The Blue Jays added potential bullpen help Tuesday, acquiring right-hander Jose Rodriguez from the Dodgers.
Toronto sent Dominican Summer League pitcher Sebastian Rodriguez the other way as the return.
The 20-year-old headed to Los Angeles posted a 6.00 ERA with 11 strikeouts and three walks over nine innings this season.
Jose Rodriguez, 25, brings a 3.99 ERA with 36 strikeouts and 18 walks over 29.1 innings at Triple-A Oklahoma City.
That number carries extra weight given the Pacific Coast League's reputation as notoriously unfriendly to pitchers.
His four-seamer averages 96.5 mph, and he pairs it with a changeup, slider, and sinker.
Listed at 6-foot-6 and 200 pounds, his changeup has generated a 68% whiff rate in Triple-A, a real weapon if it translates to the majors.
Why the timing complicates his path to Toronto
Rodriguez will need a 40-man roster spot to make his major-league debut, and the timing here creates a real complication.
Players had to be added to a club's roster before Sept. 1 to remain eligible for the postseason, meaning Rodriguez appears to be ineligible if the Blue Jays reach October.
That doesn't make him useless for the stretch run itself, just limited in what he can help with if this season goes deep.
He'll compete with Joe Mantiply and Ricky Tiedemann for one of Toronto's two additional roster spots now that September rosters have expanded to 28.
Mantiply is working his way back from a knee injury through a Triple-A rehab assignment, giving Toronto a real decision to make on that front alone.
Adding pitching depth at this point in the season is a low-risk move, even with the postseason eligibility limitation attached.
For a bullpen that's carried an enormous workload all year, an extra fresh arm during expanded rosters is worth something regardless of October eligibility.
Whether Rodriguez gets the call before Mantiply and Tiedemann sort out their own paths back is the next question worth tracking.
Should the Blue Jays call up Jose Rodriguez even knowing he'd be ineligible for the postseason?
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