Blue Jays’ Former Pitcher Debuts For AL Foe After Promising Start To Season

TORONTO, ON - MARCH 28: Toronto Blue Jays Pitcher Nick Sandlin (52) throws a pitch during the ninth inning of the MLB baseball regular season game between the Baltimore Orioles and the Toronto Blue Jays on March 28, 2025, at Rogers Centre in Toronto, ON, Canada. (Photo by Julian Avram/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

The Toronto Blue Jays made some big roster changes in the wake of their World Series run but the ongoing shuffle of players since the start of the season hasn’t been by design.

The team entered Opening Day with optimism around a deep starting pitching staff and a strong group of position players. But within the first few weeks of the season, the Blue Jays have had to move key pieces like Cody Ponce, Alejandro Kirk and Addison Barger to a growing group of players on the injured list.

And those losses have required some call ups from deeper within the organization. The Blue Jays have brought up depth options like Eloy Jimenez and Josh Fleming to stay afloat, and now they might be wishing they had held onto Nick Sandlin.

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Toronto Blue Jays Outrighted Pitcher Nick Sandlin After Injury Issues

Sandlin has a 3.27 ERA across six years in the big leagues and he appeared in 19 games for the Blue Jays with a 2.20 ERA last year amid some health struggles. But the team outrighted him off of its 40-man roster right after the season ended and he cut ties with the organization after that.

“Sandlin signed a minor league deal with Los Angeles after the Blue Jays outrighted the reliever off their 40-man roster in November,” Mark Polishuk wrote for MLB Trade Rumors. “It was basically an early non-tender, as Sandlin was projected to earn a $2MM arbitration salary in 2026, and Sandlin elected to become a free agent in the wake of the outright assignment.”

Sandlin then signed with the American League West division’s Los Angeles Angels, who initially assigned him to the Triple-A affiliate Salt Lake Bees. In five appearances there, Sandlin logged a 1.42 ERA and he was quickly called up to the Angels’ big-league roster.

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Former Toronto Blue Jays Pitcher Nick Sandlin Sees Debut With Los Angeles Angels

“The Angels selected the contract of RHP Nick Sandlin from Triple-A Salt Lake,” Ari Koslow reported for Fantasy Pros. “He will add a fresh arm in the bullpen for the Angels with George Klassen optioned.”

Sandlin endured a harsh debut for his new big-league home, though. Against the Cincinnati Reds on Sunday, he gave up two earned runs in just one-third of an inning, following Angels reliever Sam Bachman, who gave up three earned runs in just two-thirds of an inning.

But the Angels still won that game and it appears that Sandlin will have another chance to settle in and perhaps drive some regret from the Blue Jays for parting ways with him before their own depth was tested.

This article was originally published on Forbes.com