Blue Jays sign reliever Carl Edwards Jr. to minors deal

The Blue Jays have signed reliever Carl Edwards Jr. to a minor league contract, per a report from Sportsnet. He has been assigned to Triple-A Buffalo.

Edwards is most well-known for his run with the Cubs. Once a well-regarded prospect in the Chicago system, he made his MLB debut late in 2015 and was an important part of the Cubs’ bullpen over the next few seasons. Despite persistent troubles with walks, Edwards was quite good at missing bats and preventing runs over his first few years. Between 2016-18, he worked to a 3.03 ERA/3.12 FIP across 154 1/3 relief innings.

He’s fallen on hard times since then, though. Edwards got off to a terrible start in 2019, and Chicago flipped him to the Padres for fellow reliever Brad Wieck at the trade deadline. Edwards couldn’t right the ship in San Diego and wound up non-tendered. The Mariners signed him that offseason in hopes of a rebound. To his credit, the righty got off to a strong start in Seattle, but a flexor mass strain in his forearm ended his season after just 4 2/3 innings.

The Braves signed Edwards to a minor league deal over the winter. Atlanta selected him to the major league roster earlier this month but designated him for assignment after just one appearance, in which he allowed three runs on as many hits while recording a single out. Edwards cleared waivers and elected free agency.

Now, he’ll look to work his way back to the big leagues with Toronto. The Jays have dealt with plenty of bullpen injuries this season and are still without notables Rafael Dolis, Julian Merryweather and David Phelps (as well as presumptive closer Kirby Yates, who underwent Tommy John surgery before the regular season began). Despite the health woes, Toronto relievers have worked to a solid 2.99 ERA/3.76 SIERA this year.