Toronto Blue Jays sign former St Louis Cardinals right-hander
Photo credit: Tim Vizer-Imagn Images
The Toronto Blue Jays have signed former St Louis Cardinals right-hander Jorge Alcala.
According to Ari Alexander of 7News' Boston, right-handed pitcher Jorge Alcala has agreed to a minor league deal with the Blue Jays, with a spring training invite.
RHP Jorge Alcala has signed a minor league deal with the Blue Jays with an invite to spring training
The Blue Jays and Alcala will be looking for a bounceback. He has had some major league success but 2025 was a poor season for him.
He bounced from the Twins to the Red Sox and Cardinals this year, tossing 55 innings between those three clubs, allowing 6.22 earned runs per nine.
His 23.7% strikeout rate was decent but he walked 11.7% of batters faced and allowed 13 home runs.
Jorge Alcala (signed by TOR) is a hard-throwing righty with intriguing stuff. He operates from a high slot with a fastball that hovers in the high 90s and a pair of breaking balls. Command was a big question mark last season
Alcala is a low risk high upside signing for the Blue Jays
Looking further into the past, there are more reasons for optimism. Over 2020 and 2021, he tossed 83 2/3 innings for the Twins with a 3.55 ERA, 27.2% strikeout rate and 6.5% walk rate.
He averaged over 97 miles per hour on his four-seamer. He recorded one save and 11 holds for the Twins.
Jorge Alcalá, 100mph ⛽️ and Vicious 91mph Slider...and Sword ⚔️
The next two seasons were mostly washed out. Alcala spent significant time on the injured list due to various arm issues in 2022 and 2023.
He only tossed 19 2/3 big league innings over those two years combined. He bounced back in 2024 by pitching 58 1/3 innings for the Twins with a 3.24 ERA, 24.7% strikeout rate, 8.5% walk rate. His four-seamer averaged 98 mph as he recorded another 15 holds.
Alcala gives the Blue Jays a bit of extra depth without taking up a roster spot.
| POLL | ||
DECEMBRE 18 | 56 ANSWERS Toronto Blue Jays sign former St Louis Cardinals right-hander Was signing Jorge Alcala a good depth move for the Blue Jays? | ||
| Yes | 36 | 64.3 % |
| No | 4 | 7.1 % |
| Too early to tell | 16 | 28.6 % |
| List of polls | ||