The Toronto Blue Jays are reportedly the frontrunner to sign Cuban pitcher Yariel Rodriguez, who is allegedly close to making a decision on where to sign.
Per Enrique Rojas of ESPN:
Source: Blue Jays have taken the lead in the race for the services of Cuban pitcher Yariel Rodríguez, who is close to making a decision about his future
We’ve been chronicling Rodriguez since he became a free agent back in October. The 26-year-old pitched for Team Cuba in the World Baseball Classic this past March and has a fastball up to 96 mph. He has played in Cuba and Japan before coming to the US and last served as a reliever in the NPB.
It’s unknown if the Blue Jays will use him as a starter or a reliever, should he sign, but reports from MLBTradeRumors indicate that they view him as a starter.
Considering the Jays already have Kevin Gausman, Chris Bassitt, Jose Berrios, Yusei Kikuchi and Alek Manoah as rotation options, it remains to be seen how they’ll handle adding Rodriguez. There has been speculation about the team possibly trading Manoah and this could potentially allow them to do so.
Toronto made the playoffs again in 2023 and finished third in the American League East. They were swept in the Wild Card round of the playoffs by the Minnesota Twins, marking the second straight year that they failed to win a single playoff game.
They were swept in the same round in 2022 by the Seattle Mariners.
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