The Toronto Blue Jays 2026 season has been an absolute rollercoaster ride, but with the team starting to get healthy, they may finally be finding their momentum heading into the 2026 All-Star break.
The biggest issue with Toronto’s injury problems this year has been the pitching staff, as injuries to both starters and the bullpen have left the team very limited, and it’s cost them plenty of games. Now, they’re starting to get healthy, and with a record of 41-46, they’re staying in the American League Wild Card race, but after a recent move from a veteran pitcher, the front office now has a major decision to make.
Matt Bowman Opts out of his Blue Jays Deal
GettyMatt Bowman with the Minnesota Twins.
Amidst of all of those injury woes, the Blue Jays were forced to make some moves, and in late May, the team signed veteran reliever Matt Bowman to a minor league deal after he was released by the Minnesota Twins.
Thus far in 2026, Bowman has not pitched at the big league level, instead he has appeared in 23 games between the Twins and Blue Jays AAA teams, posting a record of 1-2 with a 4.20 ERA across 30.0 innings in that time. When he arrived in Toronto, Bowman hoped to steal one of the Blue Jays bullpen roles that were up for grabs, but that didn’t happen, and according to reporter Jon Heyman, he’s now opting out of his deal with the Blue Jays.
Clearly the numbers for Bowman in AAA haven’t been overly impressive, and as a result, he’s been passed over by the likes of Adam Macko, Simeon Woods-Richardson, Tanner Andrews, Connor Seabold and Spencer Miles, all of whom have been given the opportunity for Toronto in 2026.
What Will the Blue Jays do With Matt Bowman?
In May when the team were decimated by injury, Bowman was the perfect pickup for Toronto, with 231 appearances and 240.2 innings of work at the Major League Baseball level already under his belt across a seven-year career. At that time, the Blue Jays were working a three-man rotation and relying heavily on their bullpen to pick up the slack, but still, Bowman couldn’t earn an opportunity.
That would explain why, now that the team is much healthier, with only Shane Bieber, Max Scherzer and Yimi Garcia dealing with injury issues that Bowman is ready to look for another major league opportunity. After opting out of his deal, the organization have until Saturday to officially add him to the MLB roster or release him, and given the way the bullpen has performed recently, that seems very unlikely at this point in time.
Ultimately, it was the smart move for both the Blue Jays and Bowman at the time to add him on a minor league deal, but with the team now healthy, there’s just no way for him to push for a significant role in the bullpen, and although he hasn’t pitched in the majors since 2025, there’s a team out there that could take a chance on Bowman if the Jays do indeed release him.
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