The Blue Jays have signed right-hander Connor Seabold to a minor league deal, according to the transactions tracker at MLB.com.
A third-round pick by the Phillies back in 2017, the 30-year-old Seabold made his big league debut back in 2021 and has collected 119 big league innings across parts of four seasons in the majors. Though he began his MLB career with two years in an up-and-down role with Boston, the majority of Seabold’s time in the majors came as a member of the Rockies in 2023. The righty served as a swingman for the Rockies that year, and while he managed 87 1/3 innings of work between 13 starts and 14 relief outings, Seabold’s numbers were far from impressive.
The righty struggled to a ghastly 7.52 ERA with Colorado. As if often the case when it comes to Rockies pitchers, that bloated ERA doesn’t tell the full story. An elevated .338 BABIP and a strand rate of just 60.3% indicate that Seabold had some poor fortune when it came to batted balls and sequencing, though that hardly excuses a 16.4% strikeout rate and a 10.1% barrel rate. Those underlying numbers suggest severe deficiencies in Seabold’s game even after accounting for bad luck, and that’s backed up by his 5.75 FIP and 5.03 SIERA that year.
Seabold didn’t appear in the majors in 2024, as he headed to the KBO to pitch for the Samsung Lions. He made 28 starts for the Lions and looked good doing it, with a 3.43 ERA in 160 innings. That allowed him to catch on with the Rays last year, and he appeared for seven appearances with Tampa and Atlanta. Unfortunately, this was more of the same for the right-hander. While he combined for a 4.35 ERA and 4.20 FIP this year, a 12.5% walk rate and a 15.6% barrel rate both suggested that he was fortunate to surrender so little damage. A lackluster 6.07 ERA at the Triple-A level between the Rays’ Durham affiliate and Atlanta’s Gwinnett affiliate only further underscores his struggles last year.
Of course, even with those flaws it still remains true that Seabold has only ever gotten a significant look at the big league level in the difficult pitching environment of Colorado. Perhaps he’ll find a way to earn a more significant role with the Jays this year, though he’s surely being signed purely as a depth option given their wide array of starting options. Dylan Cease was signed to lead the rotation at the outset of the offseason. He and Cody Ponce will join existing starters Kevin Gausman, Shane Bieber, Trey Yesavage, and Jose Berrios in the mix of starts entering the year, with Bowden Francis, Eric Lauer, and Yariel Rodriguez among the organization’s depth options. Top prospect Rickey Tiedemann could also break into the majors this year. Such a deep cachet of starters could leave Seabold without a clear path to the majors this year without a large number of injuries or a move to the bullpen.