Blue Jays Select Austin Voth

The Blue Jays announced Wednesday that they’ve selected the contract of righty Austin Voth from Triple-A Buffalo. To make room on the 26-man and 40-man rosters, Toronto optioned right-hander Tanner Andrews to Buffalo and transferred catcher Alejandro Kirk from the 10-day to the 60-day IL. Kirk has already been out for nearly 60 days since undergoing thumb surgery in early April, so that move is largely a formality. The move to the 60-day doesn’t restart his IL clock, so he’ll still be eligible for activation once he reaches 60 total days on the shelf.

Voth, 33, signed a minor league deal with the Jays in March and has already been summoned to the majors once this season. He allowed one run in 2 2/3 innings during his only appearance with the Jays this season and was then passed through waivers. Voth briefly elected free agency but wound up re-signing on a new minor league contract.

It’s been a fine season for the journeyman Voth in Buffalo. He’s taken the ball eight times (all starts) and logged a 2.90 ERA, a 17.4% strikeout rate, a 6.8% walk rate and a 39.4% ground-ball rate in 31 innings. He was building up a bit early on but has gone five innings multiple times now, including two of his past three starts. That’ll make him an option for a swingman role in the bullpen, a bulk reliever following an opener or a more conventional starter at any point.

Toronto’s rotation has been decimated by injury in 2026, so adding some length to the staff is sensible. The Jays lost José Berríos to Tommy John surgery last week and put Dylan Cease on the 15-day IL over the weekend due to a hamstring strain. Max Scherzer has been out for a month due to tendinitis in his right forearm and inflammation in his ankle. Shane Bieber has yet to pitch this season due to elbow inflammation. Cody Ponce tore his ACL in his first start back on a big league mound after signing a three-year, $30MM deal following a dominant run in the KBO. He’s not likely to pitch again this season. Bowden Francis underwent Tommy John surgery in February.

It could be another short stay on the roster for Voth, but that mounting pile of injuries creates more opportunity for him to stick around than was the cast the last time he was called to the big leagues in early April. He can’t be optioned to the minors, so if the Jays want to free up his roster spot, they’ll need to opt for the DFA route once again.

As for Kirk, he’s still on the mend from a broken left thumb. He underwent surgery and had a screw placed in the thumb to help stabilize the injury back on April 6. He’s not expected to begin a minor league rehab assignment until next week anyhow, per The Athletic’s Mitch Bannon. He’ll be eligible for reinstatement a week from today, on June 3.