Blue Jays select contract of RHP Carl Edwards Jr.

The Blue Jays announced they’ve selected the contract of reliever Carl Edwards Jr. Fellow righty Ty Tice was designated for assignment in a corresponding move.

Edwards signed a minor league deal with Toronto earlier this month. He’s tossed four scoreless innings with Triple-A Buffalo since, striking out three without issuing a walk. He’s now in line to appear for his second team of the season, having tossed a third of an inning of three-run ball for the Braves a few weeks ago. 

The 29-year-old once looked like a building block of the Cubs bullpen, but a series of injuries and increasing trouble with his control has thrown him off course over the past couple seasons. If he rights the ship in Toronto, Edwards could be a multi-year piece, as he’s controllable through the end of next season via arbitration.

The Jays will now have a week to trade Tice or place him on outright waivers. The 24-year-old has tossed seven MLB relief innings this season, his only big league experience to date. Those innings haven’t gone especially well, as he’s allowed four runs while striking out six and issuing four walks. The former sixteenth-round pick showed a three-pitch mix, headlined by a 94.3 MPH fastball. Tice struck out an intriguing 27.3% of opposing hitters in 2019 at Triple-A.

He also comes with some contractual flexibility that makes it possible another team looking to deepen the relief corps will acquire him via minor trade or waivers. The Jays added Tice to the 40-man roster over the winter, so he still has all three minor league option years remaining. He doesn’t have the necessary service time to reject an outright assignment, so if he clears waivers, he’d likely remain in the organization as non-roster bullpen depth.