Blue Jays Make Move After Max Scherzer News

Originally posted on Athlon Sports
By Michael G. DeFrancisco | Last updated Apr 24, 2025 2:27 PM ET

The Toronto Blue Jays have hit a rough patch in their season. After starting the 2025 campaign off well, Toronto has dropped its last five games to fall to 12-13 and third in the AL East.

Despite recent struggles, one bright spot for the Blue Jays has been their pitching staff. They currently rank 10th in MLB in team ERA with a 3.79 clip. While Toronto has allowed 33 homers this season, which is second-worst in baseball, it has done well overall at keeping the team in games.

This has all come despite an injury to veteran right-hander Max Scherzer.

Suffering an injury in his first start of the season, Scherzer has been on the injured list with right thumb inflammation. On Friday, it was reported by Keegan Matheson of MLB.com that Scherzer received a second cortisone shot, but was still weeks away from rejoining the rotation.

Not long after this news, the Blue Jays bolstered their organizational pitching depth with a new signing.

"The #BlueJays have signed P Connor Overton to a minor league deal and assigned him to AAA Buffalo," Mitch Bannon of The Athletic wrote on X. "Overton made his debut with the Jays back in 2021, owns a 4.85 ERA in 59.1 MLB innings. 7.85 ERA across three minors levels last year, with the Reds."

The #BlueJays have signed P Connor Overton to a minor league deal and assigned him to AAA Buffalo.

Overton made his debut with the Jays back in 2021, owns a 4.85 ERA in 59.1 MLB innings. 7.85 ERA across three minors levels last year, with the Reds.
— Mitch Bannon (@MitchBannon) April 24, 2025

Overton has not pitched in Major League Baseball since 2023 with the Cincinnati Reds. In his 18 games in the big leagues, the 31-year-old has a career ERA of 4.85 and a WHIP of 1.298. Overton has played for three organizations since 2020, when he was in the Blue Jays system.

The right-hander made his Major League debut with Toronto in 2021, where he tossed 6.2 innings, allowing zero runs. He features a four-seamer, a changeup, a slider, a sinker, a cutter, and a sweeper in his repertoire. His velocity is considered to be well below average on those offerings.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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