The Blue Jays kept working the margins as September arrived, bringing in another arm while the roster picture for the final stretch starts to take shape.
Toronto acquired right-hander José Rodríguez from the Dodgers in exchange for fellow right-hander Sebastian Rodriguez, a minor-league swap that gives the Blue Jays a pitcher much closer to the majors. With expanded rosters in play and September call-up decisions approaching, Rodríguez becomes another option for a club trying to sort out its bullpen depth and overall mix. That list of possible names could include Ricky Tiedemann.
Rodríguez, 25, has spent most of the last two seasons in Triple-A, and the appeal is obvious. Since the start of the 2025 season, he has struck out 33.2 per cent of the hitters he’s faced over 88.2 innings, most of that work coming at the upper levels. In 34.2 innings with Oklahoma City this season, he put up a 3.38 ERA.
The stuff is there, too. Pitch data available via MLB Trade rumors shows Rodríguez using a four-seam fastball and sinker that sit around 96 mph, plus a changeup, cutter, slider and curveball. His changeup has the look of a real swing-and-miss pitch, and his slider has also developed into a strong weapon.
But the Dodgers had a reason to make him available. The biggest issue is command. While Rodríguez has piled up strikeouts, he has also walked 14 per cent of opposing batters since the beginning of last season.
For the Blue Jays, that makes this a low-risk bet at the exact kind of time teams are hunting for bullpen help. Rodríguez may not step in right away as a high-leverage answer, but he gives manager John Schneider another arm with upper-level experience and bat-missing traits to sort through over the final weeks.
The price was minimal. Sebastian Rodriguez is 20 and signed with Toronto as an international free agent this summer. He has only nine professional innings in the Dominican Summer League, so this was essentially a long-term lottery ticket for a pitcher who could help much sooner.
Toronto had already passed on two other roster possibilities over the last week. The club did not claim Eugenio Suárez when he went on waivers from the Reds, and it also let Luis Robert Jr. slip through before the Orioles grabbed him.
Instead, the Blue Jays added to their pitcher group with a move few had on the radar. The question now is simple: can José Rodríguez throw enough strikes to make that loud arm play in the majors? If he can, Toronto may have found a useful bullpen depth piece right when it needed one most.
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