Julian Merryweather is back!

Holy shit, it’s happening!

After missing virtually the entire season due to an oblique injury suffered all the way back in April, Merryweather has been activated from the 60-day Injured List. In corresponding roster moves, Bryan Baker has been returned to Triple-A Buffalo and Anthony Kay has been removed from the 40-man roster and placed on the COVID Injured List.

This could be a huge addition to the Blue Jays bullpen.

As we all remember, Merryweather was absolutely electric early on for the Blue Jays this season and it really appeared as though he was a legitimate option to be the team’s closer moving forward. He struck out the side in an Opening Day win over the Yankees in the ninth inning, he had another two-strikeout save a few days later, and then had a two-inning outing against the Angels in Dunedin.

Unfortunately, as been the case for virtually all of Merryweather’s career, injuries derailed everything. He came out to face the Yankees on April 13, recorded one out to end his inning, and didn’t return. That was the last time we saw him pitch until he began his rehab assignment in mid-August.

If we can get anything close to early-season Merryweather, this is a huge win, as the Blue Jays’ bullpen is still very wobbly. Jordan Romano, Tim Mayza, Adam Cimber, and Trevor Richards have pitched a lot, so adding potentially two big-time options in Nate Pearson and Merryweather will make life a lot easier for the ‘pen.

Let’s just hope Merryweather can stay healthy for the rest of this run.