The Blue Jays have released a hard-throwing reliever.

According to the Blue Jays transaction page, the Jays have released Junior Fernández. The 26-year-old righty was picked up off waivers on January 5th, 2023 from the Yankees, and was promptly designated for assignment five days later. He cleared, and has spent the entire season in Triple-A
With the Buffalo Bisons, the 26-year-old has a 5.69 ERA and a 5.95 FIP in 49 innings pitched, along with a 19.9 K% and an 11.3 BB%. The strikeout rate you’d expect from someone who touches 100 mph.
Fernández averaged 97.2 mph on his fastball this season and only had a 17.5 whiff percentage on 399 pitches. His changeup was statistically his best pitch this season, as it had a 38.8 whiff %. This makes sense, as his changeup was graded a 60, compared to a 55 fastball according to Fangraphs in 2021.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Here&#8217;s Junior Fernandez (<a href="https://twitter.com/Jfernandez0302?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Jfernandez0302</a>)&#8217;s strikeout thread from this evening.
90 mph changeup.<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/BlueJays?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#BlueJays</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NextLevel?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NextLevel</a> <a href="https://t.co/yNNUj2PRzL">pic.twitter.com/yNNUj2PRzL</a>
— Brennan Delaney (@Brennan_L_D) <a href="https://twitter.com/Brennan_L_D/status/1668780913378099201?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 14, 2023</a></blockquote>
The 26-year-old has some experience pitching in the major leagues as well, as he has a 5.17 ERA and a 5.57 FIP in 54 innings pitched. He most recently pitched in 2022 with the St. Louis Cardinals and the Pittsburgh Pirates, where he had a 2.41 ERA and a 5.79 FIP in 18.2 innings pitched, along with a 16.7 K% and a 14.3 BB%.
Despite Fernández having the stuff to be successful, he just wasn’t able to figure it out in the Blue Jays system. Add in the fact that the only Canadian team arguably have one of the best bullpens with a ton of depth, he was likely never going to get an opportunity with Toronto.
We here at Blue Jays Nation wish nothing but the best for Fernández. I don’t expect it to be long before he finds another organization.
<hr />
As always, you can follow me on Twitter, Instagram, and Threads @Brennan_L_D.
<hr />
<h2 class="mb-5 text-2xl font-bold" style="text-align: center;"><a class="text-accent" href="https://gml-grp.com/C.ashx?btag=a_24038b_2065c_&amp;affid=7966&amp;siteid=24038&amp;adid=2065&amp;c=" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">ARTICLE PRESENTED BY BETANO</a></h2>
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-61491" src="https://publish.bluejaysnation.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2023/04/Betano_ON_Base_727x404-1.png" alt="" width="727" height="404" srcset="https://publish.bluejaysnation.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2023/04/Betano_ON_Base_727x404-1.png 727w, https://publish.bluejaysnation.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2023/04/Betano_ON_Base_727x404-1-300x167.png 300w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 727px) 100vw, 727px" />

The Blue Jays have released a hard-throwing reliever.



According to the Blue Jays transaction page, the Jays have released Junior Fernández. The 26-year-old righty was picked up off waivers on January 5th, 2023 from the Yankees, and was promptly designated for assignment five days later. He cleared, and has spent the entire season in Triple-A

With the Buffalo Bisons, the 26-year-old has a 5.69 ERA and a 5.95 FIP in 49 innings pitched, along with a 19.9 K% and an 11.3 BB%. The strikeout rate you’d expect from someone who touches 100 mph.

Fernández averaged 97.2 mph on his fastball this season and only had a 17.5 whiff percentage on 399 pitches. His changeup was statistically his best pitch this season, as it had a 38.8 whiff %. This makes sense, as his changeup was graded a 60, compared to a 55 fastball according to Fangraphs in 2021.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Here's Junior Fernandez (<a href="https://twitter.com/Jfernandez0302?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Jfernandez0302</a>)'s strikeout thread from this evening.
90 mph changeup.<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/BlueJays?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#BlueJays</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NextLevel?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NextLevel</a> <a href="https://t.co/yNNUj2PRzL">pic.twitter.com/yNNUj2PRzL</a>

— Brennan Delaney (@Brennan_L_D) <a href="https://twitter.com/Brennan_L_D/status/1668780913378099201?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 14, 2023</a></blockquote>
The 26-year-old has some experience pitching in the major leagues as well, as he has a 5.17 ERA and a 5.57 FIP in 54 innings pitched. He most recently pitched in 2022 with the St. Louis Cardinals and the Pittsburgh Pirates, where he had a 2.41 ERA and a 5.79 FIP in 18.2 innings pitched, along with a 16.7 K% and a 14.3 BB%.

Despite Fernández having the stuff to be successful, he just wasn’t able to figure it out in the Blue Jays system. Add in the fact that the only Canadian team arguably have one of the best bullpens with a ton of depth, he was likely never going to get an opportunity with Toronto.

We here at Blue Jays Nation wish nothing but the best for Fernández. I don’t expect it to be long before he finds another organization.

<hr />

As always, you can follow me on Twitter, Instagram, and Threads @Brennan_L_D.

<hr />

<h2 class="mb-5 text-2xl font-bold" style="text-align: center;"><a class="text-accent" href="https://gml-grp.com/C.ashx?btag=a_24038b_2065c_&amp;affid=7966&amp;siteid=24038&amp;adid=2065&amp;c=" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">ARTICLE PRESENTED BY BETANO</a></h2>
<img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-61491" src="https://publish.bluejaysnation.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2023/04/Betano_ON_Base_727x404-1.png" alt="" width="727" height="404" />

Hard-throwing right-handed pitcher Junior Fernández has been released by the Blue Jays

Blue Jays bullpen comes through to punch ALCS ticket

Start spreading the news, the Blue Jays are heading to the ALCS

Blue Jays GDB – ALDS Game 4: Toronto gets second opportunity to close out Yankees

Uncharacteristic defensive misplays came at worse time in Blue Jays’ crushing ALDS loss

Toronto Blue Jays first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (27) reacts after hitting a two-run home run in the first inning against the New York Yankees during game three of the ALDS round for the 2025 MLB playoffs at Yankee Stadium

Recent articles from Ryley Delaney

Breaking News