Blue Jays officially add Lazaro Estrada to big-league roster, option Justin Bruihl to triple-A Buffalo
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Photo credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images
Thomas Hall
Jul 4, 2025, 17:00 EDTUpdated: Jul 4, 2025, 17:22 EDT
The 26-year-old righty was selected to the Toronto Blue Jays’ roster prior to Friday’s series opener against the Los Angeles Angels, per the club’s announcement. Left-handed reliever Justin Bruihl was optioned to triple-A Buffalo to make room on the active roster.
The team also needed to add Estrada to the 40-man roster, transferring Anthony Santander (shoulder) to the 60-day injured list. As a result, he’ll be ineligible to return from the IL before the July 31 trade deadline.
Estrada has primarily worked as a starter in the minors, but he’ll be used as a multi-inning reliever with the Blue Jays, according to manager John Schneider. With Eric Lauer and Max Scherzer starting Friday and Saturday, respectively, and the team working with an overworked bullpen, the young righty will be on standby if a need arises.
The young righty has made 15 starts with the Bisons this season, pitching to a 4.75 ERA and 4.21 FIP with 66 strikeouts across 60.2 innings. He endured a rough start to the year but has found his form of late, improving to a 2.89 ERA with 48 strikeouts and 15 walks over his previous 10 starts.
Bruihl made four relief appearances with Toronto after arriving from triple-A, allowing a pair of runs (one earned) on two hits and as many walks while punching out five over 3.1 innings. The southpaw recorded a key out in the eighth inning of Thursday’s 8-5 victory over the New York Yankees, retiring Cody Bellinger on a swinging third strike — which hit him — to end the frame.
Santander, who hasn’t played since May 29, still hasn’t been swinging a bat during his time in Dunedin. However, Schneider said pre-game that he’s about a week away from progressing to that step in his recovery from left shoulder inflammation.
General manager Ross Atkins said Monday that there was a chance Santander could return before this month’s All-Star break. But that, of course, is no longer the case.