Blue Jays announce trio of roster moves ahead of May 31 game

Ahead of their weekend series against the Pittsburgh Pirates, the Toronto Blue Jays have officially announced a trio of roster moves (X link).

As expected, right-hander Alek Manoah is headed to the injured list with what the club is calling a right elbow sprain. TSN’s Scott Mitchell reported earlier on Friday that Manaoh is headed for a second opinion on his right elbow and that the expectation is that he’s going to miss “an extended period of time”. Second opinions usually are not needed if the first opinion did not involve surgery.

The Blue Jays also officially announced their acquisition of relief pitcher Ryan Burr. The right-hander was acquired in a minor trade with the Phillies on Thursday evening. According to the Jays, Burr was acquired for cash considerations, so there will not be a low-level minor leaguer heading out the door.

To make room on the 40-man roster for Burr, right-hander Joel Kuhnel was designated for assignment. Kuhnel, 29, has 77 games of big league experience under his belt dating back to 2019, but he’s struggled to find consistency at the game’s highest level. Prior to his DFA, he had a 1.04 ERA in six Triple-A outings for the Buffalo Bisons. Odds are he makes it through waivers unclaimed and sticks with the Bisons from here on out.

Losing Manoah is a pretty significant blow to a Blue Jays rotation that is already spread thin. The 26-year-old had only made five starts this year but looked a lot like his old self over the majority of his innings. He had successfully raised his strikeout rate and brought his walks and hits allowed rates down from what was a disastrous 2023 performance.

According to MLB.com’s Keegan Matheson, Bowden Francis is physically with the Blue Jays prior to the start of this weekend’s series. It seems that Francis is just about ready to return to the big league roster, so he could form a piggyback with Trevor Richards to fill the fifth-starter’s spot in the short term. Francis’s activation would likely push someone like Burr, who has minor league options, back down to Triple-A.