TORONTO — Looking to bolster their ebbing pitching depth, the Toronto Blue Jays acquired righty reliever Connor Seabold from the Detroit Tigers for high-A lefty Juanmi Vasquez on Wednesday while also selecting the contract of Austin Voth from triple-A Buffalo.
Tanner Andrews, who debuted with a scoreless inning Monday and added two more clean frames Tuesday, was optioned to the Bisons to make room for Voth, while another roster move will be needed for Seabold. Alejandro Kirk, who is eligible to return as soon as June 3, and Jose Berrios, who underwent Tommy John surgery last week, were moved to the 60-day injured list to clear space on the 40-man roster.
Amid all the shuffling the Blue Jays also signed righty Matt Bowman to a minor-league deal and he’ll head to the Bisons and pitch in a 1-2 inning role. The 34-year-old who’s pitched in 231 big-league games had struck out 25 batters in 21.1 innings in 14 games with triple-A St. Paul before the Twins released him.
The Blue Jays also need to cover Dylan Cease’s spot in the Blue Jays rotation when it comes up Friday in Baltimore. Internal options include Voth, who was slated to start for Buffalo on Friday, righty Chad Dallas, whose turn Tuesday was skipped, and lefty Josh Fleming, who is slated to start Thursday.
The multi-level machinations come after Cease hit the injured list Monday with a mild left hamstring strain, further stressing the Blue Jays’ already stretched big-league mix.
Rule 5 pick Spencer Miles is being extended while covering the rotation spot Eric Lauer had occupied and the Cease injury further complicates the situation.
Max Scherzer threw two innings of live batting practice Wednesday morning without issue and if he recovers as expected, could begin a rehab assignment Sunday. Since he’s already been built up this year, he believes he can ramp up aggressively from there.
An early-to-mid-June return isn’t out of the question, with Shane Bieber a possibility later in the month. For the time being, though, they are improvising on the fly, leading to some reinforcements in the form of Seabold and Voth.
Seabold, who signed a minor-league deal with the Blue Jays and impressed in camp before using an out to sign with the Tigers, has posted a 3.45 ERA in 15.2 innings over 11 games with Detroit. He raises the floor on their low-mid-leverage relief options, roles that had been covered by Tommy Nance and Joe Mantiply, who are both on the injured list.
To get Seabold, the Blue Jays surrendered Vasquez, a 22-year-old with a 5.87 ERA in 23 innings over 12 games, with 16 walks and 35 strikeouts for Vancouver.
Voth, who triggered an out in his minor-league deal that forced the Blue Jays into making a decision on him, is up for the second time this season and offers a bulk option.
