Toronto Running Out of Time to Keep Rule 5 Arm Angel Bastardo. DD

The Toronto Blue Jays may be on the verge of losing a pitcher they barely got to see.

Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Angel Bastardo. | Jim Rassol-Imagn Images

While most of the attention has been on Rule 5 pick Spencer Miles this spring, another name is quietly creating a roster dilemma — Angel Bastardo.

Rule 5 pick Angel Bastardo has been informed he won’t begin the season with the Blue Jays; club can either return him to the Red Sox or work out a trade

Yariel Rodriguez and Jorge Alcala also won’t begin the season in the majors

— Arden Zwelling (@ArdenZwelling) March 22, 2026

And unlike Miles, whose path to the Opening Day roster is still alive, Bastardo’s situation is far more complicated.

The 23-year-old right-hander, originally selected in the 2024 Rule 5 Draft, missed the entire 2025 season recovering from Tommy John surgery. That lost year has now come back to haunt both him and the Blue Jays.

After an underwhelming spring, Toronto has informed Bastardo he won’t make the Opening Day roster.

That decision sets off a chain reaction — one that likely ends with him leaving the organization.

⏳ A Tight, Unforgiving Timeline

Rule 5 rules leave the Blue Jays with very little flexibility.

Because Bastardo was selected through the Rule 5 process, he must remain on an MLB roster for a set period (90 active days) before a team gains full control of his contract. Since Toronto isn’t keeping him on the roster, they now have limited options:

• Place him on waivers
• Trade him before Opening Day
• Offer him back to the Red Sox

If another team claims Bastardo, they’ll have to keep him on their 26-man roster immediately — the same restriction Toronto faced.

If he clears waivers, the Blue Jays must offer him back to Boston for $50,000. At that point, the Red Sox would regain full control without any roster restrictions.

🤔 Is There Any Way to Keep Him?

There are a couple of unlikely scenarios where Toronto could hold onto Bastardo:

• He clears waivers and Boston declines to take him back
• The Blue Jays strike a last-second trade with the Red Sox for full rights

But both outcomes are long shots.

The far more realistic scenario? Bastardo ends up either back in Boston or with a new team willing to take a chance on his upside.

⚠️ A Lost Opportunity

What makes this situation particularly frustrating is that Bastardo never truly got his shot.

Injuries robbed him of development time, and by the time he returned, he was essentially trying to win a roster spot under Rule 5 constraints — one of the toughest paths in baseball.

For the Blue Jays, it’s a reminder of how risky Rule 5 selections can be, especially with injured players. For Bastardo, it’s a reset.

And for Toronto fans, it’s a “what could have been” story that may end before it ever really began.