The Blue Jays recalled left-hander Ricky Tiedemann from Triple-A Buffalo today. Right-hander Chase Lee was optioned in a corresponding move. Tiedemann is a former top-100 prospect whose shine faded after he underwent Tommy John surgery in 2024. He will be making his MLB debut the first time he gets in a game.
Tiedemann, 23, was the Blue Jays’ third-round pick in the 2021 draft. He dominated minor league competition over his first two professional seasons, producing absurd strikeout rates and reaching Triple-A shortly after his 21st birthday. Entering the 2024 campaign, he was widely considered one of the most promising pitching prospects in the sport. Unfortunately for Tiedemann, elbow issues limited him to eight appearances in 2024, and eventually, he went under the knife.
This past offseason, the Blue Jays added Tiedemann to their 40-man roster to protect him from the Rule 5 draft. He had missed all of 2025 recovering from his surgery, but it seemed likely the southpaw would be ready to make his big league debut at some point in 2026. That is, until more elbow soreness put him on the shelf again during spring training. Finally, Tiedemann began a rehab assignment in June and returned to Triple-A Buffalo last week, about two years after his Tommy John procedure.
Tiedemann has only pitched in seven games this year: four in the low minors on a rehab assignment and three at Triple-A. He threw five scoreless innings with one walk, three hits, and seven strikeouts over his first five outings before giving up four runs across his latest two appearances. He averaged about 96 mph on his four-seam fastball in his three Triple-A games, topping out just under 98. That’s about one mile per hour faster than his average velocity was in 2024, though it’s worth keeping in mind that he’s only been pitching one inning per game so far this year.
Despite Tiedemann’s limited playing time back at Buffalo, the Blue Jays evidently saw enough to decide he was ready to help the major league club. They have ridden the top few arms in their bullpen unusually hard to this point. It doesn’t seem like that strategy is going to change any time soon, but guys like Louis Varland, Tyler Rogers, Braydon Fisher, and Mason Fluharty – all of whom rank among the AL’s top 10 relievers in appearances – can use all the help they can get. Fluharty, in particular, has carried a heavy load as the team’s top lefty, pitching in more than half of Toronto’s games in 2026. The Jays will hope that Tiedemann becomes another left-hander they can call on in higher-leverage spots.
Presumably, the Blue Jays haven’t given up on Tiedemann as a starting pitcher. However, considering how little he’s pitched this year (and how long it’s been since he last started a game), it’s safe to presume he’ll work out of the bullpen for the remainder of 2026 before possibly stretching out again in 2027.
