<p>For the second time in two weeks, the Blue Jays have a difficult roster decision to make. Once manager John Schneider announced <a href="https://bluejaysnation.com/news/shane-bieber-makes-toronto-blue-jays-debut-friday">the Blue Jays would activate Shane Bieber from the injured list</a> for the club&#8217;s series in Miami later this week, the next domino to fall is who will be removed from the 26-man roster to make space.</p>
<p>Last week, it was <a href="https://bluejaysnation.com/news/toronto-blue-jays-business-side-game-undeserved-demotion-joey-loperfido">Joey Loperfido receiving an undeserved demotion</a> to make way for the returning George Springer and soon the Blue Jays will either have to demote or DFA a member of the bullpen to fit their prized trade deadline acquisition into the starting rotation.</p>
<p>When you&#8217;re a first-place team, this is a first-world problem: worrying about which good player you have to take off the roster to make room for a great one. These are the top candidates who could be on the outside looking in when the personnel decision happens before Friday&#8217;s start in Miami.</p>
<h2>Mason Fluharty</h2>
<p>On the surface, the most obvious choice to make room for Bieber would be a demotion for Mason Fluharty. He&#8217;s on his second tour with the Blue Jays this year, having been optioned to Triple-A back on July 2nd. At the time of his demotion, Fluharty hit a rough patch and was rocking a 5.56 ERA in 37 appearances to start the season.</p>
<p>However, since rejoining the Blue Jays on July 21, Fluharty has a 3.65 ERA in 12 games out of the bullpen for the Blue Jays. Even as a rookie, the 24-year-old has solidified himself as the secondary lefty in Toronto&#8217;s bullpen.</p>
<p>Although not entrusted with high-leverage spots, Fluharty had some big outs for the Blue Jays this year, notably his late-game heroics against the Los Angeles Dodgers on August 10. Fluharty&#8217;s 5+ ERA stands out as a red flag, but his blowups have been few and far between since coming back in late July.</p>
<p>The Blue Jays haven&#8217;t officially announced that they&#8217;ll expand to a six-man rotation. Still, if they opt to stick with a five-man rotation and keep everybody on turn, that could mean Eric Lauer moves to the bullpen, which encroaches on Fluharty&#8217;s territory as the secondary left-handed reliever.</p>
<p>A few things are working against Fluharty here to keep his spot in the bullpen, but he&#8217;s not the obvious choice here. Fluharty still has options, though, so that might make him the odd man out.</p>
<p><em><strong>Does Fluharty stay?</strong> Yes, unless the Blue Jays move Lauer into the bullpen.</em></p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">🗣️ LET’S (FLUHARTY 😉) GO 🗣️</p>
<p>THE FIRST <a href="https://twitter.com/MLB?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@MLB</a> SAVE FOR MASON! <a href="https://t.co/OyFeJCSvA4">pic.twitter.com/OyFeJCSvA4</a></p>
<p>&mdash; Toronto Blue Jays (@BlueJays) <a href="https://twitter.com/BlueJays/status/1954696020983689565?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 11, 2025</a></p></blockquote>
<p><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p>
<h2>Tommy Nance</h2>
<p>This is Tommy Nance&#8217;s second year working out of the Blue Jays&#8217; bullpen, and all has been well since his promotion from Triple-A Buffalo back on July 11, with 13 appearances, 17 strikeouts and only three walks across 15 innings of work thus far for the veteran right-hander.</p>
<p>In the interim, Nance has stepped in as the Blue Jays&#8217; multi-inning or one-plus-inning reliever out of the bullpen, making most of his appearances in low-leverage situations for the Blue Jays. Judging by Nance&#8217;s numbers, he doesn&#8217;t warrant a demotion either, but to add Bieber to the pitching staff, unfortunately, somebody else has to go.</p>
<p>It might turn some heads to designate a reliever with a 1.20 ERA for assignment, but Nance is one guy the Blue Jays might afford to lose and not shake up much of the bullpen dynamic. Nance does not have options, so the Blue Jays would have to designate him for assignment, risking him being exposed to waivers.</p>
