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Bowden Francis placed on the 15-day Injured List, Brendon Little called up
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Photo credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports
Ryley Delaney
Apr 25, 2024, 12:00 EDTUpdated: Apr 25, 2024, 14:10 EDT
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From a strength to a weakness.
On Thursday morning, the Blue Jays Twitter account noted that Bowden Francis had been placed on the 15-day Injured List due to Right Forearm Extensor Tendinitis. His replacement on the 26-man roster is left-handed reliever Brendon Little.
According to Sportsnet’s Arden Zwelling, Francis has been battling this injury since his appearance against the San Diego Padres, which is quite interesting, as his last two outings have been his best work this season. More on that later though.
Heading into this season, the Blue Jays had plenty of depth for the fifth spot in the starting rotation, as it appeared that Alek Manoah was trending in a positive direction, Mitch White added velocity, Francis had a terrific season in 2023, Ricky Tiedemann was on the cusp of making the big league roster, and Yariel RodrĂ­guez would be able to help with eating innings.
Less than a month later, and Manoah has struggled in rehab assignments, White has been traded after being designated for assignment, Francis has been hit around this season, Tiedemann has “elbow discomfort”, and Rodríguez, well, there’s no complaint about the 27-year-old.
Looking specifically at Francis, the 28-year-old has an 8.59 ERA and a 6.02 FIP in 14.2 innings pitched this season, starting in the first two games he appeared in. Moreover, his K% regressed from 25.7% in 2023 to 25% this season, while his BB% rose from 5.9% to 10.3% this season.
It is worth mentioning that since RodrĂ­guez has been called up and Francis has moved into the bullpen, he has been pitching better. In 6.1 innings pitched coming out of the pen (or his last three games), he has a 2.84 ERA and a 3.00 FIP. The 11.1 BB% is still a concern, as is his 18.5 K% in the past three games, but he has been getting outs.
His replacement, Brendon Little, was picked up in a trade after the 2023 season completed with the Cubs. The left-handed pitcher has pitched in just two thirds of an inning, allowing three earned runs while giving up a home run.
However, there is some cause for optimism as he’s been pretty good coming out of the Buffalo Bisons’ bullpen. In 9.1 innings pitched, Little has a 2.89 ERA and a 2.87 FIP, along with a fantastic 37.2 K%. However, he does own an 18.6 BB%, which is a pretty common trend in his career.
The Blue Jays now have three left-handers in the pen, as Little joins Tim Mayza and GĂ©nesis Cabrera.
As always, you can follow me on Twitter @Ryley_L_D.

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