Joe Mantiply hit the injured list Sunday, and John Schneider is turning to Chase Lee for bullpen help right away.
The Blue Jays placed Mantiply on the 15-day injured list with left knee inflammation, retroactive to May 18. Toronto recalled Lee from Triple-A Buffalo, and he will be active for Sunday's game.
That is the kind of move that can get buried on a busy day, but it matters for a bullpen that has already been shuffled hard over the first 7 weeks of the season. Mantiply had only just joined the roster in April.
The bigger concern is the body part. Knee inflammation does not carry the same alarm as an elbow or shoulder issue, but any lower-body problem can still mess with a reliever's landing, balance, and command. That is an inference based on pitching mechanics.
For Mantiply, this stops a chance to settle in. Toronto selected him to the major-league roster on April 5 while trying to reshape the bullpen mix early in the year.
Now the Blue Jays need outs from somebody else, and Lee gets the call.
Lee has been one of Buffalo's better relief options this season. In 14 Triple-A appearances, the right-hander posted a 1.86 ERA with 21 strikeouts over 19.1 innings.
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Lee gives Toronto a live arm with real swing-and-miss
That stat line is why this move makes sense. Lee is not coming up just to wear a jersey for a day. He is coming up because he has missed bats and kept damage down in Buffalo.
There is also some big-league familiarity here. Lee already has MLB time on his résumé, with a 4.19 career ERA in 33 appearances entering today. That matters for a club looking for usable innings, not a full debut experiment.
His 2026 major-league sample is tiny, just 1 appearance and 1.1 innings, so the real selling point is what he has done in Triple-A. Toronto clearly liked the shape of those outings enough to trust him with an active roster spot tonight.
This also fits the way the Blue Jays have been operating lately. The club's injury page keeps growing, and Toronto has had to keep moving arms in and out just to protect the middle and late innings.
For Schneider, the short-term goal is simple. Keep the bullpen covered while Mantiply's knee calms down and see whether Lee can turn a strong Buffalo run into something useful in Toronto. That is an inference from the roster move and Lee's active status tonight.
Mantiply's injury is the problem. Chase Lee is the answer for now. And after the way Lee has thrown in Buffalo, the Blue Jays have reason to think this call-up can help more than just one night.
Will Chase Lee make the most of this Blue Jays call-up?
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