The Toronto Blue Jays have a lot on their plate right now. While Jeff Hoffman has been stripped of his closer designation, Louis Varland, Braydon Fisher, and Tyler Rogers have been solid bullpen arms for Toronto. Additionally, the MLB club has announced updates on Jose Alvarez, Trey Yesavage, and Jose Berrios.
Additionally, the Blue Jays recently made a trade. On Friday, April 24th, the Blue Jays acquired catcher Willie MacIver from the Texas Rangers. In exchange, the Rangers receive cash considerations.
With that in mind, here is what we know about the Blue Jays latest signing, in addition to an update on the status of Yesavage and Berrios.
Toronto Blue Jays Sign ‘Secret’ Jose Alvarez
The Blue Jays have made another international signing official on their transactions page. On April 22nd, one day after signing Patrick Winkel, they signed Jose Alvarez.
According to Alvarez’s profile page, he is a right-handed pitcher. Additionally, he stands 5-Foot-11 and weighs 177 lbs. Unfortunately, that is all we really know at this time.
Part of what makes this signing tricky is that there is already an MLB pitcher who has the exact same name. The problem is, he is a 36-year-old southpaw who last played in the MLB in 2022.
Over 10 years, the 36-year-old played in 447 games, striking out 360 batters.
Trey Yesavage & Jose Berrios Are On the Way
Yesavage and Berrios can’t return fast enough.
As if the rotation injuries haven’t been enough, Max Scherzer hasn’t exactly been himself either. That has left John Schneider to rely heavily on Dylan Cease, Kevin Gausman, and Patrick Corbin. It also explains why no starter seems to throw more than five innings a game. Perhaps when they have a healthy rotation again, the bench boss will let the starters go deeper into games.
This would also allow their bullpen to catch its breath.
However, there are encouraging signs regarding the returns of Yesavage, Berrios, and even Shane Bieber.
Trey Yesavage Has One Last Test
Daniele Franceschi recently revealed what Schneider said about Yesavage returning in a post on social media.
“Trey Yesavage is in Toronto with the Blue Jays, per manager John Schneider,” their post began. “(The) Club is still determining next steps for him. Plan to get some clarity over the weekend.”
Ben Nicholson-Smith has also added Ross Atkins’ thoughts to the conversation.
“Blue Jays continue discussing next steps for Trey Yesavage per Ross Atkins,” Nicholson-Smith wrote on April 24th. “Possible he pitches in majors soon, but further rehab also under discussion.”
Jose Berrios is Moving on Up & Positive Shane Bieber Update
Mitch Bannon of The Athletic reports that Berrios is moving up to AAA for his next rehab start. He threw four shutout innings in his last game.
Additionally, an update on Bieber’s status has emerged.
“Even Shane Bieber (forearm) is now in what Atkins called his spring training ramp-up and could be weeks away from a 2026 debut,” Bannon wrote.
What this all likely means is that the Blue Jays will get Yesavage back in the next week, Berrios a week or two after that, with Bieber arriving at the end of May at the earliest.
While decisions will need to be made regarding some of their current arms, at least all those pitchers they signed in the offseason are coming in handy.
Like Heavy Sports’s content? Be sure to follow us.
This article was originally published on Heavy Sports
The post Blue Jays Now Add Secret New Pitcher Amid Lurking Trey Yesavage & Jose Berrios Returns appeared first on Heavy Sports.