Blue Jays recent roster cut quickly finds his way into the Detroit Tigers bullpen

The Toronto Blue Jays signed Connor Seabold with the intention of stretching him out into a bulk reliever, but then his velocity spiked and he started striking out everybody in sight at Spring Training.

However, the rest of his results left something to be desired, leaving the Blue Jays in a conundrum as Opening Day neared. They ultimately opted to reassign Seabold to minor-league camp, at which point the 30-year-old exercised his release clause to reenter free agency.

Well, it hasn't take him long to find a new home: He signed a one-year split deal with the Detroit Tigers and has already joined them in camp. Though he's a fresh face, manager A.J. Hinch already confirmed Seabold would crack the Opening Day roster.

With Seabold out of the picture and Tommy Nance making the Blue Jays' 26-man roster, there is now one bullpen spot left in Toronto prior to Opening Day, with the final decision expected to come down to Spencer Miles vs. Chase Lee.

Blue Jays won't reap benefits of Connor Seabold's spring breakout, but there is a silver lining

Seabold's overall results in Spring Training weren't the prettiest; his 6.75 ERA, 4.85 FIP, and 12.1% walk rate all left plenty to be desired.

However, there was some underlying data that told tales of untapped potential. His fastball was one of the biggest stories in camp, jumping multiple ticks to crack 96 miles per hour for the first time. That improved velocity allowed him to play more aggressively up in the zone, leading to a ridiculous 39.4% strikeout rate that the Tigers were surely smitten by.

What's more is that his fastball wasn't the only highlight offering in Seabold's arsenal. The Blue Jays worked with the veteran starter to introduce a slider-sweeper hybrid into his pitch mix, designing it to counter the movement of his fade-heavy changeup. It certainly looked the part of a put-away pitch, generating a whiff rate over 50% this spring.

Is it a shame that the Blue Jays' hard work may simply benefit the Tigers? Sure, particularly if his new team can help Seabold find the strike zone more often. But the right-hander was with the Blue Jays for less than two months, and in that time he became a strikeout artist with a brand new offering that devastated opposing hitters.

If they could do that with a free-agent acquisition in such a short amount of time, what's stopping them from doing it with their incumbents? It's not necessarily easy for a pitcher to pick up a new pitch (particularly during the regular season), but the Blue Jays clearly identified a part of Seabold's game they knew they could improve.

If you're looking for a silver lining to this situation, that's the one. This coaching staff and front office clearly have the pedigree to coax the most out of their pitchers, and their work obviously didn't stop at Seabold. Maybe it's the internal improvements, rather than any external additions, that will drive this franchise back to the promised land in 2026.