Blue Jays Add 27-Year-Old Pitcher After He Was Cut By Rival

The Toronto Blue Jays have officially lost a key infield piece from recent seasons, but it seems their roster is set anyway.

Even without Bo Bichette returning to the fold, the Blue Jays have plenty of flexibility with their position personnel, particularly after bringing in Japanese star Kazuma Okamoto as a utility option. Meanwhile, the pitching staff appears to have more than enough depth after a winter spending spree added Dylan Cease, Cody Ponce and Tyler Rogers.

“Over the last seven months, the Jays have entirely reformed their starting rotation, with only Kevin Gausman remaining from 2025 Opening Day,” Mitch Bannon noted for The Athletic. “These are just projections, of course, but Toronto’s pitching group appears significantly better than the one it began 2025 with and even better than the group that powered through the playoffs. The pitching additions are why, despite losing Bichette, the Jays remain one of the offseason’s most improved clubs by WAR added.”

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Toronto Blue Jays Add To Pitching Depth With Boston Red Sox Castoff

The Blue Jays now have plenty of depth in the pitching staff, even if Chris Bassitt and Max Scherzer leave in free agency. And the team has reinforced its minor league system as well by bringing in lefty Brendan Cellucci and assigning him to the Double-A New Hampshire Fisher Cats.

The Blue Jays signed Cellucci on January 19, according to his official player profile, shortly after he was released by their American League East division rival Boston Red Sox.

“Cellucci was the Red Sox’s 12th-round pick in the 2019 draft out of Tulane,” Jackson Roberts wrote for Newsweek. “The Philadelphia native was a strikeout machine for the entirety of his time in the Boston organization, but always walked a ton of batters too, and never came close to mastering the art of run prevention. All told, Cellucci made 179 appearances for Boston’s farm teams, pitching to a 5.00 ERA in 259 innings. He struck out an impressive 350 batters, but walked 184 and threw 41 wild pitches.”

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Brendan Cellucci Will Continue Career With Toronto Blue Jays

Though Cellucci made some progress in his time with the Red Sox, it seems the organization lost patience with his development, as it released him in July. He went on to pitch for the independent Atlantic League’s York Revolution, then in the winter league in Puerto Rico.

Now the 27-year-old will look to continue his development in the high minors with the Blue Jays organization, though he seems unlikely to compete for a spot among the crowded big-league pitching staff in the near future.