Blue Jays call up Barnes, Smith, demote Shafer, Petricka

The Toronto Blue Jays recalled reliever Danny Barnes on Monday. Photo Credit: Amanda Fewer

By Andrew Hendriks

Canadian Baseball Network

With their bullpen picking up the final seven innings of Sunday's game against the Philadelphia Phillies at Rogers Centre, the Toronto Blue Jays have initiated a series of moves aimed at shoring up their heavily used relief corps.

Joining the big league club is a pair of righties in Danny Barnes and Murphy Smith, while Jake Petricka and Justin Shafer were both optioned down to triple-A Buffalo.

Completing Monday's list of transactions, right-handed hurler Luis Santos was designated for assignment.

A 13th-round draft pick of the Oakland Athletics in 2009, Smith, 31, has pitched in parts of ten minor league seasons since becoming a professional, the last three of which have been spent predominantly at the triple-A level.

Through 62 2/3 innings with the Bisons in 2018, the 6-foot-3 product of Nashua, N.H. has posted an ERA of 3.59 while notching 42 strikeouts against 25 walks and allowing seven home runs.

After spending the last two weeks with the Bisons Barnes is back on the Blue Jays active roster for a fourth time this season. To date, the 28-year-old Princeton grad has gone 2-1 while posting a WHIP of 1.656 across 35 assignments.

Both Petricka (4.25) and Shafer (0.00) tossed over 25  pitches on the weekend, and wouldn't likely be available out of the Blue Jays bullpen on Monday night in Baltimore.

In 25 games with Toronto dating back to the end of last season, Santos allowed 21 earned runs on 41 hits spread out across 36 2/3 innings, the latest of which came on August 18 against. the New York Yankees.

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