Mike Bolsinger Designated For Assignment, Leonel Campos Recalled

It seems the Mike Bolsinger era in Toronto might be finished. After pitching likely his best outing with the Blue Jays on Wednesday — going five-and-one-third innings allowing three runs and striking out seven — Bolsinger has been designated for assignment.

The right-handed swingman didn’t crack the club out of spring training, but cleared through waivers and began the season with Triple-A Buffalo. But, as I stated in my article about the Jays roster crunch yesterday, clearing waivers right before the season is a different animal than doing so during the season. For example, the Seattle Mariners were so desperate for pitching, they snagged Casey Lawrence from the Jays after he was designated in early May.

Coming up in his place will be Leonel Campos, a reinforcement to a tired, taxed bullpen. On Friday, Francisco Liriano will be activated, and Campos will likely be sent back down to Triple-A to make room.

A couple days ago, this move seemed obvious. But after Bolsinger put up a strong outing against Cincinnati, it seemed the Jays might have wanted to avoid putting him on waivers, instead possibly opting to send down somebody with options, like Danny Barnes or Ryan Tepera. But as valuable as Bolsinger has been as a depth starter, Barnes and Tepera have been huge for the Jays in the ‘pen, and with a critical series against the Yankees coming up, the team needs all of its bullets.

The Jays still have Brett Oberholtzer, T.J. House, and Jarret Grube in Triple-A Buffalo as starting pitching depth in case Bolsinger is claimed. Ideally, though, we won’t have to go there.