NEW YORK -- The Blue Jays added a fresh arm to their bullpen on Wednesday morning by recalling right-hander Danny Barnes and optioning William McGuire to Triple-A Buffalo.
Barnes was a mainstay in Toronto's bullpen last season, but he got caught up in a numbers crunch earlier this month. The 28-year-old lost his spot on the 25-man roster because he was one of the only relievers with options still remaining on his contract.
In 16 games this season, Barnes has a 2.57 ERA while striking out 15 over 14 innings. He is expected to settle into a setup role as the Blue Jays continue to piece together the back end of their bullpen after closer Roberto Osuna was placed on administrative leave.
"We wanted to give him a little breather because he had been pitching a lot," Blue Jays manager John Gibbons said of Barnes' initial demotion. "He has been a big part of the bullpen for the last couple of years. ... It will be good to get him back, especially with Osuna going down. He can pitch some late innings, too, for you."
McGuire, who is a former first-round Draft pick by the Blue Jays, likely will resurface at some point later in the year. He made his Toronto debut during Tuesday night's lopsided 12-2 loss to the Mets and tossed 3 1/3 innings out of the bullpen, while allowing three runs.

The Blue Jays may look to bring McGuire back at some point to serve as the long reliever. He's also a fringe candidate for a spot in the starting rotation if right-hander Joe Biagini continues to struggle in that role. McGuire was 3-1 with a 2.70 ERA for Buffalo prior to his promotion.
"I think he looked great," Gibbons said. "I think it's a great story, he was an original pick for us and things didn't work out well. But I saw a different guy. I saw a very confident guy in Spring Training. I don't think he gave up a run all spring, and I think he's just starting to figure things out. I don't see why there can't be a role for him somewhere."