Austin Voth is back with the Blue Jays less than a week after Toronto pushed the veteran right-hander off the 40-man roster.
The club announced Voth has returned on a minor league contract, and he has been assigned to Triple-A Buffalo alongside Josh Fleming. That alone tells you Toronto still saw a use for him even after the quick roster squeeze.
Voth's exit was fast. Toronto designated him for assignment on April 6, and he elected free agency on April 9 instead of staying in the system on an outright move.
Now he is right back in the same organization. That is not a dramatic reversal as much as a blunt read on where the Blue Jays are with their pitching depth.
This kind of move usually means a club wants familiar innings close by. Toronto has been churning through relievers and depth arms early, so bringing Voth back to Buffalo gives Schneider another arm who already knows the room and the routine.
Voth also did not get blown off the mound in his brief major league look. In his lone Blue Jays outing on April 5, he covered 2.2 innings and allowed 1 earned run.
The post announcing the move laid it out cleanly: Voth is back, it is a minor league deal, and Buffalo is the landing spot.
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Why Austin Voth still makes sense for Toronto
This is not about upside. It is about coverage. Voth has worked 208 MLB games with a 4.69 ERA, which gives Toronto a veteran option for call-ups when the bullpen or the back of the staff gets stretched.
That matters more for this club than it would for a settled staff. Toronto's transaction log has already been crowded in April, with Cody Ponce and Anthony Santander moved to the 60-day injured list and multiple pitchers shuffled on and off the roster.
The Voth return also says something about how the Blue Jays viewed the DFA in the first place. They did not cut him loose because he had no value. They cut him because they needed the roster spot, then circled back once the major league board shifted again.
That is the same pattern Toronto just used with Fleming. When a club brings back 2 pitchers on minor league deals right after both hit free agency, it is telling you those arms are still part of the emergency plan.
And for Voth, the path is obvious. He is not back to sit in the organization as decoration. He is back because Schneider may need another bullpen phone answer soon, and Buffalo is where Toronto wants that answer waiting.
Should the Blue Jays keep Austin Voth near the majors as bullpen depth?
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