The Blue Jays have quietly checked off a few more offseason boxes, and one of the most useful developments came with a little extra breathing room for Jake Bloss.
According to Shi Davidi of Sportsnet, Bloss has qualified for a fourth option year. That matters because players usually get only three. Toronto now gets another season of flexibility with a pitcher who has already burned through his options quickly, mostly because injuries have kept interrupting his development.
Bloss was drafted by Houston in the third round of the 2023 draft and reached the majors less than a year later. He then landed in Toronto in the Yusei Kikuchi deadline deal weeks after that.
The Blue Jays optioned him after the trade, then again at the start of 2025 and 2026, which is how he used all three options in just four professional seasons. Even so, the 25-year-old has barely been able to stay on the mound long enough to settle in.
His injury history has been a major factor. He had UCL surgery in May 2025, which wiped out most of that season and the first month of 2026.
He returned to Triple-A Buffalo by mid-June, but in five starts there he posted an 8.69 ERA over 19.2 innings. Then a teres major strain in his shoulder ended his season in August.
The stuff, though, still plays. In the Arizona Fall League with the Mesa Solar Sox, Bloss made the Fall Stars team and his fastball reached 97.5 mph throughout the competition. With the fourth option in hand, Toronto doesn’t have to expose him to waivers if he doesn’t break camp with the club.
That’s not the only pitching-related move the Blue Jays have made. They also brought back right-hander Lazaro Estrada on a minor league deal with an invitation to spring training. Estrada, 27, has spent his entire pro career in the organization since signing out of Cuba in January 2018.
Estrada was designated for assignment in mid-August, cleared waivers, was outrighted to Triple-A Buffalo, and then elected minor league free agency. He appeared in eight big-league games in 2026, putting up a 5.54 ERA and 6.25 FIP across 13 innings. He was far more effective in Buffalo, where he logged a 3.25 ERA and 1.06 WHIP in 36 innings over 18 outings.
A right shoulder impingement cost him about two and a half months, and he’ll try to show in spring training that he’s fully healthy. He should be in the mix for a bullpen job, with the possibility of being used in a bulk role from time to time, though Toronto’s relief group already looks crowded enough that he may have to start the year back in Triple-A.
Estrada wasn’t the only familiar name to return. Blue Jays Nation reported that five other minor leaguers also re-signed: right-hander Josh Stephan, catcher Geovanny Planchart, outfielder Hedbert Perez, outfielder Alexis Hernandez, and infielder Adrian Pinto.
Hernandez is the most interesting name in that group. The 23-year-old hit .298/.386/.493 with 15 home runs between High-A Vancouver and Double-A New Hampshire this season, and he’s Rule 5-eligible. Bringing him back on a minor league deal suggests the Blue Jays don’t think he’ll get taken in that draft in December, if it happens with the CBA still pending.
Outfielder Rudy Martin Jr. also returned on a minor league deal with a spring training invite earlier in the week after clearing waivers on October 30.
Toronto may also be adding another teenage arm from Asia. A report from @NWints30 on X said the Blue Jays have signed left-hander Cheng-Hao Wu out of Taiwan. The account is unverified, but it has previously been ahead on other Blue Jays signings from the Pacific Rim, including Si-Woo Kwan and Seojun Moon.
The same report also mentioned right-hander Julio Chivilli from the Dominican Republic, noting he has hit 96 mph and is a late signing to keep an eye on.
Wu is said to have signed for $200K, which at this stage of the international signing period points to real belief in his upside. He’s reportedly a 19-year-old lefty who can average 93 mph with his fastball and also throws a sinker, slider and changeup.
For Toronto, it’s the kind of low-profile roster work that can still matter later. A few depth arms, a prospect with a little more roster protection, and another young pitcher with upside - all of it adds up.
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Griffins path makes the case even more interesting because he has already shown he can get back to the majors after spending time in Japan, and he did it while working through some less-than-ideal defensive support behind him. For a Blue Jays club that values stability on the mound, the appeal is obvious, even if the next step is figuring out just how far Toronto wants to go to bring him into the fold. [Read more 🡒]