Blue Jays quietly make pitching moves amid skid

The Toronto Blue Jays already are dealing with Vladimir Guerrero Jr.’s back halting his MLB All-Star appearance. Now manager John Schneider and company are making roster moves. They quietly pulled off a roster tweak on the mound Sunday.

The reigning American League champs instead opted to release two of their own pitchers.

Left-hander Josh Fleming and right-handed pitcher Justin Topa are released from their respective minor league deals.

Fleming previously joined the Seattle Mariners with their minor league affiliate. But that run ended in 2025 and Fleming eventually joined the Blue Jays, signing a minor league deal in February. He pitched through 64 innings and delivered an ERA of 3.08. He made 12 different starts and walked just 4.1% of his opposing batters.

Topa tasted the big leagues before, joining the Milwaukee Brewers in 2020. He also endured a truncated run with the Mariners organization, which came in the 2023 season. He spent his last three seasons with the Minnesota Twins, including the early portion of the 2026 season.

Minnesota, though, designated him for an assignment back in May. He eventually signed a minor league deal with the Blue Jays on May 30.

Topa threw in eight total innings for Buffalo and struck out four. He allowed a 3.38 ERA on the hill. Topa even needed to overcome two Tommy John surgeries in his career.

Toronto, meanwhile, took a 4-0 shutout loss to the Mariners, getting Seattle to win the series in the American League Championship Series rematch. The Blue Jays sit at 42-48 overall this season and are third overall in the American League East.