Ricky Tiedemann got one game with the Blue Jays before John Schneider's club sent him back down.
The 23-year-old debuted Saturday against the Yankees, working 1.2 innings with two strikeouts. Toronto won 4-1.
By Sunday morning, he was already headed back to Buffalo.
The corresponding move was simple on paper. Brendon Little came off the paternity list, and a roster spot needed clearing.
But plenty of Blue Jays fans looked at that swap and didn't love what they saw.
Tiedemann threw seven innings across three levels all season before his callup. One appearance barely scratched the surface of what the Blue Jays could learn about him at this level.
Little's track record out of the bullpen hasn't exactly been steady this year, and that's the part fueling the frustration.
Why one outing wasn't enough to judge the rookie
Here's the thing. You don't develop a 23-year-old arm by giving him one look and yanking him the second a spot opens up.
Is this really about Little's paternity leave ending, or is it about a team that got cold feet on trusting a rookie in a pennant race?
Toronto sits at 61-64, half a game back of the Texas Rangers, riding a two-game winning streak. Every inning matters right now.
That's exactly the tension here. The Blue Jays need length and swing-and-miss from that bullpen, and Tiedemann has swing-and-miss stuff.
Instead, he's back in Buffalo, and Little is back on a roster where his command has been inconsistent all year.
Call it a paternity-list technicality if you want. It still reads like a franchise unsure of its own kid.
Tiedemann will get another shot eventually. Whether it comes with real leash this time is the actual question nobody in that clubhouse is answering yet.
Was optioning Ricky Tiedemann for Brendon Little the wrong call by the Blue Jays?
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