Zach

Pop

He’ll take the place of Logan Evans on the Mariners’ active roster. Pop, who was signed to a minor league deal after he was released by the Blue Jays at the beginning of April, posted a 2.79 ERA, 1.14 WHIP and a 9/5 K/BB ratio over 9 2/3 innings in 11 appearances in the minor leagues this season. He’ll function in a middle relief role for the M’s.

Pop was released by the Blue Jays at the start of April. The 28-year-old has had some success in the majors, but has struggled over the last two seasons. Seattle’s bullpen has struggled in 2025, so they’ll look and see if they can turn him into something useful for a very low price.

Pop will head to free agency after going unclaimed on waivers. The 28-year-old righty was designated for assignment last week by Toronto. He’s made 158 relief appearances in the big leagues since 2021, recording a serviceable 4.45 ERA, 1.31 WHIP and 123/53 K/BB ratio across 155 2/3 innings of work.

Toronto cleared out three spots on their 40-man roster to make room for outfielders Alan Roden and Myles Straw in addition to veteran reliever Jacob Barnes. No real surprises here, but Pop should garner some interest on the waiver wire as a viable middle relief option.

Pop will be shut down for 7-10 days according to Blue Jays manager John Schneider, but an MRI showed no structural damage. The 28-year-old is now likely to open the season on the injured list, but assuming the inflammation subsides — a risky bet based on how this often goes — there’s a chance he’ll be back near the end of April.

Pop struggled in 2024, posting a 5.59 ERA, 1.32 WHIP and just a 33/19 K/BB ratio across his 48 1/3 innings of work. However, the 28-year-old has a great slider and was much more effective for the Blue Jays and Marlins in 2022, so Toronto will hope that he can recapture some of that level of performance.

The club did not tender a contract to right-handers Jordan Romano or Dillon Tate and reached an agreement to avoid arbitration with right-hander Erik Swanson. That leaves Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Daulton Varsho, Alejandro Kirk, Alek Manoah, Zach Pop and Ernie Clement as players who were tendered contracts. The only real surprise among the group is Pop, who could have (should have?) been a non-tender candidate after struggling to a 5.59 ERA, 1.32 WHIP and just a 33/19 K/BB ratio across his 48 1/3 innings of work.

With the minor league season over, Pop is heading to the Spring Training Complex. The 28-year-old right-hander had a 5.59 ERA, 1.32 WHIP and 33 strikeouts in 48 1/3 innings for the Blue Jays this year.

The 27-year-old right-hander will get another shot to pitch out of the Blue Jays’ bullpen with Yimi Garcia on the move to the Mariners on Friday. Pop has posted a 5.90 ERA, 1.41 WHIP and a 19/12 K/BB ratio over 29 innings in 34 appearances for the Jays this season.

With the returns of both Yimi Garcia and Erik Swanson to the Jays’ bullpen on Friday, someone had to go to create a spot and unfortunately Pop was the odd man out this time around. The 27-year-old hurler will continue to refine his craft at the Triple-A level until another opportunity arises in Toronto.