Blue Jays Outright Nick Sandlin

"The Blue Jays outrighted Nick Sandlin off the 40-man roster, as first reflected on the MLB.com transaction tracker. Sandlin has over three years of service time and will surely elect free agency in the coming days. It's effectively an early non-tender of the righty reliever. MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projected Sandlin for a $2MM salary if he were tendered an arbitration contract. That's not a huge amount, but the Jays soured on his future enough that they didn't want to lock him into a middle relief role going into next season."

"Toronto acquired Sandlin as a secondary piece of last winter's Andrés Giménez trade. The Southern Mississippi product had pitched to a 3.27 earned run average over parts of four seasons in Cleveland. Sandlin never had great control, but he missed a good number of bats behind a plus slider and a promising splitter. The Jays hoped he could take on a higher-leverage role after being more of a sixth/seventh inning type in a loaded Cleveland bullpen."

"Injuries kept that from happening. Sandlin went down three weeks into the season with a lat strain. He returned in mid-June but was shut back down after nine appearances by elbow inflammation. The latter injury ended his year. Sandlin tossed 16 1/3 innings overall. He gave up seven runs (four earned) with 16 strikeouts and eight walks. He recorded five holds and a save but also surrendered three leads."

The Blue Jays outrighted right-hander Nick Sandlin off the 40-man roster, and Sandlin, with over three years of service time, will likely elect free agency. The move functioned as an early non-tender; Sandlin had been projected for about $2MM in arbitration. The decision created an extra open roster spot ahead of Rule 5 protections. Toronto acquired Sandlin last winter in the Andrés Giménez trade after four MLB seasons with Cleveland. Sandlin battled injuries this year, pitched 16 1/3 innings with 16 strikeouts, and showed diminished velocity and control, leading to concerns about his future role.

Read at MLB Trade Rumors