Blue Jays part ways with Eloy Jiménez in latest minor league shakeup

It seems like the Toronto Blue Jays and Eloy Jiménez just aren't meant to be. The Blue Jays released Jiménez on Tuesday (Aug. 4) in a flurry of minor league moves coming in after the trade deadline. Jiménez was technically in his third stint in two years with the Blue Jays and the 29-year-old DH is now free to sign with any of the other MLB franchises.

Jiménez first came to the Blue Jays in September of last season after spending most of the year in the Tampa Bay Rays system. He didn't reach the majors at all in 2025, after dealing with various injuries. After a month with the Blue Jays in Triple-A Buffalo, he returned to Toronto, signing a minor league contract in January of 2026. That came with an invite to spring training.

During spring training, Jiménez was impressive, hitting .285/.333/.524 with a pair of home runs. He didn't make the team out of spring but was called up on Apr. 12 and spent a few weeks with the Blue Jays. While he hit well enough hitting .290, he didn't provide any power and was limited to being in a DH only role, so his playing time was limited.

Toronto DFA'd Jiménez on Apr. 29, but he re-signed with the Blue Jays in May. He spent the rest of the year with the Bisons and slashed .286/.353/.361 with one home run in 33 games, before his latest release.

Other players receiving their releases by the Blue Jays were: Cade Doughty, an infielder who was drafted by the Blue Jays in the second round in 2022 (No. 78 overall). The 25-year-old was playing with Double-A New Hampshire this season and was Rule 5 eligible in December. Between two minor league levels he slashed .257/.327/.390 this year.

Right-handed relief pitcher Conor Larkin was pitching in Triple-A. The 27-year-old was drafted in the ninth round of the 2021 draft (No. 272 overall) by the Blue Jays. He was also Rule 5 eligible. He pitched to a 6.82 ERA with 8 saves in 27 games out of the bullpen.

Right-handed starter Chris McElvain was acquired in the trade that sent Santiago Espinal to the Cincinnati Reds in March of 2024. He was drafted in the eight round of the 2022 draft. The 25-year-old was pitching for Double-A New Hampshire and posted a 7.43 ERA in 76.1 innings pitched.

Right-handed reliever Caleb Freeman was drafted in the 15th round of the 2019 draft by the Chicago White Sox. He came to Toronto as a minor league free agent, signed during this past year's spring training. He was mostly pitching in Double-A this year and had a 4.33 ERA in 27 innings pitched.

Jorge Burgos is a 24-year-old left-handed hitting first baseman / outfielder who was signed out of Venezuela by the Cleveland Guardians in 2019. The Blue Jays signed him as a minor-league free agent this past December. The 23-year-old was batting .268/.354/.437 with seven home runs in 79 games in Double-A.

31-year-old right handed reliever Jorge Alcala rounds out the list of cuts. A seven-year MLB veteran, Alcala signed a minor league deal with Toronto this past offseason. He managed to pitch in just ten games with Buffalo due to an injury.

Blue Jays move five players to Double-A including Alexis Hernandez

Alexis Hernandez, Tucker Toman, Eric Snow, Nick Goodwin & Mason Olson have all been assigned to AA. Hernandez, Toman, and Snow were all promoted, they were playing with High-A Vancouver. Goodwin and Olson have moved from Buffalo to New Hampshire.

Hernandez, a right-handed hitting outfielder, was just named Player of the Week in the Northwest League. He has an .894 OPS with 14 home runs in 73 games with High-A Vancouver this season. The 23-year-old was selected in the minor league phase of the 2023 Rule 5 draft.

Toman is a 22-year-old infielder who was drafted in the second round of the 2022 draft by the Blue Jays (No. 77 overall). He's hit 11 home runs and has an .848 OPS in 79 games.

Snow was taken in the sixth round of the 2025 draft by Toronto. The 22-year-old infielder has a slash line of .293/.368/.388 with four home runs and a 10.8% walk rate in 81 games this season.

Goodwin was selected in the seventh round during the 2023 draft. The 24-year-old right-handed infielder only had a brief stint in Triple-A, playing in five games and collecting one hit in 15 plate apperances, to go along with four walks and four strikeouts. Prior to that he played in 76 games in Double-A, producing an .834 OPS with 10 home runs.

Olson is a 24-year-old left-handed pitcher who was signed as an undrafted free agent last year. Like Goodwin, he only got into a couple of games in Triple-A. Pitching 6.1 innings and generating six strikeouts, while giving up two earned runs on six hits. With the Fisher Cats this year he pitched in 21 games, including four starts. He had 68 strikeouts in 57.1 innings pitched, posting a 4.08 ERA and a 3.58 FIP.

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