José Ureña elected free agency, the Blue Jays told reporters (including Mitch Bannon of The Athletic). Toronto designated the veteran righty for assignment on Saturday. He went unclaimed on waivers and had the service time to decline an outright.
Ureña spent less than a month with the Jays. Toronto signed him to a big league deal in early May. He made one spot start as the Jays were cycling through pitchers to fill the #5 rotation job. Ureña made another two-inning start as a quasi-opener in front of Eric Lauer. He has otherwise been working in 1-2 inning stints as a low-leverage reliever.
The 33-year-old Ureña pitched 12 1/3 innings. His five runs allowed are reasonable, but that came despite a 5:3 strikeout-to-walk ratio and three homers. It’s tough to see that approach working long term, so the Jays pulled the plug over the weekend. Ureña had an even briefer stint with the Mets earlier this year. New York carried him on the active roster for three days between late April and early May. He made one three-inning appearance as a Met.
Ureña figures to land another minor league contract. He has a long track record as a swingman over an MLB career that has spanned parts of 11 seasons. He managed 109 innings across 33 appearances (nine starts) with the Rangers last year, turning in a 3.80 ERA despite a below-average 15.1% strikeout rate.