The Toronto Blue Jays have released a pair of veteran pitchers, left-hander Josh Fleming and right-hander Justin Topa, per the club’s transaction log.

Both Fleming and Topa are now officially free agents after being relieved of their minor-league contracts with the organization. Each can either sign elsewhere or possibly return on another minor-league deal.

Fleming made one appearance with the Blue Jays back in April, pitching three innings against the Los Angeles Dodgers, whose superstar lineup tagged the 30-year-old southpaw for four runs on six hits and two walks. One day later, he was designated for assignment and ultimately elected free agency before returning as a minor-league free agent.

He had spent the last two months with Triple-A Buffalo, sporting an encouraging 3.08 ERA and 3.54 FIP with a 14.9 per cent strikeout-minus-walk rate (K-BB%) across 13 games (12 starts). Those results were also accompanied by a 50.5 per cent ground-ball rate, the highest among Bisons pitchers with at least 30 innings pitched this season.

After spending seven seasons inside the Tampa Bay Rays organization from 2017-23, Fleming has bounced around throughout the industry over the last three, making stops with the Seattle Mariners, Pittsburgh Pirates and Blue Jays.

Topa began this season with the Minnesota Twins, who released the 35-year-old hurler back in May, a few days after designating him for assignment. He quickly caught on with the Blue Jays, inking a minor-league deal and was later assigned to Triple-A.

The veteran reliever, who struggled to an inflated 8.05 ERA and 6.48 FIP in 23 appearances with the Twins prior to hitting the open market, hasn’t pitched in the majors since then. In eight games with the Bisons, he didn’t display much improvement beyond his modest 3.37 ERA, overshadowed by a concerning 5.30 FIP and 2.6 per cent K-BB% over eight innings.

For Topa’s career, his resume includes 168.2 innings of major league experience, consisting of a 4.27 ERA, 3.58 FIP and 12.1 per cent K-BB% in 172 appearances (one start) split between the Twins, Mariners and Milwaukee Brewers, worth 1.6 fWAR.

They’ll most likely be seeking other minor-league opportunities that present a clearer pathway back to the majors later this season.

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