After being designated for assignment on Wednesday to make room for the waiver pick-up of Matt West, right-handed pitcher Cory Burns was outrighted to Triple-A Buffalo today. Although he is off the 40-man roster, the Arizona native will still be invited to Major League spring training giving him a chance to pitch his way into the back end of the bullpen.
Shi Davidi broke the news on a relatively busy day for Blue Jays beat writers with the arbitration tidbits and whatnot:
#BlueJays outright RHP Cory Burns to triple-A Buffalo. Will invite him to spring training.
Burns, a 27-year-old righty, hasn't seen the majors since 2013 with the Rangers and only has a total of 29.1 innings over two seasons. In 2014 he was absolutely crushed in the Pacific Coast League with the Texas Rangers affiliate before heading to Tampa Bay and pitching quite well in the high minors.
The Blue Jays now have a small collection of fringe bullpen arms who could compete for the final few spots if no other moves are made. With the way some seasons go for Toronto relievers maybe one of them will end up as closer by August.