<p>It would be nice for the Blue Jays to keep Nance as a multi-inning relief safety net down the stretch here, but the Blue Jays should think about October and beyond here. With that in mind, it&#8217;s hard to see someone like Nance on a playoff roster, which is why he&#8217;s a candidate to be jettisoned once Bieber comes off the IL later this week.</p>
<p><em><strong>Does Nance stay?</strong> I think so. Having a multi-inning reliever like Nance down the stretch is a big bonus.</em></p>
<h2>Braydon Fisher</h2>
<p>Who would&#8217;ve thought that last year&#8217;s trade of Cavan Biggio to the Los Angeles Dodgers would&#8217;ve amounted to anything, but the Blue Jays found a diamond in the rough with Braydon Fisher. The 25-year-old has made the fifth-most relief appearances for the Blue Jays this season with a 3.05 ERA, 31.2% strikeout rate and 7.6% walk rate.</p>
<p>Similar to Little, Fisher is on a bit of a downturn in the second half. His 5.40 ERA in 13 games in the second half pales compared to his 2.22 ERA in 27 games in the first half. Another wonky thing about Fisher is that he has yet to give up an earned run on the road in 21 1/3 innings of work, but Fisher&#8217;s home ERA is 7.02.</p>
<p>Fisher&#8217;s strikeout rate plummeted to 16.7% in July, but it&#8217;s back up to 33.3% in August. Fisher&#8217;s curveball and slider are among the best of all Blue Jays relievers, but the lack of a plus fastball is the one missing piece to help push him over the top.</p>
<p>After running through the numbers, it seems like a toss-up between Little and Fisher for who might be moved off the roster for Bieber later this week. Both Little and Fisher have options, so there&#8217;s no risk in losing them to waivers, and with September call-ups right around the corner, they won&#8217;t be down in Buffalo for long.</p>
<p><em><strong>Does Fisher stay?</strong> If the Jays stick with a five-man rotation and opt to skip a start for someone like Berrios, I think Fisher goes down to Triple-A. But for now, Fisher&#8217;s role in the bullpen should be safe.</em></p>
<h2>Brendon Little</h2>
<p>Brendon Little is one of the few holdovers from last year&#8217;s bullpen, and his peripheral numbers have been solid. A 3.00 ERA in an AL-leading 59 games has made Little a go-to option for Schneider out of the bullpen this season. But like others on this list, Little&#8217;s numbers have tailed off as of late.</p>
<p>Little&#8217;s knuckle curveball is one of the nastiest pitches in the majors with a 55.8% whiff rate this season, but Little is often the author of his undoing with an astronomical 15.5% walk rate, which is the second-highest in the majors among qualified relief pitchers.</p>
<p>Not that ERA is a barometer of success for a reliever, but Little&#8217;s first-half ERA was 2.03 in 45 games compared to a 7.45 ERA in 14 games in the second half. This may be a byproduct of seeing lots of work in relief. Monday night&#8217;s disastrous outing against the Pirates — 2 walks, a wild pitch and an errant throw to first base — may have sealed Little&#8217;s fate.</p>
<p>Because Little has minor league options, it might not be a bad idea to give him a bit of a breather in Triple-A when the Blue Jays have to make the official move to activate Bieber off the injured list.</p>
<p><em><strong>Does Little stay?</strong> It&#8217;s highly likely he&#8217;s the one who goes down to Buffalo later this week.</em></p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Brendon Little is the true definition of stuff-over-command. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/BlueJays?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#BlueJays</a> </p>
<p>When he&#39;s on, his stuff is virtually unhittable. When he&#39;s not, well&#8230; stuff like tonight happens.</p>
<p>&mdash; Thomas Hall (@Hall_Thomas_) <a href="https://twitter.com/Hall_Thomas_/status/1957606754646397371?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 19, 2025</a></p></blockquote>
<p><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p>
<hr />
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For the second time in two weeks, the Blue Jays have a difficult roster decision to make. Once manager John Schneider announced <a href="https://bluejaysnation.com/news/shane-bieber-makes-toronto-blue-jays-debut-friday">the Blue Jays would activate Shane Bieber from the injured list</a> for the club's series in Miami later this week, the next domino to fall is who will be removed from the 26-man roster to make space.

