The Toronto Blue Jays’ roster continues to come into focus as the off-season gets underway.
Ahead of Tuesday’s 6 p.m. ET deadline for MLB teams to set their 40-man rosters, the Blue Jays selected left-handed pitching prospect Ricky Tiedemann.
The Blue Jays had selected switch-hitting catcher Brandon Valenzuela to their 40-man earlier this month.
By adding the two players, Toronto protected them from December’s Rule 5 Draft, where unprotected players will be eligible to be selected by other organizations if they have been in the minors for a requisite amount of time.
Formerly the club’s top prospect, Tiedemann missed all of 2025 after undergoing Tommy John surgery the summer prior.
Before having the surgery in 2024, the 23-year-old southpaw threw just 17.1 innings over eight starts between Toronto’s complex league team, low-A Dunedin and triple-A Buffalo. In his limited time on the mound, the California native posted a 5.19 ERA, a 32.5 per cent strikeout rate, a 19.3 per cent walk rate and a .203 batting average against.
Tiedemann’s tantalizing potential is what led to his selection on Tuesday, though. After being selected in the third round of the 2021 draft, he broke onto the scene in 2022, striking out 117 batters and carrying a 2.17 ERA in 78.2 innings.
While injuries limited him in 2023, he continued to deliver strong results. He finished the year in triple-A and struck out a whopping 44.1 per cent of the batters he faced.
The Blue Jays now have 38 players on their 40-man roster.
