The Toronto Blue Jays have outrighted right-hander Yariel Rodriguez off the 40-man roster per an official team announcement. This comes just a few days after the team announced the signing of Cody Pence to a 3-year, $30 million contract.

Rodriguez first signed with the Blue Jays in the winter of 2023 and was brought in as an arm that could potentially start games, which is exactly what happened as he was thrust into the starting rotation for his inaugural campaign. Rodriguez being outrighted is one of the first roster subtractions the team has done in the offseason after outrighting Nick Sandlin just a few weeks ago.

However, there are some key differences with Rodriguez. Ben Nicholson-Smith posted on X shortly thereafter that no teams had put in a claim on Rodriguez when presented with the opportunity to do so via the waiver wire. This makes sense as Rodriguez is due $17 million over the next three seasons, and the team was willing to part with that money for no return. Considering no teams put in a claim for Rodriguez, he’s still in the Blue Jays system based on service time, as per the team’s social media release. This means that Rodriguez will remain on the team heading into Spring Training as he works his way back to the big league roster.

Across 21 starts in 2024, Rodriguez put up a 4.47 ERA  across 86 and 2/3 innings, posting a 4.2 BB/9 and an 8.8 K9 with a 4.34 FIP.  Last season, he was moved to the bullpen, where the Cuban product put up a 3.08 ERA in 66 games; however, he was removed from the team’s playoff roster leading up to the World Series after amassing a 10.13 ERA across four postseason appearances (mostly against the Mariners) and struggled late in the campaign.

It’s hard to say whether Rodriguez will be with the Blue Jays before Spring Training rolls around.

Sure, the opportunity is there to move him back to the big leagues should he crack the Opening Day roster, but $17 million to not be on your big league roster is a tough pill to swallow, although the Jays have parted with big-money contracts before. Rodriguez will likely get every opportunity to earn a bullpen spot this spring, but this recent DFA could mean something is in the works on the offseason front as the Jays clear another roster spot.

Introducing Off The Roster—Toronto Sports, Unfiltered! Toronto sports fans, your new favourite conversation has arrived. Hosted by Cabbie Richards, Lindsay Dunn, and Dan Riccio, Off The Roster dives into the city’s legendary plays, brutal trades, OG jerseys, celebrity tweets, and everything in between. Raw, fun, and totally unfiltered, this is Toronto sports like you’ve never heard it before. Tune in live every weekday morning on the Nation Network YouTube channel, or catch episodes wherever you stream podcasts. Proudly brought to you by our founding partner, PROLINE. Off The Roster—the new sound in the 6ix.