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Blue Jays trade Johan Simon for Chase Lee
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Photo credit: © Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images
Ryley Delaney
Dec 12, 2025, 17:30 ESTUpdated: Dec 12, 2025, 17:39 EST
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The Toronto Blue Jays have made a trade.
No, it’s not for Ketel Marte or any major trade like that. Instead, they’ve sent prospect Johan Simon to the Detroit Tigers in exchange for Chase Lee, a 27-year-old right-handed pitcher.
Lee was selected in the sixth-round of the 2021 draft and put together a few solid seasons in the minor leagues. That included a 2024 season where he had a 3.27 ERA and 2.75 FIP in 22 innings pitched in Triple-A, with a 32.3 K% and 4.2 BB%.
After the 2024 season, Lee was added to the Tigers’ 40-man roster and made his debut the following season. In total, he pitched 37.1 innings with the Tigers, authoring a 4.10 ERA and 4.53 FIP, along with a 24.3 K% and 6.1 BB%. His worst outing of the season was against the Blue Jays, where he gave up three home runs on Jul. 26.
It feels like a similar deal to the Brendon Little trade after the 2023 season. Little’s lone big league outing (until that point) was a disaster in 2022 against the Jays, giving up three earned runs off a home run in just two-thirds of an inning pitched.
Anyway, Chase features a sinker and a four-seam fastball that sits in the high 80s, with a sweeper as his other pitch. The sweeper was used 35% of the time in 2025, while also throwing a changeup on the rare occasion. Ironically, Lee doesn’t get a lot of chase, nor whiffs. He is a side-arm pitcher with solid control, though.
Lee is an optionable relief arm who’ll likely be up and down between Triple-A and the big leagues this season. With his addition, the Blue Jays 40-man roster is now full, meaning they’ll need to designate a player for assignment if they are to add any more free agents.
As for Simon, the 24-year-old left-handed pitcher was signed in the 2020 International Free Agency period. He spent his 2025 season between Single-A, High-A, and Double-A, posting a 3.42 ERA and 3.20 FIP in 71 innings pitched, with a 25.1 K% and 9.2 BB%. Simon pitched exclusively in relief last season, with those 71 innings being the most in his career.
Ryley Delaney is a Nation Network writer for Blue Jays Nation, Oilersnation, and FlamesNation. She can be followed on Twitter @Ryley__Delaney.

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