Blue Jays admit bullpen mistake, make minor trade with Royals to clear roster space

With Shane Bieber and Yimi Garcia expected to return to the fold this week, the Toronto Blue Jays faced a roster crunch, particularly with their pitching staff. Yariel Rodriguez (designated for assignment) and Adam Macko (optioned to minors) were the victims of that logjam earlier this month, and the team is continuing that house-cleaning process.

Connor Seabold -- who was also designated for assignment last week to make room for Max Scherzer -- has been traded to the Kansas City Royals in exchange for Single-A prospect Denis Samudio.

This move marks the official end of Seabold's wonky tenure with the Blue Jays in 2026, as this is the second time the team has cut him loose since originally signing him over the offseason.

Using Connor Seabold as a liaison, Blue Jays effectively swap Juanmi Vasquez for Denis Samudio

Seabold's 2026 journey has had many twists and turns; he began the year in Blue Jays camp, though he failed to make the Opening Day roster after posting a 6.75 ERA (but 39.4% strikeout rate) in spring training. After a few successful months with the Detroit Tigers, the Jays reacquired the right-hander, sending out Juanmi Vasquez for him.

Now, just five appearances and 3.1 innings later, Seabold is on his way out of town again. He was terrible in his limited time in Toronto, recording an 8.10 ERA and more walks than strikeouts, hence why the team was so quick to move on.

With the dust settling, we can effectively say that the Blue Jays swapped Vasquez for Samudio, which is a low-stakes gamble that probably doesn't have a clear winner. The former is a 22-year-old High-A reliever with a 5.46 ERA this year, while the latter is a 21-year-old starter with a 5.24 FIP split between the Complex League and Low-A.

The most notable piece of this transaction is that it all but confirms that Bieber and Garcia will be returning in the coming days. The 40-man roster is now down to 38, meaning the Blue Jays won't have to displace anyone else in order to activate their pair of arms off the 60-day injured list.

There will, however, need to be some corresponding moves on the active roster (which is at max capacity). It's unclear who will be the next to go following Seabold, though another IL stint for Max Scherzer can't be ruled out following his awful return to action last week.

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