Blue Jays shake up bullpen by calling up electric reliever

We're not even a weekend into the 2025 MLB season and the Blue Jays have already shaken up their bullpen.

On Sunday, the team announced that rookie Mason Fluharty was being called up for his MLB debut. He'll take Richard Lovelady's spot in the bullpen after Lovelady was designated for assignment following his outing on Saturday when he allowed four earned runs in a Blue Jays loss. Now, Fluharty, a lefty, will get his chance to prove his worth in Toronto's bullpen.

The 23-year-old went 5-4 with a 3.63 ERA to go along with 76 strikeouts, 25 walks, and a 1.18 WHIP across 67 Triple-A innings last year. He will likely start in low-leverage situations to ease him into the majors. The Blue Jays drafted Fluharty selected him in the fifth round of the 2022 MLB Draft.

Blue Jays shake up bullpen with minor leaguer southpaw

Fluharty enters the Blue Jays roster at a time when the team's pitching is up in the air. After José Berríos gave up three home runs on Opening Day, the Blue Jays placed Max Scherzer on the 15-day IL Sunday because of his lingering thumb issue. That coupled with Erik Swanson and Ryan Burr starting the season on the IL, has led to the Blue Jays dipping into their depth earlier than they expected.

Fluharty has strong command out of the 'pen, and he'll add value as a lefty specialist who pounds the zone. In camp this season, he had an impressive 1.29 ERA with 11 strikeouts. He possesses a good command of his arsenal as a slider-first reliever and should get a lot of work as a middle-inning reliever.

He will also provide depth for the Blue Jays' bullpen after the 'pen had to cover 13 innings over the first three games of the season. Fluharty can also pitch multiple innings, which will should help.

He was projected to be a dark-horse candidate to make the Opening Day roster. While that didn't happen, he will now get his chance in the majors.