The Toronto Blue Jays have agreed to a five-year contract with Cuban pitcher Yariel Rodriguez

TORONTO – The Toronto Blue Jays added some depth to their pitching staff Friday, agreeing to a five-year, $32 million contract with Cuban right-hander Yariel Rodriguez.

The 26-year-old has experience as both a starter and reliever in the top leagues of Cuba and Japan. Rodriguez could fight for the fifth spot in Toronto's starting rotation or be used out of the bullpen.

As a reliever in 2022, Rodriguez went 6-2 with a 1.15 earned run average with the Chunichi Dragons of the Nippon Professional Baseball League.

He had 60 strikeouts and 18 walks in 54 2/3 innings.

In last year's World Baseball Classic, Rodriguez made two no-decisions for Cuba. He posted a 2.45 earned run average over 7 1/3 innings with 10 strikeouts and six walks.

Rodriguez did not return to the Japanese team after the WBC and instead sat out a year in anticipation of moving to the MLB as a free agent.

“Yariel brings a diverse arsenal, impressive athleticism and swing-and-miss ability to our team,” Blue Jays general manager Ross Atkins said in a statement. “He adds starting depth to our pitching staff and has the ability to impact our major league team in multiple roles.

“We are excited to welcome Yariel to the Blue Jays and look forward to seeing him on the mound in the spring.”

Incumbent Otto Lopez was named to make room on the 40-man roster.

Kevin Gausman, Jose Berrios, Chris Bassitt and Yusei Kikuchi will rotate into Toronto in 2024, while right-hander Alec Manoa is looking to get back into the mix in a year. Manoa finished third in the 2022 American League Cy Young Award voting.

In addition to Rodriguez and Manoa, pitchers Mitch White, Bowden Francis and Ricky Tiedemann could also be in the mix for the fifth spot in the rotation.

The Blue Jays had a quiet offseason after missing out on two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani, who opted to sign with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

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Toronto re-signed outfielder Kevin Kiermaier to a one-year deal and signed utility man Isiah Keener-Falefa to a two-year contract. The Blue Jays recently signed infielder Justin Turner to a one-year deal.

Pitchers and catchers will report to spring training Thursday in Dunedin, Florida. Toronto opens its preseason schedule on Feb. 24 against the Philadelphia Phillies.

The Blue Jays open their regular season on March 28th on the road against the Tampa Bay Rays.

Toronto had an 89-73 record last year and was swept by the Minnesota Twins in the wild card series. The Blue Jays have made the playoffs in three of the last four years, but haven't won a game since reaching the AL Championship Series in 2016.

Toronto's last World Series was in 1993.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published on February 9, 2024.

Canadian Press