left handed Ryan Borucki and infielder Michael Stefanik Both were elected free agents, according to MILB.com trade wire. Both players were removed from the Blue Jays’ 40-man roster outright during the regular season and elected to accept outright assignments rather than opt for free agency, but are expected to opt into minor league free agency at some point after the season.
Borucki began his career in Toronto’s organization and spent parts of his first five MLB seasons (2018-22) with the Jays before being traded to the Mariners in June 2022. After a brief stay in the Cubs’ farm system, the lefty’s next major league action was with the Pirates from 2023-25 until he was designated for assignment and released in August. The Jays quickly signed him to a minor league contract, and he made a brief appearance on their active roster in September, appearing in four games before being DFAed and outright eliminated.
In 256 1/3 innings going into this game, Borucki has a career ERA of 4.28, a strikeout rate of 19.7%, a walk rate of 8.9%, and a ground ball rate of 48.3%. Those numbers include a 4.63 ERA in 35 innings against the Pirates and Blue Jays in 2025. Borucki is a professional reliever, and when Major League Baseball (MLB) instituted the three-strike rule for relievers in 2020, Borucki’s career was severely affected because Borucki struggled against right-handed hitters but was dominant against left-handed hitters.
Between those splits, his low strikeout totals and the natural differences involved in being a ground ball specialist, Borucki will likely have to settle for a minor league contract again heading into his age-32 season. He’s bound to land somewhere, as many teams are in need of bullpen depth and/or left-handed reliever help, but Borucki will likely face another round of DFAs and a championship unless he can both earn a spot in the major league bullpen and start producing consistent results.
Stefanic began his career with the Angels as an undrafted free agent in 2018 and broke into the majors by appearing in 90 games with Los Angeles from 2022-24. He signed a minors deal with the Toronto Raptors last winter and was optioned for nine games in May when the Jayhawks were in need of infield depth. Stefanic posted a .462 OPS in 25 games in 2025 and hit .227/.314/.267 in 289 career PA games.
That lackluster slash line was a far cry from the impressive numbers Stefanic put up in Triple-A, as he posted a .332/.427/.454 PA in 1884 with the Blue Jays and Angels’ top affiliates. Between those numbers and his ability to play throughout the infield, Stefanic should find his way onto another minor league contract, but he’s running out of minor league options.
