Blue Jays release piece from 2022 trade deadline after offseason roster purge

The Toronto Blue Jays have made another move with their roster after an offseason roster purge, and it's resulted in the release of a reliever who was once considered a key piece of the team.

Zach Pop, a 28-year-old right-handed reliever, was released after clearing waivers and is officially a free agent. The Blue Jays DFA'd Pop (who was out of minor league options) ahead of the start of the season after he ended up on the wrong end of the team's roster crunch.

Last season, Pop had a 5.59 ERA in 48 1/3 innings pitched with 33 strikeouts and a 1.32 WHIP. Throughout his career, he has a 4.45 ERA through 155 2/3 innings with 123 strikeouts.

The Blue Jays acquired Pop at the 2022 trade deadline (along with Anthony Bass) in exchange for Jordan Groshans. The trade didn't amount to much of anything for either team, as Bass was cut during 2023 and hasn't pitched in MLB since, while Groshans hit .262 in just 61 games with the Marlins.

Blue Jays release Zach Pop after offseason roster purge

The Blue Jays bolstered their pitching depth this offseason, and Pop was just the odd man out of the team's bullpen picture. The team elected to go with Richard Lovelady and Jacob Barnes in the last two spots of the bullpen over Pop and Ryan Yarbrough. Lovelady has since been DFA'd.

Part of the reason Pop was expendable was because of the pedigree of the additions to the bullpen. Jeff Hoffman was brought in to close, while familiar face Yimi García was brought back to serve as a setup man. He's thrown four scoreless innings to start the season.

With Yariel Rodríguez, Nick Sandlin, Mason Fluharty, Easton Lucas, and Chad Green also standing out as relief and depth arms, there just wasn't enough room left on the roster for Pop.

He was electric after coming over to the Blue Jays at the 2022 trade deadline, but struggled immensely in 2022 and '23.

At the end of the day, there was no room left for Pop in the bullpen, and he'll now head to free agency with the hopes of latching on with another team. While he's proven he can be an MLB-quality pitcher, he'll likely need to sign a minor league contract with another team.