Toronto Blue Jays designate LHP Matt Gage for assignment

With the news that the Toronto Blue Jays signed Chad Green this afternoon, the club had to remove one player from the 40-man roster to make room for the veteran reliever. Tuesday night fans got their answer and it is 28-year old lefty Matt Gage that is being designated for assignment.

Earlier on Tuesday, we wrote a piece breaking down the top DFA candidates to make room for Green and Gage was not on the list.

The decision is a little surprising due to the lack of left-handed pitching options that the organization has on hand. Gage made his big league debut in 2022 with the Blue Jays after they had signed him the previous offseason. The 6-foot-3, 245lb reliever made 11 appearances at the big league level and in a total 13 innings, surrendered just two earned runs (1.38 ERA) and held batters to a .146 batting average.

Throughout all of last season, it was a bit of a surprise that we did not get more looks at Gage, as he spent just under a month with the club from early June to early July. He did get a three day call-up in August, but was never used that time around.

Gage spent most of 2022 with the Triple-A Buffalo Bisons where he pitched in 41 games, posting a 2.34 ERA and collecting 12 saves. He is a former 10th-round pick of the San Francisco Giants from the 2014 draft but started bouncing around the league as a free agent starting in 2018 where he had stops with the New York Mets, Colorado Rockies and Arizona Diamondbacks.

This decision is a confusing one on the surface since the Jays have so many other options that could have been let go before Gage. Tim Mayza and Yusei Kikuchi are now the only two left-handed pitchers left on the 40-man roster so Gage's surprise DFA makes you wonder if another addition of a left-handed reliever (perhaps via free agency) is coming.