The Blue Jays’ pitching staff took two significant hits yesterday as the club announced starter Bowden Francis has been placed on the 15-day injured list while veteran reliever Erik Swanson was designated for assignment amid ongoing struggles.
Francis, who had emerged as a reliable arm in Toronto’s rotation this season, is sidelined with right forearm inflammation – typically a concerning diagnosis for pitchers. The 28-year-old right-hander has posted a respectable 4.46 ERA across 13 appearances (11 starts) this season, providing much-needed stability during a tumultuous campaign.
“Losing Bowden at this point hurts,” pitching coach Pete Walker told me before yesterday’s game. “He’s been one of our most consistent contributors, especially considering where we projected him at the start of spring training.”
The club recalled reliever Nate Pearson from Triple-A Buffalo to fill Francis’s roster spot. Once Toronto’s top pitching prospect, Pearson has battled injuries throughout his professional career but still possesses the high-velocity fastball that once made him the organization’s most promising young arm.
Meanwhile, the decision to designate Swanson for assignment marks a stunning fall from grace for a reliever who arrived in Toronto as part of the Teoscar Hernández trade with Seattle in November 2022. After posting a 2.97 ERA last season, Swanson has struggled mightily in 2024, with a bloated 7.27 ERA across 26 appearances.
“The game can be incredibly humbling,” Blue Jays manager John Schneider explained during his pre-game media session. “Erik has been the consummate professional throughout this difficult stretch, but ultimately we needed to make a baseball decision.”
The Blue Jays now have seven days to trade Swanson or place him on waivers. If he clears waivers, the team could outright him to Triple-A, though given his major league experience, Swanson would have the right to elect free agency.
These roster moves come at a particularly challenging time for Toronto, currently sitting 13 games under .500 and facing mounting pressure regarding potential trades of pending free agents like Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Bo Bichette before the July 30 deadline.
According to sources within the organization speaking on condition of anonymity, the front office remains divided on whether to pursue a full rebuild or attempt to retool around the team’s young core. The next few weeks of play could prove decisive in that determination.
The Blue Jays’ pitching staff has posted a collective 4.11 ERA this season – 18th in MLB and a far cry from the dominant unit that helped power their 91-win campaign in 2022. Injuries have played a significant role in that decline, with Francis joining starters Kevin Gausman and Alek Manoah as pitchers who have missed time this season.
For Toronto fans, these recent developments further dampen what has already been a disappointing season at Rogers Centre, where attendance has begun showing signs of decline amid the team’s poor performance. The Blue Jays continue their homestand tonight against the Baltimore Orioles, with Yariel Rodriguez expected to take the mound.
“These are the challenging moments that test an organization’s resilience,” Blue Jays president Mark Shapiro noted during a recent roundtable with local media. “We remain committed to fielding a competitive team both now and in the future.”
As Toronto approaches the halfway mark of the season, these roster moves likely signal the beginning of what could be a transformative summer for an organization that entered 2024 with playoff aspirations but now appears increasingly likely to become sellers at the trade deadline.
