David Aardsma Opts out of Contract

Veteran reliever David Aardsma has opted out of his minor league contract with the Blue Jays and is now a free agent.

Source: David Aardsma has opted out of his minor league contract with the #BlueJays.

— Steve Adams (@Adams_Steve) May 23, 2016

Back in February, Aardsma signed a minor league deal with an invitation to spring training as an option for Toronto’s seventh bullpen arm. Following an up and down spring, he was assigned to AAA to bolster Buffalo’s relief corps. While in Buffalo, the former closer worked to an unimpressive 5.27 ERA and six saves in 13.2 innings, though much of that damage came from a four run appearance on April 17^th. Of his 14 appearances, 10 have been scoreless outings, but his 1.46 WHIP shows they haven’t exactly been clean and easy.

It seemed as though Aardsma might stick around, as the Blue Jays bullpen has been subpar this season and he might have gotten a call-up sooner rather than later. However the return of Bo Schultz likely helped sway his decision. When Schultz was added to the Buffalo roster officially (optioned as opposed to a rehab stint), Aardsma was reassigned to extended spring training. If he was hoping to make it back to the big leagues, that was probably enough of a sign that he needed to try his hand elsewhere. For a team desperate for quality relief innings, a veteran with a proven ability to miss bats (9.1 K/9 career) could’ve been a nice thing to have on the roster even if his chances of sustained major league success are lower at this point of his career.

Last season, Aardsma parlayed a strong showing with the AAA affiliate of the Dodgers into a major league roster spot with the Braves, appearing in 33 games. He’ll likely pursue the same route this year in hopes of making it back to the big leagues. For his career, he has thrown 337 innings with a 4.27 ERA, 1.42 WHIP and 69 saves.

He was also the inaugural guest on Aritificial Turf Wars, the official BP Toronto podcast. We wish him all the best and hope he can catch on somewhere.

Lead Photo: Butch Dill-USA TODAY Sports