Last week, it was <a href="https://bluejaysnation.com/news/toronto-blue-jays-business-side-game-undeserved-demotion-joey-loperfido">Joey Loperfido receiving an undeserved demotion</a> to make way for the returning George Springer and soon the Blue Jays will either have to demote or DFA a member of the bullpen to fit their prized trade deadline acquisition into the starting rotation.

When you're a first-place team, this is a first-world problem: worrying about which good player you have to take off the roster to make room for a great one. These are the top candidates who could be on the outside looking in when the personnel decision happens before Friday's start in Miami.
<h2>Mason Fluharty</h2>
On the surface, the most obvious choice to make room for Bieber would be a demotion for Mason Fluharty. He's on his second tour with the Blue Jays this year, having been optioned to Triple-A back on July 2nd. At the time of his demotion, Fluharty hit a rough patch and was rocking a 5.56 ERA in 37 appearances to start the season.

However, since rejoining the Blue Jays on July 21, Fluharty has a 3.65 ERA in 12 games out of the bullpen for the Blue Jays. Even as a rookie, the 24-year-old has solidified himself as the secondary lefty in Toronto's bullpen.

Although not entrusted with high-leverage spots, Fluharty had some big outs for the Blue Jays this year, notably his late-game heroics against the Los Angeles Dodgers on August 10. Fluharty's 5+ ERA stands out as a red flag, but his blowups have been few and far between since coming back in late July.

The Blue Jays haven't officially announced that they'll expand to a six-man rotation. Still, if they opt to stick with a five-man rotation and keep everybody on turn, that could mean Eric Lauer moves to the bullpen, which encroaches on Fluharty's territory as the secondary left-handed reliever.

A few things are working against Fluharty here to keep his spot in the bullpen, but he's not the obvious choice here. Fluharty still has options, though, so that might make him the odd man out.

<em><strong>Does Fluharty stay?</strong> Yes, unless the Blue Jays move Lauer into the bullpen.</em>

https://twitter.com/BlueJays/status/1954696020983689565
<h2>Tommy Nance</h2>
This is Tommy Nance's second year working out of the Blue Jays' bullpen, and all has been well since his promotion from Triple-A Buffalo back on July 11, with 13 appearances, 17 strikeouts and only three walks across 15 innings of work thus far for the veteran right-hander.

In the interim, Nance has stepped in as the Blue Jays' multi-inning or one-plus-inning reliever out of the bullpen, making most of his appearances in low-leverage situations for the Blue Jays. Judging by Nance's numbers, he doesn't warrant a demotion either, but to add Bieber to the pitching staff, unfortunately, somebody else has to go.

It might turn some heads to designate a reliever with a 1.20 ERA for assignment, but Nance is one guy the Blue Jays might afford to lose and not shake up much of the bullpen dynamic. Nance does not have options, so the Blue Jays would have to designate him for assignment, risking him being exposed to waivers.

It would be nice for the Blue Jays to keep Nance as a multi-inning relief safety net down the stretch here, but the Blue Jays should think about October and beyond here. With that in mind, it's hard to see someone like Nance on a playoff roster, which is why he's a candidate to be jettisoned once Bieber comes off the IL later this week.

<em><strong>Does Nance stay?</strong> I think so. Having a multi-inning reliever like Nance down the stretch is a big bonus.</em>
<h2>Braydon Fisher</h2>
Who would've thought that last year's trade of Cavan Biggio to the Los Angeles Dodgers would've amounted to anything, but the Blue Jays found a diamond in the rough with Braydon Fisher. The 25-year-old has made the fifth-most relief appearances for the Blue Jays this season with a 3.05 ERA, 31.2% strikeout rate and 7.6% walk rate.

Similar to Little, Fisher is on a bit of a downturn in the second half. His 5.40 ERA in 13 games in the second half pales compared to his 2.22 ERA in 27 games in the first half. Another wonky thing about Fisher is that he has yet to give up an earned run on the road in 21 1/3 innings of work, but Fisher's home ERA is 7.02.

Fisher's strikeout rate plummeted to 16.7% in July, but it's back up to 33.3% in August. Fisher's curveball and slider are among the best of all Blue Jays relievers, but the lack of a plus fastball is the one missing piece to help push him over the top.

After running through the numbers, it seems like a toss-up between Little and Fisher for who might be moved off the roster for Bieber later this week. Both Little and Fisher have options, so there's no risk in losing them to waivers, and with September call-ups right around the corner, they won't be down in Buffalo for long.

<em><strong>Does Fisher stay?</strong> If the Jays stick with a five-man rotation and opt to skip a start for someone like Berrios, I think Fisher goes down to Triple-A. But for now, Fisher's role in the bullpen should be safe.</em>
<h2>Brendon Little</h2>
Brendon Little is one of the few holdovers from last year's bullpen, and his peripheral numbers have been solid. A 3.00 ERA in an AL-leading 59 games has made Little a go-to option for Schneider out of the bullpen this season. But like others on this list, Little's numbers have tailed off as of late.

Little's knuckle curveball is one of the nastiest pitches in the majors with a 55.8% whiff rate this season, but Little is often the author of his undoing with an astronomical 15.5% walk rate, which is the second-highest in the majors among qualified relief pitchers.

Not that ERA is a barometer of success for a reliever, but Little's first-half ERA was 2.03 in 45 games compared to a 7.45 ERA in 14 games in the second half. This may be a byproduct of seeing lots of work in relief. Monday night's disastrous outing against the Pirates — 2 walks, a wild pitch and an errant throw to first base — may have sealed Little's fate.

Because Little has minor league options, it might not be a bad idea to give him a bit of a breather in Triple-A when the Blue Jays have to make the official move to activate Bieber off the injured list.

<em><strong>Does Little stay?</strong> It's highly likely he's the one who goes down to Buffalo later this week.</em>

https://twitter.com/Hall_Thomas_/status/1957606754646397371

<hr />

<h2><strong>PRESENTED BY 6IX INNING STRETCH PODCAST</strong></h2>
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