Jay Jackson is still a Blue Jay.
Back on Sunday, the Blue Jays designated the veteran reliever for assignment in order to open up a spot on both the 40-man and 26-man rosters for Wes Parsons, who was coming up to start Toronto’s meaningless Game 162 against the Tampa Bay Rays.
It appeared at the time that Jackson’s time with the Blue Jays might be finished but Keegan Matheson noted on Monday that he was among the players who had a locker in the team’s clubhouse. Eric Treuden of Jays Journal reported on Tuesday morning that Jackson will accept his outright assignment to the minor leagues and will be eligible to return to the Blue Jays during the playoffs as an injury replacement.
Jackson came into spring training on a minor-league contract and earned a big-league deal with the Blue Jays following an excellent showing in Grapefruit League play. As a reliever with options, Jackson endured the difficult task of being a player who shuttled back and forth from Toronto to their Triple-A affiliate in Buffalo and was rock-solid despite the challenge. The 35-year-old posted a 2.12 ERA across 29 2/3 innings while striking out 27 batters and walking nine.
MLB states that “In a typical season, any player who is on the 40-man roster or 60-day injured list as of 11:59 p.m. ET on Aug. 31 is eligible for the postseason.” So even though Jackson wasn’t on Toronto’s roster on the final day of the season, he’s still eligible to suit up in the playoffs.
Blue Jays announce Wild Card roster
The Blue Jays announced their 26-man roster for their Wild Card Series with the Minnesota Twins this week. Unlike last year, they’ll be using 12 pitchers and 14 position players for a deeper bench.
Kevin Gausman, Jose Berrios, Chris Bassitt, and Yusei Kikuchi are the four starting pitchers and Jordan Romano, Jordan Hicks, Tim Mayza, Erik Swanson, Yimi Garcia, Genesis Cabrera, Chad Green, and Trevor Richards will fill the bullpen.
In terms of position players, the Blue Jays will bring Alejandro Kirk, Tyler Heineman, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Bo Bichette, Matt Chapman, Cavan Biggio, Santiago Espinal, Whit Merrifield, Kevin Kiermaier, George Springer, Daulton Varsho, Bradon Belt, Davis Schneider, and Cam Eden.
Jay Jackson, Nate Pearson, Bowden Francis, Hyun Jin Ryu, Ernie Clement, and Spencer Horwitz will be the players who will stay in game shape through Toronto’s playoff run in case the team needs an injury replacement.
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