Blue Jays release veteran Canadian reliever John Axford

Axford had signed a minor league deal on February 14 after publicly expressing his desire to return to the organization.

The Blue Jays have made official the release of right-handed relief pitcher John Axford, according to numerous sources (including Sportsnet’s Hazel Mae).

According to Sportsnet’s Shi Davidi, Axford suffered a “stress reaction in his elbow” earlier this week, making it especially difficult to keep him on the roster.

Previously, it had been estimated that the injury would sideline him for several weeks, with the team giving him four weeks of recovery before a reevaluation. Evidently, the team decided it wasn’t worth it to keep him on the team.

This spring, Axford, 35, appeared in five games, pitching to an ERA of 2.08 and striking out four in 4.1 frames, walking two and throwing a total of 33 pitches.

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This news comes just days after the confirmation that Bud Norris will remain on the major league roster after declining to opt out of his deal. Davidi tweets that Norris has been “given a retention bonus to stay with the club and remain off the 40-man roster”.

Last season, the native of Port Dover, Ontario pitched to a cumulative FIP of 3.98 with the Blue Jays and Dodgers, striking out 54 and going 4-1 in 54.2 innings across 50 appearances. Previously, he logged time with the Colorado Rockies, Oakland Athletics, and Milwaukee Brewers organizations.

According to Baseball Reference, Axford is currently 14th among active players in games played (543), eighth in saves (144) and seventh in games finished (286). In 2018, he was worth -0.1 WAR.

Had he made the major-league roster, Axford would’ve earned $1.65 million, Davidi noted when the deal was first reported.

Now that Axford is gone, the Blue Jays will rely on the injured Ryan Tepera, Ken Giles, Joe Biagini, Norris and Tim Mayza to anchor their bullpen as the season begins.