The Blue Jays have released lefty Josh Fleming and right-hander Justin Topa from their respective minor league deals, according to their minor league transactions logs. Both were pitching for Toronto’s Triple-A affiliate in Buffalo.
Fleming ended 2025 in the Mariners organization and signed a minor league deal with the Blue Jays in February. The team selected him for a three-inning relief appearance on April 6th, then designated him for assignment the next day. Fleming elected free agency in lieu of an outright assignment, though he rejoined on a new minor league pact a few days later. He did not make it back to the big leagues prior to being released yesterday.
Fleming’s numbers at Triple-A have been solid, as he’s pitched to a 3.08 ERA in 64 1/3 innings over 13 appearances (12 starts). He’s never been one to strike hitters out, but he continued to show above-average control and ground ball stuff. Fleming has only walked 4.1% of opposing hitters this year, not counting his lone appearance in the Majors. Meanwhile, Fleming’s 50.5% ground ball rate is technically a career low in the upper minors, but it’s still an excellent mark.
Someone will take a chance on Fleming for that ground ball stuff, if only on a minor league deal. His last meaningful sample in the Majors came in 2024, when he threw 31 1/3 innings with a 4.02 ERA for the Pirates. Fleming only struck out 12.3% of opponents and did not show the same control that he has in the minors, although he still induced grounders at a well-above-average 54.3% rate. Overall, Fleming has a 4.86 ERA in 257 2/3 big league innings, so teams will continue to view him as a Quad-A reliever, barring an improbable late-career breakout.
Of the two relievers, Topa has had more recent success in the Majors. The righty had a decent 3.90 ERA in 60 innings for the Twins last year and allowed just two home runs all season. Topa’s 18.3% strikeout rate was below average, but he compensated by walking just 6.7% of opponents and inducing grounders at a 47.7% clip. Unfortunately, he followed that up with a dreadful 8.05 ERA in 19 innings earlier this season before Minnesota designated him for assignment in May.
That led Topa to sign a minor league deal with Toronto on May 30th. In the last month and change, he’s thrown eight innings for Triple-A Buffalo with a 3.38 ERA and only four strikeouts. That’s hardly a meaningful sample, though like Fleming, Topa has been below-average from a strikeout perspective throughout his career.
Topa is 35 years old and has an extensive injury history, including left patellar tendinitis in 2024 and two Tommy John surgeries early in his career. That said, he was moderately effective last year and highly effective as recently as 2023, when he had a 2.61 ERA in 69 innings for the Mariners. Despite his age, Topa will garner interest as a depth piece, perhaps more so than Fleming.
Photo courtesy of Nick Turchiaro, Imagn Images
