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Roark

The left-hander was optioned to Triple-A by the Braves on June 27. Roark will be unable to join a postseason roster in the off-chance anyone in contention looks to add him. The 34-year-old carries a 2.14 ERA and 1.17 WHIP over 46 1/3 innings this season at Triple-A.

The Braves recalled left-hander Kyle Muller to make the start on Sunday and needed to clear a roster spot.

Roark was signed to a minor league contract by the Braves after he was released by the Blue Jays in May after posting a 6.75 ERA in his 14 appearances -- 12 starts -- with the Blue Jays. Once a decent fantasy option, he likely doesn’t have a role that provides fantasy relevance while he’s with Atlanta.

Roark was recently released by the Blue Jays after posting a rough 6.75 ERA over 12 starts and two relief appearances with the club. The 34-year-old will give the Braves some starting depth at the Triple-A level.

Roark was designated for assignment by the Blue Jays on April 30 in order to make space for Teoscar Hernandez. It was possible a team desperate for pitching depth may have claimed the right-hander on waivers, but it seems no one had interest. Roark posted an unattractive 6.80 ERA and 1.74 WHIP last season over 47 2/3 innings.

The Blue Jays needed to free up a space on the 40-man roster with Teoscar Hernandez returning on Friday and Roark was the odd-man out. The 34-year-old hurler was disastrous after signing as a free agent prior to the 2020 campaign, registering a 6.80 ERA and 1.74 WHIP over 47 2/3 innings. He wasn’t any better in seven innings this season, posting a 6.43 ERA. There’s a chance that a team starved for pitching depth could take a chance on him on waivers.

This is hardly a surprise after Roark allowed five runs and three home runs over three innings during his 2021 debut. Robbie Ray, Hyun-Jin Ryu, and Ross Stripling will start against the Yankees next series.

Roark was handed the loss as the Blue Jays were defeated by the Rangers, 7-4. The six hits included three home runs; Nate Lowe took Roark deep for a two-run shot in the first inning. The longball problems continued in the second inning; Ronald Guzman went yard for a solo shot. In the third inning, Lowe yet again knocked in a two-run blast. The Rangers powered the 34-year-old Roark right out of the game. He’ll get another chance at it on April 11, when he projects to face Shohei Ohtani of the Angels.

Montoyo said that Robbie Ray threw a successful bullpen session on Friday, but it’s still unclear when he’ll be ready to rejoin the Blue Jays’ rotation. Given the uncertainty surrounding the health status of Ray, Nate Pearson and Thomas Hatch it appears as though Matz and Roark are firmly cemented into the rotation for at least the next few weeks.

Roark surrendered a one-out single to Aaron Judge, and also walked Aaron Hicks, before giving up back-to-back run-scoring doubles to Luke Voit and Clint Frazier. He capped off the disastrous frame by uncorking a wild pitch and giving up an RBI single to Derek Dietrich before exiting. He came back out for two additional frames, and things didn’t get any better from there. He’s allowed 10 runs on 13 hits with a 14/3 K/BB ratio over 10 2/3 innings (four starts) this spring. The 34-year-old righty is locked into the Blue Jays’ Opening Day rotation, but represents a low-ceiling option for fantasy managers in deeper mixed leagues and AL-only formats.