The Toronto Blue Jays made some roster moves yesterday, sending Eric Lauer to DFA limbo while recalling Yariel Rodriguez from the minor leagues.

Lauer’s time with the Jays was trending downhill quickly, with the southpaw struggling on the diamond and also struggling to keep his mouth shut when speaking to the media, as the veteran hurler has been holding a chip on his shoulder since losing his arbitration case against the Blue Jays this past offseason.

With the move, Rodriguez returns to the big leagues after starting the 2026 campaign in Triple-A Buffalo. The Cuban product was outrighted from the roster this past winter, and he didn’t earn a spot on the Jays’ bullpen out of Spring Training.

The Rays got to Kevin Gausman early yesterday, with the AL East rival putting up seven runs (six earned) on the Jays’ top arm, leading to four different relievers being used to finish out the game. Rodriguez was the final arm in the game, completing the bottom half of the eighth.

He started the evening off with a four-pitch walk against Junior Caminero, which was one of the issues that hampered the right-hander last year. The Rays replaced Caminero with Ben Williamson, and Jays backstop Brandon Valenzuela tossed the pinch runner out at second base to put an out on the board.

Rodriguez bounced back with a four-pitch at-bat against Jonathan Aranda, striking out the left-handed bat on a 90 MPH inside splitter that Aranda challenged unsuccessfully. He then sent DH Yandy Diaz back to the dugout on three pitches, using two fastballs and then a splitter to freeze the right-handed slugger.

For the outing, Rodriguez was sitting in the 96 MPH range with his fastball and low 90s with his splitter to get the strikeouts. Rodriguez did not get a feel for the slider in this outing, using it three times in his at-bat against Caminero, which resulted in the walk.

It was an effective outing for the Cuban product despite the walk, and the Jays needed the arm with Gausman struggling against the Rays in his worst outing of the year.

So far this season in Buffalo, Rodriguez has posted a 2.63 ERA through 11 outings and 13 2/3 innings. He owns a 1.171 WHIP and a 16.5 K/9 with 25 punchouts, although the walks were still prevalent during his time in Triple-A (5.9 BB/9).

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