The Blue Jays made a handful of roster moves Monday, and the most notable one was the decision to designate left-hander Joe Mantiply for assignment.
Toronto reinstated right-hander Trey Yesavage from the 15-day injured list and brought up fellow righty Chad Dallas from Triple-A Buffalo. To make room, the club optioned right-hander Spencer Arrighetti and cut Mantiply loose from the 40-man roster. Yesavage is set to start Monday night as the Blue Jays try to hang onto what’s left of their postseason chances.
Mantiply, 35, spent the full season in the Toronto organization. He first joined the club on a minor league deal last summer, then came back on another minor league contract after reaching free agency at season’s end. The Blue Jays added him to the 40-man roster on April 5.
He did reach the majors early in the year, but injuries kept his workload down. Mantiply threw only 27 innings for Toronto after missing months because of arthroscopic surgery on his left knee in late May.
When he was on the mound, he gave the Blue Jays useful work. In those 27 innings, he posted a 3.33 ERA with a 19.8% strikeout rate and a sharp 4.5% walk rate.
Still, the finish line was rough. He has allowed runs in three straight outings and has given up six runs over his last 9 1/3 innings since September began.
Even if Mantiply had stayed on the roster, Toronto likely wasn’t looking at a long-term commitment. He would have been under team control through 2027 via arbitration if he had made it to the offseason with the Jays, but the DFA points to a club that was probably leaning toward an outright or a non-tender anyway.
The lefty’s velocity has never been the selling point. His sinker is averaging just 88.5 mph this season, and he hasn’t averaged even 90 mph on his fastball since 2022.
That said, he’s long made a living by missing barrels and keeping the ball on the ground. His career line now sits at a 4.41 ERA across 243 major league innings, with more than five years of big league service.
Toronto’s postseason route remains narrow. The Blue Jays can only get in as a Wild Card team, and they’re three games behind the final spot with six games left.
A late surge could still line up with a collapse from the Guardians and/or White Sox, but the odds are slim. FanGraphs gives Toronto a 3.8% chance to make the playoffs, while PECOTA is only slightly higher at 4.6%.
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