SEATTLE, WASHINGTON – JUNE 10: Matt Bowman #49 of the Seattle Mariners reacts after giving up a home run against the Chicago White Sox during the eighth inning at T-Mobile Park on June 10, 2024 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images)
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The Toronto Blue Jays are fighting to overcome a losing record, but some brutal injury luck isn’t helping things.
With key players like Alejandro Kirk, Shane Bieber and Addison Barger all sidelined already, the team was forced to place frontline starter Dylan Cease on the injured list this week in the midst of a stellar debut season.
“The team placed him on the 15-day injured list on Monday with a left hamstring strain, sidelining him for at least the next two weeks,” Jorge Montanez reported for NBC Sports. “There’s no clear timeline yet, but the hope is that Cease will be ready to return when first eligible in early June.”
Though Cease’s injury could be relatively minor, any personnel loss for the team at this point is a harsh setback. And it’s particularly troubling in the rotation, which is already without Bieber, Jose Berrios, Cody Ponce and Max Scherzer.
Cease has a 3.05 ERA across his first 11 starts with the franchise, after signing a seven-year, $210 million contract this past offseason. And it wasn’t immediately clear how the team would be able to replace him in the rotation.
Toronto Blue Jays Add Veteran Pitcher Matt Bowman Shortly After Dylan Cease Injury
But as the Blue Jays look for some help on the big-league pitching staff, news broke that the team signed a long-time veteran righty for their lower levels.
“Matt Bowman signs with Jays,” the New York Post’s Jon Heyman reported on X, formerly Twitter.
Bowman has logged more than 240 innings across his seven major-league seasons, with a 4.38 ERA and 194 strikeouts in that span. He has toed the rubber for the St. Louis Cardinals, Cincinnati Reds, New York Yankees, Minnesota Twins, Arizona Diamondbacks, Seattle Mariners and, most recently, the Baltimore Orioles.
Toronto Blue Jays’ New Veteran Could Make MLB Return After Injuries
Last year, logging 24 and two-thirds innings with eight games finished for the Orioles, his ERA was a concerning 6.20 and he was released by the Twins organization earlier this month.
“It was moderately surprising that a Twins team with one of the worst bullpens in MLB didn’t carve out a spot,” Anthony Franco wrote for MLB Trade Rumors. “He pitched well at Triple-A St. Paul, working 21 1/3 innings of 1.69 ERA ball. Bowman got ground-balls at a 55% clip with quality strikeout (28.1%) and walk (6.7%) marks. Minnesota’s front office was evidently skeptical he’d maintain anything close to that against big league hitters.”
But the Blue Jays might see some big-league upside in Bowman, particularly after relievers Tommy Nance and Joe Mantiply hit the injured list alongside Cease. He could be a middle-relief option for the team soon, particularly if the bad injury luck continues.