Blue Jays option Jay Jackson to Triple-A, recall Thomas Hatch

With the Blue Jays' bullpen being so heavily relied upon lately, a move felt likely. Sure enough, the club has announced that right-hander Thomas Hatch has been recalled from Triple-A Buffalo while Jay Jackson has been optioned.

Hatch will be a familiar name to many Blue Jays fans, but perhaps not for the best reasons. After a strong showing in 2020 in which he had a 2.73 ERA across 17 appearances, he's had some massive struggles on a big league mound since then. Last year, he made it into just one big league game, allowing 10 earned runs on 12 hits in 4.2 innings of work.

To kick off the 2023 season, Hatch has been working as a multi-inning reliever for the Bisons, seemingly moving away from the starting pitcher role he's had locked down for the previous five or so years. In 13 appearances and 22 innings, he has a 4.91 ERA but has struck out 11.5 batters per nine innings, which is a massive improvement from what we've seen out of him in recent years.

With no real multi-inning option in a heavily-used bullpen, Hatch will be active for Tuesday night's game and may find a role for himself if he can return back to his 2020 form.

For Jackson, one of the more well-traveled players in the league, it was a brief stint in the big leagues with the Blue Jays. He had made it into just three games and threw as many innings, walking and striking out two batters. On Monday, he was on the mound when Aaron Judge hit his second home run of the night and was potentially "caught" stealing signs.

Now, the 35-year-old will report back to Buffalo where he had made nine appearances out of the Bisons' bullpen before his callup, posting a 5.91 ERA thanks to seven earned runs on 14 hits in just 10.2 innings of work. This will not be the last we see of him in the big leagues this year, as he possesses some of the best swing-and-miss stuff in the high minors for the Blue Jays.