Stop me if you’ve heard this before… the Toronto Blue Jays have added to their 2026 pitching depth.
Left-hander Michael Plassmeyer has agreed to a minor-league deal with the club for next season, per the organization’s transaction log. The 29-year-old southpaw spent the 2025 season at triple-A inside the Texas Rangers’ system, pitching to a 4.43 ERA and 5.35 FIP with a 14.4 per cent strikeout-minus-walk rate (K-BB%) across 28 appearances (16 starts).
Plassmeyer, who last pitched in the majors in 2023 with the Philadelphia Phillies and only features 11.0 innings of big-league experience, will enter the ’26 campaign with one minor-league option remaining if he’s ever added to Toronto’s 40-man roster.
Transaction alert: #BlueJays have signed LHP Michael Plassmeyer to a minor-league deal, per the transaction log.
Plassmeyer spent last season at AAA with TEX, posting a 4.43 ERA, 5.35 FIP & 14.4% K-BB% in 28 games (16 starts). He has 1 MiLB option remaining.
— Thomas Hall (@Hall_Thomas_) December 10, 2025
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The 6-foot-2, 197-pound lefty was originally a fourth-round selection by the Seattle Mariners in 2018, but was dealt to the Tampa Bay Rays during the ensuing off-season as part of the Mike Zunino trade. Since then, he’s made stops with the San Francisco Giants, Pittsburgh Pirates, Phillies and Rangers.
Plassmeyer’s arsenal includes five pitches, headlined by his high-80s four-seamer and mid-70s slider — which triple-A hitters slashed .145/.192/.246 against while posting impressive strikeout (41.1 per cent) and whiff rates (46.6 per cent) in ’25. Those offerings are accompanied by a sinker, changeup and cutter.
The Blue Jays will likely decide to stretch Plassmeyer out as a starter in spring training, adding another layer of injury protection at the triple-A level alongside the likes of Adam Macko, Bowden Francis, Ricky Tiedemann and Lazaro Estrada — all of whom are already on the 40-man roster.
Given his versatility, the club may also have him transition to the bullpen once the regular season begins, possibly clearing a more direct pathway to assisting the major-league roster if a need arises. They would, of course, first need to place him on the 40-man roster before he could join the active roster.
Toronto further added to its already deep pitching depth on Wednesday, claiming right-hander Spencer Miles from San Francisco’s organization in the Rule 5 draft.