Michael Lorenzen has been designated for assignment ahead of Friday’s series opener against the Texas Rangers, per the Toronto Blue Jays’ announcement.

Lorenzen last pitched on Tuesday against the Detroit Tigers, allowing five runs (all earned) on four hits and three walks across two innings, and couldn’t be optioned to the minors. He joined the franchise on a one-year, league-minimum deal last month after being released by the Colorado Rockies.

As a corresponding move, the Blue Jays selected fellow right-hander José Rodríguez to their 28-man roster from Triple-A Buffalo. The 25-year-old reliever was acquired in a minor-league deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers earlier this month. 

Amid injuries to Trey Yesavage (knee) and Shane Bieber (shoulder), the Blue Jays sought out a veteran arm like Lorenzen to help cover innings in the bullpen as a multi-inning reliever. However, the 34-year-old journeyman struggled mightily in his brief stint with the club, posting an inflated 8.49 ERA and 7.47 FIP with four home runs allowed, five walks and eight strikeouts over 11.2 innings.

Unless another organization claims Lorenzen off waivers, he’s expected to clear and elect free agency at some point next week.

Rodríguez is an intriguing late-season addition to Toronto’s bullpen. The Mexican-born hurler is a stuff-over-command righty with four pitches: two fastballs, a changeup and a slider. When healthy, he’s spent the entire season at Triple-A, featuring a 31.1 per cent strikeout rate across 38 innings split between the Blue Jays and Dodgers systems.

Walks have previously been an issue for the 6-foot-6 hurler, as evidenced by his 14 per cent walk rate at Triple-A this season. But he’s done an excellent job at avoiding home runs, which has helped keep his ERA (3.79) and FIP (3.56) in check.

Thanks to Rodríguez’s changeup, he’s considered a reverse-splits reliever (better results against left-handed hitters than righties), with lefties hitting .143/.280/.190 over 25 plate appearances against it this season — and also producing a swing and miss nearly two-thirds of the time.

That’ll essentially offer Toronto’s bullpen — which already includes four lefties (Mason Fluharty, Brendon Little, Joe Mantiply and Brendan Cellucci) — another weapon in this series against a lefty-heavy Texas lineup with names like Corey Seager, Joc Pederson and Brandon Nimmo to have circled.

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