Blue Jays outright reliever Rodríguez to Minors

TORONTO -- Yariel Rodríguez has been outrighted off the Blue Jays’ 40-man roster, a surprise move with one of their bullpen regulars just ahead of the MLB Winter Meetings.

Rodríguez has cleared outright waivers, meaning that no team claimed him and the remaining three years on his contract.

What this means for Rodríguez:

• He will stay in the organization and keep his MLB salary, but is no longer on the 40-man roster. This is similar to the situation Myles Straw was in with the Guardians prior to being traded to the Blue Jays, meaning he had to earn a spot on the 40-man roster again.
• Rodríguez can still be traded at any time, like any Minor League player.
• If he is not traded, Rodríguez would still enter Spring Training with the Blue Jays, but as a Minor League player, not as a member of the 40-man roster.

Rodríguez is still just 28 years old, and while his underlying metrics were not as impressive as his 3.08 ERA this past season, this move was not expected at this point in the winter. Rodriguez is entering year three of the five-year, $32 million deal he signed prior to the 2024 season, with both a player option and club option attached to his 2028 season, including escalators based on innings pitched.

When the Blue Jays signed the Cuban right-hander, he represented legitimate potential as both a starter and reliever, and that talent hasn’t gone anywhere. After he spent his rookie season in the big leagues as a starter, Rodríguez made the move to the bullpen in 2025, and while his uptick in velocity wasn’t as consistent nor reliable as the Blue Jays had hoped, he still developed into a useful middle reliever.

By the postseason, though, Rodríguez had two rough outings against the Mariners in the ALCS and was left off the World Series roster.

The path forward from here is still unclear, but there are options. It felt like Rodríguez ran out of gas down the stretch, but he was a vital piece of this bullpen in the early months of the 2025 season. If the Blue Jays choose to keep Rodríguez in the organization, he could pitch out of the bullpen in Triple-A Buffalo in an effort to reclaim a 40-man roster spot. This would allow the time for a more complete overhaul, if the Blue Jays have something in mind.

It could also reopen the door to starting, if the Blue Jays would prefer to stretch him back out while still having that 40-man roster spot freed up. Yes, he could still be traded, but the Blue Jays would need to eat a portion of his remaining contract, and given that this organization is not strapped for cash, a deal is by no means a “need” at this point.

Elsewhere in the Blue Jays’ bullpen, they’re looking for upgrades. Jeff Hoffman and Louis Varland will be part of the back end, but Toronto is looking to add another high-end arm as the Winter Meetings begin Monday in Orlando, Fla. That group won’t include Rodríguez, though, unless something significant changes between now and Opening Day.