The Toronto Blue Jays watched a former bullpen arm land with the Los Angeles Angels in an interesting transaction.
The Angels announced on that Dillon Tate has signed a minor-league contract. The former first-round draft pick is expected to begin his stint in rookie ball as he builds up before likely joining Triple-A Salt Lake.
Tate has been a free agent since November 6, when Toronto outrighted the right-hander to the minors, but he elected free agency. The Blue Jays originally claimed Tate off waivers from the Baltimore Orioles in September of 2024, and he appeared in 4 games, going 0-0 with a 5.40 ERA in 3.1 innings.
After spending the offseason as a free agent, Tate re-signed with the Blue Jays on a one-year, $1.4 million contract on March 12, 2025. However, he was optioned to Triple-A, but was recalled to Toronto, appeared in 5 games, pitching to a 5.06 ERA over 5.1 innings before being DFA’d.
Tate ended up clearing waivers and was sent outright to Buffalo on May 12. He was added back to the Blue Jays roster on September 1 and finished the regular season on the roster. Tate ended up appearing in 6 games, pitching to a 4.26 ERA.
The right-hander gives the Angels additional pitching depth and could work his way back to the major leagues in the coming weeks. Tate was originally selected fourth overall by the Texas Rangers in the 2015 MLB Draft.
Although he never pitched for Texas, Tate was traded to the New York Yankees in 2016 before being dealt again to the Baltimore Orioles in 2018. He made his MLB debut with Baltimore in 2019 and has compiled a 7-14 record with a 4.09 ERA over his major league career.
Blue Jays Pitcher Struggling
Toronto has struggled this season, and veteran right-hander Kevin Gausman hasn’t pitched well as of late.
The right-hander allowed six runs in the first three innings, as the Blue Jays lost 6-5 to the Texas Rangers in the series opener.
“Lots of hits, 10 hits, three homers and one to start the game,” Gausman said postgame. “I don’t think there’s many positives you can take from giving up 10 hits and three homers. You’re just not going to have success with those types of numbers. I just need to be better.”
Although Gausman struggled, Blue Jays manager John Schneider was pleased that he was able to go into the sixth inning.
“You’re trying to do what’s best for everyone, especially Kev, who’s so important for us,” Schneider said. “He’s one of those guys you trust. That’s big to save three outs from the bullpen.”
Gausman is now 4-6 with a 4.36 ERA.
Toronto Looking to Add Pitching
Although the Blue Jays are under .500, the team is expected to be a buyer ahead of the trade deadline.
Toronto is looking to add starting pitching depth, according to general manager Ross Atkins.
“It’s probably starting pitching, but it’s not as easy as just deciding to do that,” Atkins said, “because we have five starters that we’re confident in. You can just never have enough. We’ve talked about that a lot over the years and over this year, specifically, as we started heavy in that category. We’re just always looking to support that. In an ideal world, it would be optionable starting pitching, one of the hardest things to acquire in baseball.”
The Blue Jays are 39-42.
