The Blue Jays recalled left-hander Ricky Tiedemann from Triple-A Buffalo on August 15, setting him up to make his major league debut against the Yankees in Toronto, according to MLB Trade Rumors.
This isn't just a random arm getting a cup of coffee. Tiedemann was Toronto's third-round pick back in 2021, and entering the 2024 season he was widely considered one of the best pitching prospects in all of baseball -- ranked as high as No. 29 overall and the top left-handed arm in the minors, per MLB Trade Rumors and Baseball America.
Then the wheels came off. Persistent elbow pain limited him to just 61.1 innings across 2023 and 2024 before he finally went under the knife for Tommy John surgery in July 2024. He missed the entire 2025 season rehabbing, and even 2026 wasn't smooth -- shoulder and neck irritation cost him a month before he got back on the mound on July 25.
The numbers at Buffalo in early August weren't pretty on paper -- a 12.00 ERA across 3 appearances -- but reports out of the organization say he's been flashing the electric stuff that made him a top-100 name in the first place, including fastballs touching the high 90s.
The corresponding move sent reliever Chase Lee down to Buffalo after he struggled to a 7.88 ERA in 7 games with the big-league club. For now, expect Tiedemann to work out of the bullpen the rest of the way in 2026, though Toronto hasn't closed the door on stretching him back out as a starter next season.
For a Blue Jays team trying to stay in the mix down the stretch, adding a former elite prospect with a legit high-90s fastball -- even in a relief role -- is exactly the kind of low-risk, high-reward boost a bullpen needs in August. Whether he ever becomes the front-of-rotation arm he was projected to be is a story for next year. Right now, it's just about getting him back on a big-league mound.