Chris Rowley claimed off waivers

Apparently the Blue Jays designated Chris Rowley for assignment recently, though I didn’t see anything about it. Randomly this afternoon the Jays official (but not official?) PR account on Twitter said that the righty had been claimed off of waivers by the Texas Rangers.

I wrote about Rowley last August when the jays were completely in flux and needed spot starters. His story was a fascinating one and he’s an easy player to root for. Rowley was never drafted, served in the United States Military, and then last year became the first-ever player from West Point Military Academy to reach the Major Leagues.

He ended up getting the recall to the Blue Jays in August and posted a 6.75 ERA over 18 1/3 innings as a starter and reliever. In just two appearances with the team this year, Rowley got tagged for three runs in two-thirds of an inning. Over the past couple seasons, Rowley was an absolute rock for the Triple-A Bisons. He pitched 165 1/3 innings while posting just a 3.05 ERA.

The Jays now have an open spot on their 40-man roster, though it isn’t yet known who they’ll use it on. This is a little curious to me as the Jays will have players (Happ, Granderson, Estrada, some of the relievers) coming off the 40-man in the next week as the trade deadline approaches and the team is gearing up for a firesale.