Toronto Blue Jays: Tim Mayza is back in the big leagues

After Sunday’s tie against the Tigers, the Blue Jays announced a slew of players who will be suiting up for them on Thursday ‘s opener against Yankees.  Though there were many interesting names that cracked the Opening Day roster, the one that stood out to me may be an unfamiliar one to most fans in Tim Mayza.

Mayza was a 12th round selection of the Jays back in 2013 out of Millersville University, a division 2 school.  Despite not being a high draft selection, Mayza battled his way through the Jays system and made his Major League debut back in 2018.

After splitting time between Buffalo and Toronto for most of the 2018 season, Mayza seemed to be establishing himself at the Major league level in 2019, striking out over a batter an inning that season, and looking like he he was going to be a solid middle inning arm in the Blue Jays bullpen for years to come.

That all changed on a September evening against the Yankees, where Mayza would suffer a horrific arm injury that would require Tommy John surgery, and a flexor tendon repair.  The Pennsylvania native went from looking like a lock to be a member of the Jays bullpen in 2020, to a question mark at best.

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Mayza was a 27 year old journeyman, who was set to miss at least 16 months while recovering from both procedures.  With limited MLB experience, it looked like Mayza’s career was going to be over before it even began.

The lefty was determined to play Major League Baseball again, and started his journey rehabbing. Coming back from Tommy John surgery is difficult enough in a normal year.  Mayza’s recovery was complicated by COVID-19, which forced him to leave the Blue Jays minor league complex in Dunedin, where he had some of the best physical therapist and equipment at his disposal.  Instead, he headed back to his home in Pennsylvania to continue recovering on his own.

Despite the unusual amount of obstacles in his way, Mayza was able to fully recover from both surgeries and was rewarded with a minor league deal from the Jays in November, after being DFA’d a year earlier.  The left hander got a second chance from the organization, and made sure to take full advantage of it.

Mayza had an excellent spring, tossing 5 ⅔ scoreless innings while striking out five, reminding the front office of just how good a pitcher he can be.  Because of his excellent performance in camp, Mayza has turned that minor league deal he signed last winter into a spot on the Blue Jays’ Opening Day roster.

Personally, I’m thrilled to see Mayza back with the Jays.  He was someone who I was rooting for all spring, and it’s great to see all of his hard work pay off.  I hope that Mayza is able to stay healthy this time around, so we can see him become another solid option in an already deep bullpen.