Brendon

Little

Blue Jays manager John Schneider told reporters Little might even be available to pitch this weekend after exiting Friday’s relief appearance against the Orioles with a lat cramp. It doesn’t sound like a serious concern moving forward.

It technically goes down as a save for Little as he came on to record the final out of the eighth inning in relief of Toronto starter José Berríos and came back out to spin a flawless final frame, protecting a four-run margin at the time. The 28-year-old southpaw got the call because veteran Chad Green had pitched twice in the last three days and was presumably unavailable due to workload reasons.

Little returns to the majors with Toronto closer Jordan Romano landing on the injured list ahead of Saturday’s contest against the Pirates. The 27-year-old southpaw has made three appearances this season in the big leagues.

Little is pushed off the roster with Alek Manoah coming off the injured list for his season debut. The 27-year-old will likely get another chance to help the Toronto bullpen at some point this summer.

The 27-year-old reliever will join the Blue Jays as an extra arm as Bowden Francis heads to the injured list. Little has posted a 2.89 ERA, 1.61 WHIP with a 16/8 K/BB ratio in 9 1/3 innings at the Triple-A level this season.

Little was acquired back in November from the Cubs and will open the season back in the upper minors as extra organizational relief depth.

The Jays then selected his contract to add him to their 40-man roster. The 27-year-old southpaw spent the entire 2023 season at Triple-A Iowa where he registered a 4.05 ERA, 1.43 WHIP and a 73/38 K/BB ratio over 73 1/3 innings in his 50 appearances. He’ll add bullpen depth for the Blue Jays.

Little was up a substitute player for the Cubs’ series in Toronto. He might get another look soon.

Little receives the call as a COVID-19 replacement player for the Cubs’ series in Toronto and will be making his major-league debut when he gets into a game. The 26-year-old left-hander was selected in the first round of the 2017 MLB Draft and has compiled a solid 4.15 ERA, 1.41 WHIP and 41/20 K/BB ratio across 39 innings (29 appearances) this season for Triple-A Iowa.

Little allowed just two hits and didn’t issue a walk while striking out eight. The 2017 first-round pick lowers his ERA since his promotion to the Midwest League to 2.08, and he owns a 13/4 K/BB ratio with South Bend. When he’s at his best, Little shows two swing-and-miss pitches in a high 90s fastball and wipeout curve, but he’s really struggled to locate those pitches as a professional. He’ll turn 23 in August, so time is not necessarily on his side. Be it as a reliever or backend starter, however, Little has a chance to help in fantasy formats because of his ability to miss bats.