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Blue Jays place righty on IL after brutal outing in Boston, recall ex-Dodgers LHP

Lefty reliver can help the Blue Jays bullpen in keeping the ball in the ball park
ByMatthew Sookram|
Toronto Blue Jays v Minnesota Twins
Toronto Blue Jays v Minnesota Twins | Ellen Schmidt/GettyImages

The revolving door of the bullpen continues to swing as the Toronto Blue Jays made another move yesterday. Right-handed pitcher Paxton Schultz was placed on the 15-day IL with right middle finger inflammation. His IL stint comes after his worst performance on a major league mound when he allowed three runs on five hits in just an inning and a third against the Red Sox on Saturday in Boston.  

Schultz hits the IL while Bruhl returns to Toronto

The move comes after a three-game outing that produced underwhelming results overall for the 27-year-old. He pitched a total of 3.1 innings, allowing four earned runs on six hits, while walking three and only getting two strikeouts out of the 19 batters he faced. It was the most difficult stint for Schultz who has been called up to the big leagues on three separate occasions this year – his first in the majors. In his first two go arounds, Shultz threw a combined 20.1 innings, getting 25 strikeouts, while only walking five. He had an ERA of 3.54 giving up 12 runs (eight earned), with three home runs allowed in that time.

To replace Shultz on the roster, the Blue Jays recalled Justin Bruihl. The 28-year-old lefty has thrown 2.2 innings in the big leagues this season, giving up just one hit. The former Dodger pitched sporadically for LA over three years from 2021-2023 with decent results. He had a 3.65 ERA over 65 games with 43 strikeouts in 66.2 innings pitched. He gave up just seven home runs over that time but was purchased by the Colorado Rockies in August of 2023, meaning he missed out on both of the Dodgers World Series runs.

He also had a brief stint with the Pittsburgh Pirates last season pitching just 5.2 innings. Bruihl has had a good season in tiple-A with the Buffalo Bisons, throwing 29.1 innings and giving up just two home runs, while striking out 37 and walking just 12. If he can carry his 0.6 HR/9 rate from the minor to the majors it would be a huge benefit to a bullpen that has given up the fifth most home runs in the American League this season.