Fourth Option Gives Blue Jays More Time With Jake Bloss

The Blue Jays will have an extra year to develop Jake Bloss without forcing a roster decision, according to Sportsnet’s Shi Davidi.

Bloss will receive a fourth option, allowing Toronto to send the right-hander to the minors in 2027 without exposing him to waivers. That gives the club flexibility with a pitcher who remains an intriguing prospect but has endured an abbreviated and interrupted professional career.

A player typically receives three option years. When an optionable player on the 40-man roster spends at least 20 days on optional assignment during a season, that option is used. A fourth option can be granted after the first three are exhausted if the player has not yet completed five full professional seasons.

For that purpose, a full season means being active for at least 90 days between the majors and minors, or being active for 30 days while combining for at least 90 days on the active and injured lists. Those rules generally prevent short rookie-ball seasons or an entire year lost to a major injury from counting as full seasons.

Bloss qualifies without much ambiguity. The Astros drafted him in 2023, and he has appeared in only four professional seasons.

Houston added him to its roster in June 2024, less than a year after selecting him, and Toronto acquired him a few weeks later in the Yusei Kikuchi deadline trade. The Blue Jays optioned Bloss after the deal, using his first option that season.

He spent most of 2025 and 2026 in the minors, using his second and third options. His development was interrupted when he underwent UCL surgery in May 2025. Bloss returned to the mound this year, pitching in the minors from May through July, but a teres major strain halted that stretch.

Toronto recalled him in August and placed him on the major league 60-day injured list. After recovering from the teres major injury, Bloss moved on to the Arizona Fall League, where he has continued pitching.

The additional option matters because Bloss still has plenty of development ahead of him. He is 25 and turns 26 in June, yet he has only 175 minor league innings. His 11 2/3 major league innings and 10 2/3 Arizona Fall League innings bring his overall total close to 200, but his body of work remains limited.

Without the fourth option, the Blue Jays would have faced a much more immediate choice before Opening Day 2027: keep Bloss on the major league roster or remove him from the 40-man roster. The new option lets Toronto place him in Triple-A as rotation depth and continue building his workload as he moves farther away from surgery.

The Blue Jays currently project to open next season with Dylan Cease, Trey Yesavage, José Soriano, Cody Ponce and Spencer Arrighetti in the rotation. José Berríos is expected to return from Tommy John surgery, but probably not until the second half of the season. Toronto could also pursue outside pitching, a move that could send Arrighetti to Triple-A.

Bloss is already projected to be part of a Triple-A rotation group that includes Chad Dallas and John Klein. Ricky Tiedemann could join them, although recent injury issues may lead to him remaining in relief. Bowden Francis is also working toward a return from Tommy John surgery; he had the procedure a few months before Berríos and still has an option remaining if he is healthy by Opening Day.

Josh Winckowski provides non-roster depth, while prospects Johnny King and Nolan Perry will try to push toward the Triple-A level during the season. For Bloss, though, the fourth option removes the immediate pressure. Toronto can now prioritize innings and recovery instead of making a roster decision before he is fully ready.

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