Toronto Blue Jays sign right-handed pitcher Mike Hauschild

Hauschild, 28, is a former Houston Astro who was released by the team just days ago. Now, he enters the fold as an extra arm for a depleted bullpen with several shorter starts on the way.

Abruptly and without notice, the Blue Jays added another pitcher to their exhausted bullpen, signing right-handed pitcher Mike Hauschild ahead of Thursday night’s opener in Seattle.  Mike Wilner of Sportsnet was the first to notice Hauschild’s inclusion on the lineup card.

Hauschild, a 33rd round pick of the Houston Astros in 2012, has appeared in just four games in his brief major league career. A native of Dayton, Ohio, he was selected by the Texas Rangers in the 2016 Rule 5 Draft.

Despite minimal big league experience, the righty boasts a rather impressive minor league resume, pitching to a 3.81 ERA in over 750 innings at various minor league levels over the course of his professional career, which began in 2012.

Recently, as a member of the Triple-A Fresno Grizzlies, the product of the University of Dayton pitched to a 4.88 ERA in 97.2 frames, striking out 93 and walking 38. Last season, also with Fresno, he worked 90.1 innings with an ERA of 4.58 with 79 punchouts and 53 walks.

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It’s not surprising to see the team add some pitching depth, especially considering their recent struggle with getting starters deep into games. Thursday night’s game will be yet another bullpen night for the Blue Jays.

Although Hauschild is signed and appears on the active roster, Blue Jays manager John Gibbons says the team won’t be carrying nine pitchers for long, as injured outfielder Kevin Pillar could be activated by the end of this series, reports Shi Davidi.

Simply put, a team can never have too much depth. While there were better options on the free agent market, most notably former Oriole Ubaldo Jimenez and former closer Chad Qualls, the Jays acquired a quick arm who can eat up innings for them in the short term.

John Gibbons alluded to the fact that Hauschild will likely be used as a long reliever given his past experience as a starter. That being said, it’s not outrageous to suggest he could pitch some shorter outings depending on the situation.