Blue Jays to release Jay Jackson

Signed to a minor league contract back in January, 35-year-old Jay Jackson was in camp as a non-roster invitee with the Blue Jays.

The contract he signed with the club had a clause in it where Jackson could be released if he wasn't added to the big league roster by 12:00 noon ET on March 25th. The club has informed Jackson that he is not going to be added to the roster and instead will be returning to the open market.

This development is a tough one, because Jackson had been extremely impressive in camp with the Jays. In eight appearances and 9.1 innings pitched, the right-hander showed off impeccable control and a wipeout slider to the tune of a 0.00 ERA. He also struck out 13 batters while walking only two.

Jackson had just recently did an interview with Sportsnet where he said that the only thing he had left to do in his long professional career was appear in a World Series game, an opportunity he truly felt he had in the Blue Jays organization.

Instead, the well-traveled veteran will once again become a free agent. This time around, there figure to be multiple serious suitors as there are many pitching-hungry teams left around the league.

The move to release Jackson is a curious one for the Jays. He wasn't on the club's 40-man roster, which currently stands at 40, but he could've easily been added with one of Chad Green or Hyun Jin Ryu, who are both out until at least July, being moved to the 60-day injured list.

Mitch White is reportedly not guaranteed to be ready once Opening Day comes around in the upcoming week, so it appears that the final spot in the bullpen is going to come down to one of Nate Pearson or Zach Pop, both of whom have performed well enough to deserve the spot.