The Blue Jays have signed right-hander Beau Sulser to a minor league contract.  Sulser made the start for Triple-A Buffalo today, which happens to be his 30th birthday.

Sulser’s only MLB experience came during the 2022 season, when he posted a 3.63 ERA across 22 1/3 combined innings with the Pirates and Orioles.  He was a 10th-round pick for Pittsburgh in the 2017 draft, was claimed off waivers from Baltimore in May 2022, and then was claimed back by the Pirates following the season before then landing a deal with the KT Wiz of the Korea Baseball Organization.  The righty’s 2023 campaign was split between pitching in South Korea and then yet another stint with Pittsburgh, since Sulser signed with the Bucs last June after his release from the Wiz.

Over 413 innings in the affiliated minors, Sulser has posted a 4.31 ERA and a 6.64% walk rate.  Sulser has relied more on control, grounders and soft contact than missed bats, as he has a modest 19.49% strikeout rate.  He struggled during his brief time in the KBO League, with a 5.62 ERA over nine starts and 49 2/3 innings.

Besides the nine KBO starts, Sulser has also started 49 of his 145 career appearances in the minors.  Most of those starts have come within the last three seasons, though Sulser’s flexibility as a swingman could help him find another path back to the majors.  Starting depth is an issue for a Blue Jays team that has both Yariel Rodriguez and Bowden Francis on the injured list, plus Alek Manoah is still a big question mark after all his struggles since the start of the 2023 season.  If Manoah can’t get on track or if the Jays have another rotation injury, swingman Paolo Espino might be the next man up from Triple-A, but Sulser might not be far behind in line given Toronto’s lack of options.