As injuries to pitching staff continue to mount, Blue Jays sign Beau Sulser to minor-league contract

The Blue Jays added a couple of arms to Triple-A Buffalo last week.

The first was reliever Joel Kuhnel, who was acquired from the Houston Astros in exchange for cash a few days after the team had designated him for assignment.

The second was Beau Sulser, a starting pitcher who inked a minor-league contract with the Blue Jays and immediately jumped into action with the Bisons. Sulser filled into Alek Manoah’s spot in Buffalo’s starting rotation on Sunday and allowed five earned runs over three-and-one-third innings of work.

Kuhnel is on Toronto’s 40-man roster and is an option for the Blue Jays if they need a fresh arm to join their bullpen. Sulser appears to be an addition mostly meant for the Bisons but he could wind up being an option for the Blue Jays given their lack of starting pitcher depth.

The Blue Jays activated Manoah from the Injured List on Sunday and he allowed six earned runs over four innings in his season debut against the Washington Nationals. Manoah started the season on the shelf because of a shoulder injury that popped up during Spring Training and both Bowden Francis and Yariel Rodriguez filled into his spot in the rotation.

With Francis and Rodriguez dealing with injuries of their own, Manoah was thrust back into Toronto’s rotation despite uneven results during his rehab stint in Triple-A. The only other starting pitchers the Blue Jays have on their 40-man roster right now are journeyman Paolo Espino, who has a 6.06 ERA over six starts in Buffalo so far this season, and prospect Adam Macko, who’s pitching for Double-A New Hampshire.

Sulser was selected by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 10th round of the 2017 MLB Draft. He made his big-league debut with the Pirates in 2022 and was claimed on waivers by the Baltimore Orioles later that season. Between Pittsburgh and Baltimore, Sulser posted a 3.63 ERA over 22 1/3 innings. The Pirates re-claimed Sulser on waivers in the off-season and he put up a 6.13 ERA in 39 2/3 innings between their Double-A and Triple-A affiliates during the 2023 season.