refused an outright assignment to Triple-A by the Marlins. The right-hander logged just 17 minor league innings in 2023 as he worked his way back from a shoulder injury. He’ll function as extra bullpen depth for the Friars.

The 32-year-old right-hander missed the entire 2023 season due to shoulder issues and a left oblique strain. The Marlins removed him from their 40-man roster on Tuesday, but rather than accepting the outright assignment to Triple-A, he’ll take his chances on the open market.