Blue Jays make a move that has Yankees Ryan Yarbrough vibes written all over it

No one was expecting Connor Seabold to be in the conversation to make the Toronto Blue Jays major league roster out of spring training. The 30-year-old right hander was essentially signed as a depth piece for Triple-A Buffalo. Seabold has a 7.79 ERA in the Majors across four seasons with four different teams in 40 games.

But that's the crazy thing about Spring Training, some guys can come out of nowhere and surprise you and that's exactly what Seabold did to the Blue Jays. Seabold produced some eye popping numbers on the radar gun and thrust himself into the conversation of potentially being in the Blue Jays bullpen once the season began.

However, just like with a pleasant surprise in last years camp in Ryan Yarbrough, Seabold will not be joining the Blue Jays in Toronto and instead has the potentially to sign with anybody else.

Blue Jays may regret letting Seabold go if he goes to a division rival

Seabold was throwing 96 mph in Grapefruit League action and produced MLB's second highest whiff rate in the spring, getting hitters to swing and miss at 46.8% of his pitches. While he gave up five earned runs in 6.2 innings pitched, he also struck out 13 batters. It felt like with a little fine tuning, the Blue Jays could have worked with Seabold to bring down those hits (7) and walks (4) and have him become a reliable weapon out of the bullpen.

However, the Blue Jays announced that they had granted Seabold his release on Saturday, (Mar. 22) taking him out of the running for a spot in the Blue Jays bullpen. It could have been a matter of Seabold wanting to be somewhere he could have a chance to be a starter. 19 of his 40 big league appearances have come as a starting pitcher. It could also be a matter of the Blue Jays saying to Seabold he's not going to make the Opening Day roster, but would like him to continue to develop in the Buffalo Bisons' bullpen and Seabold decided it's much to cold to sit in the bullpen in March in Buffalo and he'll take his chances elsewhere.

It's very reminiscent of the situation the Blue Jays found themselves in with Yarbrough last year. Yarbrough had a strong finish to his 2024 campaign after being acquired from the LA Dodgers at the deadline in exchange for his former teammate with the Rays, Kevin Keirmaier. Yarbrough went 1-0 with a 2.01 ERA and 0.80 WHIP across 31.1 innings. He allowed seven earned runs and seven walks to go along with 26 strikeouts. He then signed a minor league contract to pitch for the Blue Jays near the end of February, and had eight strikeouts, one walk and gave up three earned runs in 6.2 innings during the spring with Toronto.

All signs pointed to Yarbrough potentially being a useful bullpen / swingman piece for the Blue Jays once 2025 got rolling, but instead he was given his release right near the end of Spring Training and a day later he was a member of the New York Yankees. Yarbrough went on to have a fine season with the Yankees, providing them with valuable starting depth when their rotation was hit with some injuries and he was worth 0.6 bWAR, pitching to a 4.36 ERA with 55 strikeouts in 64 innings pitched with a 1.203 WHIP. He turned that solid year into an opportunity to play for his country, suiting up for Team USA at the World Baseball Classic.

While there is no guarantee Seabold could have a similarily good season for whoever picks him up (even if it is the Yankees swooping in again), it is surprising that the Blue Jays have decided to part ways with him. He's clearly reinvented himself as a flame thrower and would have looked nice as the seventh man in the bullpen. However, the Blue Jays will just have to hope he doesn't join a division rival have the opportunity to haunt them during the 2026 campaign.